Reviews

Prince of Thorns & Nightmares by Linsey Miller

rileydobereading's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

toiletteregina's review against another edition

4.75

This gave an interesting twist to the Sleeping Beauty tale. What if Prince Phillip had magic of his own? Would that change the trajectory of the story? Where would that leave him with Princess Aurora?

It was nice getting to see a lot of character development from Phillip throughout the book. We get to see him as someone really flawed, especially in the beginning, so it was great watching him come into his own – with or without magic.

I especially enjoyed Phillip's relationship with Briar Rose (especially their banter!) and the whole dreams thing. But I think my favorite part of this book was how much of a simp Phillip is for Briar Rose HEHEHE And the addition of Johanna was a nice touch as well! I loved her sibling-like dynamic with Phillip.

Knocked off a .25 because of the book's small bit of predictability.

The little slip-up by Phrike once Phillip and the gang got both artifacts pretty much gave her and the other fairies away.

Despite that, I still enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings. Or to anyone who, as a child, had a crush on Prince Phillip... like me LOL

victor_calixto's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

adeanax's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

angelreadsfantasy's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I bought this book together with the Prince of the Song and Sea; and to be honest, i did not have high hopes for this one, because I didn't like the first book. However, all the things which I didn't like in Eric's tale, I found in Philips's tale. 

It was written very cleverly and could be seen as canon; it creates a parallel with the film and even recreates scenes with their own twist, which I love. I really loved the whole Once Upon a Dream setting, and how Aurora and Philip get to know each other.

I first was hesitant when Philip got magic because that part didn't totally fit within the sleeping beauty world, but I really liked how this was all a set-up.

Overall a good tale from the prince perspective, looking forward to other perspectives :D

daniellem1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

cyanide_latte's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I think this book genuinely gave me everything I could have hoped for and more from a Disney Press book seeking to do further character exploration.  The writing was very nicely done, the character work was excellent while still both paying homage to and reimagining the source material, and everything here was just worth the read. I know I'm somewhat biased, as Phillip and Aurora/Briar Rose are big favorites of mine, but the way this novel really fleshed both of them out and added to the world of Sleeping Beauty without completely overwhelming the reader with new lore by the end was nothing short of phenomenal. This is already a big favorite and I'm so happy I got to read it!

captain_slippers's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

moobadtz's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

amberls23's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75