‘Sleeping Beauty’ Gets Another Retelling

If the words Briar Rose, Aurora, Maleficent, or Sleeping Beauty always catch your attention when you’re perusing Disney Fanatic, then it’s safe to say that you’re probably a big fan of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and the 1950 Disney movie Sleeping Beauty. You’re also probably a big fan of Aurora in Maleficent (2014) or Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) when the Disney princess was played by Elle Fanning!

There are plenty of Sleeping Beauty retellings in the worlds of film or literature already, but if you’re also very excited for the new Indiana Jones-style adventure movie Uncharted that’s premiering in February, or you enjoyed the video games that have inspired that archaeological adventure, then you might be particularly interested in the newest take on Sleeping Beauty. “The Bone Spindle” is a brand-new fantasy book by Leslie Vedder that’s premiering on January 11, and it combines Sleeping Beauty’s story with a treasure hunt and a love triangle “in a lush world inspired by beloved fairytales”!

According to the Goodreads summary, “Sleeping Beauty meets Indiana Jones in this thrilling fairytale retelling for fans of “Sorcery of Thorns” and “All the Stars and Teeth””. Since “Sorcery of Thorns” is very much a fairy tale adventure with a Disney princess-style heroine reminiscent of stories by Gail Carson Levine, and “All the Stars and Teeth” is a thrilling mermaid tale that Little Mermaid fans would enjoy, it stands to reason that Disney fans would find a book like those to be interesting!

“The Bone Spindle” stars Fi (“a bookish treasure hunter with a knack for ruins and riddles, who definitely doesn’t believe in true love”), Shane (“a tough-as-dirt girl warrior from the north who likes cracking skulls, pretty girls, and doing things her own way”), and Briar Rose.

Briar Rose is normally Princess Aurora’s character, but in this book, the character is a cursed prince who is waiting for true love’s kiss to wake him from the sleeping curse instead! Since cursed princes aren’t usually featured in Disney stories, this young adult fantasy adventure is already a unique Sleeping Beauty adaptation. When Fi “pricks her finger on a bone spindle while exploring a long-lost ruin”, she gets a magical connection with Briar Rose and must work with Shane to break the curse.

This book has “dark magic, Witch Hunters, and bad exes” for the girl heroes to contend with, and there is also “a mysterious witch” who serves as another love interest in the book’s list of potential fairy tale lovers. Overall, this unique young adult fantasy will present a never-before-seen approach to the Sleeping Beauty story while also being “full of adventure, [LGBTQ] romance, found family, and snark”!

Author Rosaria Munda, the author of “The Aurelian Cycle”, gave “The Bone Spindle” an excellent review. According to her, the book “was a delight from start to finish, with smart banter, dreamy romance, and daring adventure across an intricate, curse-ridden world”! Creative writing, fairy tale romance, and energetic plotting definitely could make “The Bone Spindle” a book for your to-read pile! Are you interested in reading this book when it is released later this month?