Mundie Moms

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

ROSE AND THORN by: Sarah Prineas / Book Review


By: Sarah Prineas
Published by: HarperTeen
Released on: October 18th, 2016
Series: Rose & Bramble #2
Purchase from: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks
Add it toGoodreads

This beauty isn’t sleeping! Sarah Prineas’s darkly imaginative retelling breaks down the classic story of Sleeping Beauty in a big, bold way. Brimming with action and romance, beautiful Rose must escape the curse that will force the kingdom to fall into a century-long slumber and fights for the freedom to find her own happily ever after.

After the spell protecting her is destroyed, Rose seeks safety in the world outside the valley she had called home. She’s been kept hidden all her life to delay the three curses she was born with, curses that will have drastic consequences if they take effect. Accompanied by the handsome and mysterious Griff and Quirk, his witty and warmhearted partner, Rose tries to escape from the ties that bind her to this forced fairy tale. But will the path they take lead them to freedom, or will it bring them straight into the prescribed story they are trying to avoid?

Set in the world of Prineas’s Ash & Bramble fifty years later, Rose & Thorn is a powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty. If you like your fairy tales dark, your heroines daring, and your suitors dashing, this is the book for you.

Picking up years after Ash and Bramble ended, Rose and Thorn thrusts readers back into that same world. One where the Story of this classic fairytales retelling is really alive. Things are definitely not quite the same as it was when Shoe and Pin's story ended. I liked that while Shoe and Pin are not the main focus of this story, they are definitely apart of the story. The main focus of this story is Rose. A character who is inspired by Sleeping Beauty. 

Raised and protected in a valley by magic, Rose, has grown up being very sheltered. I some what get why, but being this sheltered made her a very naive character. I have a very hard time with naive characters. It made Rose lack any common sense with regards to the world around her, and it definitely didn't protect her in the ways she really needed it, especially in the beginning of the story. One of the things the really irked me in the beginning of this story is the almost rape scene and how it was handled, especially by someone who was suppose to be helping Rose. I may have almost thrown the book with that scene. 


I am a huge fan of fairly tale retellings, but I had a hard time with this one. For the sake of spoilers, I won't mention all the details, because it's part of the twist with this story. To be fair, fairytale retellings can be a challenge to write. For me personally, I think if I had gone into this book without expectations, I would have liked it more. Not to mention Rose's character was not one I really liked.  Thankfully there's much more to this story than Rose, that I did enjoy. While this book maybe inspired by Sleeping Beauty, it's definitely a lot more twisted vs being a retelling. There is a much darker tone to it. I think fans who love twisted fairytales will like it. 

What I did enjoy with this twisted fairytale/retelling, was the part of Story. It was such a unique accept of this story. Story itself is part of the evil, dark plot. Having Story itself be apart of this book, definitely made for 
an interesting read. It also posed an interesting question. If Story has already been written, and is trying to take over another city, and appoint a new Fairy Godmother, can the characters change the story, and rewrite one of their own? Again, another aspect of this story I liked. I also, over all, enjoyed the cast of the characters. 

Prineas has definitely created a dark and utterly fascinating world with this series, and this book. I really liked how those elements played important roles in this story, and how it really set the tone for it. Over all, this was a good read. I wish I could have liked it more, but you can't love all the books you read, and sometimes just liking it is okay. If you read the book first book in this series, I'd recommend picking this one up. I also think this book could be as a stand alone. Some of key events from that book are also mentioned in this one.

Labels