🚨Please check trigger warnings

Crown of Slumber surprised me. I've never read a retelling before so I didn't know what to expect going into this boc really enjoyed this. As a beginner re-telling reader, I think that the twist on Sleeping Beauty is implemented nicely. It doesn’t feel like a copy of Sleeping Beauty at any point :) Although this is a standalone, the development of the story doesn’t feel rushed in the slightest. I did guess a lot of the plot twists because of the clues that the author leaves but I love being right sooo. The world-building and magic system are great, uncomplicated but still fun. And this book is so fast-paced wow! There is always something going on whether its angst and romance or new revelations and mystery so that was amazing. However, I felt that the climax was anticlimactic. The villain was not well-established in my opinion so I didn't feel the anxiety situation and the ending felt abrupt, almost as if more was intended to be written but ultimately let go of.

My favourite part was obviously Aurelia and Fennick! Their chemistry is so good, as soon as they learn each others identity we go into a great enemies-to-lovers dynamic. I loved the back and forth they have between hate and love, it was this interesting slow burn that I have never read before. Their banter is so cute and had me giggling and kicking my feet so much - there isn't that much of it but when it does come up it's a joy! Although my one critique of them is that it all happened very fast. Does it feel fast? No, but the author does mention multiple times that this is happening over a week and there is no way two sworn enemies fell in love that fast...but alas I still adored Aurelia and Fenn. Fenn is such a gentleman in this book, he's patient and understanding but also really witty and playful. Aurelian is also a sweet character - I love how much she cares for her family and kingdom and how much she is willing to sacrifice for them. Overall, very well-written characters.

You're probably asking why I have such a high rating for a book that I find many faults in but the feel of this book is just so captivating and exciting and despite all the downsides, I could not put this down.

✨ Includes:
Enemies-to-lovers
Angst & banter
Major plot twists & mystery
Fae & witches & dragons

Thank you to NetGalley, R.L. Perez and Willow Haven Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A Crown of Slumber
By R.L. Perez
Via NetGalley

4.5 ⭐ 2🌶️

Tropes:
Slow Burn - Fairytale Retelling - Enemies to Lovers -New Adult Romance

Main Characters:
Aurelia and Fenn

Stand out lines/quotes:
Fenn - “That dress is a far more dangerous weapon than any dagger you’ve threatened me with”
~~~~~
F- "My love will shine through the night, guiding you home to me”
A- “Even when the stars go dark”

My Thoughts:
I LOVED this take on Sleeping Beauty! It was very different and so so so good! I tend to be skeptical of retellings of Disney fairytales because I love the original ones so much but this spin on it was different enough that it didn’t ruin the original for me. The elements from the original storyline that were brought into this storyline were so well thought out and so well placed that now I need to go back and read R.L.Perez’s other retellings and any future ones! I am officially a fan now!

Thank you NetGalley and Willow Haven Press for sending me the ARC and giving me the opportunity to review this book.

First, thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed stepping into this world. The world building was done beautifully with the chance to get to know three very different courts. The nod to sleeping beauty and the magical elements of this story kept me wanting to continue. The connection Princess Aurelia had with her dragons was everything and I will forever think of them as giant puppies!!
I was pleasantly surprised with this story and enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I read this book in just one day. It was well written and a delightful story. Dragons, witches, kingdoms, and a bada** heroine. The writing was well done with enough world building to understand without being daunting- it flowed and was exciting the whole way. While some elements are familiar from other fantasies and you could in some instances guess what was coming next it was still an amazing light and refreshing read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sleeping beauty retelling, dragons, witches and fae? Yes please.

This book is a multi POV between our two MCs, which I love. Aurilia is the princess of the summer court and needs something to help her kingdom and her baby dragon, the only place she can get this help is the midnight court. Fenn is the prince of the midnight court and he also needs something to help his kingdom, you guessed it, from the summer court. But there’s one problem. The two courts are mortal enemies and they have to work together to save their kingdoms.

I really enjoyed this retelling there was parts you could see the sleeping beauty story but this is its own, a world of fae, witches, curses, dragons and magic. If you like a book with all these things then this is the one for you.

The word building and the imagery you get for the different kingdoms is easy to follow unlike some other high fae books, the romance is just right and the spice is ok. I liked the banter between our MCs and the dragons are adorable.

I would definitely recommend this book, overall it’s an enjoyable read and I give it 3.5/5 ⭐️

Right from the start, this book grabbed me tight, pulled me in, and didn't let go. In my opinion, it was such an incredible twist on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale with the perfect amount of romance, spice, and plot.

This is such a unique sleeping beauty retelling. The story was refreshing whilst still keeping the classic feeling to the tale. The world building was fantastic, I could imagine the courts with the way in which they were described so beautifully. A beautiful slow burn romance between 2 enemies from different courts.

So I think the book was entertaining as most of this author’s books. I think that the author did well at selling the relationship between our main characters as “believable”. Both characters had inner monologues- that described their three-dimensional motivations and backstories that didn't need/involve the other. The plot and world-building was interesting too! I liked the lore of the world and the magic/powers of each of the creatures/people we were introduced to. I enjoyed the disagreements. Our characters were attracted to each other from the jump and I appreciated the book was super fast paced and easy to read. The last maybe 70 pages felt a little dragged out and I felt could have been wrapped up better.

Loved this book. A perfect play on sleeping beauty. For me Aurelia was an updated sleeping beauty, I loved that she was powerful FMC and didn’t need a prince to save her. Also DRAGONS! Which always makes a book better. Adored the world and the characters. This book included some of my favourite tropes:
- enemies to lovers
- one bed
-he falls first
- who did this to you?
- Amazing banter!
Can’t wait to read more by R.L. Perez

First, thank you to R.L. Perez and Willow Haven Press for an ARC to this wonderful story!

Crown of Slumber is a retelling of my favorite Disney princess story but with dual POV's, lots of twists, and sexy scenes . R.L. Perez put a spin to a classic story and its characters. Aurelia and Finn got me hooked and looking forward to their love story and happy ever after.

Aurelia is a strong, powerful, caring character with secrets that begin to reveal themselves more and more, especially as she spends more time with Finn. Finn is a charming, witty, and clever character with secrets of his own. Together they go on a dangerous missions to save their kingdoms from war and evil magic. They were never supposed to fall in love for real but as they unravel mysteries, face dangers, and betrayals they start to really see each other for who and what they really are. If you like some sexy scenes there are a few very sexy and descriptive scenes (the forest ;)) that add to the two main characters fiery relationship.

I loved the way R. L. Perez described all the courts and gave each their own look, traditions, and history, especially Aurelia and Finns kingdoms. I especially liked how R.L. Perez described how Finn helped Aurelia through her panic attacks, as she went through a traumatic experience before meeting Finn. As someone who has experienced anxiety attacks that can quickly turn to panic attacks, especially when dealing with it alone, I like how Finn kept Aurelia with him and talked to her through her attack making it easier to keep her grounded and ease her breathing to relax. I am not a fan of multiple POV's but I think Perez did it just right, giving just the right amount of information in each of the characters POV.

Crown of Slumber is book 1 of Crowns of the Fae series and I can't wait to read the next one and the kind of spin R.L. Perez will put on it.

Favorite Qoute(s)/ Line(s)-

"Firebird," I said. "You're a firebird. It accounts for your flaming temper and your need to fly." - Prince Finn.

Are you a fan of romantasy? Then you'll like this book.

I thought the world building was great. At times, I found the writing to be rather juvenile and thought that some of the characters acted strangely just for the sake of drama. I found the FMC difficult to like, but the MMC was very likeable. Despite these criticisms, I was entertained the whole way through the book, and didn't put it down. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Aurelia has lived for hundreds of years and she doesn’t remember her past whatsoever. There are witches that make her forget or ‘reset’ her memories quite a bit.

When she learns of a sleeping curse that is going around her down, she teams up with a Prince to save her family. His kingdom has the only source of the cure, Stardust. He has her pose as his betrothed to make the alliance believable.

They start to have a fake relationship with usually leads with tension, angst, banter, etc etc.

I enjoyed this book for what it was (a sleeping beauty retelling) and I wouldn’t say it was my most favorite read but it definitely wasn’t the worst either.

The writing just seemed mediocre during some of the scenes and it just never made sense to me during some of it.

There were some times where some of the things in the book just didn’t make any sense at all. And some scenes that just felt like they didn’t belong at all. It almost made me want to skip to the end but I persevered and so glad I did!

- Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review -

The princess saves herself in this one.

A great retelling of Sleeping Beauty that manages to turn what is probably one of the most passive fairytale heroines ever written (and honestly one of my least favorites) into the very definition of self-determination fueled by righteous feminine rage.

Despite what would seem to be a huge shift, the story maintains so many recognizable touch points that it still feels familiar. Be on the lookout for references to the version of the story we all probably know (as I was reading, I told myself things were coincidental, but it is all confirmed in the author’s note at the end). There are some excellent easter eggs.

Expert use of:

- enemies (for real political enemies) to lovers
- A+ banter
- only one bed
- who did this to you?
- dragons
- he falls first

All in all a great read with only a few things that kept me from giving it five stars. For me at least, it began slowly. It took me far longer to read the first two to five chapters than the rest of the book combined. Once I got into it though, it was well paced, and I flew through the rest. Also, a few plot threads were introduced, and even elaborated on a little, but didn’t seem to go anywhere. It in no way impacts the plot resolution or my enjoyment , but I then ask if these threads were actually necessary to the story. And as is typical of fairytales, I’m perfectly fine in dealing in archetypes, but I think the villains could have been a little more fleshed out.

Especially if you have an interest in fairytales, but also if you’re just looking for a good romantasy to curl up with, definitely give this one a go .

I started this book not really being sure where the story would take us, I knew it was a Sleeping Beauty retelling and had some elements of the fae included but wasn't sure which way it would go. The writing made you fall in love with Aurora and also Fenn in their journey to break the curse, and I loved seeing the dragons come to life in my head. One thing I would say is that I wish the dragons were included a bit more in the story but I can see that the next books will be including this information so I may just have to keep reading them to find out more!

Crown of Slumber is the first book in “The Crowns of the Fae” standalone book series. This book will be released on September 15 and I recommend it to you, especially if you like Acotar and The Fourth Wing.
In Crown of Slumber, we will find a super well-built world with fantastic elements and an incredible plot that will keep you uncertain until the end, because our protagonist will be very involved in it. 🤭
In addition, it is worth highlighting the love relationship of enemies to lovers between the protagonists, since it is a good slow born that will keep you with the tension until the end, also something that I loved is that it has double pov and, therefore, we can read and feel the thoughts of both of them at all times, even in the spicy scenes 😏, which even though there aren't many of them, they have the exact amount.
In conclusion, I highly recommend it, especially to lovers of romance, enemies to lovers, and slow born.💗

Thank you, NetGalley, the publisher and author for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review! I post my review on Instagram and on Goodreads !!

The short, spoiler free version:

First off—the blurb didn’t mention dragons, so I was surprised to start the first chapter and see that they play such a prominent role. It threw me off for a minute (though admittedly, I think this is just because I’m used to Holly Black’s versions of fairy courts). The dragons don’t ruin the story or anything, though. I actually enjoyed them. They were just unexpected.

I enjoyed the duel POVs. It was nice to see why both of the leads needed each other early on—by having both Aurelia and Fen’s POVs, it’s clear from the beginning that they both need the marriage, and why they need it.

Though their initial distrust of each other felt a little forced to me, I liked to see how Aurelia and Fenn’s relationship progressed. The romance was fun and spicy. (There’s only three very spicy scenes, and they all happen around after the 50% mark, so if you want a book with a lot of spicy scenes very fast, this might not be for you.) While I felt like the story didn’t lean entirely into the Sleeping Beauty theme, that wasn’t really an issue for me, because it was nice to see a fresh take on it. My biggest issue was the world-building not being explained enough or as consistent as it could be. I don’t think this is a book that needs super complex world-building, but even after finishing it, I’m still not sure if all of the fae are immortal, or if only the very powerful ones are.

It can be a bit wordy and repetitive with the descriptions sometimes. For example:

“. . . with sharp silver talons and fiery golden eyes. A long, white scar ran down one eye, making it milkier than the other.”

“. . . like steel with a harsh edge that could slice through my flesh. My movements were delicate as I swept the pads of my fingers along the smooth, razor-sharp edges of the scales. They seemed sharper than the tip of my sword.”

Sometimes, it feels like it’s just telling us the same thing multiple times, in different ways. But descriptions like this are just something I noticed, and it didn’t stop me from reading on.

Here’s a more detailed version of my thoughts, but there’s SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT:

Aurelia is a victim of SA. I do feel like the book handled this well, and it never gets too graphic (there’s never a scene depicting the assault). I prefer this, as sometimes I feel like books will show the actual assault simply for shock value. So while I was still uncomfortable reading about SA—as I’m sure everyone should be—it wasn’t anything too difficult for me to handle. It was handled in a way that didn’t feel gratuitous.

The fae not being able to lie was something that the characters seemed to forget at times.

For example, Aurelia directly asks Fennick if he put everyone to sleep, and he explains that he didn’t. Aurelia doesn’t seem to believe him—even though she knows he can’t lie. He says again that he wasn’t behind it, later he even says he only came to help, but she still decides that he had to be the person who put her kingdom to sleep.

This was one thing that bothered me, because “not being able to lie” was a part of the story that felt like it wasn’t really used (at least in the earlier chapters). The characters never thought to carefully phrase their words to avoid telling the whole truth, or suspected that someone might be doing that. At one point, Aurelia even says “she doesn’t have anything pressing to attend to” . . . which is clearly a lie, as her entire kingdom has just mysteriously fallen asleep. The “being unable to lie” is one aspect of fae books I’ve always enjoyed, so it was disappointing that it wasn’t used much after the scene where Fenn and Aurelia first meet.

(Note: this issue does seem to end a little further into the book. But it does feel like the inability to lie was ignored at first to make sure Aurelia would distrust Fenn, and also to get the two of them to make an unbreakable blood vow.)

Near the 50% mark of the book, someone is shot in the chest by a crossbow bolt. It mentions how this shouldn’t have been enough to kill a full-blooded fae. The reason it does is because it’s made of iron. But up until that point, I hadn’t realized the fae in this book were stronger than ordinary humans (aside from having magic). I hadn’t even realized iron was deadly too then—and if I hadn’t read other fae books, I honestly would have been confused, because it only says that the reason the bolt kills the person is because it’s iron. If I didn’t already know the fae lore about iron, I would have no clue why iron made a difference.

I wish this was something that would have been explored more. When Fenn and Aurelia fought the goblins, Fenn was messed up pretty badly after getting shot through the shoulder. But then later, it says a fae should be able to shrug off a bolt to the chest. They don’t seem to have built in healing abilities, as far as I can tell—Fenn and Aurelia needed a fae with healing magic to speed up their recoveries. So I really couldn’t tell how durable these fae were supposed to be.

Another thing that confused me was if the fae were immortal or not. There were several mentions of gray or white-haired fae that seemed to be old—which confused me, because I’d expected the fae to be immortal or at least very long-lived.

So I assumed these fae had mortal lifespans. But when Aurelia learns she a witch, she finds out she ruled a clan of Star Court witches generations ago. She’s even lived with multiple generations of the Summer Court royals. This came as a shock to me, because everything so far had seemed (to me, at least) to point to the fae having average mortal lifespans. I hadn’t thought that she could be six centuries old. If fae can be that old, I thought there would have been some kind of mention of just how young her sister Gigi—who’s only sixteen—seems to other, centuries-old fae. Because of my confusion with the lifespan of fae and witches, all of these reveals fell a little flat.

I would have liked to have learned more about Fenn’s reason for, well, planning on being a rake forever. Near the end of the story, it mentions that he’d planned to let his mother rule forever (I assume because they are immortal, she technically wouldn’t ever need to step down). I think it would have been nice to see more of this in the beginning, to learn that he didn’t put much effort into learning how to rule because he doubted his mother would ever let him. I feel like this would have been a good way to explain that the fae are immortal.

I am a complete sucker for fairytale retellings, especially in a series of standalones like this. Crown of Slumber is of course a play on Sleeping Beauty, filled with magical intrigue, romance, and fae. This is an absolute must-read and I can't wait to include it in my videos about wonderful fairytale retellings.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

📚Book Review📚 ARC

🐦‍🔥“You are a Firebird, magnificent and fierce. No one will quell your flame.”

Crown of Slumber by @rlperezbooks
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Enemies to Lovers
Fake Engagement
Only one Bed
Bonded Dragons
Fae Magic
The Summer Court and the Midnight Court each has something their people need to survive.
The Summer Court has been put under a sleeping curse, they can only be woken with stardust from the Midnight Court.
The night fire is burning out, and dragon fire is the only thing that can ignite it. The Prince of the Midnight Court sets out to the one place he knows has dragons in hopes of striking a bargain with his enemy.

WHAT I LIKED:
Great descriptions of Summer and Midnight Court. I felt like I had a vivid picture of both! Overall the world building was on par, I can’t wait for more book in the series to be released to explore the world more!

Adorable meet cute, Fennick shows respect for the dragons right off the bat and he and Aurelia have instant chemistry! Their dance in the forest was giving “Once Upon a Dream”!
I was expecting Fennick to be a brooding prince, but he’s actually quite goofy and lighthearted, when he isn’t being flirty…

There were definite similarities and ode’s to the original story that were easily recognizable, but the twists and changes made were enough to make this story original in its own right.
I loved how the witches/fairies were inserted into the story!
The end allowed for any loose ends to be tied up and makes this a great stand alone!

WHAT I DIDN’T LOVE

One thing I didn’t love as much was their constant arguing and then making up. Like they would have a disagreement and start yelling at each other but then one scene later they would say “I would have died without your help” or “I can’t stop thinking about her” or “were in this together” as if the argument never happened.

I also didn’t love that Fennick was a ladies man, I know this is a part of his character, but had me thinking if he would stay faithful to Aurelia …

Despite coming to terms with her powers Aurelia seems to get the hang of it very quickly. Which seemed too convenient only to move the story along.

🧚Crown of Slumber releases tomorrow Sept 16th!

What a wonderful retelling I’m so thankful that NetGalley let me read this story.. It was my first book from the author and she did a wonderful job in writing her retelling. I just loved it, can’t wait for more

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Story and Overview: This book had the very fun concept of putting a twist on the classic story of Sleeping Beauty. While the writing did seem to be a tad juvenile at times, this made it a considerably easier read than similar books such as Throne of Glass, ACOTAR, or the Folk of the Air series. It was a good book to read as a first time mom getting the hang of balancing newborn life and hobbies. The story was easy to follow and the characters were likable. It is refreshing to be able to read a stand alone book instead of having to dive into a several book saga. However, the end did seem rushed and I was left with a couple questions as a result of what seemed to be the author trying to ensure this was a stand alone book. The world and courts were built well and easy to understand. And who could forget the beautiful map to refer to? The fae magic was also simple and mixed well with the witch magic the reader was slowly introduced to. My favorite fae attribute, the inability to tell lies, was also included much to my delight. While the story and concept were well written, the main antagonist was mentioned nearly immediately, eliminating any uncertainty or wonder of who could have possibly done this to her family. This may not have been something worth mentioning if the final battle was breathtaking or worthwhile. Alas, the final battle was short and underwhelming but this may be due to the author wrapping up the book quickly or to what I mention at the end of this review.

The FMC was strong and could handle herself, which I loved. However, she could be confusing at times. She would have a good moment or day with the MMC and the next second she would be angry and bitter, leaving not only the MMC, but the reader, confused. Other than that, she was strong, brave, and smart when it came to court politics. The only thing I would ask is less mood swings coming from her.

The MMC was refreshing and different from most similar MMC. He wasn’t dark and brooding. He wasn’t familiar with pain and suffering. He almost reminded me of Dorian from the TOG series. He was a prince with uncalloused hands, a flirt, and a politician. This adventure seemed to be the first time he had to get his hands dirty and see the way things truly were in his own court.


The SA and Spice. Some spoilers to follow.
The FMC was sexually assaulted in her past. She alludes to this quite a few times before making the big reveal. This consists of her shaking her head and thinking, “I don't want to think of this right now”, which seems to minimize the impact of this on her. In addition to this, when the FMC finally reveals this and the MMC finds out, they nearly immediately have sex? There’s no flinching when the MMC touches her, no angst or anxiety, nothing. She decides the way she will ‘get over it’ is by having sex willingly in the same castle she was assaulted. But, to each their own I suppose. My next complaint with the spice is the timing of one of the scenes. It’s the climax, there’s stress, tension, blood, sweat, and tears. And the FMC decides to get intimate in the prison she’s trapped in when the MMC comes to rescue her. This severely affected the tempo and mood of the final battles and I wish it would’ve been left out. This, however, is coming from someone who prefers no spice in her reads.

Overall, the book was good. It is an easy read and would be a great book for a first time fantasy reader. While I did have some nit picks, I did enjoy the clever twist on Sleeping Beauty, the world building, and especially the MMC.