Week 11 Review: Crown of Slumber

From Goodreads:

Two feuding kingdoms. One unbreakable sleeping curse.

Princess Aurelia would rather spend her time with her dragons than her court. But when a deadly sleeping curse befalls her family, her only hope lies in the hands of the wicked Prince Fenn. His kingdom maintains the only known supply of stardust, a rare substance that is the key to breaking the spell. But Fenn's aid comes with a price: Aurelia must pose as his betrothed to secure an alliance that will protect his court.

As they embark on their journey, weaving a web of deception, Aurelia begins to see through his charming facade. Beneath his flippant persona lies a depth she never expected—a prince she could grow to care for. Perhaps even love.

But as genuine feelings blossom between them, Aurelia stumbles upon a sinister secret within Fenn's court—a secret that threatens not only her dragons and her kingdom, but the very essence of her soul. Can she trust Fenn to save her family, or will his hidden darkness be their undoing?

Crown of Slumber is a Sleeping Beauty retelling with a twist, full of dark fae magic, deadly court schemes, and steamy romance. The Crowns of the Fae books can be read in any order as stand-alone novels.

My Review:
I had a really great time reading this book! I had to pick up the novella that takes place before this one first, and I enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to reading this one, and it was so good! We were introduced to Fenn, but it was great to have his and Aurela's story! 

This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I loved this take, where the princess is basically the only one who doesn't get sent to sleep, instead of being the first. That she's very protective of her dragons, and her kingdom has slowly become pretty isolated because of that...to have the rest of the royal family, as well as the standing army, be dealt with like that, was not a good situation.

I adored these two. That they had that initial meeting where they didn't know who the other one was, and when they did find out, well, that was a lot of fun, given the bad feelings between their courts. That they both need something from the other, leading to a sham engagement, I loved it! 

The depth of the world and the history was really well done, and getting to know it all was really entertaining to read. Seeing how it was tying in with the main story, of why this was going on in the first place, was so good! Really enjoyed how it played out!

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to see where the series is going to go! 

Author: R.L. Perez
Series: Crowns of the Fae #1
Read: March 14th, 2025 
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Loved the novella, and it's a 2025 Retelling Reading Challenge 2025 Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book! 
Publisher: Willow Haven Press
Published: February 6th 2025

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars