James Patrick Cronin (Narrator)
This one was great. I love the series and this one was one of the best. ( )

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

I approached this book with incredibly low expectations. After reading book 1 in the series, A Whole New World, I actually thought I wouldn't even give this a try. But then curiosity won me over, and I decided to see if this Sleeping Beauty retelling could be any better than the Aladdin one. And, surprisingly, it was!

For starters, this time round the book didn't just copy-paste the original film dialogue, which was one of the main issues in the first one. The story actually kicks off right towards the end of the original film, right around the time when Aurora should wake up from eternal slumber, along with everyone else in the castle... except she doesn't.

This is the beginning of the actual reimagining of the fairy tale, which I have to say, was actually quite original. I particularly enjoyed the personal growth that Aurora undertook throughout the book. Now, apart from her beauty and kindness, Aurora never did display a lot of other qualities in the original film: true, she is entirely a product of her time, but she essentially just passively accepts whatever other people decide for her and waits for the dashing prince to save her. And that is just plain annoying.

In the book, Aurora didn't start out too great. For more or less the first half of the book, her main feature was the ability to whine and cry a lot. I don't like to repeat myself, but she was really annoying. And then, just when I was losing all hope, she changed! After venturing outside the castle where she was trapped and meeting Phillip, Aurora started showing some character and working actively towards saving herself and her kingdom. While she still cannot be defined a "bad-ass" woman, she is miles ahead of her old movie self.

The most interesting character, however, is always Maleficient. One of the best villains ever, Maleficient somehow always manages to steal the scene. She is evil, ruthless and incredibly smart, coming up with unforeseeable ways to destroy her enemies.

Unfortunately, she didn't get quite as much space as she would deserve. She did feature consistently throughout the book, but her character always remains at the margins, never being fully explored. Towards the end of the book, some of the biggest unanswered questions of ever are touched upon (like, why on earth would you curse a baby because her parents didn't invite you to a party???), but there is no satisfactory answer to any of them. Essentially, this was an opportunity wasted to delve deep into the mind of one of the most interesting evil characters in the history of Disney fairytales...

Overall, this book was essentially a whole lot better than its predecessor, but still left me wanting. The story is far more original than I was expecting, but the execution comes up short, displaying underdeveloped characters coupled with a less-than-satisfactory writing style. Light read, better enjoyed if approached with low expectations.

For this and more reviews, visit Book for Thought. ( )

I have really enjoyed other Twisted Tales but I found this one to be rambling and somewhat tedious. There are dual plots of Aurora Rose's 'real' life and her dream world life.... after the first quarter of the book I struggled to engage with either of them. There are redeeming features in some quite good characterisation but the plot did not work for me. ( )

Aurora is perfectly happy living in the castle with her aunt Maleficent away from the world her parents destroyed until slowly she starts to realize what her aunt is telling her might be the truth. When the prince doesn't come to kiss Sleeping Beauty and wake her up, Aurora has to fight her way through her dreams and nightmares to be able to wake herself up. Aurora has to learn who her real allies are and who she truly is in order to save herself from the dream world that she is cursed to be in.

While the premise was interesting, the execution had a lot to be desired. The writing style is choppy and confusing to follow at times, and the characters were often childish or strange in how they interacted with each other. The descriptions throughout the story were bland, and most of the plot is slow and boring enough to make the reader want to be in a dream themselves instead. It feels like it's trying too hard in the plot and text while not trying nearly hard enough to make the characters interesting. For example, Sleeping Beauty's hobbies only include twirling and sleeping. The tone also makes it difficult to read because at times it's trying to feel like a Disney story and the next it could be much darker. Even the most dedicated fairy tale readers and Disney fans should look elsewhere for a good Sleeping Beauty retelling. ( )

The second book in the Twisted Tale series was much better than the first, in my opinion! This one starts at the end of the story we know: the dragon is not dead yet, and as the clock ticks down she makes one last stand.

In the post-apocalyptic world created by her parents’ recklessness and greed, Aurora lives contentedly with her aunt Maleficent, confined within the walls of the palace with all the remaining survivors in the kingdom, surrounded by an inhospitable wasteland. But everything is not as it seems…

Strange things begin happening as pieces of the real world filter through into Aurora’s mind. With her true memories slowly returning, she must find a way to escape the dreamscape Maleficent has trapped her in before time runs out. Because the prince’s kiss didn’t work, and there is no one left to wake her up.

This was a really creative addition to the classic Sleeping Beauty story and I genuinely enjoyed it! Aurora’s character was given much more depth: reconciling two sets of memories with what she now knows about her reality; questioning her parents’ and the fairies’ choices in how they protected her and raised her; dismantling the love-at-first-sight trope; and growing into her role as a leader to her people.

Definitely recommend! ( )