In a kingdom of fairies and dragons, Talia is reassuringly normal… until she isn’t. Plucked from her quiet town and thrust into a life as heir to the throne, and betrothed to a powerful duke, she must face up to a terrifying question: what if the curse is real? What if she really is destined to be trapped in eternal sleep?
Duke Caradoc has spent his whole life dominated by his mother, the fierce Duchess of the Northern Wastes. But when he meets Talia, betrothed to him since childhood, he knows that his mother’s lust for power has gone too far. The curse must be stopped… and the answer might lie in Caradoc and Talia’s mysterious dreams.
Fairy tale retellings are tricky beasts. They can't just be a beat for beat retelling of the original. At the same time, if they're too different, readers won't connect them to the original, and they might as well be completely original works at that point. It's a very fine line, and few authors are able to walk it successfully.
I'm glad to say Ivy Hollins is one of them.
With a well thought out background and fantastic world, the Rose Princess is a strong, fierce character. Within days of learning she's a princess she's already concerned about her people, working to better things for them. Caradoc is slightly less well sketched out but still an intriguing character, and this isn't his story, after all.
Although I did have a couple of reservations about the plot - why didn't the Duchess just pick a random girl and off her once she wasn't needed anymore? Wasn't that one revelation about Talia's background convenient? - it's nothing that ruined the story for me, and I don't think it would ruin it for anyone else. The tone was great, the side characters were brilliant, and I'm very much looking forward to reading Book 2, which looks like it might be Beauty and the Beast!
One small thing I noticed; early on, Talia's aunt tells her 'the three of us will come with you' which I took to be Talia's parents and the aunt. It turns out to be Talia's mother, the aunt, and another aunt who'd gone unmentioned until they were on the road. A small detail, but one that knocked me out of the story for a minute until I figured it out.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed this and I'll be watching out for the next one.
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