Welcome to Litsy!

Very in character for me to read a Sleeping Beauty reimagining - the theme for February‘s #fairytalereadingchallenge at the end of March… it kept me company on the train from Canberra to Sydney. I love Alix E. Harrow and this was enjoyable BUT calling girls who love Cinderella best vanilla right at the start. Ouch! The Disney version features the art and colour palette of Mary Blair AND Gus Gus! 😐

Vanilla! Those are fighting words!!!

A short novella. I liked the concept but I wish it would have been a full novel with more character development and world building. A little heavy with themes of sexual assault so be warned before you begin. I loved the feminist themes but it just didn‘t land for me as a great retelling of a Sleeping Beauty story.

Excellent little novella! I‘ve had it for ever but never got around to it until this week. I love stories that bust up the traditional fairy tale tropes and this one certain does that!

#feminist #lgbtq

I read this last night before bed. Mistake. I had weird dreams all night. 🤣 Now I‘m dragging today. If I had really enjoyed the book the dragging today would‘ve been worth it. But at best I can say it was so-so. I enjoy reading different takes on fairy tales, but not this one. The world building didn‘t draw me in, and I didn‘t care about the characters-even the dying one. 😬 I think it was too short for what it was trying to accomplish. ⬇️

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Horrow is a great novella for fans of a fairytale reimagining of Sleeping Beauty. Alix takes a historic fairytale and turns it into a modern telling of the story. The conclusion of the story was terrific. A satisfying, yet unexpected ending, with a beautiful revelation. I love seeing characters grow.

Full review at https://abookandadog.com

Zinnia Gray is terminally ill and just turned 21 when she finds herself in the castle of a real Sleeping Beauty. The story is one part The Fault in our Stars and one part Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle. I loved the author's other books, but by its very nature this slip of a novel doesn‘t give the reader enough time to feel too attached.

Zinnia is destined to die before she turns 22 due to a rare illness, then she wakes up in a tower room of a fantasy realm just as a princess is about to prick her finger with a spindle.
Zinnia goes on a quest to save herself and other Sleeping Beauties across the multiverse.
Quick read but packed full of action, detail, and depth.

Oh how I loved this! The author said she wanted to Spider-Verse a fairy tale and I‘m all in! Can‘t wait to read next in the series ❤️❤️❤️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #GingerbreadGems @Roary47
#WinterGames

A really good retelling of sleeping beauty. Wasn‘t sure about the start but once I got into it I kept on reading!

Downloaded and ready to go tomorrow.

#LittleMissStarDec2023 #Retelling
#RestingGrinchFace

4.1⭐️ well this little book sure gave me a lot of reconsideration about fairytales. I still love them, but question the origins a little bit more. This was my #bookspinbingo #doublespin

#Scarathlon #NaturaLitsy #BookcoverBingo

I didn't achieve any bingo lines but had good fun picking out some great reads. I particularly enjoyed The Watchers (creepy as and what a twist), The Magic of mushrooms, A spindle splintered, Dracula and The Witch.

How did you do?

Fairy Tale Retellings are a relatively new discovery for me, and I love their possibilities. It was cheeky and had hope and good zingers. This one is the first of two for the Fractured Fables series, I hope there will be many more.

Fun i enjoy books based on books.

Always love a feminist retelling, and this one had a self awareness, with a kind of isekai quality that was fun. Wasn't what I was geared up to expect, more YA than the serious adult fantasy I thought, and while the overall was lukewarm for me, I'm excited for the next novella.

The book was pitched to me as Sleeping Beauty Multiverse and that is...not inaccurate! It was pleasantly, for me, more focused on a couple characters, and it was a fun, short read that was a good twist on the fairy tale. (And, tbh, short/brisk pace was a pleasant change after reading Babel and Demon Copperfield pretty much back to back). My Kobo struggled with the interior illustrations, I want a paper copy just to see the nice art!

This fractured fairy tale retelling features a chronically ill dying girl obsessed with the story of Sleeping Beauty finds herself transported into a world of fairy tales-- but it's not quite what she expects. This was a fun twist on the Sleeping Beauty story from someone who clearly knows their stuff.

I am a sucker for a queer fairy tale retelling! Zinnia has a rare genetic condition that will likely kill her by her 21st birthday. On her 21st birthday she pricks her finger on an antique spinning wheel and can see hundreds of retelling a of sleeping beauty, one calls to her and she enters her multiverse. Determined to help the princess break her spell, Zinnia goes to the evil fairy that cursed her. Occasionally immaturely written, but I loved it

This was a nice quick read that retells sleeping beauty from a fresh (and meta) perspective. Not super deep or involved, filled with contemporary references I don't think references in it will hold up 20 years later... But it's really fun now.

well, that was different.

Final book of this year's #spookyseason... short and to the point, here we go!

I loved this magical little novella! I haven't heard great things about the follow-up though, so I'm unsure whether I'll try. ❤️💙🖤

#curse #scarathlondailyprompts

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was fun enough - there just wasn‘t much to it! I think I would have liked this better as a full-length novel so that the story and characters could have been developed more. I‘m intrigued by fairytale retellings, and these novellas are short enough that I might still give the second one a try. 🎧

I figured this would be an easy read bc it's a novella but wow it took me forever to get through. I think I just wasn't feeling it. It read like a self-insert fanfic story and I'm not a huge fan of those. I also felt that the constant analyzing of "how it usually is" broke the flow, making it not as engaging. But I did enjoy the more modern take and my lesbian children made it better in other ways #fantasy #friendship

⚠️ ??

The concept had a lot of potential. However, it failed. The only@bright spot is the audio narration was great. The story is a big nope.

This reads like a high school kid‘s creative writing project.

I am really enjoying this Sleeping Beauty retelling. It‘s wild to learn that in the Disney version, Aurora only has 18 lines. What the Hello Kitty?

#fairytales #retelling #audiobook

Image from the film Sleeping Beauty.

A fantastic reimagined & fractured fairy tale. The narrative & the characters are incredibly entertaining. The story is very short, but packs a punch & really explores the original tale. The writing has a YA flavor to it with a bit of a Marissa Meyer feel. It's a story that tackles some strong topics but doesn't take itself too seriously. The subversion is masterfully done & the blend of fantasy with real world was a lot of fun. Excellent read!!

This audiobook lasted me just long enough to put the first coat of paint down on my daughter's bedroom floor. I really liked the idea of it, but it ended up being just a low pick for me.

Totally underestimated how fun this would be. Loved how this took the Sleeping Beauty story in a totally new direction. Short but impactful, loaded with pop culture references, and full of friendship, danger, hope, love, and determination. Definitely plan to read the sequel.

#authorcrush

This short work, nominated for the 2022 Hugo Best Novella award, is a terrific take on the Sleeping Beauty folktale! #hugo2022 #hugoawards

I finished the #20in4 readathon with a grand total of 12 hours and 15 minutes. Thanks to @Andrew65 for hosting!

A modern day retelling of sleeping beauty that delves into fairytale folklore and explores the idea of a multiverse. Strong female characters who fight curses, the patriarchy, and premature death. Truly delicious!

I absolutely adored this book. To all the girls that deserved a better story, this book is for you.

I'm not usually a novella person, but I loved this! Zinnia, Charm, and Prim actually got some reasonable character development, which is normally why I shy away from novellas. And all the Easter eggs/references! I almost screamed when I got to "Harold, they're lesbians." #fantasy #fairytales #retelling

This is what I could find in my house in the way of fairy tale retellings for our #LMPBC group. @ozma.of.oz @wordslinger42 @KristiAhlers The only one I haven‘t read is A Spindle Splintered. I‘m also open to buying something different!

Finn is sleepy.

This is a fun Sleeping Beauty retelling. It's very YA. And the #audiobook is super short.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Opening line: "Sleeping Beauty is pretty much the worst fairy tale, any way you slice it." Immediately pulled me in, and I devoured this novella in one sitting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved this retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I don‘t want to give too much away but this story really gives the Sleeping Beauty character so much agency. I can‘t wait for the follow up story.

A fun reimagining of Sleeping Beauty. It includes some entertaining multiverse references that actually end up making sense. Thank you to Alix Harrow for giving me a chance to finally use the Disney knowledge stored in my brain.

May #bookspin is complete! @TheAromaofBooks

It may be short, but this is perfect! I love feminist retellings of fairy tales and this is like a meta version of just that in spades! And to top it all off, it‘s funny! Loved this and can‘t wait for the sequel. 👑

A quick read. Only 119 pages and many are illustrated, though the illustrations had seemingly nothing to do with the story? This is a reworking of Sleeping Beauty narrated by a modern woman who is terminally ill and not likely to live past her 21st birthday who accidentally gets sucked into a multiverses of briar rose et al stories and has to circumvent the established boundaries of the fairytale... Not my usual fare.

#Booked2022 Myth retelling

One of my favorite fairy tale retellings! A sleeping beauty story, I loved the narration and the story was so fun. I‘m excited for book 2 and sad there won‘t be more. This is novella length, nice and short. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️