Andrea Portes

Great take on the Sleeping Beauty story. Bitsy (Elizabeth) is a plain Princess, a 17 year old who lives in a castle in the land of Rioux with her perfect mother. She is destined to be be wed before her 18th birthday and while wandering in the castle comes across a spindle, pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleep. What happens then is she falls from a great height into a trap in a swamp land, gets rescued from the swamp cannibals by the warrior Cliff people. Is told she is the Legend who will save the world and must train as a warrior, escapes and wanders across a salt lake where she is met by a dashing man in a white carriage who takes her to a place where everyone is perfect because they drink Sapphire - a drug mined at the cost of many enslaved lives. Meanwhile in Bitsy's other world, her father and mother are told by an old crone that only the kiss of a handsome Prince will wake her. In Bitsy's dreamworld....she is betrayed and decides to stand up and fight against all that is evil.
Fascinating look at what is real and what isn't and the ending will leave you with a smile as Bitsy decides to choose the world that is less like a fairytale...
Female students at my school will love this book.… (mehr)

A fantastical, thought-provoking read featuring a princess out of her element in a harsh world.

Princess Bitsy, used to being ignored by her more conventionally attractive cousins, has perfected the art of creeping off to read a book instead of attending whatever social occasion is at hand. But now, she's being introduced to potential suitors, and it's becoming harder to disappear. until she stumbles across a room she's never seen in the palace before and pricks her hand on a spindle. Then she falls down, down, down to a brutal world inhabited by warring factions, fighting over a cruel trade in magical potions. Meanwhile, her parents try everything possible to wake her up, including a series of kisses from princes.

I found this use of first person a bit jarring. I tend to prefer more poetic prose, while this author favored short sentences that kept the reader right in the action. Bitsy was interesting as a bookworm princess forced to struggle to survive in a place where she didn't understand the rules or the allegiances. She forges unexpected allies along the way as she explores her destiny as the One Who Fell from the Sky, the only one who could defeat the ancient cruelty known as The Veist.

The ending was unexpected and thought-provoking, forcing both the reader and Bitsy to wonder what's most important in life.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)