Twisted Dreams

Title: Twisted Dreams

Series: None

Year: 2017

Author: Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Summary: “I, Calandra, of the Wingans, do bestow upon you, the Princess of Hanover, a gift. You have been given long life. I cannot interfere with that, but when you are sixteen years of age, you will prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an everlasting sleep.” She stepped closer so that she could be heard only by Liesel and her parents. “Then you will at last see the truth. Be wary. Be wise. Your fate rests upon yourself.”

On her sixteenth birthday, Princess Liesel Rosanna falls victim to a sleeping curse—but wakens in another world, a prisoner of war. As the bait in a trap for her fiancé, the crown prince of Hanover, Liesel longs to escape back to the fairy tale world. The world where she is only wanting a true love’s kiss to set everything to rights.

As situations quickly grow dire, Liesel must choose which story to live, which life is real. The fate of her country rests on her decision.

Review: If you're wanting a quick Sleeping Beauty fix, this story does the job. Liesel is our fairytale heroine who's fated to prick her finger on a spindle, and Will is her loving prince who's going to try to rescue her. Throw in a fairygodmother Wingan and a mischievous younger brother, and you've got an adventure quite unlike any before.

The story flip-flops between two worlds: the real world set in a technological galaxy (not so far, far away) and a dream world that's positively medieval. Political tensions are high in the galaxy as two rival kingdoms both have hostages to try to get them the upper hand in their ongoing war. Liesel is held in enemy hands, and though her true love Wilhelm is determined to rescue her, his father isn't ready to release his hostage: the rival king.

I think the author did a great job with balancing the Sleeping Beauty elements in this tale. Although the summary indicates that true love's kiss is a big deal, it's really not a big deal in the book. I counted two forehead kisses that didn't seem to be at all like the epic-awakening kiss of the fairytale. But I'm not complaining. I'm not a huge fan of mushy harboring on kissing, so that's two thumbs up in my book. The summary also hints at Liesel's big decision to chose which world to live in, and she really didn't have a choice. Once she realized that she was in the dream world, she was eager to get out. Just wish the summary hadn't been as misleading.

But I really liked the mix of space/galatic elements. I love seeing fairytales redone in new settings, and the whole galaxy feel is pretty cool. My biggest complaint with this book was the length of it. Because it was (I believe) originally written for the Rooglewood contest with its severe word limit, there wasn't much room to worldbuild and that's what I wanted. The author has set up an intricate world of different races, planets, talents, etc. and I would have loved to see that all on a larger scale. The rival kingdoms are two different races, and then we've got the race of Wingans who have powers, like the ability to manipulate electricity and sound waves. I mean, how cool is that?

A longer book would have allowed more time for some character development. Once I hit the end of the book, I was kinda sad I hadn't bonded more with these characters. Most of them were kinda two-dimensional. Matthew, in particular, I thought had great potential, but his character didn't seem to go anywhere.

Advisory: Some action and fighting scenes. Guns and swords are involved, but nothing graphic. And just a pinch of romance (since it is Sleeping Beauty, duh), but well-balanced for the book.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sew, It's a Quest (The Bookania Quests)

Title: Sew, It's a Quest

Series: The Bookania Quests (Book #1)

Year: 2011

Author: Kendra E. Ardnek

Summary: Robin and Robert are royal twins. They are the only two to have received a Fairy Godmother gift in nearly a century, an amazing honor. Soon it was clear that their gifts had been switched and a search began to find the Fairy Godmother to right the mistake. When she is finally sighted by a knight, the family learns that the pair must find her for themselves and they only have until their 18th birthday ... only 4 months away. Will they be able to find her in time? (from Goodreads)

Main Characters:
~ Robin
~ Robert
~ Rosamund
~ Doranna

Review: Sew, It's a Quest is the first in Kendra E. Ardnek's Bookania Quests, a series you're not going to want to miss. Right off the bat, we're introduced to two very usual royals - twins Robin and Robert Locksley - with unusual gifts. Much to everyone's dismay, their Fairy Godmother mixed up their gifts at their birth, and while Robert has impressed the court for years with his skill with a needle, Robin spends her days practicing expertly with a sword. When the emissary arrives and brings them news of the Fairy Godmother (Fallona), along with the announcement that if Robert and Robin wish to reverse their gifts, they must undertake a quest to find Fallona before their eighteenth birthday.

Kendra writes in a fun, easy-to-read, very fairy-tale-ish style that truly compliments the story, considering it is a sort of fairy tale retelling. But it's more than just one fairy tale... instead it's like two or three (or four) all mixed together in a fantasy land. Doranna's story brings in part of the Mountain Princess, Rosamund is the Sleeping Beauty, and even Robin Hood makes a very decided entrance. I rather liked seeing them altogether like that. Each subplot wove cleverly into the others, and by the end, you're really wanting the next book in the series, Do You Take This Quest?

Robin and Robert and their friends made excellent heroes/heroines. They start off by pretending to be your cliche princes and princesses, yet each one has his or her own quirks to make them unique. Personally, I love Doranna's math talk, and I laughed every time Robin stuck her opponents' swords into ceilings, or trees, or whatever might be on hand. I can't wait to read more of these characters further into the series.

This story is a light one, so don't expect much more than a fairy tale. At times the plot seemed to meander a bit; there were a few conversations or scenes that didn't add to the storyline, but that's just to be expected from such a book. What stuck out to me the most was the fact that Robert and Robin began the quest to seek out their Fairy Godmother, and while they do search for her, their quest seems to flounder a bit when they stay for days/weeks at castles and forest camps. If they were in such a hurry to find Fallona (they had merely four months in which to reverse the gifts), why did they spend the time so leisurely? That just seemed a little odd to me.

Advisory: Some light romance and fantasy action.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Click here to buy Sew, It's a Quest on Amazon!