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Nov 21, 2008

Lucy rated it:

Growing up in West Castle, on the outer edge of his father’s kingdom, Prince Sigismund has always dreamed of noble knights on valiant quests. He yearns to follow in their footsteps—even as he knows that he is destined to follow in his father’s, and rule the kingdom.

And then Sigismund starts having the dreams. In his dreams, he is traversing the forbidden wood that lies on the edge of West Castle. In his dreams, he is exploring a castle where time seems to have stopped altogether. And More...

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Jan 06, 2012

Liesel rated it:

I guess I didn't really look at the cover, because it was only after I'd gotten to the foreshadowed story of a sleeping princess in the fourth chapter or so that I realized the similarity of this book to Sleeping Beauty. From then on, I described it as the story of Sleeping Beauty from the prince's perspective. I think the idea was great, but the execution could have been dealt with more smoothly. For instance, the extreme focus on the intricate workings and layers of magic was interesting, but More...

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Jan 04, 2011

Ruhama rated it:

Sigismund has always suspected that there's more than meets the eye with the Wood that's just outside his castle. What he didn't realize was how entangled his part would be and how much magic would be involved. Sigismund is a prince with ties to the faie, hence his father sets up a tutor for him by the name of Balisan. Through him, Sigismund learns more about the fairy realm, swordsmanship, family history and dreamwalking. The Prince learns of a sleeping princess on the inside of the enchan More...

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Oct 02, 2010

Tim rated it:

This fantasy for older children and younger young adults (if there is such a category) is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty legend from the point of view of the Prince. And it's terrifically well done.[return][return]Helen Lowe manages to make the prince and his world believable and engaging, and also solves the difficult problem of how to make the sleeping princess an active participant in the story: to say how would be to give the game away. Her writing style is smooth, measured, and stylish, More...

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Oct 23, 2009

Brandy rated it:

Fairy Tale retellings are a dime a dozen and, while I love reading them, I am the first to admit that few are done well. Thornspell is one of the exceptions and is fantastic in every sense of the word. It is a retelling of the tale of The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. This retelling is unique in that the story follows the life of the prince, not the princess.

As a boy, Prince Sigismund longs for adventure and something interesting to happen in his life. He lives sequestered in an obscu More...

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Sep 02, 2010

Brenna rated it:

Interesting retelling of Sleeping Beauty told from the perspective of the hero-prince. I think this book would actually appeal to boys if they were to five it a chance, because a great deal of the story focused on the hero’s training in order to defeat the villain, Margravine zu Malvolin and the story was pushed along by the action in the story. This was a less romantic retelling than most fairy tales that typically have female protagonists and often appeal to girls. I didn’t personally love More...

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Jun 21, 2010

Rebekah rated it:

I would have given this book a higher rating if I hadn't felt like the writing and the story at parts were a little bit chaotic. It's a fun retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I give her full points for creativity and an awesome main character, but it's hard to follow what's going on at parts, and it's hard to pay attention at other parts. It got pretty intense by the ending, and had a couple surprises I hadn't guessed before the author gave it to yah. She does wonderful character descriptions, More...

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Oct 12, 2008

Laura rated it:

Great, I read this as an ARC. I think your Twilight kids might like this too.

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Jan 13, 2010

Kara rated it:

A re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, telling the prince’s side of the story. And wow is it boring! There’s a lot of traveling from point a to point b to point c and back again, and in between the moving from place to place like checker pieces, there’s a lot of standing around and talking, usually of someone telling the prince such-and-such happened 100 years ago or this-and-that happened 1,000 years ago, and that’s why you have to fight the evil witch. The actually fighting is a long time co More...

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Dec 15, 2011

Megan D. rated it:

First of all, what a great cover! The artist is Antonio Javier Caparo. I love good cover art.

This debut novel by Helen Lowe is a clever re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty: it's the prince's story. I love this about the book. In the traditional stories, the prince, while playing a major role, gets very little page time, so his part seems almost incidental. I loved that that this story was all about the prince, and his training to fulfill his role. I love the role the princess played in More...

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Jun 09, 2011

Mary Kate rated it:

(My rating is 4.5 stars.)

In her debut novel, author Helen Lowe gives us an absorbing and utterly entertaining re-telling of Sleeping Beauty - told from the prince's point of view.

The inside flap (lovely cover art by Antonio Javier Caparo!) of Thornspell talks of enchantments and spells, dragons and knights, of dreams and danger and a mysterious girl trapped in thorns. Lowe delivers on every front.

Though I thought Thornspell was a bit slow in places, I love More...

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Jul 25, 2010

Jenben8426 rated it:

I waffled between a 2 and a 3 star on this one, but it just didn't quite make the jump to 3. In this retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty, Lowe has taken the view of the young prince, chosen to wake up the sleeping beauty after 100 years of sleep. Sigismund (what a weird name to choose by the way) is only 13 when he begins the quest of his dreams. When he meets Balisan, a strange and amazingly powerful sort of knight, he begins to learn his destiny as the chosen prince to break the spell More...

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Jan 11, 2009

CuriousLibrarian rated it:

Some adults really delight in reading fantasy for children or young adults. Those adults should quickly snatch up this book! Which is not to say that it's not good for children, just that it's one of the special class of youth fantasy that should not get overlooked by adult fantasy lovers.

It is nominally an expansion of "Sleeping Beauty" from the perspective of Price Sigismund, but it's so much more than that. This book takes many scattered elements -- enchanted and forbidden More...

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Jun 15, 2009

Lacey rated it:

The chapters in this book were REALLY long, which made it a poor choice for reading before bed. I think that with shorter chapters, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more; when I was winding down and feeling sleepy, parts of this story just felt a little too slow-moving and detailed to me.

But with that said, I really like the idea of a Sleeping Beauty retelling from the Prince's perspective (he's the one who remains awake, after all). Certain aspects of the story were fairly predi More...

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Jul 02, 2010

Darcy rated it:

This ended up being an interesting and satisfying fairytale. I am a sucker for most fairy tales, but sleeping beauty has always been a favorite and its about time someone took it on. I even prefer this to Robin McKinley's retelling and I really do enjoy her books. This follows the prince in the story almost exclusively, but the princess ends up not being the passive damsel in distress either. The evil is real and yet the good guys pull it off in the end--I love it!!

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Aug 15, 2009

Nicole Catherine rated it:

I really liked this book at first. I almost always love retellings of fairy tales, and I love when the prince gets a story. This prince's story was good. It was the princess who lacked depth. And the ending felt rushed and unresolved. It also had a taste of the classic "Hi, my name's Prince Charming, let's get married!" to it, when I would have preferred the prince and princess to get to know one another. So, this book was good. But the ending made me take away a star.

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Mar 03, 2011

Emily rated it:

This is a book that I stumbled upon while looking up books at the Library. Once I got started I couldn't put it down. This is 'the other story' or what have you to Sleeping Beauty. But since this is not Sleeping Beauty's story you don't know what is going to happen. Very imaginative and original magical and fantastical elements are woven throughout making the story captivating and interesting. I quite enjoyed it.

Any fairy tale lovers must try this book out!

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Sep 28, 2010

Sharon rated it:

I found this book "enchanting" <G>. It is loosely based on Sleeping Beauty, but it is so much more and different from that story. Helen wrote a wonderful fantasy about the boy, Sigismund, who is destined to break the 100 year curse. My favorite character is Bal'san, the boy's protector/teacher. He has a secret too that surprised me. There are fae, dragons, beasts, death and magic at play in this Young Adult book that even adults can enjoy. Helen Lowe is a great story teller.

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Jun 09, 2010

Krysta rated it:

You know, I was really glad to read a fairy-tale retelling that focused on a male protagonist. It seems that most retellings have to be from the perspective of the princess or other females involved in the story with a male sidekick if you're lucky. I also like that this version threw in a different type of magic - one that was more related to the potential in everyone and the ability to shape your own destiny. There were also references to the King Arthur legends which helped to ground it a lit More...

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Sep 14, 2009

Cheryl rated it:

A retailing of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty from the prince's point of view. Sigismund is raised closely guarded in a secluded castle in the western part of his father's kingdom. He learns of a curse that lies on the Woods is connected to his family. He is taught self defense and magic from a tutor sent by his father. Sigismund faces a very powerful evil as he ventures into the enchanted woods to meet his fate.

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Sep 08, 2009

Sheri rated it:

The beginning of this book boded well. I thought for sure it would turn out to be a 4 or 5 star. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my hopes. The middle dragged and dragged, with lots of mystical happenings that weren't descriptive enough to make sense. The ending was good, but I wish that Rue had been given more of a part. I really wish we'd gotten to learn more about her personality.

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Jul 20, 2009

Heather rated it:

I was disappointed. I really wanted to be sucked into the story, but I just wasn't. I enjoyed the last 1/4 of the book the best, but I guess I just had trouble relating to Sigismund for quite a lot of the beginning. I thought his tutor Balisan was more developed than the prince himself. Still, I think it was a good book and I like that the fairy tale (a Sleeping Beauty variation with some added magical elements) is told through the prince's life.

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Aug 13, 2010

Michelle rated it:

Just saw it on the shelves in the children's section of the library. I didn't have very high expectations (b/c of the cover art, truthfully) but I was in the mood for a light read, and I love fairy tale retellings.

I was impressed! Much more depth to the story and setting than I expected. It's told from the Prince's point of view, and I like how he matured through it.

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Aug 26, 2010

Carien rated it:

As some may have guessed from the description this book is based on the fairy tale 'The Sleeping Beauty'. But if you expect a re-telling then you're wrong! This is a very original story and a great one at that. Lowe uses the basics of the fairy tale, but weaves an intriguing and action filled tale that is all her own. Sigismund is a very likable character and there are some very cool other characters as well. It's a YA book and more focused on action than romance, but I think I can safely say ol More...

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Sep 21, 2009

Kadie rated it:

This is a retelling of a fairy tale (Sleeping Beauty) which I always love those if they are well-written. This one is told from the prince's point of view, plus the princess isn't so stereotypical - she is a little different from the lie-there-and-wait of the traditional sleeping beauty tale.

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Nov 15, 2010

Juanita rated it:

Awesome concept - Sleeping Beauty as told from the POV of the prince - but it didn't hold my attention 100% as I struggled to connect with the character. Just a personal thing I think. Even though the tone was fairytale-esk, I would have preferred it in 1st person POV.

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Feb 12, 2010

Tracie rated it:

A solid fairytale retelling. The story references Sleeping Beauty but adds dimension and original ideas to the tale as experienced by the prince. I did feel the ending was a little weak or rushed maybe, but I will def recommend as soon as I get the chance.

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Aug 25, 2009

Trisha rated it:

I liked the story line. It didn't focus enough on the romance and I didn't understand a lot of the magical stuff. That is why I rated it lower - because I couldn't follow what was happening magically and it over focused on the concepts that were easy to understand.

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Mar 15, 2011

~Megan~ rated it:

This book was pretty interesting. It was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, only from the prince's point of view, which was kind of different. It was kind of confusing in some parts, and rather violent in others, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

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Feb 22, 2010

Danie rated it:

This was a good ordinary boy (who happens to be a prince) dreaming of a his life turning into a fairytale. When it does he is thrust into a world of faeries, dragons and magical weapons. Its a good story but I didn't love love the writing.

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