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A review by naomi_marshall_murray
A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
5.0
The second book I’ve read by Alix E Harrow, my expectations were met, once again… and totally obliterated with this beautifully queer, feminist, fourth-wall-breaking Sleeping Beauty retelling.
Zinnia is a 21 year old with a degree in folklore and a love for Fairytales, especially, Sleeping Beauty.
With her own curse; an illness she was born with caused by a polluted water supply in her city which was consumed by her mother whilst she was pregnant. When her best, Charm throws her a 21st Birthday, it ends in an adventure she’ll never forget, “Sorry babe, got Spider-verse’d into a Fairytale”. After meeting Princess Primrose, this tale becomes one with a superior feminist backbone, which explores consent, sexuality, and the roots of the fairytale it’s retelling.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Harrow is one of my top reads of 2022, and made me fall in love with Portal Fantasies, Whilst that book made me fall in love with books and doors, this one made me fall in love with books and fairytales of old.
Harrow writes in a way that entices the reader in, doesn’t give them all the story? Straight away, and then, there’s that light bulb moment, and the book becomes a five star read, and you’re turning the last page before you even realise.
A Spindle Splintered is part of the Fractured Fables Duology, and I eagerly await to hear more of Zinnia’s story, as she continues with her condition, but doesn’t let it, or herself, hold her back.
Representation: Lesbian, Bisexual, Sexual Assault Survivor, Consent Culture
Content Warnings: Mind Control, Self Injury, Implied Sexual Assault/Rape, Implied Suicidal Ideation.
Zinnia is a 21 year old with a degree in folklore and a love for Fairytales, especially, Sleeping Beauty.
With her own curse; an illness she was born with caused by a polluted water supply in her city which was consumed by her mother whilst she was pregnant. When her best, Charm throws her a 21st Birthday, it ends in an adventure she’ll never forget, “Sorry babe, got Spider-verse’d into a Fairytale”. After meeting Princess Primrose, this tale becomes one with a superior feminist backbone, which explores consent, sexuality, and the roots of the fairytale it’s retelling.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Harrow is one of my top reads of 2022, and made me fall in love with Portal Fantasies, Whilst that book made me fall in love with books and doors, this one made me fall in love with books and fairytales of old.
Harrow writes in a way that entices the reader in, doesn’t give them all the story? Straight away, and then, there’s that light bulb moment, and the book becomes a five star read, and you’re turning the last page before you even realise.
A Spindle Splintered is part of the Fractured Fables Duology, and I eagerly await to hear more of Zinnia’s story, as she continues with her condition, but doesn’t let it, or herself, hold her back.
Representation: Lesbian, Bisexual, Sexual Assault Survivor, Consent Culture
Content Warnings: Mind Control, Self Injury, Implied Sexual Assault/Rape, Implied Suicidal Ideation.