M. Lynn

At first, I was quite sad because I wouldn’t be able to follow the characters I’ve grown so fond of from the other six books of the series on their journey this time. This final instalment of the Fantasy and Fairytales series goes way back to a time where the curse Etta and Alex had to suffer from does not yet exist. We get to know in more detail how La Dame came to cast the curse in the first place. So, those people who have already read Etta’s story in the first three books of the series will pretty much know how Cursed Beauty is going to end.
The sadness didn’t stay long with me though because Philipp and Aurora, and later their son Ric as well, made me fall in love with them just as quickly as Etta, Alex, Edmund, Tyson and all the others have managed to do. Aurora’s habit of talking to herself is very adorable and Philipp’s devotion to her is portrayed in a way that moved me to tears. They know each other barely a month and Philipp has to recover from his injuries most of that time. Still, it felt so natural that they fell so deeply in love with each other in such a short space of time.
La Dame, with her curses, acts as the main evil again. I liked that we get more insight into her past and therefore an explanation why she does the nefarious things she does.
As I’ve mentioned before, the ending does not come as a surprise. This doesn’t mean that the book is boring in any way or capacity though as I, for one thing, hold the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty very dear and, for another, I couldn’t resist Aurora and Philipp. I couldn’t help myself but to hope that they would get their happily ever after no matter how many things stood in the way of it. The epilogue closes the circle and made me want to re-read the entire series.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to those who want to know more about La Dame herself, how her curses work and to those who just want to enjoy a lovely retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

After each book of the series I think, "This is my favourite." I guess that's because of the characters, especially the recurring ones we got to know and love in the very first book. It's a bit like coming home.
This time, there are no new main characters introduced. Instead we follow the story of Alex's and Etta's brother Tyson. Whereas I imagined him before as an adorably cute and good-natured kind of guy, someone who's hardly ever in a bad mood, a carefree soul, I've got to see a different side to him in this book, a more conflicted one, somehow lonely and pained as well. I had a quite similar experience with his childhood friend Amalie.
Their love story is simply amazing. They've grown apart due to their difficult positions in the kingdom of Gaule, Tyson being prince of both Bela and Gaule but mistrusted by the latter kingdom because of his magic, and Amalie being the daughter of a traitor. Additionally, Gaule is still in chaos and a new "threat" has come up, a Robin Hood like one. On top of that, Tyson and Amalie manage to stand in their own way most of the time. I don't know how many times my heart broke with theirs each time they were pushed further apart.
Edmund, as always, has been the star of the story. I loved and laughed heartily about how serious he takes his uncle responsibilities. Only he can pull off stealing his nephew for extra snuggle time.

I've heard that there will be another book published in this series and I'm very curious whom it will be about. It's good to know that I don't have to say goodbye yet to all these lovely characters. I can wholeheartedly recommend this series to anyone who loves fairytales.

This book made me cry (and that's not happening a lot) in sadness and in happiness. It made me angry to the point of throwing things, but it made me hopeful as well. In the end I just felt the need to hug every single loved one I have. I was made to feel so many things due to this book, I'm still quite speechless.
I really don't want to let go of all these characters I've madly fallen in love with. Luckily, I won't have to yet because there is to be released a sequel in May. Definitely looking forward to it. I can warmly recommend this series to anyone loving fairytales, relatable characters and things getting rather emotional as much as I do.