What do you think?
Rate this book
The Puppet Queen: A Tale of the Sleeping Beauty
After Selene's homeland falls to the Pari curse, she is forced to must contest for the throne by her insidious fiancé. When rivalries threaten to plunge the country into civil war, Selene must fight through magic and malice—her family's fate hangs in the balance.
The Puppet Queen is a young adult fantasy retelling of Sleeping Beauty infused with the folklore of the Middle East.
The Puppet Queen is a young adult fantasy retelling of Sleeping Beauty infused with the folklore of the Middle East.
Nook
First published June 21, 2012
11 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Mira Zamin
2 books6 followersI'm a recent college graduate who loves traveling, eating, and eating while traveling. I majored in ancient and medieval history, which I found to be a constant source of literary inspiration as well as general fascination. I grew up loving to read and write, especially historical fiction and fantasy—anything that can open up amazing new worlds, a philosophy I try to bring to my own writing.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 31, 2012
I really liked this retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. It was true enough to the story, but told well enough as to not give away everything that was going to happen. It was just different enough to make it interesting, and I really appreciated that the story was told from Auralia's twin sister's point of view.
The majority of the drama was about Selene's life, and the steady intrigue kept me interested. At points I wondered why she didn't see things that someone who is as sharp-witted and intelligent as she is portrayed to be should have seen; these times weren't frequent enough for me to lose confidence in the characterization, and she did generally learn from those things she might have missed.
Editting issues were certainly present, especially toward the second half of the book. Most errors I found were in pronoun-antecedent agreement (use of his when talking about an item owned by a female character, etc.). Also, a couple of times I was confused due to the wrong name being used. These are issues that were most likely created during the revision process and one more read-through would have most likely caught them.
I give high praises also for avoiding my writer's pet peeve of not completing a book. This book was complete in and of itself. It tied up all loose ends and completed the action without requiring a sequel to finish the story (not that I'm against sequels, I just like to read a completed story). I could pick up another book in a series created from this basis and enjoy it fully, but another book is unnecessary for me to feel fulfilled.
The majority of the drama was about Selene's life, and the steady intrigue kept me interested. At points I wondered why she didn't see things that someone who is as sharp-witted and intelligent as she is portrayed to be should have seen; these times weren't frequent enough for me to lose confidence in the characterization, and she did generally learn from those things she might have missed.
Editting issues were certainly present, especially toward the second half of the book. Most errors I found were in pronoun-antecedent agreement (use of his when talking about an item owned by a female character, etc.). Also, a couple of times I was confused due to the wrong name being used. These are issues that were most likely created during the revision process and one more read-through would have most likely caught them.
I give high praises also for avoiding my writer's pet peeve of not completing a book. This book was complete in and of itself. It tied up all loose ends and completed the action without requiring a sequel to finish the story (not that I'm against sequels, I just like to read a completed story). I could pick up another book in a series created from this basis and enjoy it fully, but another book is unnecessary for me to feel fulfilled.
July 23, 2013
Sleeping Beauty with a twist. Selene is the twin sister of the one who is cursed. She is wild, strong willed, and has no clue as to the curse on her family. When she does find out, she escapes to another city, takes on a false name and lives as a governess. After the curse falls, she finds herself with a husband she doesn't love, embroiled in the contest for queenship of the whole kingdom, and trying to figure out how to protect and wake her country.
Taken from the total perspective of Selene, this tale has many adult situations such a beatings, rape and war. This book grabbed me from the very first, and while overall followed the tale of Sleeping Beauty (no good fairies to help the prince or princess though), the different perspective of a twin sister was different and engaging. She is also strong, and grows into her various roles very well. Her insecurities are real. I look forward to more from this author.
Taken from the total perspective of Selene, this tale has many adult situations such a beatings, rape and war. This book grabbed me from the very first, and while overall followed the tale of Sleeping Beauty (no good fairies to help the prince or princess though), the different perspective of a twin sister was different and engaging. She is also strong, and grows into her various roles very well. Her insecurities are real. I look forward to more from this author.
December 17, 2015
The book was well-crafted. The setting and design of the kingdom lent itself to the political turmoil that played an interesting role in the plot.
My favorite part of the book was the dimensions of Selene and the depth of her character. I enjoyed reading a book featuring a heroine that so transparently (at first) tried to be manipulative to fit in with the demands of vying for the role of queen. However, by the end of the novel, her attempts at manipulation become less clear and at points I found myself wanting to believe her sincerity but applauding her cunning if she was not, in fact, being sincere. Furthermore, I loved the way the author held to this progressive change in the heroine toward an adeptness at politics. This was so beautifully depicted in the epilogue.
SPOILER: Selene, who formerly could hardly keep her emotions and determination from playing across her face, has been the queen for an undefined number of years. On the anniversary of her defeat of the rebellion that followed her ascension, she listens to the appeals of her subjects and at the end of the day, she receives a visitor. It is her ex-husband who murdered the former queen and raped her own sister. The man that forced her into marriage but she found that she loved in some way after a year of marriage. She hears his appeal to take him back but instead delivers the sentence she wished upon him when she turned him over for the queen's murder years ago. In cold blood she beheads him.
While gory, I LOVE this ending. Not only is it pretty satisfying because you can't help but come to hate her ex-husband, it completes the transformation of Selene. Furthermore, the fact that the whole of the book EXCEPT the epilogue is told from the perspective of Selene is so profound. Throughout the entire plot we learn things from Selene's point-of-view, we literally have access to her emotions and thoughts, things she had difficulty from displaying in her facial expressions, but after years of being queen she has been transformed into the portrait of control over her emotions. So for the epilogue we no longer get insight into her mind, even the readers have been cast out from seeing her emotions and thoughts, not just her subjects! It was just such a fantastic way to complete the book because it was a satisfying ending where both the dark side and the justice seeking side of Selene reign side by side.
My favorite part of the book was the dimensions of Selene and the depth of her character. I enjoyed reading a book featuring a heroine that so transparently (at first) tried to be manipulative to fit in with the demands of vying for the role of queen. However, by the end of the novel, her attempts at manipulation become less clear and at points I found myself wanting to believe her sincerity but applauding her cunning if she was not, in fact, being sincere. Furthermore, I loved the way the author held to this progressive change in the heroine toward an adeptness at politics. This was so beautifully depicted in the epilogue.
SPOILER: Selene, who formerly could hardly keep her emotions and determination from playing across her face, has been the queen for an undefined number of years. On the anniversary of her defeat of the rebellion that followed her ascension, she listens to the appeals of her subjects and at the end of the day, she receives a visitor. It is her ex-husband who murdered the former queen and raped her own sister. The man that forced her into marriage but she found that she loved in some way after a year of marriage. She hears his appeal to take him back but instead delivers the sentence she wished upon him when she turned him over for the queen's murder years ago. In cold blood she beheads him.
While gory, I LOVE this ending. Not only is it pretty satisfying because you can't help but come to hate her ex-husband, it completes the transformation of Selene. Furthermore, the fact that the whole of the book EXCEPT the epilogue is told from the perspective of Selene is so profound. Throughout the entire plot we learn things from Selene's point-of-view, we literally have access to her emotions and thoughts, things she had difficulty from displaying in her facial expressions, but after years of being queen she has been transformed into the portrait of control over her emotions. So for the epilogue we no longer get insight into her mind, even the readers have been cast out from seeing her emotions and thoughts, not just her subjects! It was just such a fantastic way to complete the book because it was a satisfying ending where both the dark side and the justice seeking side of Selene reign side by side.
August 22, 2014
The Puppet Queen is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale by Mira Zamin. Her reindition had Middle Eastern charm complete with Djinni who grant wishes very like the Aladdin story and a new magical creature, the Pari who might or might not be distant or close cousins to the Fairies.
3 Stars I gave for Mira's laidback writing style, her creativity, solid plot and characterisations. She strove to airbrush most of her characters into hateable or likeable personalities and she did it in style.
The first few chapters at the beginning did not flow as well as they might have. But once our Heroine Selene takes the road to Neyneveh, the plot thickens, hardens until it explodes. For a moment there, I had a 'FROZEN' moment when I thought true love's first kiss would come from her to her twin.
I enjoyed myself.
3 Stars I gave for Mira's laidback writing style, her creativity, solid plot and characterisations. She strove to airbrush most of her characters into hateable or likeable personalities and she did it in style.
The first few chapters at the beginning did not flow as well as they might have. But once our Heroine Selene takes the road to Neyneveh, the plot thickens, hardens until it explodes. For a moment there, I had a 'FROZEN' moment when I thought true love's first kiss would come from her to her twin.
I enjoyed myself.
August 13, 2016
Not to my taste at all. Every now and then I'd like a little bit, and then it was gone and I was frustrated by the story and the method of storytelling... I ended up skipping whole chapters because I was so disappointed and in some ways disgusted with the way the book was laid out. I did not like the writing style, I did not like the story itself. As I said, I found a few bits here and there to be entertaining, just enough that I sort of made it to the end of the book (I kept thinking it had to get better), but... it overall left a bad taste in my mouth.
I don't think the summary description of the book suits it very well.
I don't think the summary description of the book suits it very well.
December 19, 2013
The title of this book is quite misleading. Instead of the main character being the sleeping beauty Auralia, it is actually her twin sister Selene. The author spins a fabulous tale of regal life which includes (but is not limited to) codependency, greed, intrigue and finding ones true self. Minor editing flaws (one instance a character was sitting on a "ouch") did not detract from the encompassing nature of this story told from the perspective of the one who was able to remain awake.
April 30, 2014
An interesting retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. I liked how the book was true enough to the fairytale but still told well enough to not give away everything in the story, it was still different and interesting. I also really liked how the story was told from the point of view of the twin sister of the Sleeping Beauty, it gave a fresh retelling with a twist of the loved fairytale.
September 27, 2014
The Puppet Queen is a great twist on the well known fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty. I really enjoyed this read. It is an adult version, gritty, and full of intrigue. There is no swearing, the only sexual content is implied rape, does contain violence. I can recommend for ages 16 and up. I will be reading more by this author.
February 17, 2013
An engaging retelling of Sleeping Beauty from her sister's perspective. Definitely not for children. Real and disturbing events without any sweet fluff. Some editing issues but not too distracting.
December 4, 2014
a nice twist on sleeping beauty. loved how it ended...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews