“We don’t want any trouble.”
In a gruff tone, the shifter said, “If that were true, you wouldn’t be here.”

First of all, thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
The overall conclusion? If you want an enjoyable Sleeping Beauty retelling with fast paced action, some vampires and werewolves and Greek mythology bits, this is the book for you. Besides the gorgeous cover, this book provided a light and quick read and some funny moments. However, even though it is marked as YA, it felt more suitable for MG (middle grade) or a very young YA (young adult). I loved the reverse theme, where the prince is the one sleeping and needs to be awakened and it was a really interesting idea to have the main MC also under a different kind of curse.

“You’re saying that if I don’t break the curse, my blood won’t save the land?”
“You will choose to be the savior or the bringer of death.”

The Plot

The story follows Aurora, the last Blood Witch of her coven. After her powers are awakened, she finds out her blood will no longer be enough to save her lands and the witches, the only way to break the curse placed on them being to wake the prince that has been placed under a sleeping curse. So Aurora and Hazel, her best friend, embark on a mission to cross the Shadowlands (a forbidden territory for any witch) and reach the kingdom where their salvation lies. Along the way, they encounter werewolves and nymphs, find out how narrow their view of the world used to be and learn more about their history and other magical factions.

The Characters

“You know you’re brilliant, right?”
“I know, but I never get tired of hearing it,” she replied with a cheeky grin.

As you might have guessed, Aurora, the new Blood witch is the main character. We also have a best friend - Hazel, a sexy green-eyed Werewolf as love interest - Sage, a best friend for the love interest, who also happens to be a sexy Werewolf - Rune and a sleeping vampire prince - Darrick.

"I’d never been in this situation before, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. No warlocks had ever tried to kiss me. Was I supposed to permit him? Maybe a thumbs-up? That was childish. He leaned closer until we were practically nose to nose. I froze.
And then he kissed me."

I think all the characters had a lot of potential, but a big minus for me was that their traits weren't shown but stated, making it pretty difficult for me to actually get attached to them and get a better understanding of them. A really important part, for me, when reading a book is the way I relate and resonate with the characters, and here it simply didn't happen for me. I had the same feelings I get when reading a fairytale and, even though I knew this was a Sleeping Beauty retelling, I was expecting a more detailed and thorough 'delivery'.

“You have to return to the birthplace of the curse.” I opened my mouth to object, and she continued, “Beyond the Shadowlands, there is a kingdom called Rosamond. Wake the prince cursed with endless sleep; only he can break the curse.”

Reading this feels a bit like watching the last season of Game of Thrones. The ideas are great, the story is definitely worth following, but everything seems rushed. However, I most definitely recommend this book for those who love fairytales and want to begin their discovery of YA books. It's easy to read, light and has a happily Everafter that will leave you in a sunny mood. So, if you feel like reading a fairytale but not a classic one, try this.

"This kingdom might resemble a fairy tale, but I was the one who got the happily ever after."