kasd0718's review against another edition
2.0
I guessed the plot twist right away and that was without reading any reviews. So I didn't know this was a spin on Sleeping Beauty. I also didn't realize this was Christian fiction and all the God talk was a bit much for me. Luckily it was short so I didn't waste too much of my valuable time on it.
nlfrey's review against another edition
3.0
A cute "Sleeping Beauty" retelling.
Although I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it hadn't been quite so... Christian.
I don't have anything against authors wanting to express their values in their books. But there are only so many prayers and Bible verses you can stuff into a book before it gets old.
I am reminded of the Dowager Countess of Grantham's (Downton Abbey) remark about principles and prayers being "noble, of course, but awkward at a dinner party." Or, in this case, in a YA fairy tale.
A fun audiobook to binge listen to at double speed. Not the best (or worst) retelling I've ever heard, but I wasn't super impressed.
Although that probably won't stop me from binging the rest of the series...
Although I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it hadn't been quite so... Christian.
I don't have anything against authors wanting to express their values in their books. But there are only so many prayers and Bible verses you can stuff into a book before it gets old.
I am reminded of the Dowager Countess of Grantham's (Downton Abbey) remark about principles and prayers being "noble, of course, but awkward at a dinner party." Or, in this case, in a YA fairy tale.
A fun audiobook to binge listen to at double speed. Not the best (or worst) retelling I've ever heard, but I wasn't super impressed.
Although that probably won't stop me from binging the rest of the series...
alexandrasramblingreviews's review against another edition
2.0
Very repetitive and shallow characters and plot.
mizyhannah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
For a first time read and this book coming highly recommended, it wasn’t nearly as good as I had hoped it would be.
I think for people with a more childlike faith, who may not know a whole lot about the historical church and their beliefs (and how they differ from the modern Protestant church), and demons, this novel will likely come as a “wow, 5 stars”. It just didn’t quite hit there for me.
I would say what carried this was how much I loved each of the individual characters and how Dickerson portrayed them, giving heaps of unique backstory.
I found the plot very predictable, but st the same time I enjoyed it. At one point in the car-trip when I was reading this I actually exclaimed to my husband: “I guessed the whole plot!”
A good read, not for the faint of heart. I think for secular readers a lot of this book would go straight over their head. For Christian readers who like Christian (historical/fantasy) fiction you may enjoy this, or you may really struggle with how boring it could potentially be.
I think for people with a more childlike faith, who may not know a whole lot about the historical church and their beliefs (and how they differ from the modern Protestant church), and demons, this novel will likely come as a “wow, 5 stars”. It just didn’t quite hit there for me.
I would say what carried this was how much I loved each of the individual characters and how Dickerson portrayed them, giving heaps of unique backstory.
I found the plot very predictable, but st the same time I enjoyed it. At one point in the car-trip when I was reading this I actually exclaimed to my husband: “I guessed the whole plot!”
A good read, not for the faint of heart. I think for secular readers a lot of this book would go straight over their head. For Christian readers who like Christian (historical/fantasy) fiction you may enjoy this, or you may really struggle with how boring it could potentially be.
goaskalix's review against another edition
1.0
So... that happened.
I don't think I had any indication from either the cover or the synopsis that this was a Christian book, but jeebus there was a whole lot of praying and O God-ing and Bible reading (and singing, gods, the singing) going on in it, which to be perfectly frank, totally ruined it for me.
I might even have been able to look past it (no, let's be honest... I wouldn't have) but then the story just got so unbelievable that it became completely not enjoyable.
Setting aside the strange mix of old and new phraseology and all of the religious lamenting, I may have been able to appreciate the story were it not for the fact that every single conflict just happened to have a *totally reasonable* (I wish you could see my face when I type that) resolution that presented itself within a handful of paragraphs.
Afflicted by demons? PRAY THEM AWAY.
Contract the plague? BLANKETS AND WATER.
This resulted in there being many, many small conflicts that were resolved within pages, so I shouldn't have been surprised when the larger conflict arc was neatly bundled up without so much as an explanation of, well, anything... at the rather abrupt happily ever after ending. Whatever happened with the demeaning, elitist duchess mother when Wil married Rose? What happened with the lout brother when Rose turned down Wil? Who the heck was the sorcerer dude anyway? And why the vendetta? Why did Rose's parents (the real ones) toss her off with a completely unknown couple in order to hide her? Why did she need hiding anyway? So... many... questions... (granted, by the time I got to the end, I was totally skimming... but if these explanations were any longer than a single sentence, I'd have caught 'em).
Very odd.
I don't think I had any indication from either the cover or the synopsis that this was a Christian book, but jeebus there was a whole lot of praying and O God-ing and Bible reading (and singing, gods, the singing) going on in it, which to be perfectly frank, totally ruined it for me.
I might even have been able to look past it (no, let's be honest... I wouldn't have) but then the story just got so unbelievable that it became completely not enjoyable.
Setting aside the strange mix of old and new phraseology and all of the religious lamenting, I may have been able to appreciate the story were it not for the fact that every single conflict just happened to have a *totally reasonable* (I wish you could see my face when I type that) resolution that presented itself within a handful of paragraphs.
Afflicted by demons? PRAY THEM AWAY.
Contract the plague? BLANKETS AND WATER.
This resulted in there being many, many small conflicts that were resolved within pages, so I shouldn't have been surprised when the larger conflict arc was neatly bundled up without so much as an explanation of, well, anything... at the rather abrupt happily ever after ending. Whatever happened with the demeaning, elitist duchess mother when Wil married Rose? What happened with the lout brother when Rose turned down Wil? Who the heck was the sorcerer dude anyway? And why the vendetta? Why did Rose's parents (the real ones) toss her off with a completely unknown couple in order to hide her? Why did she need hiding anyway? So... many... questions... (granted, by the time I got to the end, I was totally skimming... but if these explanations were any longer than a single sentence, I'd have caught 'em).
Very odd.
coraldraes's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bookscrystals93's review against another edition
4.0
A very interesting re-telling of Sleeping Beauty. I enjoyed it. I can see why some reviews said that it was preachy, but if you think about it that's kinda how people were in the medieval period. It was an interesting take on Sleeping Beauty. Mrs. Dickerson did a great job. Will definitely be checking out the rest of this series.
xoffelokin's review against another edition
4.0
Really really liked it. Hard to read at points(lol, just look at my status updates) but still really good. : ) I like that she touched on subjects like spiritual warfare and self control. And ah man, there were lots of fuzzy feeling scenes. : ) also, this is the first ebook I read on my ipad as opposed to my kindle, not counting the assymilation2 comics.
linaria's review against another edition
1.0
Let's talk about the book and what to expect going into this book. There are two important tags you need to know about: Christian Fiction and Fantasy. Let's start with the fantasy tag. This is not a fantasy book. Full stop. So, this is not going to be a Disney-esque experience. I could have lived with that, to be honest. It's the second tag that made this book unbearable. Christian Fiction. To enjoy the book you need to have a strong desire to read about Jesus. I do not. This book was doomed from the start.
I didn't initially notice the tag when I selected this book, but after about 20 pages I got REALLY suspicious about the amount of Jesus they mentioned. I was hoping for a bit more of a metaphorical Christian fiction I guess? This book is what you'd expect from a more simplistic work. The good people are smart, beautiful, and noble in contrast to the enemies who are pagans, ugly and shun the lord, etc. The writing and plotting are also on the much younger side of YA.
The book has good intentions, but it goes awry. There's a scene about the prince forbidding inappropriate touching of women that I could tell was so well-meaning by the author but came across so unbelievably cringy in the book I wanted to die.
It's definitely not for me, but if you're into heavily Christian romance written with an eighth-grade vocabulary in a pseudo-historical setting, this might be your next favourite read?
I didn't initially notice the tag when I selected this book, but after about 20 pages I got REALLY suspicious about the amount of Jesus they mentioned. I was hoping for a bit more of a metaphorical Christian fiction I guess? This book is what you'd expect from a more simplistic work. The good people are smart, beautiful, and noble in contrast to the enemies who are pagans, ugly and shun the lord, etc. The writing and plotting are also on the much younger side of YA.
The book has good intentions, but it goes awry. There's a scene about the prince forbidding inappropriate touching of women that I could tell was so well-meaning by the author but came across so unbelievably cringy in the book I wanted to die.
It's definitely not for me, but if you're into heavily Christian romance written with an eighth-grade vocabulary in a pseudo-historical setting, this might be your next favourite read?
katleap's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
Rose is the healer's apprentice. She is happy in knowing that she will be useful to the town and that she won't have to marry any one. Especially because her mother keeps trying to get her to marry rich old men so that her siblings can get better apprenticeships. Rose meets Wilhelm, oldest son of the duke when he is brought in injured. There is a connection but he is betrothed to a cursed noble. Rupert, Wilhelm's brother makes a move and Rose is torn.
I wanted to love this book, really I did. The idea was good, I liked the characters but it just didn't hit it for me. I spent a good third of the book yelling at Rose. The whole thing with Rupert drove me nuts. And the end was a bit anticlimactic and really weirdly religious.
So I finished it. Wanted it to be more.
Rose is the healer's apprentice. She is happy in knowing that she will be useful to the town and that she won't have to marry any one. Especially because her mother keeps trying to get her to marry rich old men so that her siblings can get better apprenticeships. Rose meets Wilhelm, oldest son of the duke when he is brought in injured. There is a connection but he is betrothed to a cursed noble. Rupert, Wilhelm's brother makes a move and Rose is torn.
I wanted to love this book, really I did. The idea was good, I liked the characters but it just didn't hit it for me. I spent a good third of the book yelling at Rose. The whole thing with Rupert drove me nuts. And the end was a bit anticlimactic and really weirdly religious.
So I finished it. Wanted it to be more.