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A review by kreela
To Wake a Kingdom by Nisha J. Tuli
4.0
“You smell so good,” he said, inhaling deeply. “Like flowers and mint and furious rage, bundled up in a perfect package.” If you like a sweet romance, you should like this prince. He says the nicest things!
As a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Thorn is less a perfect princess and more a prickly hedge. After 100 years of sleep, she wakes up in a surprise assault. However, only one other castle resident awakens, a nice fae called Keira. I liked the princess. She was uncouth but wanted to help Keira, wanted to improve her fighting skills after being assaulted. Plus, she liked Gideon’s food.
The real surprise:
Her mother was a surrogate! The evil fae, Mare, who cursed Thorn had planned to take her from her mother at her 21st birthday. Who was the real mother here? She half-succeeded. Mare was the Cruella of Sleeping Beauty, and she was magnificent.
The plot:
This sleeping beauty has all grown up. Disney, step aside. There was gore. People died (although they are minor characters who never speak). After a hundred years, the kingdom was absorbed by another. The princess was salty, not sweet.
I liked how the curse works in this version, and I think the story was well-done, but the pacing was a bit slow for me. I think I prefer a darker romance.
The romance:
Steamy later on. Twice.
As a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Thorn is less a perfect princess and more a prickly hedge. After 100 years of sleep, she wakes up in a surprise assault. However, only one other castle resident awakens, a nice fae called Keira. I liked the princess. She was uncouth but wanted to help Keira, wanted to improve her fighting skills after being assaulted. Plus, she liked Gideon’s food.
The real surprise:
Her mother was a surrogate! The evil fae, Mare, who cursed Thorn had planned to take her from her mother at her 21st birthday. Who was the real mother here? She half-succeeded. Mare was the Cruella of Sleeping Beauty, and she was magnificent.
The plot:
This sleeping beauty has all grown up. Disney, step aside. There was gore. People died (although they are minor characters who never speak). After a hundred years, the kingdom was absorbed by another. The princess was salty, not sweet.
I liked how the curse works in this version, and I think the story was well-done, but the pacing was a bit slow for me. I think I prefer a darker romance.
The romance:
Steamy later on. Twice.