Devi Nair
🎧 Listened in audio 📢 Narrated by Amy Landon ⏱ Duration: 3 hours 📌 Read as part of Goodreads Challenge – Tale Spin 🏷️ Publisher: Macmillan Audio 📅 Published: October 5, 2021
Thank you, Goodreads, for leading me straight into this modern fairy-tale fever dream. A Spindle Splintered takes Sleeping Beauty and flips it right on its spiky crown. Alix E. Harrow takes the “what if you fell into a fairy tale?” concept and gives it teeth, heart, and a sharp awareness of how stories trap women into tidy, tragic endings.
What really worked for me was the way modern life is threaded into the fairy-tale framework. Zinnia Gray isn’t a passive princess; she’s painfully self-aware, funny, and carrying the quiet weight of knowing her future has an expiration date. Watching her navigate castles, curses, and inevitable destinies while holding onto her present-day sensibilities made the story feel grounded even as it hopped across timelines and realities.
Amy Landon's narration is spot-on for this short listen in its warm, wry way, and perfectly paced for bedtime vibes. I popped it on as my sleep-time story and it wrapped me up like a cozy blanket with just enough edge to keep me drifting happily instead of dozing off too soon. The multiverse Sleeping Beauties team-up delivers heart, humor, and a quiet punch of empowerment that lingers. It's subversive without being preachy, queer-inclusive in the best way, and surprisingly tender amid the spindle-shattering chaos. At under 3 hours, it's the ideal quick-hit fantasy escape that packs more emotional depth than its length suggests.
Would I recommend it? If you're craving a fast, feminist fairy-tale fix with Sleeping Beauty retellings, multiverse magic, and heartfelt found-family vibes, this one's a delight. Harrow delivers charm, wit, and real feels in a tiny package. It's perfect for cozy nights or challenge prompts. I finished smiling and a little misty-eyed. Add this to your TBR for a quick, enchanting escape.
Your Spindle-Shattering Thoughts? Did the multiverse Sleeping Beauties steal your heart, or are you still loyal to the classic curse? Drop your fave fairy-tale retelling below. I need recs!
Originally posted at www.goodreads.com.
🎧 Listened in audio 📢 Narrated by Amy Landon ⏱ Duration: 3 hours 📌 Read as part of Goodreads Challenge – Tale Spin 🏷️ Publisher: Macmillan Audio 📅 Published: October 5, 2021
Thank you, Goodreads, for leading me straight into this modern fairy-tale fever dream. A Spindle Splintered takes Sleeping Beauty and flips it right on its spiky crown. Alix E. Harrow takes the “what if you fell into a fairy tale?” concept and gives it teeth, heart, and a sharp awareness of how stories trap women into tidy, tragic endings.
What really worked for me was the way modern life is threaded into the fairy-tale framework. Zinnia Gray isn’t a passive princess; she’s painfully self-aware, funny, and carrying the quiet weight of knowing her future has an expiration date. Watching her navigate castles, curses, and inevitable destinies while holding onto her present-day sensibilities made the story feel grounded even as it hopped across timelines and realities.
Amy Landon's narration is spot-on for this short listen in its warm, wry way, and perfectly paced for bedtime vibes. I popped it on as my sleep-time story and it wrapped me up like a cozy blanket with just enough edge to keep me drifting happily instead of dozing off too soon. The multiverse Sleeping Beauties team-up delivers heart, humor, and a quiet punch of empowerment that lingers. It's subversive without being preachy, queer-inclusive in the best way, and surprisingly tender amid the spindle-shattering chaos. At under 3 hours, it's the ideal quick-hit fantasy escape that packs more emotional depth than its length suggests.
Would I recommend it? If you're craving a fast, feminist fairy-tale fix with Sleeping Beauty retellings, multiverse magic, and heartfelt found-family vibes, this one's a delight. Harrow delivers charm, wit, and real feels in a tiny package. It's perfect for cozy nights or challenge prompts. I finished smiling and a little misty-eyed. Add this to your TBR for a quick, enchanting escape.
Your Spindle-Shattering Thoughts? Did the multiverse Sleeping Beauties steal your heart, or are you still loyal to the classic curse? Drop your fave fairy-tale retelling below. I need recs!
Originally posted at www.goodreads.com.