The Sleeping Beauty

In the Kingdoms, The Tradition, a powerful, unseen, magical force, works to compel Princes, goose girls, and orphaned girls, whose lives somewhat resemble those of classic fairy tales, into exact copies of them. Whether all the details fit or not. (Like, what if your "destined Prince" is 70 years old, a baby, already married, or gay?)

In this book, Rosa, a Princess approaching her 16th birthday, has seen her mother killed, her father embroiled by war, and a Huntsman trying to kill her. But she has a secret ally, her fairy godmother Lily, who poses as her Evil Stepmother in public, while doing her magical best to avert a tragic ending for Rosa and the Kingdom. There are heroic Princes, a disembodied green face in a mirror, Wise Beasts, a show more challenge to win the hand of the Princess, dragons, and a beautiful (if stupid) unicorn with a lisp.

It's light, it's funny, the characters are interesting and different, and it twists and turns in unexpected directions, while still providing a HEA (Happily Ever After). Loved this book, love all in this series I've read so far. show less

The godmother of the kingdom Eltaria, Lily, has been the Fairy Godmother there for about 300 years. Rosa is the current princess, and The Tradition is trying to morph Rosa’s life into a fairy tale (and mixing the fairy tales up in the process). When Rosa’s mother dies, Lily convinces Rosa’s father that he and Lily should marry in order to keep the kingdom safe. To keep up appearances for The Tradition, Lily acts as the Evil Stepmother to Rosa, particularly after the King dies.

At this point, in order to protect the small, but rich, kingdom from invaders, Lily (aka Queen Sable) invites princes from the neighbouring kingdoms to come vie for Rosa’s hand. To do this, Lily and Rosa (with the help of Lily’s magic mirror) come up show more with “trials” for the princes to compete in. One of the princes (in actual fact, a Hero), Siegfried is big and more of a fighter than anything, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Also competing are Siegfried’s new friend Leopold and the charming and handsome Desmond.

I really enjoyed this, especially from about half-way through (maybe a bit earlier) when the trials began. The trials were fun. I also loved Siegfried, who has a wonderful way with animals. He also added some great humour into the book. Rosa and Lily were strong, tough women, which I also really liked. show less

The Five Hundred Kingdoms are literally a fairy tale universe. Fairy tales happen there according to Tradition. Tradition is a magical force that sets parameters on how a fairly tale can work out, and that often means ways the people living the tales don't like. Sure, it is nice to be a Hero who slays the Dragon, but that isn't so nice for the people and animals the Dragon slays before the Hero arrives.

Eltaria is a wealthy and happy little kingdom. Sadly, that means it is a kingdom constantly at war with neighbors who want to seize its wealth, which would end in a much less happy kingdom.

When King Thurman dies, his daughter Rosamunde and her Fairy Godmother, Lily, must figure out how to keep Eltaria from this doom. They invite princes show more from around the five hundred kingdoms to trials to determine who should marry Rosemunde and become King. Lily and Rosamunde must come up with trials that will test not only the military prowess of the candidates but their minds and hearts.

This is definitely a fairly tale for grown-ups. Who knew there were geopolitics in fairly tales? The plot is full of wit and ingenuity, while on occasion being side-splittingly funny (especially the curse of Leopold),and the characters are (sometimes literally) charming. This fairy tale combines Sleeping Beauty with the Ring cycle. Towards the end there is even a dramatic rescue by a hero with the help of others.

This is one of the most delightful books I've ever read, and I am going to read the others of the Five Hundred Kingdoms books as soon as possible. show less

The Tradition is back in full force, once more messing up the lives of everyone it ensnares in the latest Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms novel by Mercedes Lackey. For bookworms new to the series, each novel is a stand-alone fairy tale taking place in one of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. The Kingdoms are full of an ancient magic called The Tradition, which steers its inhabitants down traditional story paths. A girl with a stepmother and stepsisters will most likely be pushed into becoming an Ella Cinders in order to find her happily ever after. Sometimes, her prince might be too old, too young, already married, etc. The Tradition can’t always create a happily ever after for everyone.

The fifth and latest book in the series, The show more Sleeping Beauty, sounds like it will be about a Beauty Asleep who pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and sleeps for years, but it isn’t. While Princess Rosa was born with the fair looks of a Beauty Asleep, she’s no longer eligible for this path once her mother dies. The Tradition tries to make her father fall for an evil sorceress, which would put her on an Ella Cinders path, but the kingdom of Eltaria’s fairy godmother, Lily, disguises herself and marries the King in order to keep the realm safe. Not liking the twist on what it wants, The Tradition tries again, this time forcing Rosa on a Snowskin path. Something goes wrong, however, and the seven dwarves who find her lock her up and treat her like a slave. After she’s saved, the magic begins to level out and the novel becomes more concise. A third Traditional path is introduced, this one by the fairy godmother herself. Because Eltaria is a rich country, the neighboring kingdoms are always invading. In order to keep the land from falling into enemy hands after the king dies, Godmother Lily creates a tournament so that princes far and wide will come in an attempt to win Rosa’s hand. This will also keep Eltaria from being attacked by its neighbors.

The plan works well, and three suitors in particular stand out: Leopold, who steals many of the books comedic moments, Seigfried, a hero on his own Traditional path steeped in Norse Mythology, and Desmond, who is full of mystery and secrets. Rosa finds herself leaning toward these three princes and hoping one of them will win the tournament. In addition, Rosa begins taking lessons from Godmother Lily for in case she has the magic necessary to be a Queen Godmother, which would be much-appreciated in her kingdom, which is constantly pouring out new Traditional stories.

The Fairy Godmother remains my favorite title in this series, perhaps because I read it first. I loved the way it told the tale of an Ella Cinders whose prince was too young and the way she chose to instead become a fairy godmother. In the process, she defied The Tradition every step of the way and even created her own, unheard-of happily ever after. The Sleeping Beauty, on the other hand, took a while to find its voice. There were a lot of tales and paths twisted together in this novel, making it hard to get into right away. The novel becomes stronger when the tournament is introduced. Characters are fleshed out more and Princess Rosa becomes much stronger and more interesting. I liked the fact that this novel once more had a lot of focus on the godmother’s role and that, in a way, Godmother Lily made her own story by taking a non-traditional route toward happiness. I really liked the inclusion of Norse Mythology and the fact that one of the suitors, Seigfried, was a hero. Not only that, he was an all-around good guy. He fulfilled a couple of other Traditional elements as well, such as freeing animals in trouble, which could then later help everyone in times of trouble. At first, I didn’t think I’d care for Leopold, but he really deepened as a character. He always lightened the mood and was much more intelligent than I originally thought. Desmond always kept me on my toes. He always seemed too perfect, which made me wonder if there was more to him than what met the eyes. While The Sleeping Beauty took longer to get into than other books in the Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series, once the novel focused and settled down, it became quite enjoyable. As with the other books in this line, I appreciate the way Lackey takes tales we all know and love, twists them into something else, then flips it all on its head, creating a story that’s unique and goes against Tradition. show less

I like. Rose is fun - and gets more fun as the story goes along - and Siegfried is great. I like Leopold, too, and the villain is nicely obscured until he drops his disguise. And Lily is excellent - we learn more about Fae (or part-Fae, at least) and a lot about her. Siegfried's Wise Beasts are neat, and I love Luna, especially when she stops being an idiot - overcoming her reaction to Siegfried. An interesting variation on a Quest story, and a wonderful solution at the end. I don't really know the Ring Cycle - only a sketch of its plot - and I didn't learn much more than that here. But putting people into the set-piece places makes it interesting - starting with Siegfried refusing the Ring and ending with the highly amusing scene in show more the garden. I think that this is my absolute favorite 500 Kingdoms story - even better than the Fool. Of course I'll have to read it again in a few months to check that... Rereading - still fun. I didn't laugh quite as hard this time, but the jokes - and the serious stuff - were still excellent. show less

Not what I thought this book was going to be but I didn't hate it. I actually enjoyed the book for the most part. I felt that the two main guys had a perfect gay subplot going but alas it didn't come to be. Also as much as I thought the main romance was nice I was more interested in the romance surrounding Godmother and Jimson. I loved them a lot. I also wouldn't be mad at reading more of Lackey's work.

I found this book to be quite engrossing and entertaining as a retelling of a mixture of common fairy tales, namely Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Other tales are also given some attention, such as the Frog Prince, as a source of humor and explanation of random occurences. The lengths to which Rosa and her Fairy Godmother must go to escapes the clutches of The Tradition are both ingenious and exhausting, and it makes me appreciate that my own life is not dictated by some non-conscious "force."

I especially enjoyed the many different challenges that the two women conceived to test the many Princes vying for Rosa's hand in marriage, and I even tried to answer a few myself before I read ahead. The novel takes the modernized approach that show more the Damsel in Distress does not always need a man to save her from Doom - but having a few handy just in case certainly don't hurt!

I enjoyed how unique each of the characters are, even minor characters, such as some of the Princes who were eliminated early or the different Brownies in the service of the Fairy Godmother. Seigfried and Leopold are opposites in many ways, and yet they work very well together. Seigfried's bird is also great entertainment and quite convenient as a source of knowledge and backstory. The way that Leopold resolves the force of the The Tradition that has been plaguing Seigfried is rather perfect, too. The mirror spirit, Jimson, who serves the Fairy Godmother, Lily, is also quite endearing, and I found his resolution somewhat predictable, but still enjoyable.

What I like most about the Five Hundred Kingdom series is that even though each of the books in the series could qualify as a stand-alone novel, each book still sneaks in elements to connect it to the backstory of previous books, such as when Lily contacts Elena regarding dragons. The fairy tales are reimagined in the light of modern values while still favoring core elements, and even an adult such as myself can appreciate them! show less