Fractured Fables: Containing A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended

Fractured Fables #1-2

by Alix E. Harrow

“Implacable destiny is no match for courage, sisterhood, stubbornness, and a good working knowledge of fairy tales.” —Katherine Arden, bestselling author of the Winternight trilogy, on A Spindle Splintered

Follow professional fairy tale fixer, Zinnia Gray, as she helps women get the endings they deserve! First, Sleeping Beauty in A Spindle Splintered, featuring Arthur Rackham's original illustrations for The Sleeping Beauty, fractured and reimagined. And then, Snow White's Evil Queen in A Mirror Mended!

In A Spindle Splintered, it's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday. When she was young, an industrial accident left her with a rare condition and no one who has it has lived to twenty-two.

Her best friend is intent on making Zin's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, she finds herself cast into another world, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.

Then, in A Mirror Mended, Zinnia discovers there’s more than one person trapped in a story they didn’t choose. Snow White's Evil Queen has found out how her story ends and she's desperate for a rewrite. Will Zinnia accept the queen's poisonous request for a rewrite and save them both from the hot iron shoes that wait for them? Or will she try another path?


At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Retellings, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Short Stories, Audiobook, LGBT

254 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 13, 2024

About the author

a former academic, adjunct, cashier, blueberry-harvester, and kentuckian, alix e. harrow is now a full-time writer living in virginia with her husband and their semi-feral kids.

she is the hugo award-winning and nyt-bestselling author of THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY (2019), THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES (2020), a duology of fairytale novellas (A SPINDLE SPLINTERED and A MIRROR MENDED), STARLING HOUSE (2023) and various short fiction. her next book, THE EVERLASTING, will be out on october 28th, 2025!

her writing is represented by kate mckean at howard morhaim literary agency.

newsletter: https://buttondown.com/alixeharrow
email: alixeharrow at gmail.com
insta: alix.e.harrow
bsky: ‪@alixeharrow.bsky.social‬

**I AM NOT ON FACEBOOK OR TWITTER, nor will i ever offer to connect you with my "marketing team." this is a scam.

Reviews

[Hailey Goshert · Rating 4 out of 5]

wholesome, quick-witted, AND they were all gay😌🩵

[Kaida_Daughter.Of.Dragons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairy Tales/ Fantasy - 3.65 🌟

Overview - If you are a fan of fairy tale re-tellings (especially sapphic ones that cross multiple worlds and are self-aware of their own trope subversion), you might really like the two novellas in this book. Warning: there is some 4th wall breaking & a lot of pop culture references. If that’s not something you enjoy in your fantasy/ fairy tale books, you might want to skip this one and pick up another of Alix E. Harrow’s amazing works instead.

Plot&Pacing - 4 🌟 - Premise:
Story 1: Zinnia has been terminally ill her whole life and has always identified with the tale of Sleeping Beauty, the princess who is cursed from birth but eventually saved from her fate. On her 21st birthday, Zinnia finds herself accidently catapaulted into another world playing out the Sleeping Beauty tale, and she teams up with the Princess to try and get them both their sought-after Happily Ever Afters.
Story 2 continues Zinnia’s adventures through fairy tale AUs, but in this one she finds herself face-to-face with the Evil Queen from Snow White. Shenanigans ensue.
Pacing for both stories worked quite well. I also enjoyed the little plot twists and overlapping fairy tales in both novellas.

Setting - 3.75 🌟 - I admit, I’m a sucker for fairy tales in all their iterations, so this book appealed to me quite a lot. Yes, the fairy tale settings pull from a lot of pre-existing imagery, but I think that there is enough uniqueness to them to enjoy the settings on their own. I esp. liked the glimpses we get of the different versions of our featured tales. Yes, the worldbuilding is a bit squishy, but I do also really like the idea of “narrative resonance” & how it plays out in both stories.

Characters - 3 🌟 - I think all the characters & their arcs (however big or small) were well-written. I can see how Zinnia’s character development & regression plays into the story narrative & themes. I tried not to let personal dislike influence this rating too much, but I just got really irritated with Zinnia, esp. in the second story. I liked a lot of the side characters quite a lot, though, even when they had limited appearances.

Themes - 4 🌟 - For all the tonque-in-cheek humor & pop culture references, I think the two stories had some really solid themes. Personal agency is the main theme that the characters wrestle with (they are princesses and witches in literal fairy tales), but the stories also look at how love can be smothering or supportive, as well as what “happily ever after” even means.

Personal Enjoyment - 3.5 🌟 - Hmmm… I did enjoy aspects of these two stories quite a lot, but I did not love it like I thought I would. Highs: lots of really raw & powerful lines & moments about women in stories + I loved the Maleficent & Evil Queen characters. Lows: I just hate when stories throw character growth out the window & start over with the sequel…
The book did make me want to go study folk lore, though. 😆

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! I adore fairy tales and reimagined versions of fairy tales. This book hooked me right from the beginning. 5 stars!

[Cassandra Plunkett · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Out of 4. I liked the first short story better. The second one was very abrupt feeling and didnt make alot of sense. But I liked the idea of this alot.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 rounded up

[niki lipsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think I'd like it as much as i did. But now that it's over i wish there was more

[Caitlin Griese · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was two novellas, A Spindle Splintered, and it's follow up A Mirror Mended. I loved the concept of these two stories, but I don't think they were developed enough. As always, Harrow is a wonderful story teller and the theme of live your own story were well done. My issue is with the mechanics of everything and how rushed it felt. I know these are novellas, and I can suspended my beliefs, but Harrow introduced how everything was supposed to work and it just didn't make any sense. These stories probably needed to be full books for it not to feel rushed. The love story in the second one felt especially forced. I think I was more disappointed in how these went more than anything else. The concept was so good and I'd just come off a five star Harrow read, so when this didn't meet expectations, I was disappointed. Again, I still plan to read everything Harrow puts out because she is a fantastic story teller.

The first novella is A Spindle Splintered. Zinnia is celebrating her twenty-first and probably last birthday in the abandoned prison tower. Zin has a medical condition that is quickly killing her. Nobody with her disease has made it to twenty-two. Her friend Charm is throwing her a Sleeping Beauty themed party. That's Zin's favorite fairy tale because it depicts a girl with a doomed fate overcoming it and living happily ever after. That's what Zinnia wants. After every one but her and Charm leave the party, Zin pricks her finger on the spinning wheel and immediately disappears and wakes up in the Sleeping Beauty story where she comes face to face with beautiful Primrose. Primrose doesn't like her fate. Zin might have saved her from pricking her own finger and falling into a deep sleep, but now she is going to have to marry the ridiculous prince in three days. Zin convinces Primrose to go on an adventure to find the witch who cursed her. When they find the witch they are thrown when they are welcomed and the witch explains her side. The curse she bestowed was to help Prim escape her fate. Prim and Zin go back to the castle where they attempt to give in to the curse, but the prince intercepts them and has Zin thrown into the dungeon. The queen comes to visit and Zin convinces her to bring her a bunch of roses so that she can change Prim's fate. Then she texts her best friend Charm. Zin recreates a fairytale scene and starts traveling through the multiverse calling on other Sleeping Beauties to help her. When she wakes up Charm and a bunch of princesses are in her cell. They break out and Charm stops the wedding. They start for the tower again but Zin's body is failing. The last thing she remembers is pricking her finger on a sliver of the spindle that was left behind. When she wakes up she is in the hospital. Charm and Primrose are both there and explain that her body has healed but she still has the disease so it's more like the clock reset. Primrose and Charm get together and Zin decides that she is going to go back into the multiverse and help other princesses. The end.

In the second novella, Zin has been traveling the multiverse for five years. She hasn't talked to Charm in six months since they had a fight. Zin is getting tired of repeating the same story over and over again. After hooking up with a random wedding guest at the most recent Sleeping Beauty story, she looks in the mirror and finds someone else looking back asking please. She puts her hand through the mirror and is pulled into another story line. She quickly realizes this is Snow White and she's face to face with the Evil Queen. The queen wants Zin to show her how to escape from her story. She has Zin's childhood book of fairy tales and the queen knows her fate and wants to escape it. Zin has been helping the protagonists, not the villains so she refuses to help. The queen chains her up, but when Zin escapes the Huntsman is there to bring her back. The queen starts explaining her side, but all Zin hears is a sob story. Finally the queen realizes they can travel through her mirror so they start going through story after story until they are exhausted and land in a very dark version of the story. A little girl named Red crosses their path and Zin immediately helps her. They come across a cottage and none other than the witch from Sleeping Beauty comes out. They all go into the cottage and Red explains her story. The Evil Queen in this version kidnaps children and eats their hearts. The Huntsmen track Red down and take her away. Zin promises her Evil Queen, she has started calling Eva, to show her how to escape if they go save Red. When they get to the castle they find Red's parents there already plotting. When Zin informs them the queen got Red a few hours ago they accelerate their plans and break out. They find the children and escape. Before Zin and Eva can get out they are captured and taken to see the queen who is none other than Snow White. She has been eating children's hearts to stay young. With no way out Zin sends a desperate plea to Charm to help her. Eva decides she is no longer going to be the victim turned villain. She will be the hero. She attacks Snow White with the ribbon on her shift. Zin gets pulled through the mirror by Charm. Zin finds out that while she has been avoiding her own story, Charm and Prim have been trying to move forward with theirs, but Zin's absence has caused a lot of hurt. Zin disappeared when Charm said they needed to talk. After talking with Prim, who informs Zin that they are looking to adopt a child, Zin realizes just how much hurt she has caused by constantly disappearing and finds out that her multiverse travels are causing issues in her world. If she doesn't stop traveling, the worlds will continue to combine. Zin travels to find Eva one last time and finds Eva living in a cottage. She explains that Red's parent led a revolution and Red will be crowned queen and they will form a government of elected representatives. Zin hating that Eva is still stuck in this story writes her a new story in the back of her fairy tale book. Eva finishes the story and they go through the mirror together one last time. They both know that Zin can't stay. They sleep together and then go to the castle where the queen gives her an apple and says to use it at the very end. Zin travels back through the mirror and realizes the queen gave her a way out in the future when her body eventually starts failing. If she bites the apple Eva can kiss her as the true love to bring her back. With that in mind, Zin goes and lives her story in her world.

[Nita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. The story was clever and the author was upfront about the spiderman multiverse inspiration, which I appreciated. A lot of times authors don't want to admit where their inspiration comes from even when it's glaringly obvious. I'm glad I got the compilation because it's a continuation of the same story.
The narrator was good with accents and emphasis. The plot was an irreverent mix of self-declared "the princess saves herself in this one" and "thou shalt not escape your fate, or else!".
I think I slightly preferred the second story, but it may just be a recency effect.
All in all, good times.

[Joanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t even force myself to finish this book no matter how hard I tried. The author tries so hard to be modern using cringy slang that it’s impossible to take this story seriously. I also wish I had known certain things before buying this book, otherwise I never would have even picked it up. The „feminism” in this book is laughable. I wish I could give it 0 stars, it’s just not for me whatsoever.

[Ellen J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a bit peeved. i purchased this because I follow the author and it was advertised as a new book. It is not a new book. I have purchased and read both books by the author. I feel duped. I am still rating it as five starts since that was what I rated each of the tales previously. I am very unhappy with the publisher. I hate when they do this.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

True Rating: 4.5 Stars

Content/Trigger Warnings: Violence, Reference to suicide, Terminal illness, Death, Heavy references to nonconsensual kissing, References to unwanted marriages and marriage beds, Graphic depictions of illness

Representation: Adopted character, Sapphic relationships, Bisexuality, Terminally ill character

"I guess there must have been a first time each of these stories was told, somewhere in the way-back reaches of time, centuries before the Grimms ever tried to turn a profit on them. It was probably just some ordinary person whispering across a fire or carving pictures into whalebones or daubing mud on the walls of a cave, casually calling a new universe into existence."

Review TL;DR

A refreshing take on the idea of fairytale retellings, with Harrow's signature beautiful writing and descriptions, as well as an FMC that you can't help but want to root for. While there are some weaknesses, the stories together overall manage to give an important but often forgotten message. This omnibus edition shows how much better it is to read the two stories close together to really make the message sink in.

Full Review

I've been a fan of Alix. E. Harrow's writing since I first read "Starling House" a few years ago, and I've spent the time since then reading her backlist. I knew these two novellas existed, but I wanted to read them in this omnibus edition instead of on KU. I knew I was going to want to annotate the physical copy, and, honestly, I just loved the cover of this one.

Harrow definitely didn't disappoint with these stories. If you get this omnibus, I highly recommend reading the introduction. It's kind of hilarious how the idea for this these stories came about. I've read a lot of retellings in my time, many of the same ones as Harrow, and I will always read them because I think it's amazing what authors can do. Harrow definitely pushed into a slightly new area, and I enjoyed it. While the idea of alternate worlds have always existed, the way Harrow uses them in this story and the rules involved are just very clever and, at times, funny.

I loved Zinnia as our main character. She's a complicated person, who says one thing and then tends to feel or do another. Even though many won't be able to relate to her personal illness, there are many parts about her that ARE relatable. She's also extremely flawed, which comes out more in the second novella ("A Mirror Mended") than in the first one, but those flaws are things I'm sure everyone can understandable.

I will say, "A Spindle Splintered" is definitely the strongest of the two stories. It's got the tightest plot, with more action and interactions with people. This is the story that really gets the reader into Zinnia's mind and throws us into this world, showing off what's possible. It's the one that feels the most like an actual retelling, and maybe that's why it's so strong.

Still, "A Mirror Mended" IS necessary, because it shows the other side of the coin. It continues Zinnia's story and shows what can happen when you don't take the time to really consider the consequences of what you're doing -in more ways than one. While it is slower and now as action heavy, it's still a very important story and has some really good lines and moments in it.

Overall, I really enjoyed these stories and only took off half a point because the second story wasn't quite as compelling. This reminded me of how much I love Harrow's writing, just in time for her next release. If you're like me and love the author's writing style, I definitely recommend at least picking this up from your library. It's worth reading at least once.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! This is an immensely entertaining, empowering, and often funny read, and as always, I adored Harrow’s writing. This volume is actually a combination of two of her related works: A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended. Zinnia Gray is a terminally ill young woman who has been obsessed with fairy tales since she was a child. Her best friend, Charmaine (known as Charm), arranges a Sleeping Beauty-themed birthday party, complete with spinning wheel. Zinnia tests it by pricking her finger on the spindle and is whisked away to an alternate world with a version of Beauty: Primrose. Zinnia decides to help save Primrose from her curse only to discover it’s not the same story we’ve all been told. Her second adventure takes place some years after her first foray into fairy tale worlds. Zinnia is now a practiced fairy tale world jumper, but one day she is pulled into a world through a mirror—not by using a spindle or of her own volition—by the Queen in Snow White. Much like in her first adventure, the Queen isn’t everything we’ve heard before, and as they travel among Snow White stories together we find out not every Snow White is the protagonist. Both stories end on hopeful notes, and the writing and premises are both absolutely addictive. As someone with an interest in narrative traditions and retellings of known tales, I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who might enjoy a new take on fairy tales, independent and potty-mouthed heroines, strong women, or a fast-paced writing style.

[Stacey O · Rating 5 out of 5]

“All of them came when I called. All of them stepped out of their own narratives to save someone else” ❤️❤️❤️ the year of girlhood. Women taking a stand to support other women in the face of being marginalized, taken advantage of, and underestimated.

A spindle splintered is such a fun and clever way to depict fairy tales! I loved this so much.

“If you still want more in your greedy selfish heart: I recommend you run, and keep running.” These are dangerous words for someone with wanderlust to read 😂

“Oh I quite understand. But then, I’m the villain”
Aren’t we all the villains a little bit in other people’s stories?? Playing into peoples misinterpretations of us sometimes to excuse our own bad decisions.

I had no idea how this story was going to be wrapped up without being either too happily ever after (and dare I say unrealistic when it’s a story about a fairy tale multiverse…?) or being just too damn sad. But im once again reminded why I will read anything Alix writes because this was such a beautiful story of both hope and acceptance.

Idk if this was intentional, but I also loved the nuance of the illustrations. In the first novella they’re all over the place and depict bits and pieces of other stories. In the second novella where our girl is coming to terms with her story, the illustrations are clearer and entirely about her own story. ❤️

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fractured Fables is a compilation of two novellas into one book. The stories included are A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended. Alix E. Harrow has such a unique writing style and I just love it so much. This is a light, quick read that will entertain you. I knew I had to grab it when I saw it was hers and that it was a fairy tale retelling.

The first half of our book is A Spindle Splintered. It is a Sleeping Beauty retelling about Zinnia Gray. A woman turning 21 and for her birthday her best friend throws her a Sleeping Beauty party. Little did they know that the spinning wheel would take her to another world. One where another Sleeping Beauty needs some help. Zinnia must beat the curse, save the princess and somehow find her way back home.

The last half of our book is A Mirror Mended. This is still about Zinnia Gray but this time around we have the Evil Queen from the Snow White story in the mix. She has gotten her hands on a book of fairy tales and has found out how her storyline ends and of course wants her ending changed. Zinnia and the queen team up because they might be each other’s only hope.

[LT · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea of a series like this and it was done well. I just think I'm a bit too old to be considered a audience member.

It is, however, a unique twist on, first, Sleeping Beauty...a pretty girl just waiting to die, second, why Sleeping Beauty needs saving, and third, saving herself. The heroine who either saves her or gets in the way, has her own tale that is a bit of a Sleeping Beauty, too.

With Book 2, the twist is the Snow White fairy tale and who's actually the bad person...or maybe, who is the good person! She's still working on Sleeping Beauty (it's her story, after all) but is caught up in this other that seems to follow her through the pages of time.

It was a pretty easy and interesting read so don't take the 3 star rating to heart. Again, it's probably more a matter of age than anything else.

*My books are all library books and are sometimes shuffled around to accommodate those that are expiring and have people waiting in line. I "read" this for 20 days but really, it was more like a total of 3.

[Kristina F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alix Harrow truly knows how to pack it all in in these two novellas - witty protagonist, creative plot, beautifully descriptive language, queer love, and upending patriarchal fairy tale lore. I loved this refreshing new twist on age-old fairy tales. It was both familiar escapism and a fun page-turner that kept me guessing as to how we would reach the ending.

I also really enjoyed the Spider-Verse movies, so knowing that the first one inspired Harrow to write these had me sold from the get-go.

[Elisa Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are fun, irreverent novellas. They are surprisingly heart wrenching. (I thought they were supposed to be lights fairy tales. Damnit, Alix!)
I love the characters and the twists in the fable-multiverse. They leave me wanting to read the old Grimm's Fairy Tales.

I will read anything Alix Harrow writes. She has a great blend of lyrical writing, puzzle like plotting, flawed, complex and loveable characters and imperfect (but totally perfect) endings.

[Katie Sayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main character is such a sassy sarcastic turd! I love her! And the wild adventures she goes on sound amazing. Her BFF though, she's a true ride or die kind of friend. I wasn't quite sure how I'd like this book when I found it but figured I'd give it a try. Really thankfully I didn't put it back on the shelf!

[Debdanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to see this on the new book shelf- less excited when I got home and discovered that it was just a reprint of two stories I had read earlier. But being desperate for a good read, I read them again. And, while I still wish they were new, they were better back-to-back in the retelling than they had been the first time alone.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific little book with 2 novellas: modern extrapolations of the Cinderellla and Snow White fairy tales. A terminally ill girl in OUR world on her 21st birthday begins a journey into multiple alternate universes rescuing a variety of Cinderella archetypes. A witty and sweet book, great for fairytale lovers and Disney fans.

[Victoria💕 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful story. I love the twists and turns. Love the perspective of each character. Ugh just LOVE




SPOILERS~~~~~





I did want more of a happily ever after for Z and Eva. Like I get that’s the whole point of their plot but as a reader I love the cozy predictably of “and they lived happily ever after…🥰😍”

[Katie White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate that the author doesn't dumb anything down and assumes that if you are reading about a fairytale multiverse that you are already well acquainted with Perrault, Grimm, Disney, and Sondheim. These stories were greatly entertaining. It's definitely written for people who love reimagined fairytales, like myself.

[Ceara Crawshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5 I really love this author it was a quick fun read. My particular copy had a bunch of weird illustrations through the whole thing which I didn’t like the style of and made me question the age group intended for the book. I’d recommend it to a youth maybe but not an adult. It was deece but not this authors best work IMHO

[H · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Goth girls like Snow WHite"

Er...no. Not at all.

Hansel and Gretel
In the original story, the evil mother abandons her stepchildren in a deep forest to let them die as the couple was unable to feed them any further. In the forest, they discover a cottage which belongs to a cannibal witch. The children, after devouring the feast thrown by the old woman, outwit her and kill her.

[Andrew Hoffert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that the stories, like a fairytale, were short and didn’t overstay their welcome.
I do think spindle splintered was stronger, but I enjoyed mirror mended more as it had interesting ideas/twists.

[Kassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was cute, quirky, and so fun to read. With 2 short retellings of sleeping beauty and Snow White’s evil queen.

Grimm brothers x Into the Spider Verse = Fractured Fables
A princess multiverse with a good sense of humor throughout.

Would definitely recommend to any Disney/Fable fans.

[Jeanne Collier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zinnia is just the right blend of plucky, sparky chaos for a terminally-ill girl unexpectedly thrust into a fairy tale.  

The stories are both sweet and sad, but ultimately satisfying.

Also, the quote about Harold being a sentient cleft chin?  ::chef's kiss::  lol

[Jennifer Baars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are there multiple flaws in these stories? Yes. It certainly isn't the best plot ever.

But I really enjoyed it and loved the concept and I just wanted to keep reading. It's very wholesome and an easy/fast read. With fun references to the fairytales as we know it.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White – sans Disney spin. This was a fun, quick read (listen) and the narrator was great. If you like fairy tale reimaginings, multiverse shenanigans, princesses that try to change their fates, and hot anti-heros, this one’s for you.