Awaken: Sleeping Beauty Retold (Romance a Medieval Fairytale #6)

I wasn’t certain what to expect when I picked this up. What I found was a book that adds a lot of convolution and interesting twists to the familiar Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. There are no dragons, but Princess Rosamond (the title character) is a witch who can communicate with plants to protect her kingdom and to heal. Use of her powers drains her, though, and she falls into a deep sleep, not expecting to survive herself, after having exhausted herself with her healing efforts. Lord Siward discovers her after 50 years have passed and she has become a legend among her people, who believe she is dead. When Princess Rosamond awakens, she finds a nobleman lying beside her (Siward) that she believes is Sir Warin, a knight she loved who had been her bodyguard. She eagerly kisses him, one thing leads to another, and the next thing you know…

But Princess Rosamond’s kingdom is now in crisis. The hedges that benignly marked the territory boundaries grew into impenetrable walls when she first fell asleep. They protect all within from attack but also prevent trade with outside kingdoms or exchange of new ideas. In addition, there’s a power struggle. Rosamond’s parents have both died, and no proven heir has claimed the throne. Siward was named Lord Protector by the king just before his death. The noblemen have been arguing among themselves as to who should be crowned the next king. Siward has a lot of backing but Lord Vamos leads the strongest opposition.

The discovery that Princess Rosamond is very much alive and is able to bring the walls back under control ought to resolve any dispute, but no one believes her, not even Siward. Naturally, being the hero and heroine, they misunderstand each other from the beginning and take most of the book to get these misconceptions straightened out.

I love that this isn’t an ethereal princess just laying around waiting for a prince to rescue her. Princess Rosamond is just as complex a character as Lord Siward, and the book spends a great deal of time to establish that long before she goes into her coma. Siward is a worthy Lord Protector who’s doing his best with the country in disarray. It becomes obvious that they share the desire to SERVE their people rather than simply thirsting for power and that they’re well matched.

The writing is excellent, and the plot really keeps you guessing. Loved it!

I enjoyed this adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. Heroine is a queen that had a gift to heal but afterwards losses strength and goes into a deep sleep to heal herself. This book takes over span 50 years, counting the time she was asleep for said 50 years, after healing three and herself from the plague. It was a safe read. It was not clean read but nothing to graphic. I would recommend

Possible Spoilers — Thanks

Even though I did enjoy it I toke point off as heroine was enamored with her bodyguard at first but when she woke up 50 years later mistakens his granson for him and carries a relationship with him thinking he was another man, they looked the same, before misunderstanding was cleared. It was part storyline but still took me sometime to look past this. But I see she did not love bodyguard but was more enamored with his skills and him protecting her with his life. He is very professional and does sway from temptation she throws at him. His grandson, who happens to have greater power, is another thing; ) I felt hero, grandson, did love her and heroine would grow to love him. She was enomoraded with a knight protecting her and well he did at the end. Good book overall.

This was another cute book in this series. It was an entertaining twist on the sleeping beauty fairy tale. The only little issue I might’ve had is the heroine’s ditzyness at times. Before she got sick, at the tourney still, she was rather naive and innocent. After she had a bit of hero worship for her protector she made her decision on who to marry right then and there.
That is all fine and dandy, but after she got sick I think stewing in her own mind juices messed with her head because she woke up as a mostly different person and well … you should really read the book to find out what she did after that.All in all I enjoyed this little fairy tale.

The blurb said that this series could be read out of order, so I started with this one. Wow! I have never read Sleeping Beauty like this! Demelza Carlton has created her own versions of the well-known fairytales that we all know. Even if you’re not a fan of the classic fairytales, she has a way of pulling you in!

Forget Prince Phillip, this version of Sleeping Beauty has never heard of him. And Sleeping Beauty is definitely not just a delicate flower, she might have a few thorns… to protect her.

If you want to read something that makes you want to keep turning the page, then I highly recommend this book. And in the end, you may just be a new fan… like me. ☺

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