Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Middleton Prep #3

Waking Ms. Briar

Rate this book
He’s a shakespeare quoting charmer, but the one girl he wants refuses to be part of his fanclub.

Welcome to Middleton Prep, a place where fairy tales and modern day collide. Where fair maidens spend their time developing lesson plans and valiant knights do battle with unreliable wifi signals; all in the hopes of finding True Love.
Sent to private school from the time she was a toddler, Aurora, (Rory) Briar, has felt unwanted her whole life. But one fateful night, on her sixteenth birthday, she dances with a mysterious boy in the woods, creating a sweet memory she has held onto for eight years.

Now in her twenties, Rory takes a job as a science teacher at the private academy of Middleton Prep, and to her delight, discovers her mystery boy is a fellow teacher. It doesn’t take long, however, for those memories to turn sour, as she watches Steven Phillips flirt and charm everyone he comes into contact with. Fearing their moment wasn’t as special as she thought, she pushes him away, determined not to give in to the chemistry they share.

When they are forced to work side by side on a project, can Steven take the opportunity to show Rory the man behind the charm? Or will her stubborn insecurities keep them apart forever?

Waking Ms. Briar, is the third book in the Middleton Prep series. Each book is a stand alone story, but the series is best read in order. Every installment is a loosely based, contemporary retelling of a favorite fairy tale, full of swoon worthy kisses and, of course, a Happily Ever After.

154 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 28, 2018

81 people are currently reading
77 people want to read

About the author

Laura Ann

92 books208 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
67 (41%)
4 stars
55 (33%)
3 stars
31 (19%)
2 stars
8 (4%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Reader.
1,195 reviews91 followers
July 3, 2018
A sweet and romantic tale based on the fairytale Sleeping Beauty. I liked the clever way the author made this work in a school situation. As usual the characters are very likeable and easy to connect with. For those of you who do not like graphic sexual content this is what I believe is called a clean romance as are all the books in this series so far. It’s a quick read but well written. I look forward to the next book.
Profile Image for Stacey.
321 reviews5 followers
November 3, 2018
A modern retelling of the Sleeping Beauty, this was a very quick read. Although there are of course a lot of differences - being set in modern times has that effect ;-p - I enjoyed looking for the similarities between this and the version I grew up with.
I loved the interactions between the two main characters & of course getting to see how things were going with the ones from previous stories. There is a lot of banter in this book which I personally love. The heroine is playing very hard to get in all sincerity & the Hero has to prove that he is not playing at all but is sincere in his efforts towards her. A short clean story with a happy conclusion that also introduces a new character for another book in the series.
Profile Image for Cassey.
1,348 reviews4 followers
August 29, 2018
A sweet and clean fairy tale retelling - minus the long sleep :p

We meet Rory on another lonely birthday, and it being her birthday she indulges in some chatting to herself...and some singing. In sweeps a mysterious stranger and it's a meet cute of the ages. Flash forward a few years and our Rory is trying to resist the charms of fellow teacher Steven. Something made harder given him showing up and volunteering where she does. Throw in a play, a meddlesome taskmaster and a ridiculous amount of tension before there's even a kiss and you've got a sweet and short read.

*I'm a lucky fish, and got this read from the author*
Profile Image for Maria.
247 reviews
November 12, 2018
Loved it! It was really sweet, and I immediately fell in love with Steven and Aurora (I can see why Steven calls her that, it's such a beautiful name!). Steven is so dreamy!! If there were guys who quoted Shakespeare to me in real life... sigh... I guess this is why we read books :)
The setting was nice, and I especially liked the secondary characters. Anita was so cute as well! The plot was good and I enjoyed the overall story. The author did a very good job of incorporating just the right amounts from the original fairytale. Loved how close to Sleeping Beauty the characters were without being corny or cheesy.
I would recommend this novella if you are looking for a sweet, clean read!
26 reviews3 followers
July 5, 2018
Rory is a high school science teacher. Steven in the English teacher she met when she was 16. In her life everyone leaves to some degree, she has a hard time trusting him. But when she finally does, magic happens. This is the third in this series and it is stand alone, but you will see characters from the other books. I love the fairytale rewrite and Laura Ann has give. It a new spin. I highly recommend this series!
117 reviews2 followers
July 11, 2023
Wonderful story

I have loved all three of these. Very creative twists to the fairy tales while still being true to the details we recognize. The only reason it lost a star or half a star if I was able to do that is this story, unlike books 1 & 2, was almost entirely from Rory’s point of view. I guess I’m spoiled reading books with both main characters point of view. Otherwise, living to binge read these books!
113 reviews
September 19, 2018
Cute story.

I liked this one. There were some typos and grammar issues but overall cute story. Another creative take on a fairytale. A little cheesy in some places but it worked because of the whole theatre take on the story and who doesn't want a bit of cheesy? I liked the two main characters and how things developed a bit more than in previous books. Overall a cute story.
Profile Image for Barbara.
251 reviews2 followers
July 27, 2018
I’m really liking this author. This series is so much fun to read! Bringing fairy tales to real life circumstances makes these sweet, clean stories pop.
Profile Image for Sue Stinnett.
1,374 reviews3 followers
August 29, 2018
Prince Charming

They met once in her 16th birthday. What are the odds she would ever see him again? Sweet enjoyable story
934 reviews8 followers
October 1, 2018
Short and sweet

Rory and Stephen found their HEA. The conflict at the Center was blatantly obvious and the punishment doled out was to soft.
Profile Image for Mary.
1,858 reviews17 followers
October 8, 2018
Love the interaction between characters but especially that between the teachers and their students.
305 reviews
November 20, 2018
A great read

Another great to this amazing series. If you are looking for a sweet dreamy romance then this series is for you!
Profile Image for Ren.
1,346 reviews
March 13, 2019
I voluntarily review this ARC of this book. Reading it again and asked first what happen before you decide.
846 reviews
July 1, 2020
Nice

She really worked hard to fit this into the fairy tale. It was fun and clean and entertaining. I enjoy this author.
697 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2020
Excellent series!

Each story is wonderfully enjoyable for everyone who loves fairytales! Waking Ms. Brian is one of my favorites! Love the characters and plot.
Profile Image for Karen.
1,889 reviews44 followers
August 11, 2020
I enjoyed this story.

Content: clean
Profile Image for Jane.
429 reviews8 followers
May 30, 2022
This story was probably fine, I just didn't really like over the top theatrics Mr. Phillips.
Beyond being corney, it just made the story kind of blah for me.
Profile Image for Kirsty Pearce.
217 reviews7 followers
May 10, 2021
Slightly different from the rest of the books in this series by being about 98% told from the female's perspective, although I would have loved one or two more scenes from Phillip's POV to be present, overall I really do adore this Sleeping Beauty retelling. One of my favourite things about this series how Laura weaves elements from the classic tales into it in such a fun way (rose lip balm, the twist on the sleeping spell, the two HILARIOUS characters that are this story's version of the three fairies, and the ADORABLE meet cute in the forest prologue scene among others found in this story in particular!), the central conflict and push-pull romantic tension between the lead couple is also believable and so incredibly swoon-worthy, and I LOVE that she used the epilogue to give us a little sneak-peek introduction to the male lead from the next book as well... just a great story all-round!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.