A kingdom burns. A princess sleeps. This is no fairy tale.

It all started with the burning of the spindles.

No.

It all started with a curse…

Half sisters Isabelle and Aurora are polar opposites: Isabelle is the king’s headstrong illegitimate daughter, whose sight was tithed by faeries; Aurora, beautiful and sheltered, was tithed her sense of touch and her voice on the same day. Despite their differences, the sisters have always been extremely close.

And then everything changes, with a single drop of Aurora’s blood—and a sleep so deep it cannot be broken.

As the faerie queen and her army of Vultures prepare to march, Isabelle must race to find a prince who can awaken her sister with the kiss of true love and seal their two kingdoms in an alliance against the queen.

Isabelle crosses land and sea; unearthly, thorny vines rise up the palace walls; and whispers of revolt travel in the ashes on the wind. The kingdom falls to ruin under layers of snow. Meanwhile, Aurora wakes up in a strange and enchanted world, where a mysterious hunter may be the secret to her escape…or the reason for her to stay.

Book Overview:

Author: Lexa Hillyer | Series: Spindle Fire | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham | Length: 8 hours, 25 mins | Publish Date: April 11, 2017 | Genre: YA Fantasy/Retelling | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

“One night reviled, Before break of morn, Amid the roses wild, All tangled in thorns, The shadow and the child Together were born.”

I read this book for my book club: Bookish Babes of Norfolk. Click on the link to check out the public Facebook Page and let us know your thoughts!

So I am a YA fan, as you all probably know. So when I found out that this was the book for February, I was excited to get my hands on it. I heard so much about this book, both positive and negative. For the most part, though, it seemed like a book that I could potentially love. So, while I thought this book was pretty decent, I didn’t immediately fall in love with it. I’m a little disappointed about it, but I know that I won’t love every single YA book that I’ll read.

One of the main things I loved about this book was the sheer love and devotion that Isabelle and Aurora had for one another. They are half-sisters, and even though Isabelle is the King’s bastard daughter, Aurora never treated her sister as a second-class citizen. They love one another, and they would do anything to protect each other. That’s what I love about their relationship. Yes, there is a time where they get into a fight, but don’t all sisters get into the occasional argument? It happens.

Another part of this book that I thought was very interesting – and seemed to move the book in a totally different direction that I wasn’t expecting – was that they both had a disability (albeit, caused by fairies and not natural causes, but still). Isabelle was blinded at the age of two when the fairies tithed her eyesight, and Aurora can’t speak or feel anything thanks to the fairies as well. Apparently, these were supposed to be gifs, kind of like the beginning scene of Sleeping Beauty when Maleficent comes and makes bad stuff happen (but I love her). There’s also references to Hansel and Gretel in the book and the allusion that True Love will break whatever spell was cast upon Aurora. Sounds familiar? Yep, typical fairy tale elements.

This story is about two sets of sisters – two half-sisters and two twins – and the dynamics between them is an element that I really appreciate. This book shows that the relationship between sisters can have some pretty damaging effects, and that there really is nothing stronger than the bond between sisters. I can’t wait for the second book, because the ending was so abrupt that I could barely process if I missed anything.