Asleep

Fairytale Collection #2

by Elizabeth Darcy

**Note: This book contains some mature content**

A reimagining of the sleeping beauty tale.

When her beloved Prince Devaran is abducted from her parents’ castle during their engagement announcement ceremony, Princess Jessmyn vows that nothing will stop her from bringing his abductors to justice. Rescuing Dev won't be easy, and Jess will have to form an alliance with the other Realms if she's to win the most important battle of her life.

Imprisoned in a forbidding tower, Dev tries to find a way to warn Jess of the perils she’ll face. Weakened by deprivation and by the drugs administered by the madwoman who kidnapped him, Dev drifts between sleep and consciousness. As he relives cherished moments spent with Jess, Dev wonders if he’ll ever again be with the woman he loves.

Genres: Romance, Fairy Tales, Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings, Fairy Tale Retellings

Nook

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Elizabeth Darcy is a pen name for Nicole Ciacchella. As Elizabeth Darcy, Nicole can indulge her girlhood love for fairytales by re-interpreting them.

Nicole has had a lifelong passion for the written word. As a child, one of her most treasured Christmas gifts was an electric typewriter, which enabled her to crank out her stories even more quickly than she could with a pen. Naturally, the personal computer is one of her favorite inventions. When she isn't writing, Nicole can usually be found curled up in a chair, whiling away the hours with a good book.

One of Nicole's other great passions is travel, and she has visited Europe, as well as traveling to many of the fifty states. Her favorite trips include visits to Paris, Maui, and various parts of Belgium. She feels fortunate that she is married to a native Belgian, as it gives her plenty of reasons to visit Europe as often as possible. Also, it gives her an excuse to eat Belgian waffles regularly.

Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two beautiful children. She thinks Michigan is the greatest state in the country, and Michigan State University is the greatest university in the world.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Darcy]

First off, I just want to say a HUGE thank you to my advance readers. You guys are amazing. I truly appreciate you taking the time to read and review the book, and I was thrilled by your response.

I'm having so much fun with the Fairytale Collection that I'm planning a third book, a Cinderella reboot that will be released later this year. I'm toying with different thematic elements in fantasy, as you can probably tell with the no-magic setting in this book. The third book, though, will most likely feature some magic, though it'll probably be set in a low-magic world.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I want to thank Elizabeth Darcy for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. For those who don't know, Ms. Darcy is an author who publishes her own books. As someone who has read other self-published titles and found them lacking (sometimes severely so), I can honestly say Ms. Darcy's work is a breath of fresh air. Her books are well-written, articulate, imaginative, and she tells a great story. I highly recommend this author and will definitely support her efforts in the future.

Asleep is a re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty and it's a beautifully told love story. I previously read her book, Eye of the Beholder, which is a re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite fairy tales. As much as I absolutely loved that book, I liked this one better. The story is definitely re-imagined with an interesting twist that drew me in from the very beginning. I never once felt that I was reading a different version of Sleeping Beauty; this story is original and wonderful in it's own right.

The main characters are Dev and Jess and there are so many things I love about each character. Initially, I wasn't sure that I liked Dev and wondered what Jess saw in him. However, as the story and character development unfolded, I came to see his strengths and love him. One thing I especially love about Ms. Darcy's writing is the way she develops her characters. I noted the same thing in my review of Eye of the Beholder. And the love story in Asleep is so beautifully told it reminded me of the wonder I felt when I fell in love with my husband.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and thanks to my dear friend Tawnya, for introducing me to this author. I highly recommend the book and the author!

PS: Some of my friends have expressed concern because the description notes some "mature content". There was one scene but it was very tastefully done and in my opinion, was a means of Dev and Jess showing their absolute love for each other. It wasn't just about sex. Don't let that warning scare you away from this book. Having said that, I think it's great that the author lets you know in advance that the scene is there.

One additional note: I truly appreciate that the author doesn't use DRM in her books. Makes life so much easier. :)

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asleep is a re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty with a wonderful twist. The slumbering party in this case is not a helpless maiden, but a handsome prince with a charming chipped tooth and a rakish smile.

The story takes place in an imaginary land with Five Realms. Prince Dev is the heir to the Realm of Estoria and Princess Jessamyn is the heiress to the Realm of Lyrane. These neighbouring kingdoms have always been allies. The reigning monarchs are friends, and Dev and Jess spend much of their childhood together. Their relationship develops from childhood playmates to lovers, and a happily ever after seems imminent between them. But on the eve of their betrothal party, Dev is kidnapped…



Dev is a wonderful prince, brave and loving, but also insecure about his future responsibilities as governing king. He treads through life with humour, and courageously attempts to face the challenges thrown his way. Jess is a beautiful warrior woman like her mother, and she wields a sword and leads an army in the blink of an eye. They complement each other and their love is pure and genuine.

Narrated in fairy-tale fashion, the book takes us into a medieval world of dreams, castles, warriors, and kingdoms. We cheer for Jess as she races against time to save her beloved prince, and we feel for Dev as he attempts to hold on to his sanity while drugged and imprisoned. This is the second book I read by Elizabeth Darcy. The first one was Eye of the Beholder, a beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and once again her magical writing transported me to an enchanting dreamland.

ARC received from Elizabeth Darcy in exchange for an honest review

[Kirsty (Amethyst Bookwyrm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This and my other reviews can be found at http://amethystbookwyrm.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks to Netgalley and Patchwork Press for giving me this book to review.

During the most important engagement party of the five realms the soon to be groom prince Devaran is kidnapped from his finance castle. Drugged and locked in a tower, Dev relives his history with Jess and sees how their relationship has grown from childhood friends to her being the love of his life. At the same time princess Jessmyn and Dev’s brother Tanvir are hunting for the person who took him and will do anything to rescue her beloved. However, is the person who took Dev using his kidnap to hurt him, Jess and their two kingdoms or as a catalyst to take over the entire five realms.

I really enjoyed Asleep as it is a good YA romantic fantasy and is a very unique interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. I have not read the first book The Eye of the Beholder but I don’t think it matters as I did not feel like I was missing anything.

I liked Jess as she is a strong character who would fight for who she loves, who still being a bit insecure. Dev is strong in a different but equal way and I liked him as he was brave, funny, but this hid his self-doubt about his ability to rule. However, I would have liked to have seen him interact with people apart from mostly in his memories. I enjoyed how the world of the five realms was different from most fantasy book as women could also be warriors and leaders and no-one made an issue of it.

I really enjoyed this book and will want to read the first book The Eye of the Beholder. I would recommend Asleep to fans of Slumber by Samantha Young or Scarlet by A C Gaughen.

[HJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so here's the deal. I was thrilled when the author offered me an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review. After all, I loved the first book in the series, , so I was certain that I would love this one, too.

I didn't. *cringes*

Here's what I struggled with:

-Not sure why, but I anticipated that it would be 1st person POV - like the first book. It's not. 3rd person narrative, and not much emotional internalizing by the MCs. Very difficult to connect with them.
-Not much world-building involved. There were too many assumptions made in the authoring, and I struggled to picture the social heirarchy. After all, the heroine seems to be a warrior, and heir to her father's throne, and the hero is laid back and the heir to his father's throne. Is this normal? I dunno. It didn't 'seem' like there were other female warrior types around, but there was nothing to elaborate on this, at least, not at first. It took too long for this to be explained.
-Awkwardly placed flashbacks about the development of their relationship (I'll get to that - the relationship - shortly). Typically, I'd expect something currently taking place to relate to the flashback and they didn't really seem to. Also, the transitions back and forth between current events and the flashbacks were jarring, and not well defined. Sometimes the only way I realized that I was reading a flashback was because I knew the the hero/heroine were doing something else that didn't flow with what I was reading. Like I said. Jarring.
-Ah-yes. The relationship. I didn't think I would have an issue with the 're-imagining' of Sleeping Beauty, but I did have a problem with the hero basically being the submissive and the heroine being the 'knight in shining armor.' This may be something personal on my part, I'm old-fashioned to some extent, I guess.

Based on the above reasons, it took me forever to get through the book. I found it far too easy to set down, and very difficult to pick back up.

I wish I could give this a better review, and I hope that the next book in the series is more like the first.

[Jackie (Jackie's Book World) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review can also be found at my blog: Jackie's Book World :)

Beautifully written and engaging...

I was completely sucked into the story from the very beginning. Asleep is a retelling/influenced by the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. I found that this story was a lot more exciting than the original sleeping beauty. There are twists that no one would really expect it to have, but it works really well. I found myself liking the switching of point-of-views. It was refreshing to see how the two main characters interacted with others and how different they were. That being said, Asleep is about Princess Jessmyn's quest to rescue her true love/fiancee Prince Devaran from someone that is trying to take over the Five Realms. I really liked Princess Jessmyn's character, she is a strong and independent. She knows how working in a battlefield works and she is pretty much ready to become queen. On the other hand, Prince Devaran hides his true feelings by being sarcastic and rebelling against royal protocol. As these two different characters interact, it slowly becomes evident that they are falling in love with each other.

I guess the saying opposites attract works really well in the story. Both of them balance each other out, and they will need to use what they're good at in order to save the Realms from getting conquered. Although the beginning of the story was interesting, it felt a bit slow for my liking, but as it got closer to the climax, I was able to feel the excitement building up all the way to the resolution. I found myself liking Prince Dev's point-of-view a lot better than Jessmyn's. His point-of-view was a lot more informative when it came to finding out how they both met and how they fell in love. It was in the past for the most part, while in Jessmyn's point-of-view, we are able to see the present and how she gets ready to rescue her prince. Overall, it was a great story and I really recommend everyone to try it out.

[Tawnya McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

I REALLY liked this book. When Elizabeth asked me to read this book and write an honest review of it, I jumped at the chance, having read and LOVED Eye of the Beholder. This book as Elizabeth put it, a reimaging of sleeping beauty.

I thought it was a wonderfully told story. Elizabeth does a wonderful job of retelling the fairytales that I find myself attached to the characters and what is going on with them, even when I already know how the story is going to end.It was unique in that the prince was the one in and out of sleep and the princess is the warrior on the quest to save him. I loved how the romance/relationship developed over the course of the story between Jess and Dev and how they thought entirely of the other.

I don't want to say too much and take away from the journey the story takes you on. If you like fairytales and romance you will love this book. I would definitely recommend reading this book and is one I would read again.

***Since writing this review, I feel I need to come add: I was hesitant to read it because of the mature content warning. I agreed to give it a try. I am not one who likes to read explicit or graphic love scenes or language. There was on scene where they were intimate, but it was done tastefully and limited in its description and no language at all.

[Laura]

Muy repetitivo. En 20% del libro no pasa absolutamente nada, excepto flashbacks que no le interesan a nadie.

[Leonor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also published in "Tales of a Depresso Witch"

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author, Nicole Ciacchella, in exchange for an honest review.

When Nicole Ciacchella contacted me asking if I would like to receive an ARC of Asleep, I simply couldn’t say no. I loved her previous book by her pen name Elizabeth Darcy – The Eye of the Beholder– and was intrigued and excited to read her reboot of Sleeping Beauty. Plus, since I’ve never read any retelling/reboot of this fairytale, I was curious to see in which direction Elizabeth would take the story.

Asleep is simply an adorable and charming love story whose bone structure really captures the essence of the fairytale on which is based. But, instead of having a princess locked in a tower waiting for her prince charming to rescue her, we have it the other way around.

Yep, you’ve read it right. It’s the other way around.

In this story, Prince Devaran (Dev) is abducted during his engagement party to Princess Jessmyn (Jess) and is constantly drugged to not fight against his abductors. Jess might be a princess but she’s a warrior. She’s the one who travels and plans Dev’s rescue and fights to free the man she loves.

Yes, we have fantastic girls’ power in this book.

The story is divided between Dev and Jess, giving us a deep knowledge of what they feel and think, allowing us to see them develop and grow. Each chapter is told by one of them, something I was already familiar with since The Eye of the Beholder is said the same way. It gives us permission to know their background story, flashbacks telling us how they met, how they fell in love and how much they need each other.

Dev was my favourite character and the “damsel in distress” in the book. He has a nice and funny personality, is a little scared of the responsibilities that a future king will have to deal with and is a simple man who only wishes to live his life with the woman he loves. During his flashbacks, we can notice how much he grows up and how much Jess’s helped him develop. He always had a remark on the tip of his tongue and never allowed Ellaria, the person who abducted him, to have the last word. He would do everything and anything in his power to make sure Jess would be safe, even risk his own life.

Jess is a warrior and a strong character. She’s a mastermind and passionate and, despite being desperate to save Dev, she tries really hard not to just jump up and save Dev knowing that if she did so, they would both perish. She’s the one who helps Dev understand that his insecurity when it comes to being a ruler can be an aid and the one who is always there to help him face that same insecurity.

Their romance flew naturally since they’ve been friends since they were children, always playing around and tricking each other. The way they finally admitted how much they loved each other was the sweetest thing I’ve ever read. It came so effortlessly, so beautifully I couldn’t help but grin at those two. It was obvious they cared for each other but having them finally admit their feelings was simply delightful.


There is only one thing in this book that didn’t allow me to give it a full five stars rating which was the political/strategic part in which Jess had to make careful plans to save Dev. Though it’s an indispensable part and an important one of the plot, it dragged too much and some chapters were only reunions and planning strategies to save Prince Devaran. However, I have to give some credit to Elizabeth since those plans were very well developed and crafted, and each preparation was carefully thought out.

As for the mature content warning on the synopsis, I feel the need to tell my readers that the warning can be misleading since the only mature content in the whole book is Dev and Jess’s first time and is not too explicit.

Asleep is a very well-crafted reboot of a famous and loved fairytale. It has the bases of the tale the author managed to add her own flavour to it which creates a new fantasy world I would love to continue to be a part of. A very well-planned book with characters that can be so real and human you feel like they are part of you. Elizabeth Darcy brought to life a fantastic love story in which hearts and war can be fought for the greater good.

I have to thank Elizabeth Darcy/Nicole Ciacchella for contacting me and for sending me a copy of Asleep. I appreciate the trust you have in me and I can’t say enough thank you.

Using James McAvoy here because that’s how I kept picturing Dev in my mind while reading the book.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve never been so sad to not finish a book, but this was has dragged on for so long and I keep putting it down because the issues repeatedly pulled me out of the story. It wouldn’t be so hard if I didn’t love the premise, and he lead characters, but even that can’t save this story for me. The really sad part is a good editor could have fixed most of the problems.

The dialogue was repetitive, and seemed to flop between a formal and casual modern language. Or as I call it the Keanu Reeves effect. I get this is a fantasy, but the world presented to us is one of royalty and formality. So to have people fall into language that I could hear at my local Starbucks made it really hard to suspend my disbelief and stay engaged in the story.

There was a lot of telling over showing, where characters informed us of every nuance of their feelings, but didn’t really display any of them. I have a real hard time picturing anyone in the story. Scenes were often a few sparse details and big chunk of exposition. This is especially true of the numerous flashbacks we get in Dev’s half of the narrative, which were fun at first, but quickly became tiresome.

The story starts strong with prince Dev being kidnaped on the eve of his wedding to long time love, princess Jessmyn. While Dev struggles to stay conscious to figure out who took him and why, Jess works with their families to search for him. That’s all that happened for several chapters.

It’s like starting a story with a gunshot and spending a week looking for the bullet. Yes, it was interesting to get the back story and slow build of Jess and Dev’s romance, but I also wanted things to fucking happen in the main story. All I got was Dev sleeping, and Jess talking a lot with his brother. ZZZzzzzzzzzz

I’m sure the story picks up eventually, but it lost me so early on that I just can’t stick around to find out. Especially, when I have to wade through a lot of poorly edited writing and rambling narrative that should have been tightened up or cut all together. I am not an editor by any stretch of the imagination, which is why it’s even more frustrating to me that I found myself mentally critiquing this story, instead of enjoying it.

The really sad part is I loved Jess. She was a refreshing balance of strength and subtle femininity. Sure, she was a little cliche with the “I’m so uncomfortable in girl clothes” schtick, but I found it charming. I really liked the scenes between her and her parents, though some of the dialogue was really forced, but you could see how they raised a daughter more comfortable with a sword than a tiara.

Dev, when he was awake, charmed me too. I did enjoy how the flashbacks let us see the evolution of how this humble, loving man was once a spoiled, macho princeling. Seeing them as children was interesting, but again the dialogue was way too mature for kids their ages.

So there you are. I really wish I could have enjoyed this story more, and stuck with it, but it began to feel more like work than fun. Reading a good book should never feel like work.

1.5 stars (I rounded up for GoodReads rating system) :(

I was given a free copy of this book (via Netgalley) in exchange for an honest review.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Short Summary: Asleep is a retelling of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty. If you are looking for dragons, fairies, and evil witches, you are in the wrong place. First of all, “Sleeping Beauty” is a prince, and it’s not magic that is keeping him asleep but a sleeping potion. In fact, there is no magic involved in this story, but a medieval-style fantasy novel. Two realms are about to be joined through a marriage – something that is not usually done. Things do not go according to plan. You cannot have a wedding without a groom. After Prince Dev is cunningly kidnapped, Princess Jess must find out whole is responsible and bring him back. There are no damsel in distress in this novel. Rather, women are as much warriors as the men. As Jess discovers who is behind the kidnapping of her betrothed, she realizes that this deed involves the entire five realms.

Narration: Third person through Jess and Dev.

Character Development: The story has flashbacks to how Jess and Dev finally fall in love with each. Their characters are the most developed. The reader learns about their weaknesses and insecurities while understanding how and why they fell in love with each other. I would have liked to have seen a little more background development with the kidnapper.

Plot Development/Flow: The flashbacks in the novel work well with the drug induced sleep that Dev is put through. I believe strengthens the plot overall. I feel the beginning is slightly slow. With Jess looking for Dev (and Dev in and out of consciousness), it seems to drag on a little bit. Once a plan is determined, things move along better. As stated before, this is different version of Sleeping Beauty that most people know.

Standalone or Part of a Series: This is a standalone book in a part of a fairytale collection. If you enjoy retelling of fairytales, then you might want to try this book.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most interesting fairy-tale retellings that I've read so far this year! It not only successfully retells the story of Sleeping Beauty, it also successfully casts a lady as the hero. No more Prince Charming (ok, there was a charming prince, but he was the one sleeping!)

You see, on the eve of Prince Dev and Princess Jess's wedding, strangers break into the castle and abduct Dev away. And being a warrior princess (her mom is a warrior queen, which is way cool), Jess isn't going to let anyone get in her way to rescue Dev. And as Dev sleeps, he dreams of his past with Jess, which was a pretty effective way of giving us the backstory behind their relationship while moving the plot forwards.

What I liked most about this book was the relationship between Dev and Jess. They didn't fall in love at first site - they were best friends first. And even in the present, you can see how strong their friendship is.

Another plus is the extremely supportive cast. I'm so glad to see two normal families behind the main characters. Sure there is political intrigue within the Five Realms but Dev and Jess have two awesome families!

The author mentions some mature scenes, and there is one. Thankfully, it's not very explicit and it's at the end of a chapter, so I just skipped it. For those of you scared by the warning, don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds (and this is coming from me, with my oh-so-high levels of prudishness)

If you're in the market for an original retelling of Sleeping Beauty, you should check this book out!

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley

This review was first posted to Inside the mind of a Bibliophile

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully written fantasy romance with characters I totally fell in love with.

I was totally hooked from the 1st page. The hero, Prince Devaran (Dev) is abducted during his engagement announcement ceremony to Princess Jessmyn (Jess). We're given just a teasing hint of the relationship between the betrothed couple who are deeply in love.

Their love story unfolds over several flashbacks: the captured Dev despairs if he will ever be able to be freed from captivity as he fears for Jess' life knowing that Jess will spare nothing to save him herself; Jess desperately fights her fears that she will never be with Dev again & if she will succeed to free him. Each recall memories of being together & of each other.

Jess & Dev have been best friends since they 1st met when she was 6 & he, 8. Heirs to their respective kingdoms they each have their own fears & insecurities but in each other they find total acceptance & understanding.

Their relationship was beautiful to read. From childhood BFs, getting into scrapes & teasing each other to developing deeper emotions and falling in love.

The heroine is a strong, capable warrior with a brilliant martial mind. Passionate, Jess tends to act with her emotions. Dev, is deeply insecure of his ability to be a good ruler & tends to hide his fears behind a facade of humor. I loved the telling of the part where they confessed their love for each other - wonderfully touching & romantic as was the part where Dev (did to show) showed Jess how much he loved her.

The story has wonderful ideals, philosophy and principals woven throughout; responsibility of power being one.

[Adriana D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read. I fell in love with Jess & Dev's romance - the way Elizabeth told it was amazing. The flashbacks (memories) were so adorable - radiating with that loving feeling.

I couldn't stop reading. I had to know if the princess saves the prince - whoa....what a twist right! Woman empowerment!

An excellent read to anyone who likes fairytales or just needs a romance pick me up.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely fell in love with the premise of this book when I first came across it. I have to be honest, the idea of a Sleeping Beauty story with the prince being the one who is cursed with sleep while the princess has to rescue him hadn't really occurred to me before... which is kinda embarrassing to admit.

At first I was a bit disappointed when it became apparent there wasn't going to be a curse or spinning wheel or evil fairy. I love my fairy tales dripping with fantasy and magic. But I ended up getting over that pretty quick because I was hooked on the plot and was anxious to find out what would happen next. And all the political intrigue! My goodness, this gave me serious GoT/ASoIaF vibes, just with out all the gory backstabbing. I loved it!

The characters were very well written and diverse. Dev and Tanvir are adorkable and Jess is awesome. The romantic relationship between Dev and Jess was so sweet and believable, and I could really 'feel' the love between them and I love how they balance each other out. Jess and Tanvir's brother/sister-in-law relationship was also very sweet and gave me feels, and I though the brotherly dynamic between Dev and Tanvir was also believably portrayed.

I also absolutely loved the vivid descriptions of all the people and settings. I could easily envision all of it. It gave the story a realness and I felt like I was transported to the story's world, like I was right there with the characters. That's a quality which I hold to high regard when it comes to books, so bravo to the authoress.

I also loved that that there were so many kick-butt women in this story. Queen Farah and Princess Jess, Pala and the other female Lords and guards. It was so refreshing to see that warrior women were just a universally accepted thing in this book-world, and there were no stuffy men preaching that a woman's place is at home knitting or offended that the women were just as, if not more than, capable at battle as the men themselves. Go girl power and men who accept it!

Also, I saw where some people complained about how some of the writing was a bit repetitive and slowed down the story but I found it to be more realistic to human nature given the situations. Wouldn't anyone tend to dwell and go over memories of love and longing for someone who's missing or wondering who is behind a crime if one was in those sorts of dire, stressful situations? Espcially if they believed they might not make it out of said situations alive. I thought it made the story more believable and I didn't mind the 'slowness' at all.

[Ashley Ferguson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairy tale retellings are my favorite types of stories. I love when an old, classic story is rewritten in a fresh new way, with new characters and new situations. And this book does exactly that. Instead of the Princess being the "sleeping beauty", Prince Dev is captured and made to sleep against his will. Then, his bride-to-be and warrior princess Jess decides it's up to her to rescue him from the clutches of the evil woman who took him.

But honestly, that's about where the similarities to Sleeping Beauty end. Dev isn't cursed from birth by a villain as awesome as Maleficent, he's not hidden in the woods in the hopes that he'll never touch a spinning wheel, and he doesn't sleep until his true love comes to kiss him awake. There's no "Prince Charming" that just randomly decides to swoop in and save him. So this is basically a VERY loose reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty tale.

I think I would have liked this book more if it hadn't been presented as a Sleeping Beauty tale. I spent too much of the time looking for similarities than I spent appreciating the differences. I love a strong heroine, and Jess is just that, but she didn't really get many opportunities to show her strength. Everything is just too easy for her - thy figure out fairly quickly who took Dev to begin with, the troops they need basically just fall into their laps. they know exactly where Dev is being held, and then Jess manages to find Dev with little to no problem. She goes through a lot emotionally, but I found those parts to be pretty tedious. I wish we had been able to see more of her training her troops or leading them into battle or something.

I felt the same way about her mother, the warrior queen Farah, and her future brother-in-law, Tanvir. These characters had so much potential, but we just don't learn much about them. With the little bit of information we had bout Tanvir, I found myself liking him more than I liked Dev. I think it was just because I could relate more to him (he's very logical and always has his nose stuck in a book).I loved Farah in the scenes she was in, but I wish we had gotten to learn more about her past and about how she became such a kick-ass warrior queen. The minor characters are nice, but they're very underdeveloped. At least in my opinion.

For me, the beginning of this book was very slow. It took me until about halfway through to finally get into the story, and I think a lot of that had to do with how many flashbacks there were to how Dev and Jess fell in love. I mean, it's interesting, and I usually love flashbacks, but there were just too many too often for my tastes. The next 40% of this book was great - the pace picked up and we got to see some action and learn a little bit more about the villain. And then the last part was just... WTF. The way the villain was defeated seemed like a HUGE cop out, and very out of character. I found myself very confused as to why and how things happened the way they did. And then after Dev is taken home, the rest of the book just seems unnecessary. It's very epilogue-y, and sappy feel-good epilogues really annoy me. This book should have ended like 4 chapters before it actually did.

I think, going into this book, I had too many expectations about this being a Sleeping Beauty story and that's why I ended up so disappointed with it. I didn't hate it, but it just wasn't what I thought it was going to be and what I hoped it would be, and I found myself skimming more than reading. I think someone looking for a fantasy romance YA book would enjoy this, as long as you go into it not looking for all the things to be Sleeping Beauty related. Just take it for ed by kings and queens and split into world ruled by kings and queens and split into world ruled by kings and queens and split into Five Realms. I wanted to like this book so much, but I can only give it a 2/5.

[Carrie Gulledge · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF'ed @ 53%.

So I'm reading through the some of the other reviews and it looks like a lot of people that didn't give this book a high rating loved the previous book, Eye of the Beholder, so were going in to this book expecting something amazing.

I guess I'm the odd man out, because I really didn't like the first book, but Darcy isn't a bad writer... so I was hoping the series would progress into something better as many series do, with book one being not so great and the subsequent books getting better and better.

Unfortunately, this just isn't the case. In the Eye of the Beholder, I got halfway through and skimmed to the end. For Asleep, I got halfway through and just couldn't do it. I didn't care what the ending was, if I had to read one more scene where Ellaria has Dev drugged and he dreamed sweet dreams about his life growing up, I was going to vomit rainbows. I can honestly say that I have never dreamed in detailed flashbacks, so I find it a little hard to believe that ALL of Dev's dreams are highly detailed flashbacks.

Furthermore, where is the magic? Where is the Sleeping Beauty story? Ellaria can't hold a candle to Maleficent, and Dev is certainly no Sleeping Beauty. Don't get me wrong - I don't mind the gender reversal, and I think it could have been done successfully to create an interesting twist to the well-known fairytale, but it didn't happen here. Dev is no "beauty;" a good portion of the book is devoted to making sure we understand that Tanvir, Dev's younger brother, is handsomer, smarter and just all-around better than his brother. And to add the cherry on top, none of this is done to villainize Tanvir; the brothers love each other and Tanvir is happy that Dev is the one that is going to be king, so no aspirations there. There is no magic keeping Dev asleep - just a whole lot of chloroform, apparently.

The only character I remotely liked was Jessmyn, and even she got annoying after a while.

I don't think I will try the next book.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn’t consider this a fairy tale because there was no magic, and I wouldn’t consider this a re-imagining because it is a totally different story. I would say it was slightly influenced by Sleeping Beauty. This is a stand alone novel without a cliffhanger.

If you’re looking for the story where a jealous wielder of magic puts an entire kingdom to sleep for 100 years out of sheer jealousy, then a royal battles dragon’s and magic, finally breaking the spell with the story ending in happily ever after, then you will be sorely disappointed. When I say there is no magic in this book, I mean it. This story takes place over a few weeks and the prince is the victim, but he is kidnapped and drugged. He is not “asleep”, he goes in and out of consciousness. The love story between the Princess Jess and Prince Dev is told thru flashback’s when Dev is drugged, and the majority of it is about their childhood. There is one love scene and it’s not steamy. It’s more PG-13 and because of that I would consider this book more in the YA category. The majority of the story that takes place in the “present” revolves around court politics and war strategies. When the rescue finally does get underway there wasn’t very much action.

What I did like about this book was the strong female character’s. There was never an doubt that Jess would be queen of her land, and she was a warrior. In fact Jess’ mother is also a warrior, and their kingdom has a long history of warrior queen’s. Also, of the two lands Jess negotiated allegiances with one was ruled by a queen. The villain Ellaria was also female, although her character was not really flushed out, instead she was just a crazy lady with delusions of grandeur. The men and women were equal in this world and that was refreshing. I won’t be going back to read the first book in the series, and I am on the fence about reading future installments. If there was magic, less planning and a lot more action I’d probably be on board.

[Mariah H · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was well done, a beautiful story of love.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

So... I am very thrilled to read this one!! Elizabeth Darcy sent me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Keeping that in mind, I am about to embark in this journey and hoping for the best! Once I'm done with the book (so far what I've read has been very promising) I shall dutifully update my review.
Thanks for the book Elizabeth!!!

Okay... it took me a long time to get through this book (real life tends to get in the way of reading). But once again, Nicole, thank you for the oportunity to read this book!

Here's my most honest opinion:

3.7 Stars!

Now that I've finished readin "Asleep" in its entirety, I must say that it was a very sweet book. The world it represented felt well crafted and I could envision everything... down to the dresses and breeches!
However, I did feel like the pace was a little slow. But it did keep me reading and intrigued throughout! I really wanted Jess to get to Dev and every time either one of them had a flashback, I was smiling like a hopeless romantic. (Especially toward the ending.)

Therefore, when I need a sweet pick-me-up, I'll be sure to reread this book. And please tell me you have more retellings coming my way!! I can't wait to read them!
There's something about your writing that appeals to me...

Good job, Nicole, keep it up!!

[Jamie Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Inspired by the tale of Sleeping Beauty, Asleep follows Princess Jessmyn and Prince Dev as one of them is kidnapped during their engagement celebrations.

Twisting the tradition of having a helpless damsel in distress, the prince is the one kidnapped. Taken by a member of the opposing realm, she keeps him heavily sedated as they travel back to their tower stronghold.

Determined to rescue her beloved, Princess Jessmyn must rally the troops, unite the realms, and do everything in her power to bring him back.

Meanwhile, in his drug-induced haze, Prince Dev relives their relationship from when they were mere children to their engagement.

An interesting concept, Darcy entwines the two stories perfectly. The more Prince Dev dreams, the more you fall in love with the characters.

The best part of Asleep is the way the roles are reversed. Here we have a brave and fearless princess that is not afraid to go into battle for what she wants. Indeed, most of the warriors in the realms are women. While not losing their femininity, Asleep shows that women are equally as capable as their male counterparts.

While the book does have moments where the story feels like it’s dragging, overall it is a nice read. For any lover of fairy tales or hopeless romantics, you’ll be sure to enjoy Asleep.

[Shilo Quetchenbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this ebook from Member Giveaways on LibraryThing

I liked the role reversals in this book - all the warriors seem to be women, and the prince is kidnapped and kept in a tower by the evil/mad (female) villain plotting to take over the world. The characters were fun and the story well paced.

The only thing that I was not sure about is that most of the story is actually told in flashbacks. The prince spends most of his time kidnapped drugged and sedated, so in between semi-conscious episodes where he is unable to move, he relives his entire relationship with the warrior princess fiance, from his wedding with whom he was stolen away. The princess enlists the aid of his younger brother in searching for him, but also is much given to flashbacks to their past and worry and frustration.

All-in-all, a good book, but the constant flashbacks and the princess' constant agonizing made it occasionally irritating and/or disjointed.

The story was also a bit short, I thought. The characters could have been more developed (especially the secondary ones).

[Jeanne Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sleeping Beauty, but sideways. Not badly written, but I never lost that awkward feeling that it tried so hard to update the fairy tale so much that it ignored logic and expectation. I realize it's possible to reimagine a Medieval society with modern feminist attitudes, but it never stopped feeling weird and forced for women to dominate military positions and their men to be largely ornamental. I dunno... The equality was just too forced a thing that I couldn't suspend my disbelief, I guess. I've read so many strong female characters that broke the mold whilst operating in the confines of the usual, expected gender roles (think Megan Lindholm's Ki and Vandien stories). I also found the endless kidnapping tedious, the battles never really taking place where you could be drawn into them and break up the monotony, and then the rescue quickly fave way to fairy tale ending.

I wish Goodreads recs would take into account more than mere genre when suggesting something, though I'm sure it would be a nightmare to figure out an algorithm that worked better.

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Elizabeth Darcy's first book, "Eye of the Beholder", so I was excited to find this one. I was really disappointed, however. Based on the first book, I was hoping for something fantasy/magical, but didn't get that at all. Story was so-so; I just couldn't connect with the main characters, and the fact that the author had to throw in a totally unnecessary sex scene ruined the book for me. I hate having to skip/self-edit, and don't expect to have to do that in this genre. Disappointing.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a cute read. Its not the best fairy tale retelling ever but the heroine is strong and the prince is supportive. I guess I wanted them to have more interactions happening during the story in the present rather than having to read about flashbacks. i did like the flashbacks because they really showed how they fell in love. Maybe i might have liked it best if it was presented in a chronological order rather than being revisited in dreams.

[Hailey Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed Ms. Darcy's retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I did not like Asleep as much. I gave up after about 10 chapters because the plot was moving at such a slow pace. While it's a great idea to have the princess rescue the prince, there's only so many chapters of "Why was he kidnapped? How did it happen? Why did it happen? and Will we ever find him?" that you can go through before it becomes tedious.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The twist of the tale, the characters, and the plot in general are very good. But for some reason I had a hard time keeping myself interested throughout the book. There was a lot of redundancy of the character's feelings of love and despair, and the moving parts were very spread out. Otherwise concept was great and style of writing wonderful, just as in the author's Beauty and the Beast tale.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

When all is done, I enjoyed the story but it was just to long. Filled with a lot of information and way more detail then was necessary. It was a sweet young adult love story with only 1 minor love scene.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reversed roles? Loved it! Only one thing keeps it from 5 stars--could have done without the one sex scene. It was not necessary to the story or for emphasis of their love for each other. The story is full of more than enough evidence of the strength of their relationship.