Sleeping Beauty is Still Sleeping – Once Upon A Dream {Review}

Once Upon A Dream by Liz Braswell
Series: Twisted Tales #2
Publisher: Disney Press (2016 - April 5th)
eARC (448 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Also by this author: A Whole New World
Also in this series: A Whole New World
Reading Challenges: 2016 Retelling Challenge, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

What if the sleeping beauty never woke up? Once Upon a Dream marks the second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways.
It should be simple--a dragon defeated, a slumbering maiden, a prince poised to wake her. But when said prince falls asleep as soon as his lips meet the princess's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.
With a desperate fairy's last curse infiltrating her mind, Princess Aurora will have to navigate a dangerous and magical landscape deep in the depths of her dreams. Soon she stumbles upon Phillip, a charming prince eager to join her quest. But with Maleficent's agents following her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are, and moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon

My Review

I wasn’t going to request this book through NetGalley since I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first book, A Whole New World. However, I logged into NetGalley one day and found that I had access to this title. I had to read it then because I was curious. And then I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed Once Upon A Dream more than A Whole New World.

The main reason that I enjoyed this book more was that the book did not spend the first third quoting the Disney film. Rather, the book starts at the end of the Disney movie when Prince Phillip kisses the Princess Aurora. In the movie, this kiss wakes Aurora and there is much rejoicing. In the book, Phillip also falls into the deep sleep with Aurora and they are both now stuck in the dream.

This is such an interesting idea and I loved how this dream-world has some dark elements. It isn’t a pretty dream by any means. Maleficent is part of the dream world. She is, in some way, forming the dream to her wishes. This is kind of confusing to explain and yet it was interesting.

Aurora is trying to figure out what is real and what is not. She knows something isn’t right and yet she can’t point to what it is. Maleficent has, in the dream, basically adopted Aurora as a daughter of sorts. Aurora has to get past that misconception before she can really figure things out.

If you decide to read Once Upon A Dream, I hope you enjoy it. It was an interesting read and, like I said, I enjoyed it more than A Whole New World.

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley for
review consideration. This in no way affects my opinion of the title
nor the content of this review.