The Rose Princess by Ivy Hollins is the first book in her “Fairy Tales of Parsilon” series. It is a retelling of “Sleeping Beauty”.

About the Book

Talia is quite happy living her normal village life until one day a strange woman comes to visit. Suddenly Talia’s life is turned upside down and she is whisked away to a castle and betrothed to a Duke. She is told on her next birthday, in just six months, a curse that was placed upon her years ago, will cast her into eternal sleep.

However, she and her betrothed have been having mysterious dreams for years and neither the Duke nor Talia are about to stand still and just let the curse happen. After all, isn’t there a way to stop every curse?

My Review

I have not read very many fairy tale retellings, nor am I a big fan of fairy tales. However, I have read one fairy tale retelling in the past that I found so well done and so unique, I am often willing to read a new fairy tale retelling, looking for a new, unique story.

I must also say that I am not really very familiar with the original fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. Oh, I know she was cursed to eternal sleep and that there was just one way to awaken her and break the curse, but that really is the extent of my knowledge of the story.

As I began to read the pages of The Rose Princess, I found myself spellbound by the story. I could not stop turning the pages. I really liked Talia and wanted her to be set free from the spell.

At first I wasn’t convinced that the Duke was the man for her. I simply wanted her to find a way to break the spell and be free to live her life and seek her own love. However, as the story unfolded, I began to care about the Duke and understand his character better, and so I began cheering for him as well.

Ivy Hollins created many interesting mythological creatures to add to this story, and there is a battle scene that is absolutely spectacular. The transformation of Talia from common village girl to the Rose Princess was wondrous and her sense of justice was wise, and a bit telling. Ms. Hollins definitely put some new spin on a classic fairy tale, much to my delight.

As I read the sentence Talia decreed upon one who fought against Talia’s kingdom, I found it to be the perfect lead into the next book in “The Fairy Tales of Parsilon” series–a retelling of my second favorite of all fairy tales. Therefore upon reading the very last page of The Rose Princess, I immediately did a search for the next book and was delighted to find it. I purchased an ebook copy and look forward to reading it as soon as my schedule allows.

If you like original fairy tales or fairy tale retellings, you will be delighted with The Rose Princess by Ivy Hollins.

I give this book 5 stars.

As a book reviewer, I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.