Synopsis

Marita Kadlec is the only daughter of Rohesia’s poorest – and laziest – weaver. Her father prefers to spend his days gambling in the tavern, leaving the spinning up to Marita. She hates the family business because she’s constantly pricking her finger on the spindle. She’d much rather be tinkering on an invention that she hasn’t had the courage to show anyone yet. A special invention that will rid her of spinning for the rest of her life.

Felix is a young nobleman plagued with the same nightmare – a giant machine, twisting and clanking, shrouded in fire, bent on pain and death. He’s determined to find out what it means, no matter where the answers may lead him.

This is Sleeping Beauty with a twist like you’ve never seen it before.

Spindle Dreams releases August 9th, 2019 (THIS FRIDAY, GUYS!!!)

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Thursday I promised a full review of Kirsten Fichter’s newest release and HERE WE ARE.

Spindle Dreams is a Sleeping Beauty retelling novella and is book #2 in the author’s Once Upon a Twist Tales series—a set of non-magical, slightly steampunk fairy tale retellings. Book #1 is The Rose and the Balloon, BUT you do not have read that one before reading this one. This story takes place in the same kingdom as the previous one, and there are a couple of small cameos, but each book is VERY much a standalone. So if you want to jump straight into this one, GO FOR IT!

THE RUNDOWN

The story takes place in Rohesia, a kingdom filled with roses and ruled by the endearing but rather insane Queen Maeva and her son and his wife.

Marita is the daughter of a supposed-to-be-weaver, but all her father really does is gamble away their tiny bit of profits. Instead, Marita is forced to do all the spinning. Which is unfortunate, being as how she’s not that great at it and always pricks her finger on the spinning wheel. Her real skills lie in tinkering. She’s a master at creating machines far more advanced than what the world currently provides. Her latest project? A spinning wheel powered by the river.

Felix, a duke’s son, is sent to visit his cousin, Prince Dmitri, when he begins to be plagued by terrible dreams. He hopes the change of atmosphere will stop these devastating nightmares.

During a chance meeting on the road, Marita and Felix form an unlikely friendship and begin to wonder if the answers to their problems may be found within each other.

THE CHARACTERS

MARITA: Clever, kind, and a bit unorthodox—Marita is a female lead you just can’t help but loving. My favorite thing about her is how relatable she is. Like her utter detest for getting up early? #SAME Poor Marita lost her mother at a young age and has to deal with a lazy scoundrel of a father, all while trying to keep afloat by making money doing something she doesn’t even enjoy. The one thing she does love to do—tinkering with machines—her father mocks her for it. Her determination to keep making money while also pursuing her real dream, despite her father holding her back, was so admirable. Between grief from losing her mother and dealing with a gambling father, no one would blame her for giving up. But she doesn’t. She keeps pushing forward, even though she knows everything she wants to accomplish isn’t what’s expected of “normal” girls. She’s not one to follow the masses, but instead to chase what, in the world’s eyes, seems like a ridiculous dream. As someone who also doesn’t live by the world’s standards of “normal”, I could heavily relate. I loved her spunk! But, again, she’s so relatable-y human. She’s easily frustrated, easily embarrassed, and broken inside due to her life’s circumstances. I wanted her to succeed so, so bad and my heart ached for her when life kept battering her down again and again. Definitely a protagonist to cheer for!

FELIX: Feliiiix! *clutches heart* Felix is fun-loving and charismatic. Not in a cocky way at all, but instead happy-go-lucky and rather reckless. He’s the type you want as your BFF—always down for a good adventure and laugh. He’s definitely unorthodox himself, being as how the first time Marita met him he was barefoot and soaking wet…and didn’t seem bothered by it. In fact, he has an affinity for going around barefoot, despite being a duke’s son. Because taking random midnight rides barefoot is normal, yes? Yep, that’s Felix. I just absolutely adored how friendly, carefree, and unruly he was. Titles and social norms are the last things on his radar. But there is so much more to him than having a good time. Beneath that easy-going smile there is a fear constantly plaguing him. His love for his friends and family runs deep, and the nightmares he’s been experiencing has sent him down a well of despair. HE’S JUST PRECIOUS, OKAY???

These two are an absolute delight separate, but TOGETHER? Aaaahhhhhh!!!! Be still my heart! I feel like Marita helps keep Felix grounded, while he shows her it’s okay to be different and have a little fun now and again. They’re just so sweet I can’t!

Though the story definitely focuses on these two, there are certainly a few other players as well. Like Marita’s sweet, playful grandmother. It was so nice to know Marita had someone supportive in her life. Grandmother Inga was a gem. There’s also a couple of cameos from the characters in The Rose and the Balloon, which was a lot of fun.

Then we have Felix’s mischievous horse Samson who’s always causing trouble for his rider, and Marita’s precious dog Merryweather who’d do anything for his girl. The animals made the book. Their parts were hilarious and adorable. They also totally seemed to be shipping their owners which was a RIOT. I just loved it so much!

And then the VILLAINS. Ooooh boy. I won’t say much because #SPOILERS But, well, the depth of the antagonists was fantastic. And some of it was just downright chilling. In the best of ways! But that’s all I’m saying. *zips lips*

Kirsten has always had a knack for creating endearing characters, and this book is no exception! I was already missing these loveable people (and animals!) within about 0.5 seconds of finishing the story.

OTHER THINGS TO LOVE

One of my most favorite things about Kisten’s stories is the writing style. Her stories always have such a cozy, delightful feel—like a cup of warm tea wrapped into a book. They’re easy to read, full of wit and charm, and utterly brimming with heart. Do not get me wrong though! There is plenty of danger to have along the way as well.

The whole plot was absolutely brilliant. I don’t want to give much away since it’s a pretty short read but the PLOT TWIST. I’m still reeling from it.

Though the story as a whole is fairly lighthearted, there’s a bit of a spine-tingling mystery to it. It managed to be deliciously creepy while still 100% family-friendly. Very refreshing!

I also loved how some seemingly disconnected plot threads all came together in the end.

And I was curious to see how a non-magical Sleeping Beauty would work. Some fairy tales just seem impossible to retell without magic. WELL. Kirsten pulled it off brilliantly. I adored the whole twist on the original Sleeping Beauty story. It was all so clever and fun!

Another thing I very much enjoyed was how light the romance was. There was no shove-in-your-face romance, but at the same time you ship it SO HARD. SO SO HARD. It was the perfect combination!

The whole story was just fun and cute with plenty of danger and heart along the way.

Usually I’m not the biggest fan of novellas because I always want MORE. But this story felt just right. I mean, yes, I could have happily followed these characters around for pages and pages and pages more, but, at the same time, the plot didn’t call for that. There was plenty of time to fall head-over-heels for the characters without being bogged down by too many details.

I honestly can’t think of any complaints I had with it! Practically perfect in every way.

CONTENT CAUTIONS

Not a single thing. I’m perfectly comfortable recommended this to anyone, and of any age! Though, yes, there were some creepy parts, and some characters made terrible decisions, it all portrayed it with a moral worldview. Nothing was over-the-top. I think it’d be a great one to read to the younger siblings. While, at the same time, as an almost-30-year-old I love it!

Lighthearted, sweet, but with plenty of depth, it’s got a little something for everyone.

CONCLUSION

If you’re looking for a quick, clean read to curl up with for a cozy afternoon, this one is PERFECT.

This story brought me so many smiles, a lot of gasps (PLOT TWISTS! DANGER! WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING-TO-THOSE-POOR-CHARACTERS-KIRSTEN???), plenty of laughs, and filled my heart to the brim. Plus it’s a SLEEPING BEAUTY RETELLING. And you guys know how I feel about fairy tale retellings. Gimme allllll of ‘em! Not just a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but an utterly brilliant take on the fairy tale.

Fairy tale goodness, completely endearing characters, a cozy and witty writing style, a deliciously fun plot, all wrapped up into a good, clean read—this novella is a DELIGHT.

. . . 5 out of 5 stars . . .

LET’S TALK!

Soooo is Spindle Dreams on your TBR? What do you think of non-magical fairy tale retellings? Does this one appeal to you?