It's a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story. What if the kiss that brought her back to life had nothing to do with being her true love, and just was some kind of magic? That's what this Aurora is dealing with. And she was the only one that went to sleep, so now all her family and every one she knew has been dead for a hundred or more years. She is woken up by a kiss from a prince named Rodric. He's nice enough, and handsome, but he doesn't really come across as the confident prince you'd imagine. And Aurora doesn't know that she loves him. There is something about him that just doesn't send her over the moon with love at first sight. The curse on her says that whoever wakes her will marry her and become the ruler of the country. At the moment Rodric's father is the King. His mother does not seem to be very friendly, and pretty much tells Aurora to just be quiet, and do what is asked of her. Smile, be pretty and do as she's guided. Aurora soon finds that the King is cruel, and her land has been in disarray in the years since she's been sleeping.
As before she first pricked her finger and fell asleep, it seems she is to be kept as a sort of royal prisoner. Only in her rooms, not allowed to leave the castle to go out to see her beloved city and forest. But she knows how to pick the lock on her door, and she sneaks out and meets a boy in the town named Tristan. With no one knowing who she is at this bar, she is able to enjoy herself, and not feel like she must hold herself up to the palace's standards. Within the the palace there are other princes around, including one Prince Finnegan from a town across the sea. A kingdom that purports to have actual dragons. Finnegan has his own proposition for Aurora, trying to convince her to come to his country and be his bride. To align herself with his kingdom, and that would be the only way to change the rule of the current king. Tristan is also one of the rebels in her own country and has his own ideas about how to change the kingdom. And then there is even the evil witch, Celestine, who cursed Aurora in the first place, who wants Aurora to come with her. You see there is something about Aurora that can help her, that can give her the magic back that she wants and needs.
Aurora must decide who she can trust. Who truly has the best interests of her kingdom in mind, as well as who she can actually live with what they want from her. She will find betrayal, and there is one point where I was so mad/sad about who died. In the end, I'm not sure who the romance should be with. None of the men in her life really live up to what she needs, or who I think she deserves. As I ended and found that there will be a sequel, I was glad, because there is more to tell of this tale. Will Sleeping Beauty actually end up with her Prince Charming, and who is he? And together will they bring her kingdom back to the happiness that she remembers from the days before she fell into her long sleep.
Such a different view of the story. And thinking about all the princes who tried to kiss her to bring her awake, well her viewpoint on it was kind of an eye opener. How much would that feel like people just kissing you, strangers, with no permission, with you not knowing. Kind of reminded me of the sleeping beauty/Snow White stories in the Beau Rivage series by Sarah Cross a bit for that.
So now I'll just be waiting until the 2nd book comes out, projected for 2016. That's a long way away.
