My Five Word TL:DR Review : Sleeping Beauty, the alternate version

I didn’t realise how much I needed this story in my life.  This is so, so good.  I loved it. It’s literally short and sweet and ultimately downright satisfying.

At the heart of this little nugget is Sleeping Beauty, but, as the description points out, this is not her story.  This is the story of Toadling.  A character stolen at birth, who finds a loving family in the most unexpected of places, whose life becomes entangled and locked into that of the princess in the tower when a magical gift goes quite wrong.  Of course, a knight comes along, as they often do in these tales, in search of something, he knows not what, and from there grows a charming and compelling story.

This is only a short story (appox 120 ish pages) but it totally worked it’s magic on me – which is a surprise as short stories usually fail to win me over (confession time, I hadn’t realised this was a novella when I requested it but I’m so glad that my oversight worked out so well).

I don’t want to say too much more. The beauty of this tale is finding it fresh for yourself and it’s such a compact story it’s possible to gobble it up in one sitting.

What I will say is that I was totally absorbed. I adored the central character and the charming knight.  The story itself is intriguing, the writing delicious and I concluded the story with that happy glow that finishing a really good book elicits.  Do you self a favour and read this book.

I received a copy through the publisher, courtesy of Netgalley, for which my thanks.  The above is  my own opinion.

Mr rating 5 of 5 stars