Apolline is happy hunting magical creatures on her pirate infested outer-perimeter planet. She is a fantastic shot, and doesn’t flinch at the blood and guts of her kills. Never once did she consider she could be the missing Princess of Tyrone. All her life, she has heard the story of the Princess, cursed to sleep for eternity, unless her betrothed, the Prince of Oran, gave her true love’s kiss. Although Apolline knows she is betrothed, she thinks her fairy guardians arranged it out of ignorance of human ways. The thought she could be a princess is inconceivable.
Then Allard appears. Handsome, charming—but he’s not hers to have. He’s betrothed, too. Her guardians warn her against her new found friendship, but she and Allard meet in secret anyway. Despite her rough exterior, he sees beyond her gun-slinging bravado, and their love blossoms.
But the deadline for the sleeping curse is approaching. If Apolline falls in love with the wrong person, she could end up sleeping forever.
A quirky, adventurous retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with a less than princess-ly princess!
*Generously received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
(Reviewer's Note: I am still currently reading The Forbidden Wish and I am hoping to finishing it soon, so I can post the review for everyone)
Who I would recommend this for:
I would recommend this to readers that enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles series by Marrisa Meyer,The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, and Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls series) by Maggie Stiefvater.
As soon as I saw the cover of this book and read the description, I was hooked. I love re-tellings of fairy tales and steampunk stories, such as, Firefly and The Infernal Devices. And Princess of Tryone did not disappoint.
Hamstead's creation of a space universe with different plants and creatures is incredible. I absolutely loved the way that she stayed true to the Grimm's fairy tales, yet she made them her own. As a writer, Hamstead made each fairy tale identifiable, but with a twist. The focus was on the children of the well known characters, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Snow White, the Evil Queen, but Hamstead did not rely on the original name of the characters. She made them her own by naming them Cytheria, Byranna, and Apolline as Sleeping Beauty. This allowed for the characters to become someone and something else in a whole new story.
The main protagonist is Appoline, or Sleeping Beauty. She is a spunky, sassy, ass-kicking female that is completely independent and stays true to herself. I applaud Hamstead for keeping these traits in Appoline through the whole story. For many stories, the writer will create a heroine that is strong and independent, but as soon as they meet "the one" they completely lose all of the traits that made them strong and appealing. This was not the case for Appoline. Appoline stayed Appoline even after she met her parents and learned that her true identity is Elpida. This is such a strong message to send to women. Stay true to yourself and who you are.
Appoline feared that once she became a queen and would be in the public eye, that she would have to become a totally different person, but I loved that she was told that all of the basic traits of being a queen could be taught. It is who she is an individual that will make the people love her.
Appoline's love interest is Allard. Allard was a particularly fun character to read. I think that I actually enjoyed reading his parts of the story more than Appoline's. Allard is extremely loyal, respectful, and thoughtful. He is mature for his age. Instead of thinking about himself, he thinks about Cytheria and Hernan, his planet, his father, and Elpida. He does have instances where he wants to be selfish, but in the end, he realizes that he needs to think about what is best for the future.
Allard's love and interest in Appoline is pure. He loves her for who she is as a person and does not judge her for her social position. He does not believe that he is better than her, instead he actually believes that she is better than him. He is amazed by her knowledge of magic, the working class, and her ability to hunt. I find this to be really admirable.
I really appreciate that Hamstead wrote Appoline and Allard's love story as a friendship that grows into more. They did not automatically jump into a whirlwind romance. They kept each other at arms link, because they want to be respectful to their betrothed. They both understand the promises that they have and the responsibilities that come with it. This work shows a mature depiction of a friendship and romantic relationship. I stand-up and applaud Hamstead. Thank you, Hamstead! Thank you for writing a strong heroine, thank you for writing a great love story where people become friends and love each other for who they are, and thank you for creating such a great steampunk/fairy tale world!
I could keep writing about all of the different facets of this work that I love. I haven't even touched on the fairies, Bryanna (which is a great villian! She is just as interesting as the heroes!), the Whites, and the technology in the work. If you have not read this book, you need to! I am so happy that there will be a sequel and can't to see which direction Hamstead goes with it. Either way, I know that I will be in for a treat. Thank you, again, NetGalley for the copy! :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to review! I'm glad you enjoyed the book.
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