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Dreamless
Sleeping Beauty never had troubles like this. For most princesses, a sleeping curse means a few inconvenient weeks unconscious and a happily-ever-after with their true love. Elena's curse, however, was designed without a cure, which means that she's getting a century-long nap for her 18th birthday whether she wants it or not. After years of study she's still no closer to finding a cure, even with the help of an undead godfather and an enchanted-mirror turned therapist. And with only a year until the deadline she's learned to accept her fate. Sadly, there's one prince who doesn't seem to have gotten the memo and who's continually trying to activate the curse so he can be the one to wake her up again. Only slightly less annoying is Cam, her new bodyguard and former childhood acquaintance who disagrees with Elena at pretty much every turn. When the curse threatens to come early, however, they both realize that fate is a lot more complicated than they'd ever imagined.
350 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2016
2 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Jenniffer Wardell
10 books52 followersJenniffer Wardell is a fantasy romance author and general fairy godmother-at-large. She's always on the lookout for witty dialogue and a well-earned happily-ever after. Anyone who wants to chat or trade jokes can find her at http://www.facebook.com/JennifferWardell, https://twitter.com/wardellwriter, http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com or http://jennifferwardell.tumblr.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 29, 2016
I’m not really into fairytale retellings, as my experience has been that many of those are more a miss than a hit. This one definitely nailed the “hit” part of fairytale retellings. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would when I discovered it is a retelling of the classic tale, Sleeping Beauty. Ultimately, it was the gorgeous cover that got me to read, Dreamless.
Alright, sooooo, this is the first book of Ms Wardell’s I’ve read, and I’m suitably awed. The writing is really good and the characters memorable. Two of the secondary characters, Braeth (the wraith – yes, it rhymes) and Dr Flyte, the magical counseling mirror, ended up being my favorite characters. There is also a good helping of snark to be found in the razor-sharp dialogue.
The only downside for me to this book was the tedious chapters on breaking the curse. The story moves at a snail’s pace, and that is not necessarily a bad thing because the reader really gets to delve into the inner-workings of this specific curse, as well as the deconstruction thereof. I’m just not a fan of longwinded explanations, and as such I felt this book could’ve been cut by about a third – at least. Though it all got a little much for me from 60% onwards, I can’t argue that the entire plot was constructed well and solid. I was also very much onboard with the whole slow-burn romance between the two MCs.
Overall, if you enjoy fairytale retellings and bucket loads of magic and sorcery, this book is a great place to start!
*I received an e-ARC of Dreamless in exchange for an honest review.
Alright, sooooo, this is the first book of Ms Wardell’s I’ve read, and I’m suitably awed. The writing is really good and the characters memorable. Two of the secondary characters, Braeth (the wraith – yes, it rhymes) and Dr Flyte, the magical counseling mirror, ended up being my favorite characters. There is also a good helping of snark to be found in the razor-sharp dialogue.
The only downside for me to this book was the tedious chapters on breaking the curse. The story moves at a snail’s pace, and that is not necessarily a bad thing because the reader really gets to delve into the inner-workings of this specific curse, as well as the deconstruction thereof. I’m just not a fan of longwinded explanations, and as such I felt this book could’ve been cut by about a third – at least. Though it all got a little much for me from 60% onwards, I can’t argue that the entire plot was constructed well and solid. I was also very much onboard with the whole slow-burn romance between the two MCs.
Overall, if you enjoy fairytale retellings and bucket loads of magic and sorcery, this book is a great place to start!
*I received an e-ARC of Dreamless in exchange for an honest review.
March 8, 2016
Loved the characters, loved the humor and enjoyed the retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
November 2, 2017
Very enjoyable read.
March 6, 2018
Fun spin on Sleeping Beauty. I got lost in some of the magic, but I enjoyed the evolving romantic storyline.
January 30, 2020
Was laughing the whole time. Couldn't put it down 😂🤣😆🥳😋😄😍
April 25, 2016
The Basics:
Princess Elena has lived all her life under the looming shadow of the curse placed on her as a baby by her evil sorceress aunt. On her fast-approaching eighteenth birthday, she will fall into a dreamless sleep for a hundred years. She’s pursued every avenue of spellbreaking research she could find before resigning herself to wait out her remaining days of wakefulness as privately as possibly, minimizing the emotional casualties when the inevitable comes. Not everyone believes the curse to be incurable, however, and a certain opportunistic prince has his sights set on the credit for her rescue. Forced to accept additional security measures to keep such vultures at bay, Elena ends up spending more time than she’d planned with her childhood acquaintance and now bodyguard, Cam. The better they get to know each other, the harder it is to make peace with their imminent separation by sleep and time, until Elena must reopen her spellbooks, and her willingness to hope.
The Downside:
The identical tone of unremitting sarcasm across all character voices, dry yet never risking a moment of understatement, makes the conversations feel formulaic after a while and undercuts the moments of sincerity.
The Upside:
Elena and Cam are an appealing couple, both dignified and understandably reserved characters who allow themselves to lean on each other with all the hesitation their situation calls for, and with all the inevitability of love. The emphasis on the pair of them learning to work together rather than against each other in misguided efforts to keep each other safe is a particularly refreshing and romantic departure from fairytale tradition. This is not a modernized retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story so much as it is a story that borrows the sleeping curse set piece of Sleeping Beauty as its inspiration, a difference which works entirely in its favor. Rather than try to dress up the same old damsel story in distracting new accessories, Dreamless takes possibly the most passive of the classic fairytale princesses and satisfyingly remakes the story around her chance to fight against her impending helplessness. This may be the subtlest jab it makes at its fairytale source material, amid its lovable ghosts and cowardly princes, but it’s the sharpest, the one that lets all the rest fall into place.
(This review and others originally posted on www.fjrtitchenell.weebly.com)
Princess Elena has lived all her life under the looming shadow of the curse placed on her as a baby by her evil sorceress aunt. On her fast-approaching eighteenth birthday, she will fall into a dreamless sleep for a hundred years. She’s pursued every avenue of spellbreaking research she could find before resigning herself to wait out her remaining days of wakefulness as privately as possibly, minimizing the emotional casualties when the inevitable comes. Not everyone believes the curse to be incurable, however, and a certain opportunistic prince has his sights set on the credit for her rescue. Forced to accept additional security measures to keep such vultures at bay, Elena ends up spending more time than she’d planned with her childhood acquaintance and now bodyguard, Cam. The better they get to know each other, the harder it is to make peace with their imminent separation by sleep and time, until Elena must reopen her spellbooks, and her willingness to hope.
The Downside:
The identical tone of unremitting sarcasm across all character voices, dry yet never risking a moment of understatement, makes the conversations feel formulaic after a while and undercuts the moments of sincerity.
The Upside:
Elena and Cam are an appealing couple, both dignified and understandably reserved characters who allow themselves to lean on each other with all the hesitation their situation calls for, and with all the inevitability of love. The emphasis on the pair of them learning to work together rather than against each other in misguided efforts to keep each other safe is a particularly refreshing and romantic departure from fairytale tradition. This is not a modernized retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story so much as it is a story that borrows the sleeping curse set piece of Sleeping Beauty as its inspiration, a difference which works entirely in its favor. Rather than try to dress up the same old damsel story in distracting new accessories, Dreamless takes possibly the most passive of the classic fairytale princesses and satisfyingly remakes the story around her chance to fight against her impending helplessness. This may be the subtlest jab it makes at its fairytale source material, amid its lovable ghosts and cowardly princes, but it’s the sharpest, the one that lets all the rest fall into place.
(This review and others originally posted on www.fjrtitchenell.weebly.com)
February 19, 2016
What I liked: What a book! I absolutely enjoyed my time with Jenniffer Wardell’s Dreamless. The synopsis is good but doesn’t do justice to the intricacies of this amazing story!
I LOVED Cam and Elena! They’re both strong characters who are fun and excellent at hiding their emotions. When they break through each other’s carefully constructed walls and finally see the person under it all they fall hard… for a hopeless fantasy. Elena’s coming curse has started with blackouts and she’s powerless to stop it. The adventure of finding a cure and learning to be yourself is perfect for teens & adults alike.
No one will be sorry to have read Dreamless!
What I didn’t like: At the beginning of Dreamless I felt a bit lost, it lasted less than a chapter though and then I was immersed in the story.
More…
Author: Jenniffer Wardell
Source: An eCopy of Dreamless was given to me in exchange for an honest review by Jolly Fish Press.
Publisher & Date: February 16th 2016 by Jolly Fish Press
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance
ISBN: 0988649152
Pages: 350
Grade: A+
Ages: 14+
Steam: YA | Just a quick kiss or two
I LOVED Cam and Elena! They’re both strong characters who are fun and excellent at hiding their emotions. When they break through each other’s carefully constructed walls and finally see the person under it all they fall hard… for a hopeless fantasy. Elena’s coming curse has started with blackouts and she’s powerless to stop it. The adventure of finding a cure and learning to be yourself is perfect for teens & adults alike.
No one will be sorry to have read Dreamless!
What I didn’t like: At the beginning of Dreamless I felt a bit lost, it lasted less than a chapter though and then I was immersed in the story.
More…
Author: Jenniffer Wardell
Source: An eCopy of Dreamless was given to me in exchange for an honest review by Jolly Fish Press.
Publisher & Date: February 16th 2016 by Jolly Fish Press
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance
ISBN: 0988649152
Pages: 350
Grade: A+
Ages: 14+
Steam: YA | Just a quick kiss or two
June 25, 2016
I have read both of the author's previous books, and pre-ordered this one. I really enjoyed Fairy Godmother's Inc. but was disappointed by Beast Charming, which tended toward sadism and revenge in supposedly likable protagonists.* Unfortunately, this book is as sadistic and vengeful as that one, with the further downside that it doesn't have enough plot for its length. This means there's a lot of filler -- mostly along the lines of "I'll analyze your emotions and my emotions and we'll smile and laugh a lot." About page 260, I realized I really didn't want to finish, and it was a real slog to keep going.
It's a pity, because I know Wardell can write things I like.
(*I actually read the original version of Beast Charming, when it was published in an online form, and really liked it. It was funny, sweet, and had a feel-good ending. The version that was later published by Jolly Fish had been heavily revised, mostly to its detriment. So I wonder if the publishing company has an editor with a sadistic streak.)
It's a pity, because I know Wardell can write things I like.
(*I actually read the original version of Beast Charming, when it was published in an online form, and really liked it. It was funny, sweet, and had a feel-good ending. The version that was later published by Jolly Fish had been heavily revised, mostly to its detriment. So I wonder if the publishing company has an editor with a sadistic streak.)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews