One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.
Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.
As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.
It's an idea that I had never really thought about, what happens to Sleeping Beauty after she wakes up? I always thought that was the happily ever after, not taking the time to consider that the princesses family are dead, or the kingdom is ruled by somebody else. It was a fantastic premise to build on and really there is no way this book could fail on the delivery.
This book reads as part fairytale retelling and part fantasy on it's own, with all of the court intrigue that keeps me going in this type of book. I did feel like at times the book felt rather plotless and it definitely took a while to get to the bit where Aurora starts to make things happen - up until then Thomas seemed to just be building up this world and this character so the start was a bit slow, but I got past that. I loved Aurora's character from the start as well, she isn't a princess that does as she is told and I appreciated that. Aurora waking up from the kiss and screaming was fun, and it was definitely a great way to get me interested in this book. Although the pacing did pick up later in the book, the ending was definitely very weak to the point where I can't actually remember what really happened. I know I enjoyed it at the time though...
The love triangle (square?) did fit the needs of the book, that being said it was very annoying that such a feisty character was bogged down with a cliche love triangle. I did really like Rodric (poor guy just couldn't get a break) and Tristan. Finnegan is one I wasn't sure about, but I guess he was just the typical rogue character - I don't really now what direction that triangle is going, but I'm not massively excited to follow it through...
Overall, A Wicked Thing was a feisty, sassy take on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. I really connected with Aurora and I enjoyed her story. That being said, the pacing needed a lot of work and the love triangle left a lot to be desired, so I can't say this was the most amazing book ever....
The love triangle (square?) did fit the needs of the book, that being said it was very annoying that such a feisty character was bogged down with a cliche love triangle. I did really like Rodric (poor guy just couldn't get a break) and Tristan. Finnegan is one I wasn't sure about, but I guess he was just the typical rogue character - I don't really now what direction that triangle is going, but I'm not massively excited to follow it through...
Overall, A Wicked Thing was a feisty, sassy take on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. I really connected with Aurora and I enjoyed her story. That being said, the pacing needed a lot of work and the love triangle left a lot to be desired, so I can't say this was the most amazing book ever....
Book released 24th February 2015 by HarperTeen
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
The premise for this book sounds fantastic because I love new takes on a classic fairytale! It's sad to hear it was such a disappointment though:( I hate when a book seems to be going nowhere because it's hard to keep reading unless the protagonist is captivating enough to make up for it! Rodric seems like the kind of character I'd want to give a hug:) But I wish there wasn't a love triangle too- it's so hard to get right!
ReplyDeleteGreat review:D
Maya @ anotheronceuponatime