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raynaf10's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.5
4.5/5 RTC
Well. Damn. This was incredible!!
Rep: sapphic half-vila MC, possibly suffers from PTSD, sapphic love interest, queer-normative world for MLM and WLW couples (sadly still very driven by the gender binary).
CWs: Blood, bullying, death, gaslighting/manipulation, lesbophobia/general queerphobia for royals, misogyny, murder, violence, child abuse, drug use/abuse by side character, grief, slavery/extortion of Graces, torture, xenophobia towards Vila and Fae.
Well. Damn. This was incredible!!
Rep: sapphic half-vila MC, possibly suffers from PTSD, sapphic love interest, queer-normative world for MLM and WLW couples (sadly still very driven by the gender binary).
CWs: Blood, bullying, death, gaslighting/manipulation, lesbophobia/general queerphobia for royals, misogyny, murder, violence, child abuse, drug use/abuse by side character, grief, slavery/extortion of Graces, torture, xenophobia towards Vila and Fae.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Slavery, Torture, and Xenophobia
thetinytrashcan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Words can not describe the absolute mess that my emotional state is now in. The world building in this book is stunning and I will be emotionally dependent on these characters for the rest of my life. Will now be doing everything in my power to get an arc of the sequel as I physically don’t think I can wait till it comes out !!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Torture, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Homophobia
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Probably my favorite fairy tale retelling I've ever read!! Not only does Heather Walter remix Aurora into a queer feminist icon, but the evil sorceress gets a starring role with an epic backstory and a gray characterization that I was living for. This book is hella diverse, super quirky and fun, and pretty sexy too??? An all-around good time! I'm looking forward to the sequel and seeing more from this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, and Xenophobia
make_believer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’m speechless, honestly. This exceeded all of my expectations. It was freaking BRILLIANT and I’m completely obsessed. One of the best retellings I’ve ever read, without a doubt. Top three, easily. Alyce and Aurora’s dynamic, the world-building, the intrigue and intensity of the plot… I’m in awe of it all. I was so happy when the romance blossomed, only to end up in a near-constant state of panic for the last fifty pages. The fact that this is only Walter’s debut is astonishing. I’m looking very forward to the sequel and whatever she writes next.
Representation
Representation
- sapphic protagonist & love interest
- sapphic romance (f/f)
- side characters of color
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content, Child abuse, Drug use, and Torture
Sexual content is brief and not graphic. Child abuse and torture occurred prior to the story. Drug use is mentioned in passing, in regards to a side character.rhaase0509's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked this book! It is a retelling of sleeping beauty, but it is different enough to keep the story fresh. It ends on a cliffhanger and the next book has yet to be written, which was disappointing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
larainsidebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
So far, I've never read a retelling from the perspective of a "villian". With nods to the true tale of Sleeping Beauty, the facts we all know and with a fresh and new world, the author really made this story interesting. Alyce as a protagonist is layered, complex, with internalized hatred towards herself, because all her life she's been told that she is evil, her power is evil and bad and she herself is hideous and not worthy. All she wanted was to be like other Graces, all of them who can do beautiful things with their golden blood, while Alyce with her green blood can only cast curses. Being part Vila, Alyce is called the Dark Grace, and even though she works alongside the "real" Graces, she is an outcast.
With that in mind, what was fascinating to me was the fact that the whole realm of Briar and most of Alyce's "sister" Graces constantly make Alyce feel unworty, telling her that she is a monster, just because a Vila long time ago cursed the whole royal lineage to die if they don't find their true love by their 21st birthday, even though Alyce herself isn't the one who cast the curse. But the nobles still come to her to curse their rivals and they use her services despite the fact that they bully her. Can you blame Alyce for wanting out of the realm and wanting revenge?
But, there's Aurora. The last princess and heir to the crown. She has a year left before she dies and she and Alyce get close. Alyce is then torn between Aurora, who promises a better future for Alyce and the other Graces, and a mysterious person in an abandoned castle, who maybe holds the secrets to Alyce's past and true powers. The author really portrayed Alyce's inner struggles perfectly, fighting a battle she can't win.
A interesting moment is where the king reveals to Aurora that Alyce has been cursing objects for him to use on his advisors and subjects and Alyce realized that she tried to absolve herself from the guilt, because even though she was the one cursing the objects, the king is using them to inflict harm. Alyce didn't mean any harm with cursing the objects and she also didn't really have a choice, because the king would likely torture her or kill her for disobedience.
The romance in this book is pretty slow-burn and it features a sapphic relationship. There are more than one villian here, with interesting twists that are original, but still have connections to the real Sleeping Beauty tale. I also really enjoyed the history of the Vila and Fae in this book, and I'm hoping that we go more in depth in the second book. I loved the ending and how it's a bit of a cliffhanger and an opening for more content in the sequel!
All in all, this book really got me thinking about many things and is now one of my favorite retellings, because it was so fresh and it has much depth! I would recommend this if you like/are looking for: morally gray characters, kind of a villian origin story, sapphic relationship, slow-burn, retellings, plot twists, curses, new kind of magic and a different take on a known story!
Spoiler thoughts below
- I knew that Alyce was the one to break Aurora's curse and their moments were so sweet <3
- Kal being evil was also no surprise to me, but I can't blame Alyce for trusting him, because he seemed to understand her and from her perspective, wanted her to be stronger. That being said, it was really satisfying to see Mortania turn on him
- also the king having bad motives is no surprise
- I don't know why the Fae lord expected Alyce not to set Kal free if LITERALLY NO ONE TELLS HER ANYTHING AND THEY PUT KAL IN A TOWER THAT ANYONE CAN GO TO?????
- Alyce choosing a new name for her rule! Nimara sounds a lot like nightmare and I like it
- Mortania inhabiting Alyce sounds cool and I can't wait to see where this goes in book two. Does Alyce work with her, is he under her influence, does she banish her from her body, what are Mortania's goals??
- Alyce growing wings at the end!!!
- Aurora actually getting cursed by pricking her finger on a spindle and the Graces softening the curse to a sleep, but she only wakes by a kiss from a suitable suitor chosen by her parents WHAT I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING
- Alyce preserving Aurora's body in thorns!!!
- I hope we get more of Alyce's backstory and more about her mother! and more about the first Vila and her mate!
- I actually trusted that Laurel was Alyce's friend and for her to betray her like that was... bad
- I kind of have a feeling Alyce will die saving Aurora or something like that..
With that in mind, what was fascinating to me was the fact that the whole realm of Briar and most of Alyce's "sister" Graces constantly make Alyce feel unworty, telling her that she is a monster, just because a Vila long time ago cursed the whole royal lineage to die if they don't find their true love by their 21st birthday, even though Alyce herself isn't the one who cast the curse. But the nobles still come to her to curse their rivals and they use her services despite the fact that they bully her. Can you blame Alyce for wanting out of the realm and wanting revenge?
But, there's Aurora. The last princess and heir to the crown. She has a year left before she dies and she and Alyce get close. Alyce is then torn between Aurora, who promises a better future for Alyce and the other Graces, and a mysterious person in an abandoned castle, who maybe holds the secrets to Alyce's past and true powers. The author really portrayed Alyce's inner struggles perfectly, fighting a battle she can't win.
A interesting moment is where the king
The romance in this book is pretty slow-burn and it features a sapphic relationship. There are more than one villian here, with interesting twists that are original, but still have connections to the real Sleeping Beauty tale. I also really enjoyed the history of the Vila and Fae in this book, and I'm hoping that we go more in depth in the second book. I loved the ending and how it's a bit of a cliffhanger and an opening for more content in the sequel!
All in all, this book really got me thinking about many things and is now one of my favorite retellings, because it was so fresh and it has much depth! I would recommend this if you like/are looking for: morally gray characters, kind of a villian origin story, sapphic relationship, slow-burn, retellings, plot twists, curses, new kind of magic and a different take on a known story!
Spoiler thoughts below
- I knew that Alyce was the one to break Aurora's curse and their moments were so sweet <3
- Kal being evil was also no surprise to me, but I can't blame Alyce for trusting him, because he seemed to understand her and from her perspective, wanted her to be stronger. That being said, it was really satisfying to see Mortania turn on him
- also the king having bad motives is no surprise
- I don't know why the Fae lord expected Alyce not to set Kal free if LITERALLY NO ONE TELLS HER ANYTHING AND THEY PUT KAL IN A TOWER THAT ANYONE CAN GO TO?????
- Alyce choosing a new name for her rule! Nimara sounds a lot like nightmare and I like it
- Mortania inhabiting Alyce sounds cool and I can't wait to see where this goes in book two. Does Alyce work with her, is he under her influence, does she banish her from her body, what are Mortania's goals??
- Alyce growing wings at the end!!!
- Aurora actually getting cursed by pricking her finger on a spindle and the Graces softening the curse to a sleep, but she only wakes by a kiss from a suitable suitor chosen by her parents WHAT I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING
- Alyce preserving Aurora's body in thorns!!!
- I hope we get more of Alyce's backstory and more about her mother! and more about the first Vila and her mate!
- I actually trusted that Laurel was Alyce's friend and for her to betray her like that was... bad
- I kind of have a feeling Alyce will die saving Aurora or something like that..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Bullying
Moderate: Torture and Murder
Minor: Death and Death of parent
applejacksbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The tragedy of circumstances that the main character has to go through makes the impact of the original fairytale connect on a deeper level. I did have a couple of issues with the pacing of the story in the beginning, but overall I didn't think it took too much away from the story as a whole.
Content Warnings
Minor: Torture, Murder, and Death of parent
nonbinarylibrarianwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence