The Sevenfold Spell

This particular version of the Sleeping Beauty tale is based on the familiar myth but makes it into its own unique version. While it is the same basic story with the fairies and a princess destined to prick her finger on a spinning wheel, the princess is not the main focus. The Sevenfold Spell is told from the perspective of a commoner named Talia, who is of marriageable age at the beginning of the story. The princess Aurora was just cursed by the evil fairy, and all spinning wheels have been outlawed from the kingdom. Talia and her mother earn their living by spinning, and the consequences of the seizure of their spinning wheel are devastating. Over the course of several years, we see just how this affects the course of Talia's life and how her story ties in with that of Princess Aurora.

Full Review

Going into The Sevenfold Spell I had certain expectations, since it was a retelling of a fairy tale. As a reader who has fallen in love with these types of stories, I am always excited to see how the author takes the characters and puts them in new situations. My high expectations for this story may have been why I was a little taken aback when I first began reading. Part of me knew that this book was more about other characters, and less about the main characters, but I was still a little disappointed.

What I liked about Tia Nevitt's retelling was that it dealt with those characters that usually get ignored. Rarely ever in fairy tales do you learn about what happens to the “little people” as the story progresses. Of course the townspeople would have their livelihood affected by a ban on spinning wheels! It was interesting to see how they coped and worked together to make it by. I was also intrigued by how the original characters were slowly brought into the story, one a time, and sometimes in a way I completely wasn't expecting.

On the flip side, what I disliked about this story were the flat characters. Talia was a sweet girl, and I didn't even fault her for the decisions that she had to make to stay alive. Instead I was a bit upset that we never got to see farther into what she was thinking, or how her mother was affected. If you check the page count, this book is very short. It's a mere 97 pages where other books are much longer. I think that if the author had spent a few more pages on character development, I would have loved the book that much more.

Overall I can say that I did enjoy reading The Sevenfold Spell! It was a quick and interesting read for me. Give it a try if you're into fairy tales and their retellings!