Customer Reviews

Beauty Sleep: A Retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" [BEAUTY SLEEP] [Mass Market Paperback]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Retellings of fairy tales are in fashion now, and a lot are mediocre. But "Beauty Sleep" is a surprisingly fresh interpretation of "Sleeping Beauty". The story is original, with very little of the it devoted to Aurore's hundred year nap. Instead it focuses on the events that preceeded it- the princess's childhood and her family, and her worries about the spells that will eventually affect her. When Aurore realizes that her kingdom will suffer if she doesn't fall under the spell, she takes matters into her own hands, and this part is just as interesting. This is short book, which is good because none of it seems to drag. The story is interesting and moves at a good pace, which is one thing I like about the "Once Upon a Time" series in general.

I liked the characters fine, and the romance is good. I also liked the writing, though it can be a little hard to follow at times. It's a little overwrought in places, and at times I had to go back over a sentence to get what it was saying, but the tone is fitting for a fairy tale. The themes the book had were interesting, and I loved Aurore's explantion of the magic in her world.

Overall, this is a quick read, but it has some depth too. The fairy tale ending left me feeling happy and was unexpected at the same time. I enjoyed it very much.

This book is an amazing and fresh new telling of Sleeping Beauty. I bought this book before the Once Upon A Time series started and then there was only Beauty Sleep, Storytellers Daughter and Snow. It made me sad when I went to buy the book, again since I lost my first copy, that it was out of print. I stumbled upon it on this website just to find out that they had taken it out of print to put into the Once Upon a Time Series.

This book gives us a great view of Aurora's family and how she grew up. I love how this book is in first person, it gives it a sort of personal feel, like all of Cameron Dokey's Once Upon A time books. This one is probably my favorite, if not my all time favorite, so far in the series. It's the first one I have read and the one I have treasured most. Snow comes in a close second. This book is just amazing, and I have my 23 year old friend addicted to them now so it is not just a book for teenagers, it is a book for everyone.

I want to admit right off that I have become rather fond of this series (Once Upon a Time) and Beauty Sleep has just become my second favorite in the series (Before Midnight being my favorite). All the stories in this series are short (this one coming in just over 200 pages) and Beauty Sleep is sweet with a romantic bent (i.e. happily ever after) yet it offers a number of fun, new twists on the classic fairytale we grew up with. The Aurore of this version is not a helpless, spoiled princess; she is an independent, vibrant young person with a passion for life, a genuine curiosity about the world around her and a penchant for getting herself in trouble. Because Dokey's version focuses on Aurore...her personality and her life (how she has to live as a result of the curse) rather than on that of those around her and while the curse hangs thick around her, very little of the story line is given over to the "evil fairy" and almost nothing is given over to her "nap." I also enjoyed the development of the "Charming" character...it was a nice twist on the original storybook character with echoes of traits seen in some recent movies (think Shrek), but which still manages to be original and it was interesting to see his character develop. I have to admit some disappointment with the ease with which I was able to figure out the "twist" at the end, but overall the story was very enjoyable and quite original (based on my reading up to this point). I give it 4 stars and two thumbs up! I'll definitely be picking up a copy of this for my permanent collection! Also, I want to point out that while the stories in this series are short and simple...they can be quite entertaining and enjoyable for adult readers as well...especially if you LOVE fairytale adaptations (as I do).

The "Once Upon a Time" series are short but sweet retellings of old fairytales, written with the general plot of the original story in mind, but in such a way that there are a few surprises along the way (often the story is told in a contemporary setting that has no magical elements; or contains a twist on who the heroine eventually falls in love with). For their target audience they are a treat, and for everyone else, they are a pleasant way to kill a couple of hours.

Out of all the authors commissioned to add their retellings to the series, Cameron Dokey is probably the best (or at least, my personal favourite). The author of Belle, Before Midnight and Golden there's something unique about Dokey's ideas concerning the source material and the way in which she tells her stories that put her contributions at the top of the pile.

When Aurore is born a great celebration is held in honour of her Christening, only for things to go very wrong when she's cursed to prick her finger at the age of sixteen and sleep for one hundred years. Naturally, her parents are extremely protective of her, though her cousin Oswald - the regent to the throne, whose motives are ambiguous - eventually talks them into letting her explore the world outside the castle, arguing that she would be more prepared to face whatever trials come upon her if she's given life experience.

As her sixteenth birthday approaches, it would seem that Oswald's plan has worked a little too well. Because Aurore is destined to fall into a one hundred year sleep, the magic in the land causes chaos when this in fact does *not* happen. Concerned for the wellbeing of her people, though dreading the thought of the curse's fulfillment, Aurore decides to enter the mysterious forest that fringes the kingdom in the hopes of finding an answer there, only to find a young prince who claims to be on the way to the centre of the forest - where a sleeping princess is said to wait for true love's kiss.

I was intrigued by how Dokey was going to tackle the one-hundred years sleep considering that there's nothing more boring than watching a person sleep, but she manages to come up with an extremely clever (and poignant) way of granting the passage of time without Aurore loosing consciousness. I'm not a huge fan of first-person narrative, but Dokey keeps Aurore's voice brisk and chatty, and captures both her underlying dread of sleeping for one hundred years, and the general personality traits of impatience, intuition and altruism.

Dokey is also good at creating the atmosphere of a fairytale, such as the warmth of the villagers, the cold intrigues of the court, and the beauty of the forest, filled with mysterious cottages, winding hedge mazes, and a valley of apple trees arranged to form a pattern. As she did in Belle, Dokey has a knack for describing the natural world tinged with enchantment; and a definition of this world's magic and its effect on Aurore's curse provides food for thought.

A couple of plot points are raised only to go nowhere (such as the two fairies that cast the spell in the first place, as well as a young woman who approaches Oswald with hints that her family can benefit his ambition) but on the whole "Beauty Sleep" hangs together nicely, with some very good ideas at work, and a surprising end in regards to where Aurore's heart truly lies.

Although the "Once Upon a Time" series are largely forgettable and (with the exception of K.Y. Craft's stunning cover art) somewhat cheap in both price and quality (the amount of typos you'll find in any given edition indicates that only a rudimentary edit was given to each one), it seems pointless to give them a low rating when their purpose is to simply entertain. And entertaining they are.

I have read a good amount of the "Once Upon A Time" series, and have found that Cameron Dokey to be my favorite. But this one is just awfull, the beginning trys to introduce a network of magic, and how everyone has magic inside of them.
And its all down hill from there, a romance grows quite akwardly and unbelievably throughout the story. The 'adventures' are unimaginative and just because their is a 'twist' to the fairy tale doesn't mean you can fully disort it from any believable context.
I found it very boring and not unique in the slightest. Read Camerone Dokey's Cinderlla retelling, that was deffinitley my favorite. But this one stinks

A retelling of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty from the Once Upon a Time series.

As in Dokey's Belle, this retelling seems to have very little to do with the fairy tale for the majority of the book. Unlike Belle, this fact does not detract from the story in any way. The basic set up for the story is the same as the tale--parents desperate for a child, finally get one, fail to invite bad fairy to celebration, bad fairy curses baby with spindle-induced death, good fairy changes that to 100 years asleep. The majority of the book, however, follows Aurore as she grows up under the specter of the curse. The final quarter or so of the book provides a unique twist on how the curse eventually plays out and is resolved.

While the beginning is a little slow, it does serve to develop the characters and tell an enjoyable story. The unique treatment of the curse and resolution make the book worth reading. The truth about the house in the woods was bittersweet. A solid addition to the OUaT series.

i happened to find this book while shopping and i love classic fairytales so i thought i'd buy it. now i'm not a fan of retellings of a classic, but i loved this book from beggining to end it keeps you guessing until the last page.

So you know the basic idea: Princess Aurore had a christening party which was interrupted by a slighted uninvited guest who casts a curse over the poor child. When she turns 16 she will prick her finger and one drop of blood will fall and Aurore will die. Another guest (not fairies in this version at least)utters a counterspell. Aurore will not die, she will fall into a deep, deep sleep that will last 100 years until she is awakened by the kiss of a prince. This was similar enough to the original tale, that I felt comfortable sinking into "Beauty Sleep"... but it was the differences that kept me intrigued. In this version, Aurore's older cousin Oswald lives in the palace and expects to be the heir to the kingdom, (mostly due to the dire predictions made about Aurore's life expectancy). The first part of the book was very good. It detailed Aurore's life in the palace, and how Oswald gained her parent's permission to allow Aurore to roam the palace gardens. Aurore gained plenty of freedoms after that and her parents became more relaxed in their protectiveness of her. In the second part of the book Aurore runs away from the palace and meets her destiny. I don't want to give any of the secrets away so I won't detail this very much except to say that I mostly guessed the twist, which was a little disappointed. My other complaint is that the author really spent a good portion of pages saying nothing at all. There was a lot of rambling and while some passages gave good insights into the characters and the ideas of magic and love, quite a bit was pointless. These pages caused my mind to wander and distracted from the otherwise beautiful story. "Beauty Sleep" was still very enjoyable and I look forward to other books in this series.

I love reading re-telling of fairy tales. This book was just that, a sweet and unique re-telling of Sleeping Beauty.

The beginning of the story follows somewhat with the classic fairy tale but about halfway through the book some interesting twists take place that really make this book a good read. If you like fairy tales you will like this book. It is a read that makes you feel good.

My biggest complaint would be that so much time was spent setting up the story. I really wish Aurore could've spent more time in the enchanted forest. This is a small quip and overall I enjoyed this book. It is a short quick read, that is beautifully written and never left me bored.

I wasn't sure at first when I started reading the story, the beginning was very wordy and almost felt overwhelming. Once I had a feel for the author's way of writing, I couldn't wait to read more. It was one of those 'I'll just read one more chapter...' and then all of a sudden I was reading the epilogue. I love how the short fairy tale I grew up with could be expanded in such depth without losing me in the descriptions and details.
For me the book is definitely a keeper. I've already purchased more of the 'Retelling' books.