A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas (Website, Twitter, Goodreads)Published by Harper Collins on February 24th 2015
Genres: Adaptations, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Love & Romance, Royalty, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of what happens after happily ever after. Vividly imagined scenes of action, romance, and political intrigue are seamlessly woven together to reveal a richly created world… and Sleeping Beauty as she's never been seen before.One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept. As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.
A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas was an enjoyable story and kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen with Aurora. This story explores what happened to Aurora after she woke up and found out everyone she knew and loved were lost to her and her Prince Charming wasn’t the right guy for her.
As we dive into her story, we find out it is 100 years after Aurora fell asleep due to the curse put upon her and she has been woken up by a young prince. As she takes the steps down from her tower, Aurora is thrust into a situation that she isn’t really sure how to handle. Immediately she is expected to marry Prince Rodric and help the royal family solidify their hold on the crown/throne. Her story is also tied to the theory that when Aurora returns, she will bring magic back to the world and everyone will be better for it.
As you can imagine, it is hard for Aurora to adjust and although she is important, she is basically locked up in her room again and if you believe the queen, it is to protect her but my interpretation of that is that she needs to be protected to insure the wedding happens. With that said, because Aurora was used to sneaking around from when she was younger, she is sneaks out and heads to one of the taverns in town where she meets a boy named Tristan. At first things seem simple enough – she learns more about him and he appears to not know anything about her so she pretends to be someone she isn’t to feel normal. Unfortunately Aurora finds out some things that make it difficult to pretend any longer and it also impacts their friendship.
As the story progresses, we learn a bit more about what is really going on and at the very center of it all is the current King. Aurora definitely doesn’t agree with the way he does things but with that said, she also doesn’t believe in the violence that the rebels are pushing and add to that the fact that Celestine, the witch who cursed her, is still alive and asking her to share her magic, Aurora has things to consider from all sides. As she works to figure a way out of her current situation, she finds an ally in Prince Finnegan.
I have to admit, I really liked Prince Finnegan…more so than Roderic and Tristan. Roderic was flat for me though it was clear he truly cared about his sister. Tristan, although initially good, ended up only using Aurora to get what he wanted…Not cool. Finnegan on the other hand was witty, smart, and willing to help her in any way he could. Not for himself…yes, there was an opportunity to help his country but that didn’t seem like the only reason he was willing to help her. In addition to that, he seemed to be the only person who intimidated the queen.
Overall this was a great story and I I found that this had enough action to keep me interested while still digging into the main part of the story which was trying to figure out how Aurora was going to help the people of her kingdom. If you enjoy fairytale retellings, you just might enjoy this one. It is definitely left open to be a series – not sure if it is but something to consider.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the review copy.
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