Of Dreams and Destiny

St. Rosetta's Academy #3

by Sandhya Menon

It's Daphne Elizabeth 'DE' McKinley's senior year at Rosetta Academy - and things are going from bad to worse.

Bad? The painful break-up she's trying to get over.

Worse? A mysterious storm causing the Academy's students to fall into a deep sleep.

Even worse? The only person who can help is new-boy Xander, whose dreamy charms DE is determined to resist.

But as they race against time to find the source of the magic, can she stop herself falling under Xander's spell too?

**READERS LOVE ROSETTA ACADEMY**
'Menon as an unique perspective on romance novels, she just adds that little extra spark we didn't know we needed until we see it in her books . . . The Rosetta Academy ones have my heart and soul!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This book is a wonderful sequel with lovable characters, beautiful world building, and great continuations of precious characters' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Retellings, Contemporary, Fantasy Romance, Fiction

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 19, 2023

About the author

Sandhya Menon is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels with lots of kissing, girl power, and swoony boys. Her books have been featured in several cool places, including on The Today Show, Teen Vogue, NPR Book Review, Buzzfeed, and Seventeen. A full-time dog servant and part-time writer, she makes her home in the foggy mountains of Colorado.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Never giving your heart away at all is a way scarier prospect than having your heart broken.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It’s senior year, and Daphne Elizabeth “DE” McKinley, the heiress to the McKinley hotel dynasty, is still licking her wounds after a painful breakup. She’s determined to keep her head down and her heart shuttered—even from new student Xander, no matter how dreamy he is. Then Rosetta Academy is swallowed up by a sudden and massive spring storm, and very strange things start happening. The students start to fall into a stupor, then a deep sleep…one by one. Soon, DE is racing against the clock to find the source of the strange spell and stop it before it claims the entire school. Could Xander’s help be the key to solving the mystery?

Daphne Elizabeth has always been an interesting character and big personality in the friendship group so I knew getting to read from her perspective would be engaging. There’s a lot going on in DE’s head, mostly still reeling from Alaric’s betrayal and the effect he had on her, but I felt like there was a slight disconnect with her story. With the other two books, we got to know the nitty gritty but it’s as if DE’s character has to remain shrouded in mystery which is a shame really. I like getting to delve deep into different characters - more so if they’ve previously been background characters. We didn’t get a deep dive into her background but we did get to understand DE as a person more which was nice. I really liked the arc she went through in this book and how she ended up. I think it was a great choice.
Xander is a mysterious one in the beginning. New kid not opening up about his life? Colour me intrigued! I do think Xander is a nice character. His POV was interesting to read from and seeing his dedication to his family’s plight was admirable. I loved his friendship with DE - it was definitely a highlight for the book. I think he’d fit in quite nicely with the bunch of misfits that have banded together over the course of the trilogy.

Having had enjoyed the previous two books in the St Rosetta’s Academy trilogy, I knew I had to jump into the third and final book! The overall plot wasn’t too bad being a Sleeping Beauty retelling but it was perhaps not as intriguing to me as the previous two have been. Something I do really love though is the element on magic that is woven into each of the books - each with a curse of their own it seems. I do love the collide of reality and fantasy. The characters were, as always, well fleshed out and engaging. I always love that we get to see the other characters we’ve gotten to know in the other books - especially when we get to see how their stories have progressed beyond the ending of their own stories. The romance wasn’t as heavy or thrilling as the other books which was a bit of a shame to me. I just wanted a bit more of it but that’s me being picky. The ending felt very rewarding for the finale of this trilogy. Such a shame that it is now over!

Overall, Of Dreams and Destiny is a lovely final book to this great trilogy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of this book.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to this one! I loved the first book in the series. The second book was without a doubt even better and the third one was gonna be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, which is one of the trickiest tales to retell. I was gonna wait patiently for the paperback to arrive, but then I spotted the book on Netgalley and of course I had to request it right away! I was incredibly thankful that Hodder and Stoughton granted me a copy.

Sleeping Beauty is a wonderful fairytale, but incredibly tricky to retell and even harder to do right in a world where there might or might not be magic. Well, it's clear that in this book THERE is magic. And yet it's still done in such a way that maybe this kind of magic does exist in our world too. And although the author did add a lot of stuff and shuffled a lot of other stuff around, the key elements of the fairytale were still very easy to recognize.

What I absolutely loved about this book is how entwined history and present are. We've been wandering around St. Rosetta for a few books already and it feels like this book really gives us a little more background information on the founding family, why it was founded and what skeletons are hiding in the closet. And I also quite like how everything we discover does immediately lead to action and active changes. Tradition? In some cases that really really isn't important.

I also liked the romance in this book. Since especially DE is not the kind of girl to fall in love at first sight it takes a long time before the characters dare to admit that they're in love with each other, but that also means they really took the time to get to know each other, to build a connection, to share secrets and feel that they can trust each other with everything. I also loved loved loved that one short moment between Alexander and Alaric!

I hope the author isn't out of ideas yet, because I'm far from done with St. Rosetta's Academy!

[ting · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Of Dreams and Destiny, the wintry setting sets the stage for a mysterious, dream-like spell that has settled over the academy. One by one students are taken by the curse, falling into a stupor. Can Daphne Elizabeth and new companion Xander race against time to find the antidote?

I chanced upon the Rosetta Academy series a year ago and was enamoured by Sandhya Menon’s novel take on classic fairy tales. As with the second book, the rest of DE’s friend group make appearances and it’s clear how their bond has strengthened since junior year. Alaric is a character we’ve come to hate - watching DE grapple with insecurities emerging from the breakup was particularly difficult. I’m thankful Xander was there in her darkest moments to show her how much she deserved.

As much as I wanted to love this one, it fell flat compared to the rest of the trilogy. Menon went for slightly darker themes this time and I struggled with the heavy sense of loss that permeated the book. While the mystery was promising, it wasn’t enough to keep me invested in the story and wrapped up with unanswered questions. In terms of plot, this could have been better executed but I would still recommend it to fans of the series. 💙

[belle ☆ﾐ (thisbellereadstoo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

DE never thought that she would open her heart to anyone after the bad breakup with her cheating ex. meanwhile, xander is new in the school and is only here for one mysterious reason. when st. rosetta was suddenly in the midst of a snowstorm that caused the students to slowly fall into deep sleep, xander and DE realised that they are getting closer and closer to the truth.

i liked this twist in the sleeping beauty retelling since rather than just DE (as the main character) falling asleep, it's everyone else around them. this might have moved at a really fast pace but i enjoyed it with all my heart. xander and DE's chemistry was right there from the start. they were attracted to one another at their first interaction. DE found it difficult to open her heart to someone new but i think xander easily made it happen with his charming ways and persistent in finding out the truth for his family's peace of mind.

overall, the trilogy was fun. each book is a retelling of a classic fairytale and sandhya menon wonderfully incorporated the elements of the classics within the plot, the characters, and the overarching issue.

[Yalenka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het is een retelling van Doornroosje. Door een vloek valt iedereen in slaap. DE en Xander vechten tegen de tijd om hun vrienden te helpen. Dit zorgt ervoor dat ze dichter naar elkaar groeien en verliefd worden. Hun liefde zorgt er uiteindelijk voor dat de vloek verbroken wordt. Beetje voor de hand liggend, maar oké.

En Alaric, fuck you!

[RivkaBelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the St. Rosetta's series, but this was one twisty mish-mash of fairy tale elements and intrigue. It was a fast read, and kept me guessing a bit - trying to figure out where the story was going/what twist was coming next.

[kt · Rating 3 out of 5]

too horror-y for me 😅
not enough romance; kinda rushed and cringey

[Deborah Zeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the final book in the trilogy, I really enjoyed this twisted take on the Sleeping Beauty trope. DE is still hurting from the “breakup” with Alaric, who isn’t making it easy for her. Xander is new to the school, trying to solve a family mystery. DE visits with a psychic who starts a chain of events that could wipe out the school and it’s population if DE and Xander don’t come together and break through their insecurities and fears. I loved the pairing of these two. DE finally finding the strength to be herself and open her heart; Xander letting people in & no longer trying to break the families curse. Sad to see this series end!

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels like I have been waiting a long time for this book and it is finally here! The last (at least I’m pretty sure) book of this series and of course I devoured it in a matter of hours. I think I liked this one the best of the series. So this story follows DE, Daphne Elizabeth, who has decided to close off her heart and protect herself after the disaster that was her last relationship. She never wants to feel that way again and is determined to keep it that way. But how does she stand a chance when the new student, Xander, comes into her life? She knows she is in trouble the moment she sees him, but she has to protect herself. She just has to. But weird things start happening at Rosetta Academy. A snow storm threatens to close them off from the outside world and students start falling into a stupor then deep sleep, one by one. DE finds herself remembering the words of a psychic warning her of what was to come and that she had the key to finding it. But she won’t solve this on her own. Xander came to the school to find the truth about his ancestor who died at Rosetta. And as fate would have it, the past may give them the answer to save everyone. Really loved this story! Lot of fun and DE and Xander were a great match. They had excellent chemistry and worked together so well as they solved the mystery of what was going on to their friends and how to save everyone. Also throw in a ton of magic and some Sleeping Beauty references, and we’ve got yet another great story of this series!

[Jordan Charlesworth AKA Book Brilliance Xo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review 📚
Of Dreams and Destiny by Sandhya Menon - 4/5 ⭐

The 3rd and final book of the Rosetta's Academy series and that breaks my heart. I have loved each and every book from this series and I hate to see it come to and end! But I am also intrigued to see where Menon's literary genius takes her.

There is so much thought and emotion that go into the characters of the series, each of them having their own personality. It's beautifully crafted. From the beginning to the end I have been unbelievably happy with character developments as well as the introduction to new characters along the way. It was effortless to read about each character.

There's a good amount of romance throughout the 3rd book and in general the emotions throughout the series have been insane. Ups and downs, happy and sads, there was no in-between. Menon finished the trilogy amazingly and it couldn't of ended a better way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final YA book in the Rosetta’s Academy trilogy.
💤
Spring Break of senior year is officially over and now it’s time for Daphne Elizabeth, aka DE, to finish her last quarter at St. Rosetta’s Academy. She’s still healing from her break up with Alaric and the damage he did to her self-worth, but after a weird visit to the town’s psychic odd things begin coming true. With the help of new student, Xander, DE tries to figure out why all the students are getting sleeping sickness during the biggest snowstorm of the century. How can DE keep everyone from succumbing before it’s too late?
❄️
I loved this entire series! As a fan of fractured fairy tales, this was right up my alley. I loved the Sleeping Beauty storyline and how strong and resilient DE was as a character. This novel releases September 19.

CW: alcohol, hospitalization, infidelity, serial killer, murder, strangulation, death, parental abandonment, parental death by drug overdose (recounted)

[nihaarika · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I think out of all the Sandhya Menon books that I have read, Of Dreams and Destiny is my favourite. It is full of supernatural and spooky stuff, with an adorable romance and a great cast of characters. It was nice to finally have Daphne's story in my hands to see her go on an amazing adventure of her own. In comparison to the first book in the series, I think this is definitely the best one.

Personally, I think the St. Rosetta's Academy series is a great younger YA series for someone who is just starting to read the genre. It has a little bit of everything, from great storylines, characters to amazing plots full of spooky, supernatural things; this series is a fun and quick read and honestly, I might come back and reread the whole thing again sometime.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an e-ARC!

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ummm this was amazing! This is easily one of my favorite trilogies now. DE and Xander are so cute and I’m glad they were able to solve the mystery and everyone made it through alive and in one piece. This is considered a fantasy, but to me it kinda reads more like a contemporary. I guess it’s kinda both? Regardless, it’s an incredible series and perfect for a cozy reading day! I picture sitting in a large library near a fireplace with either a snowstorm or thunderstorm outside (and I hate winter and cold weather lol)

[em reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick review because i’m too exhausted to think. i enjoyed this new installment but nothing will compare to the first one i’m afraid and i was also a bit disappointed by the second book as well. DE and Xander had good chemistry but nothing crazy if i’m being honest and the story was just fine. i’m probably not into this series anymore but they are enjoyable fairytales retelling. 3⭐️
thanks to netgalley for the arc

[Sanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

“In my heart, deep down inside, I know there’s a spark, a glow, every time we’re together.”

3.75⭐️

So glad I finally finished this series! This was a heartwarming conclusion to this magical realism trilogy. I love a boarding school setting, of course. And I realise this is the first Sleeping Beauty retelling I’ve read before so that was fun. The romance was cute, too, though I think I still like Jaya and Grey most.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher, via Edelweiss, for an advance e-galley for honest review.

While it's the 3rd in the series, this one could be read as a standalone. A touch of fairy tale and a touch of magic and whimsy lend itself to an interesting boarding school story. It's a bit insta-love for me, but maybe that has to do with being an adult reader of a YA book.

[Laura Mauro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dont think this book wowed me. I think the plot for what it was was sort of all over the place. I liked the romance but it def felt insta love to me and felt rather forced. I thouht the mystery was fun but it was hard to feel in love with the plot when nothing made a impact!! it was a fun story to read in the winter but not my favorite in this series.

[Wisty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is so fun! Love the boarding school setting, the characters are delightful, and the dash of magic/fairytale elements is super well done. The storm in this one was a great addition, as was the mystery. I hope Menon writes more in this world, but even if not, I look forward to reading more of her stuff!

[Adi · Rating 3 out of 5]

For full disclosure I want to say that i have not read the first two books in this series but i was made to understand that it was a problem and that this series was more a series of standalone. After reading this one I can confirm that you do not have to read the others to understand everything, of course if you do it is going to give you more background information on the other characters of the story.
I really liked the first half of this novel, it was funny and sweet, i took a break from it because of my anxiety and i came back to it and unfortunately the spell broke and I was not enjoying it anymore.
This story is super fast paced everything seems to happen in a couple of weeks which means that the romance also happens in a couple of weeks and feels extra rushed. Do not worry I remember being 17 and falling in love way too fast but it just felt so cringe. To be honest the insta love wouldn’t have bothered me if the rest of the story was not so cringe but unfortunately this was cringe fest. I would recommend this story to 14 or 15yo but not 17yo.
Overall I still enjoyed it for what it was even if I thought that Xander’s motives were questionable, like straight up why?

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a hard one to rate! 2.5-3 honestly, 2 felt too harsh.
It was my least favorite of the Rosetta’s Academy books. Decently cute love story but the magic and the overarching plot felt forced and didn’t really make a ton of sense.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute and cozy. I loved the love interest Xander. I LOVE a boarding school setting. This gave Hogwarts vibes - modernized and less fantasy. It gave back to school vibes - and I loved the friend group and the found family.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third book in the Rosetta Academy/fairy tale series is rock solid. The mystery is compelling, and the romance divine. I love this series.

[Sofía · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess this one was better than #2, but still nowhere as good as her other books. Too formulaic to enjoy.

[Julie Bergley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun twist on Sleeping Beauty! I really enjoyed this retelling series. All the couples are very fun and I adore them. I can’t wait to read more Sandhya!!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't as enamoured with this one as with the last two which I was a bit disappointed by, but it was still a light easy read

[Isabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The worst romance book that I have ever read 😭

[jodie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read but I didn't exactly enjoy it? It was more of a lazy curiosity about the ending lol (2.5 stars)

can't tell if my taste in books has changed or i'm just not in the moodddddd

[prathaaaaaaaa]

leo better be in this book

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The others in this series had more in-story time that passed, I think this would've benefited from this, DE and Xander both felt a bit flat to me.

[Aradhna · Rating 4 out of 5]

full review to come soon!