Once Upon a Dream A Twisted Tale

it was so so so slow i just couldn’t finish it

For a character who is mostly absent from her own story and is considered a passive heroine, Sleeping Beauty has never been a favorite Disney Princess of mine. Braswell’s retelling from Aurora’s narrative delves more into her personality and characterizes her as much stronger girl than what we knew. “Needing someone once in a while doesn’t make me weak. It makes me human.”

Though it was an easy read, I found the plot slow-moving and the author’s need to use all caps in a lot of the dialogue was irritating. I would recommend it for an airplane ride, nothing too serious, or emotional.

This book was AMAZING! I’m in love! I definitely recommend this book especially if you like different takes on fairytales.

2.5 Here’s the thing. Believe it or not, when I read a Disney twisted tale it’s because I actually like the movie’s storyline and characters and want that but a little mixed up. I don’t actually need a book that tries to subvert the fairytale and/or somehow make it “tasteful” to modern audience sensibilities. I want the fairy tale. Shocking, I know. I don’t need something that is too self aware to be enjoyed as anything but a “well, see, this is everything wrong with the original by today’s standards” led by characters who become caricatures of feminism with no resemblance to their movie selves. It’s tiresome and takes out the magic in the installments where this is heavy handed. Thankfully, not all of them are. But 90% of Braswell’s are. Kudos for the concept of this one. I really did enjoy that aspect.

Ah--amazing!!!

I think I’ll give a 3/5, not because it wasn’t a good book, I actuallt enjoyed this reading. It’s just that sometimes I get really confused by the actions, and sometimes the book got me like ”wait, when did it happen?”. Also, the princess was incredibly annoying at some point. Her character development was great, but sometimes she was getting too entitled and selfish. The Prince. Oh boy, I actually really liked him. I don't know how he could put up with the Princess. Overall, it was a good book. It took a bit longer because it was the first book I read on my phone and the first book I read in English. But I really recommend it, just don't have too many expectations from it.

I really wound up enjoying this fairytale retelling story that focused on sleeping beauty. i loved how this book focused on the nightmares and dreams of sleeping beauty. I also thought this book did such a good job creating these characters both aurora and philip as well rounded characters and that was so well done. I also really liked how this new story had both old elements that tied back to the old story but also new things as well that just expanded the world. I found the pacing in the start to be a bit off but i still really loved it.

*4.75 YES! This was exactly what i wanted from a twisted tale! I loved it! Please let the others be like this one please,

definitely liked it

Okay I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one so bear with me. First and foremost, the Disney Sleeping Beauty is, honestly, just a really silly story. So much of it doesn't work in modern day. Why send a baby to avoid a fate that won't come for 16 years? Why raise a girl in near total isolation so that she has to make friends with animals? Who the F falls in love with and wants to marry someone they met ONCE? Why did no one watch the dazed, depressed princess? So having said all that, this Sleeping Beauty had a lot to work around, but honestly, I think they did good. I really didn't enjoy most of the beginning part because they were doing the whole dancing around Disney thing, but the premise of creating a dreamland that emulates the metaphorical feelings Aurora had in real life actually works pretty well. Aurora remembering a twisted version of her first 16 years of life made the story plausible and it definitely helped kind of remove her from the character who only appeared in like, 17 minutes of her own film. So just to list some things I liked -Aurora Rose. it always REALLY bothered me how Aurora just went from being Briar Rose to Princess Aurora, and her coming into her own by creating a name to uniquely for her both distinguished her from the classic character and endeared her to modern sentiments. -The implications that a life of loneliness had less Aurora Rose to be depressed, and almost suicidal, was really well done and added so much DEPTH to this story. It makes much more sense why Aurora pricked her own finger on the spindle, and it made her a very interesting character once you realized her melancholy and the feeling of sluggishness her character carried was because of depression and not a curse. One thing I wish had happened is they explored that when she became a Queen, and finally had purpose, how Aurora still had to deal with depression.t. -Aurora Rose's cynical awakening. One of the best things to happen in the last third of the story is Aurora Rose realized she didn't have to act sweetly kind and innocent anymore because that wasn't who she was, just what others expected of hers, and she becomes SO SNARKY. The book talks about how she went to sleep a child and woke up an adult, but I think its more she went to sleep naive and woke up realizing the world is flawed, people are flawed, a Prince isn't perfect just becomes he comes out of the woods to break up you tedium, fairy godmothers aren't perfect because they have magic, and parents might not know whats best just because they're parents and royalty. And in those last couple of chapters she in completely unafraid to call people out, to voice her opinion, to realize how utterly ridiculous her situation is, and I AM HERE FOR IT. Things I didn't love. -Phillip. Ugh why?? He was just so...annoying? I get its sweet, even as he realized she wasn't who he originally thought he was, he loved Aurora/Rose. But like, it would have been so much better if he, like everyone else, had no recollection of the real events in the movie, and we got see him and Aurora Rose fall in love naturally and organically. Instead he was as unbelievable as he was in the movie and we didn't get anything else new. -The original events of the movie happened. Much cringe. I wish the twist had been earlier so it could be like telling a new story, more like A Whole New World. -Honestly most of the rising action of the book felt disjointed and difficult to get through. Overall, I'm giving it 3 stars because despite not really enjoying the actual experience of reading it and plot, I did really enjoy the character work and messages.

This was such a fun and dark twist on the original story! I love how there was less focus on “the man being the saviour” and instead the princes was in charge of her own destiny. I really appreciate the topics discussed and the way the author approached them and I think that the world she created was phenomenal. One of my fav twisted tales so far. It managed to make the plot so different without taking away from the original characters and then ending was just perfect. It hugged the book when I finished ✅

Weer zo'n prachtige fairytale adaption. Toen ik zag staan dat ze nooit wakker zou worden, dacht ik hoe dan? Het sprookje gaat er toch ook om dat ze wakker is aan het einde? Maar weer eens prachtig neergezet en de schrijfstijl kan ik geen genoeg van krijgen. Ik ga snel verder in het volgende deel!