Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Sleeping Beauty, by Mercedes Lackey (Five Hundred Kingdoms #5)

To read my review of The Snow Queen (Five Hundred Kingdoms #4), click here.

Rosamund is a princess in the center of several fairy tales, and she is determined to make the most of them. She is kidnapped, put in a coma, woken up, and orphaned, and Rosamund is determined to control her own destiny. When Rosamund and her fairy godmother/evil stepmother, Lily, feel the Tradition closing in, this unlikely duo teams up to make sure Rosamund and her kingdom get their happy endings.

Thoughts immediately after reading:
OMG BEST 500 KINGDOMS BOOK EVER!!!!!! After thinking about it for a few minutes, I realized that I had this reaction after reading most of the others, so what I'm telling you is that this book is amazing and didn't ruin the books that came before it.

Reading speed:
Slow. I tend to speed through the books I really enjoy but I couldn't speed through this one. I don't know what it was about this, but the words needed a little more processing time. Despite this, I had a hard time putting this book down, which was why it took me over a week to finish.

Characters:
This is going to sound really petty, but my main comments on the characters in this novel are on their names. Siegfried, Leopold, and Desmond are a little too....I don't know the right word but they aren't names I particularly like. None of those names excite anything but snickers in me for some odd reason. Siegfried and Leopold are very old-fashioned and although the book takes place in a time of knights and princesses, it does have a modern feel to it and those names just didn't belong. I did love the name Sable, but sable is a carnivorous weasel and is supposed to have a negative connotation.

My Favorite Character:
Luna the unicorn! Or as I think of her, the Lunicorn! I love her cuteness and awesomeness and I want a unicorn. I also want to be a godmother. Basically, I want to live in the 500 Kingdoms.

Supernatural elements:
For anyone who hasn't caught on yet, the 500 Kingdoms books take place in a world where fairy tales repeatedly come to life, just not necessarily with happy endings. There are no vampires or werewolves, but there are princesses and unicorns which are way better.

Romance:
The romance in this book was scattered but satisfying. It wasn't the focus of the book but it did add a little flair. What was fun about the romance in this book was the doubt over who Rosamund would end up with. Sorry, that was incorrect-it was completely obvious who she would end up with, but I pretended like I didn't know and enjoyed every second of them falling for each other.

Ending:
Don't worry-no spoilers here. All I'm going to say is that it was a cute and satisfying ending and everyone got their just desserts.

Unsolved mysteries:
What was up with that bird? I was disappointed when no information was given about her except that she's a "wise beast." She played such an important role that a name or an explanation would have been fitting. Since she didn't have either she felt more like a crystal ball than a character.


5 stars

The Sleeping Beauty (Five Hundred Kingdoms, #5) 
Heavy is the head--and the eyelids--of the princess who wears the crown...In Rosamund's realm, happiness hinges on a few simple beliefs:For every princess there's a prince.

The king has ultimate power.

Stepmothers should never be trusted.

And bad things come to those who break with Tradition....

But when Rosa is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Determined to escape and save her kingdom from imminent invasion, she agrees to become the guinea pig in one of her stepmother's risky incantations--thus falling into a deep, deep sleep.

When awakened by a touchy-feely stranger, Rosa must choose between Tradition and her future...between a host of eligible princes and a handsome, fair-haired outsider. And learn the difference between being a princess and ruling as a queen.

The moral of the story? Sometimes a princess has to create her own happy endings....

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