Scan barcode
sar_lion's review
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
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
4.5
So wonderful, and you don't need to have watched the movie for it make sense it's just a good story. With much more nuance than the Disney movie had. Such as the relationship between Aurora and the Prince. There is plenty of mystery in the beginning to keep you hooked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Confinement and Death
Minor: Vomit
gnomescottage's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
emmieclassix's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Murder, Gaslighting, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Violence
angelofthetardis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I found this quite an interesting read, not just because it takes a darker turn, but because it gives a totally fresh perspective on the 'original' (Disney) storyline.
Firstly, it allows Aurora Rose her own agency; she might have to be reminded on a couple of occasions, but she recognises that the story is her quest and her responsibility, and doesn't shy away from it. She struggles, absolutely, but it seeves to awaken her to her real character.
Nor, when she is reunited with Prince Phillip, does she just fall into his arms when he insists that they were in love. I actually found that one of the most enjoyable twists; she is constantly questioning the label of 'silly little princess' that's meant to be beautiful, submissive and marry the handsome Prince, even when she's made to feel like that's all her life is. One of my favourite moments is when Prince Phillip is explaining how he fell in love with her when he saw her in the woods, and she questions the fact that he was going to run away from everything to be with her purely based on her looks and her 'happiness'.
From my reading, it also examines the effect of depression on a young mind. By giving it a 'character', it gives Aurora Rose the chance to literally face her demons and overcome, but that's only half the story. Her reconciliation of the fact that she feels the same in both worlds she inhabits (albeit for different reasons), is a really clever illustration of the fact that you can have these feelings whether you're a princess or a pauper; whether you come from a broken home or a happy one, whether you're loved or not, and it's all equally valid. It feels really important that the author gives an alternative explanation for the touch of the spindle in the original tale, and in turn manages to twist the Disney film into something even darker than it already is. It's a perspective I'd never considered before because, well, it's Disney; it's meant to be pretty Princesses, handsome Princes and happily ever afters.
I will say I think it was longer than it needed to be; there felt like quite a period where the author was just coming up with obstacles to fill out the pages, which did detract from the experience. I would also have like Prince Phillip to pop off the page a bit more than he did for me; I felt that the author laid the groundwork for some good character building, but never really followed through.
My biggest issue though is the premise itself. I got there eventually, and the overall idea is understandable (and works well in the context of twisting the original), but I found the intricacies quite difficult to follow. It is explained, but I just found that it took me out of the story every time I had to stop and think about how or why something was happening. Don't read this one while you're half asleep!
While I'm probably the most familiar with this Disney tale (it's one of the few I remember owning on VHS and watching several times), it's not my favourite. So it did its job and I'll keep reading the series, but I'm not overly invested in buying/keeping them all moving forward.
Firstly, it allows Aurora Rose her own agency; she might have to be reminded on a couple of occasions, but she recognises that the story is her quest and her responsibility, and doesn't shy away from it. She struggles, absolutely, but it seeves to awaken her to her real character.
Nor, when she is reunited with Prince Phillip, does she just fall into his arms when he insists that they were in love. I actually found that one of the most enjoyable twists; she is constantly questioning the label of 'silly little princess' that's meant to be beautiful, submissive and marry the handsome Prince, even when she's made to feel like that's all her life is. One of my favourite moments is when Prince Phillip is explaining how he fell in love with her when he saw her in the woods, and she questions the fact that he was going to run away from everything to be with her purely based on her looks and her 'happiness'.
From my reading, it also examines the effect of depression on a young mind. By giving it a 'character', it gives Aurora Rose the chance to literally face her demons and overcome, but that's only half the story. Her reconciliation of the fact that she feels the same in both worlds she inhabits (albeit for different reasons), is a really clever illustration of the fact that you can have these feelings whether you're a princess or a pauper; whether you come from a broken home or a happy one, whether you're loved or not, and it's all equally valid. It feels really important that the author gives an alternative explanation for the touch of the spindle in the original tale, and in turn manages to twist the Disney film into something even darker than it already is. It's a perspective I'd never considered before because, well, it's Disney; it's meant to be pretty Princesses, handsome Princes and happily ever afters.
I will say I think it was longer than it needed to be; there felt like quite a period where the author was just coming up with obstacles to fill out the pages, which did detract from the experience. I would also have like Prince Phillip to pop off the page a bit more than he did for me; I felt that the author laid the groundwork for some good character building, but never really followed through.
My biggest issue though is the premise itself. I got there eventually, and the overall idea is understandable (and works well in the context of twisting the original), but I found the intricacies quite difficult to follow. It is explained, but I just found that it took me out of the story every time I had to stop and think about how or why something was happening. Don't read this one while you're half asleep!
While I'm probably the most familiar with this Disney tale (it's one of the few I remember owning on VHS and watching several times), it's not my favourite. So it did its job and I'll keep reading the series, but I'm not overly invested in buying/keeping them all moving forward.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Blood, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
zoec24's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
The insta-love bit in this was weird but I get why it happened-the bit where they don't get married instantly and don't have full on insta-love is great, which is such a low bar but still a relief. Just seeing Aurora be capable and skilled is great-huge improvement from sleeping for most of the time. The character development was great too and I love how they explore how weird the insta-love/her entire life was and make it more realistic and end with her as a decent ruler . Liana was pretty great too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Grief, Toxic relationship, Murder, Abandonment, and Death of parent
hbeighey's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Violence
vixenreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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
3.5
It’s like Disney made its own version of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and it magically worked out. Plus Aurora is a thousand times more interesting in this book than in the original movie. There, I said it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Murder, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Death, Blood, Mental illness, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Gore, Body horror, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cursing, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape
Warning for complicated family history, adoption, stress about one’s legacy and responsibility, verbal abuse, and grief over learning that your whole life was a lie.ginabelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
I think these books can get pretty dark and are definitely written in a different voice than the source material which is a note I’ve had for every installment. I understand wanting them to be relatable, but sometimes they veer too far off for me (Phillip’s dialogue was a noted example in this one). Anyway, I did enjoy this one more than the other ones I’ve read in the series because it gave Aurora some agency and power in her story. She gets such a bad reputation for always sleeping, so I really liked the angle that she was fighting her own battles all the while. I felt the book interrogated the original story in a refreshing way and I think Aurora’s character was flushed out in a way that made her resilient and independent and strong so I enjoyed it for that!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
bxcca99's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
sunshine8473773's review
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
This book was about 100 pages too long. I was just thinking a few weeks ago that I was surprised the twisted tales series wasn’t more popular. I’ve read “Almost There” and loved it so decided to read something at the start of the series. Just bloated, boring, and bogged down by too many parts that could have been cut. This could have been really great, it’s a good concept and solid skeletal story. This just didn’t work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Suicide attempt, Blood, and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent and Rape