‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Jenni James is a clean historical
retelling of the classic fairy tale.
Crown Prince Darién is a fearless, brave, selfless,
kind, and perfect gentleman. He excels in swords and all manner of fighting,
horsemanship, and is supposedly afraid of nothing. But his friends know his
only weakness; ghosts. To prove to his friends that’s he’s not scared of
ghosts, he takes on a challenge to visit a castle that is said to be haunted by
its former princess. Together, he and his traveling companions, King Michael of
the neighboring kingdom of Alamade, Lord George Hadden, and Lord Humphrey
Taltson set out for the enchanted castle.
There is a legend surrounding this castle and its former kingdom.
A great witch named Villeria had made a signed deal with the royals of the
kingdom, that she would use her powers to protect the kingdom against all
enemies. In exchange she would be given over anything she would desire. The
witch waited many years before she asked for her payment. On the of the
Princess Aleyna’s eighteenth birthday party, Villeria demanded that the king
and queen hand over Aleyna, for her to do with her as she pleased. The family
begged Villeria to choose another payment. The younger prince even offered to
become her slave if they would leave Aleyna alone. They finally refused
Villeria and so in punishment, everyone in the castle with killed, except for
the princess. When the girl was still a baby, a magical unicorn, Ezralon, placed
a spell of protection upon her. The unicorn came for her then and took her deep
into the forest and placed her in an enchanted sleep, waiting for the day when
a prince would come to fix what had been done.
The witch Villeria, had been given a great blessing/curse.
She could make the most powerful spell/curse ever to exist, but only one at a
time. When she placed the curse upon the castle/princess, she had to wait for
that spell/curse to be completed before she could cast another one. And so
while the princess slept an enchanted sleep waiting for her prince to come,
Villeria had to wait as well for the princess to awaken. When Aleyna wakes up,
will Villeria finally have her or will Darién be able to keep her from being taken?
This story is wonderful and good for all ages.
Book format
E-book format
No comments:
Post a Comment