The Sleeping Beauty
by Mercedes Lackey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
About the Book
Heavy is the head—and the eyelids—of the princess who wears the crown…
In Rosamund’s realm, happiness hinges on a few simple beliefs:
- For every princess there’s a prince.
- The king has ultimate power.
- Stepmothers should never be trusted.
- And bad things come to those who break with Tradition….
But when Rosa is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Determined to escape and save her kingdom from imminent invasion, she agrees to become the guinea pig in one of her stepmother’s risky incantations—thus falling into a deep, deep sleep.
When awakened by a touchy-feely stranger, Rosa must choose between Tradition and her future…between a host of eligible princes and a handsome, fair-haired outsider. And learn the difference between being a princess and ruling as a queen.
The moral of the story? Sometimes a princess has to create her own happy endings….
My Thoughts
I enjoyed the way this story incorporates elements of several different traditional paths, i.e. fairy tales, into a new tale. I also liked the idea of the Godmother stepping in to marry the King when the Queen dies, but hiding behind an evil Stepmother persona so she can protect the Princess without upsetting the Tradition.
The way the two women work together to manipulate the Tradition into a more positive outcome is clever and fun to watch. I agree with another of my Goodreads friends that this one is closer to 3.5 stars, but I kept wavering, so I’ll give it 4 anyway!
Note: This is Book #102 of my 2011 Reads (master list here).
I'm a mom with Asperger's raising an amazing son with autism, which means I'm basically the case manager/advocate/cheerleader/chauffeur. The rest of the time, you can usually find me with my nose in a book!
