The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty

The Four Kingdoms #4

by Melanie Cellier

They call her the Sleeping Princess, but Celeste is far from asleep…

Celeste has been cursed since her sixteenth birthday--just not in the way the rest of the kingdom thinks. All they see is her breath-taking beauty, marred by her foolishness. Only she knows that she retains her brilliant mind. And it’s a secret she must keep at all costs.

Over the years she’s grown accustomed to the necessary deception. After all, her life depends on it. And she’s even found a way to protect her kingdom, working from the shadows. But now a dangerous new threat has emerged, one that Celeste can’t defeat alone. She needs the help of a newly-arrived prince. One who’s altogether too handsome and too charming. Somehow she needs to keep her secret, save her kingdom and find a way to free herself from the curse. The last thing she has time to do is sleep.

In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, it’s only the princess’ mind that is asleep. And sometimes appearances can be deceiving.

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

Unknown Binding

Published February 1, 2018

About the author

Melanie Cellier grew up on a staple diet of books, books and more books. And although she got older, she never stopped loving children’s and young adult novels.
 She always wanted to write one herself, but it took three careers and three different continents before she actually managed it. 


She now feels incredibly fortunate to spend her time writing from her home in Adelaide, Australia where she keeps an eye out for koalas in her backyard. Her staple diet hasn’t changed much, although she’s added choc mint Rooibos tea and Chicken Crimpies to the list.


She writes young adult fantasy including her Spoken Mage series, and her Four Kingdoms and Beyond the Four Kingdoms series which are made up of linked stand-alone stories that retell classic fairy tales.

Reviews

[Jasmine (Jazzie) [Jesus Loves You!!] · Rating 5 out of 5]

“But once I had seen you, you haunted me. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing your face. I tried to fight it, but whenever I was in your presence, it was like I couldn't see anyone else.”

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《Now playing: Once Upon a Dream from Sleeping Beauty》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼❀°-🎀-★–—►
Y'all, this book was soooo good!! Like, it comes super close to tying The Princess Fugitive as my favorite Melanie Cellier book, which was no easy feat! The Princess Game was just so neat, and I loved how Melanie did this retelling! I haven't read many Sleeping Beauty retellings, but this one is definitely setting the standard for future Sleeping Beauty retellings that I read!

I love, and I mean love, the spy ring plotline! It was just so unique. I would have never thought about doing a Sleeping Beauty retelling this way, but I'm soooo glad Melanie Cellier did what I couldn't have!! But like, literally, how does she come up with all of these different, unique, amazing retellings??

So, um… anyway, if it isn't obvious, I loved the story so much!! The writing was very good as well, it was easy to read and light, which makes it perfect for binge-reading *Hint hint* 😉

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼❀°-🎀-★–—►
⤷ Celeste:
I really loved her! She was such an interesting character! Lowkey I felt bad for her at times because I can't imagine going through what she does, but I feel like she handles it pretty well. I do have to admit that she annoyed me at times with a few of her actions, but oh well. But yeah, she's amazing!!

⤷ William:
Hehehe he got his own book!!! 🤭 So, I have loved him from literally the first moment I met him!! He's just so amazing and somehow managed to be even better in this book that he was before! 🥰

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓒𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓡𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰❀°-🎀-★–—►
10/10 It's GORGEOUS 😍

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《Yet, I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓦𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼❀°-🎀-★–—►
(Warning! 🚨 Before you go any further, there is a chance that something I've said about the content will possibly be a bit spoilerish, so please proceed with caution! Also, if I missed any content, please let me know so I can add it!)

☆Trigger Warnings:
None that I can think of.

☆Faith based/Christian:
This is an allegory. Like, the High King is God and the fairy godmothers are like the angels. There are Christian morals and stuff in this book.

☆Other Religious Content:
None

☆Violence:
Fighting, Stabbing/slashing others, Being attacked and knocked out, Pain, injuries, & Bleeding (up to few paragraphs of sentences on these); Seeing others fight, be attacked/stabbed, pain, injuries, & bleeding/blood (up to a handful of sentences); a character wants revenge for a certain thing that happened; a character hopes another character slowly died on an abandoned island; mentions of deaths; mention of passing away and going into the “next realm”.

☆Sexual Content/Romance:
An almost kiss (a few sentences); kissing (up to semi-detailed); wanting to be & wondering about being kissed & held; staring at lips & acting like a couple is having a private moment (kissing) to avoid detection by an enemy; touches; embraces, nearness; noticing; blushes & flirting. Characters being called beautiful and handsome; a character knocks and enters a newly married couple’s bedroom & sees them in bed (but they're asleep); Celeste’s younger sister (14 years old) wants to wear a dress with a plunging back and bare shoulders, but their mother won’t let her again; Celeste’s younger sister tells her about the men fighting/training shirtless & they go watch; When Celeste and her sister go to bathe in a river, William stands guard after her sister says that he won’t look because he’s nobility personified (she teases about peeking during his turn); Mentions of a newly married couple’s wedding tour & family members crashing it (some of them feel bad and give the couple privacy); Mentions of true love’s kiss & trying to avoid it getting out about Celeste needing one for fear of young men trying to kiss her; A mention of a married couple unable to have children for a time.

☆Magic:
A character was cursed as a baby to die when she turned sixteen, but a fairy godmother was able to prevent her actual death and instead made it where the character would appear unintelligent; The curse prevents Celeste to show any of her smarts by causing actual pain, cramps, and headaches when she pushes it, so she seems to be a fool and only caring about dresses and flowers; It’s said that only the High King himself can defeat death, but the godmothers have been given the power to fight against it where they can; It’s also said that the High King and his godmothers reward true love; All of that said, many mentions of her curse, other curses, breaking said curses, Christenings, godmothers and their special items, & the High King; Mentions of something mysterious and magical happening;

☆Bad Language:
None

☆LGBTQ+:
None

☆Drugs/Alcohol:
A character is offered a glass of brandy, but doesn’t drink it. Mentions of alcohol.

No drugs from what I remember.

☆Miscellaneous:
N/A

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《But if I know you, I know what you'll do》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓜𝔂 𝓐𝓰𝓮 𝓡𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷❀°-🎀-★–—►
15 years old and older

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓪 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼?❀°-🎀-★–—►
It is the fourth book in The Four Kingdoms series by Melanie Cellier. They can be read as standalones, but each book references the characters from previous books which means it would spoil those books if you read them out of order. So I do recommend reading the series in order although I definitely say it'd be fine if you'd rather not.

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《La-la, la-la, la, ah, ah, ah》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓘 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼/𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻?❀°-🎀-★–—►
Absolutely!! I'm too addicted to Melanie's books to not read more of them, lol.

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《But if I know you, I know what you'll do》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓦𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓘 𝓻𝓮-𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴?❀°-🎀-★–—►
Absolutely I will!! Like, I'm a rereader, so what's the point of me personally wanting to own the book if I didn't plan on re-reading it?? 🙃

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《You'll love me at once》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

»»—–★-🎀-°❀𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼 𝓼𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓵𝓪𝓻 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓸𝓷𝓮❀°-🎀-★–—►
So far this is the only Sleeping Beauty retelling I've read, but if you want another book with a princess who is a spy, I recommend The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson.

♫·♪ ࣪˖⟡˚《The way you did once upon a dream》˚⟡˖ ࣪♫·♪

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars ✨

I needed that ending to go on just a little bit more with the reveals of the broken curse, but, yes, okay, it was still very good! 👏

I do find it a bit odd that this series is switching back and forth between books with first and third person. This book was told in first person like the very first book (The Princess Companion) but most of the others have been third person. Doesn’t make it or break the series to me, it’s just a bit odd. I was glad it was first person though for this book—especially because Celeste is under a curse where everyone believes she’s not smart anymore.

This fourth book reminded me the most of the first book (and thus far my favorite in the series) with the smart main character and her just being totally awesome in her talents. I really liked Celeste and felt so bad for her at the beginning until I saw her skills as a spymaster. That’s definitely what kept my attention throughout the plot was the spying parts and William. Good ol’ William! I’m so glad to have gotten his story and his true love ending. He added some much-needed humor to the plot and I knew I liked him from the third book. *nods approvingly*

(Side note: I was actually glad to see Rivers again, I’ve missed his flirting. He makes me laugh because he is ridiculous.)

I will admit something: I am a ninny; I totally didn’t even catch that because this is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, her codename was Aurora as a spy master. Absolutely ninny, I say, that I didn’t catch that till the very end of the book. I’ll plead that I was too involved in the curse and spy stuff rather than the names. 😉

Second favorite of the series so far!


Main Content:
Celeste was cursed as a baby to die when she turned sixteen, but a fairy godmother was able to prevent her actual death and instead made it where Celeste would appear unintelligent; The curse prevents Celeste to show any of her smarts by causing actual pain, cramps, and headaches when she pushes it, so she seems to be a fool and only caring about dresses and flowers; It’s said that only the High King himself can defeat death, but the godmothers have been give the power to fight against it where they can; It’s also said that the High King and his godmothers reward true love; All of that said, many mentions of her curse, other curses, breaking said curses, Christenings, godmothers and their special items, & the High King; Mentions of something mysterious and magical happening; A mention of passing away and going into the “next realm”.

Some of Celeste’s siblings look down on her and make hurtful comments because of her lack of intelligence (Celeste is completely aware of what they’re saying and some hurt); No language stronger than ‘stupid’ and ‘idiot’; ‘What in the kingdoms’ is said a few of times; A few curses are said (but not written out); Eye rolling & Sarcasm;

Fighting, Stabbing/slashing others, Being attacked and knocked out, Pain, injuries, & Bleeding (up to few paragraphs of sentences on these); Seeing others fight, be attacked/stabbed, pain, injuries, & bleeding/blood (up to a handful of sentences); Prior to the curse taking place, Celeste was prideful in her knowledge; Celeste hates the person who cursed her (she thinks she deserves revenge and justice on the person) & hopes she slowly died on an abandoned island (*Major Spoilers; A few mentions of deaths (including a child) and a woman’s husband* She’s known it was her aunt who wasn’t invited to her Christening, but towards the end, she’s told that it was because of her aunt’s extreme grief over the death of her husband and infant daughter; Celeste goes through a major realization at the end about her hatred and how unhealthy it’s been; *.

Celeste’s godmother tells her that there’s consequences to everything and sometimes it doesn’t fall on those who deserve them, but innocent people as well; Celeste’s younger sister feels unwanted by everyone else as the baby of the family; Celeste does call her secret identity a deception, but views it as a necessary for the sake of her kingdom and herself; William is offered a glass of brandy, but doesn’t drink it; Mentions of deaths & grief (a man being thrown from his horse and breaking his neck; A fire killing an infant and the maid, up to a few sentences); Mentions of infanticide & Celeste’s aunt cursing her to die; Mentions of treason, traitors, planned attack and murders, executions, attacks, being hit/shot at, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to a few sentences in the details); Mentions of burns, aiming a blow-touch-like-object at people, & fires (people are hurt and burned by it, up to a few sentences); Mentions of alcohol, social drinking, drinking, & drunks; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies, lying, & deception; A couple mentions of gambling; A mention of someone considering to end it all (suicide), but couldn’t go through with it; A mention of an abduction; A mention of a beloved horse dying.

An almost kiss (a few sentences), Four kisses lasting a couple sentences, and Three kisses lasting a few sentences; Wanting to be & Wondering about being kissed & held (up to a couple sentences); Staring at lips & acting like a couple is having a private moment (kissing) to avoid detection by an enemy (up to a few sentences in length); Touches, Embraces, Nearness, Noticing, (up to a few sentences); Blushes & Flirting.

Celeste knocks and enters a newly married couple’s bedroom & sees them in bed (asleep); Celeste is known to be beautiful & it causes everyone to look at her; Celeste’s younger sister (14 years old) wants to wear a dress with a plunging back and bare shoulders, but their mother won’t let her again; Celeste’s younger sister tells her about the men fighting/training shirtless & they go watch (a couple sentences on the bare chests, mostly just teasing about not drooling and remembering it later); When Celeste and her sister go to bathe in a river, William stands guard after her sister says that he won’t look because he’s nobility personified (she teases about peeking during his turn); Mentions of a newly married couple’s wedding tour & family members crashing it (some of them feel bad and give the couple privacy); Mentions of true love’s kiss & trying to avoid it getting out about Celeste needing one for fear of young men trying to kiss her; A mention of a married couple unable to have children for a time.



See my content reviews of the rest of the series & spin-off series here:
The Four Kingdoms series:
Book #1, Book #2, Book #2.2, Book #2.5, Book #3, Book #3.5, Book #4, and Book #5.

Beyond the Four Kingdoms series:
Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, and Book #6.

Return to the Four Kingdoms series:
Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, and Book #6.

The Four Kingdoms Duology:
Book #1 and Book #2.

[ChildOfGod💜🙌🏽 (for God I live and for God I die) ~ in my Christian pop era · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shout out to @Lainey for buddy reading this with me!! 🥰

Oh my gassshhhhhhhh that was good! The plot was spectacular definitely one of the best plots of the series! It doesn’t surpass the Princess Companion for me though, those characters just can’t be touched 🤷‍♀️ lol. I did find how the curse worked around a little odd but I guess it’s ok since the High King orchestrated it 😁. But yes I loved the plot and the characters, definitely a new favorite!

[Elizabeth Dragina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay wow. Definitely competes with The Princess Pact.

THAT MESSAGE THOUGH. 💔✨

[Lovely Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

Possibly my favourite one of Melanie Cellier’s so far!

[human · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5/5)

NFSJFNDFKJSDNKFJNSDKJFNDSKJNDFSKJNFDSKJN THIS.

THIS BOOK IS EXACTLY WHY I LOVE RETELLINGS SO MUCH.

the romance? top-tier.

the characters? my favorite.

the plot? excellent.

hotel? trivago.

i have no functioning braincells at this point overall this was amazing and everything i could have hoped for. words cannot describe how much i loved reading this.

[Lilian · Rating 5 out of 5]

ahhh this one was good! I like how unique this retelling was.

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth book in The Four Kingdoms series by Melanie Cellier. Princess Celeste of Lanover is cursed. On her 16th birthday the cursed took effect and Celeste "went to sleep". But it was only her mind that slept. To all around her she appears to be foolish and oblivious to her surroundings. But Celeste's mind isn't really gone. She is able to move around the castle in disguise and gather intel to hopefully keep her country safe. When her brother and his bride return from Northhelm, they bring the bride's brother, Prince William, with them. William is entranced with the princess. And then he meets Aurora...

Not sure why I am suddenly wanting to read all these Young Adult Fairy Tale Retellings. But I am having fun reading the different interpretations of these tales. This one claims to be Sleeping Beauty. Didn't really feel the Sleeping Beauty thing but it reminded me of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Not that the princess was saving anyone from the guillotine but she was trying to save the kingdom from a possible rebellion. I enjoyed the book!

[Katherine Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaaah, is it possible that this book is even better than the previous one in the series??? The more books I read from Melanie Cellier, the harder it becomes to pick a favorite. I absolutely loved The Princess Game! Celeste and William were a great pair! And I loved how The Princess Game reimagined the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale! It was so creative and clever with the way the magic curse was done and that the “Sleeping Princess” was pretty much the most intelligent of all. And the setting? Aaaah!! It was perfect!! I loved that Lanover was a warm country with palm trees and islands! What more do I need to say? I have all the happy feels right now, and I can’t wait to read another book by Melanie Cellier! :D

Magic:
Godmothers. Mentions of sleeping potions, magic curses, and magical objects.

Language:
Clean. Uses of “idiot” and “blasted.” Mentions of cursing.

Romance:
Clean. A few kisses. A girl gets excited over a man “fighting shirtless.”

Violence:
Minor violence. Some fighting, stabbing, and wounds.

Other:
Mention of someone acting drunk. Mention of brandy.

[Kristen Kooistra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celeste is Cordelia's(from book 3.5) older sister and after Cordelia was my favorite FMC of this series. I really like where the author went with her retelling. Celeste is super smart and beautiful. Unlike in the original, it's not her body that sleeps, but her mind. And even that isn't quite true. Celeste is still super smart, but the curse prevents her from sharing that. Any hint of her intelligence is severely pushed by the curse. Her body language and words have to be carefully regulated so that she doesn't slip up and say or show something that's less than ditzy.

I realized right away that her love interest was going to be Marie's brother, William, and was rather sad about that. I didn't care much for William in the previous two books(bland character) so I wan't excited to see him here. That never really changed. He's okay, but I wasn't going crazy for him.

My biggest complaint with this is the loopholes for the curse. Celeste isn't actually stupid and when her identity is hidden, she isn't hindered by the curse. It felt like she had too many escapes. First she escapes the death aspect of the curse, then the asleep until true love's kiss aspect, and then she escaped having her mind actually being asleep(now people just think it is because she can't tell them), and then finally she even escapes not being able to act, share, help based on her intelligence by simply disguising herself.

I think the last one was just a step too far for me. I would've liked to see her somehow do everything she did without the loophole. Her spy persona, Aurora, had no limitations. It was her true self. It would've been harder to find spies if she couldn't be super smart. It would've been harder to win respect and get people to listen if she was in her cursed situation.

In some aspects it felt like most of her accomplishments were done as Aurora who had no limitations besides(don't lose my mask) because she had no curse holding her back.

Other than that, I really enjoyed Celeste's wit and smarts. I liked how she tried to find ways to communicate with people in her "silly" cursed state. I didn't like how Rafe and Celine treated her. Celine was especially nasty and even Rafe treated her like an idiot. They didn't even apologize when it was all over.

It was fun watching Celeste work both as herself and as Aurora. She was brilliant and witty and sarcastic. I thought her feeling bad for Celine was a bit much since Celine was a brat and really didn't need any sympathy.

I liked how the ending played out. I don't want to give it away, but basically the part where they were on the island was awesome. I loved the twists it took and the defying expectations of the characters. I wish there'd been more after that was over as I'd like to have seen people's reactions when they found out that Celeste hadn't actually been an idiot and that they'd treated her shabbily while she was fully aware of it. And also to have her spies and the duchess have found out that she'd been their spymaster all along. There was just so much there that I wanted to see from people's reactions. I'm bummed it didn't get shown.

[Morgan's Endless Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how original the twist on the fairy tale was! And I loved Celeste and William, as separate characters and as a couple.

[cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book! Sorta boring at times, but the ending was good!

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Princess Game is a clever reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty” set in Melanie Cellier's lush Four Kingdoms world. The beautiful and extremely intelligent Princess Celeste of Lanover is cursed, not with physical sleep but instead with the appearance that her shrewd mind is asleep; the curse prevents her from sharing her intelligence, making it appear to everyone around her that she’s foolish. She can only show her true self when alone or in disguise and soon creates an alter-persona of a master spy named Aurora, which she uses to sneak around the castle at night, using her many agents— none of whom know her true identity— to gather intel in order to protect her Kingdom, making this “Sleeping Beauty” retelling also a clever mixture of the classic “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” Celeste begins receiving information about a potential uprising at the same time her brother comes to visit with his new wife and brother-in-law, William. William isn't like other men Celeste has met as he's the first who begins to see there’s more to her than the curse allows to appear. And then he meets Aurora…

Despite there being a lot of intrigue and action sequences— aspects I usually dislike in stories— I found myself thoroughly engrossed in The Princess Game from the beginning. I found the portrayal of Celeste’s curse fascinating and enjoyed not only being inside her head and experiencing her intelligence but also witnessing both the ways the curse forced her to hide her intellect along with her trying to find clever ways to work around it. I loved seeing both aspects of Celeste's personality— her fun and light-hearted ‘cursed state’ and the sarcastic and extremely clever persona in her ‘Aurora’ disguise.

Alongside the plot against the crown was the sweet growing romance between Celeste and William. Celeste’s despair that no one could ever truly love all of her due to her curse forcing her to keep herself hidden was heartbreaking, but due to William knowing both Celeste and Aurora, he was able to fall in love with her complete self in order to break the spell. Throughout the story Celeste learns a lot of lessons about forgiveness and humility, as well as experiences a lot of growth, all of which were just as essential to breaking her curse as finding true love. The mastermind behind the plot against the Kingdom as a fun— albeit predictable— twist, and I loved how the curse was finally broken. Overall, The Princess Game was a clever, engaging, and sweet retelling that I really enjoyed.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fourth book in eight days....that's gotta be some kind of record!

Okay, I have officially decided THIS is my favorite Four Kingdoms book. Not just cuz Max & Alyssa, Ava & Hans, Rafe & Marie we're in this one (duh! That's a reason as good as any), but cuz the story was so complex. There was more to it then just what was on the surface and I love that! And the way the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty was worked in to this retelling, BLEW MY MIND!!

There was more to Celeste than what I originally thought. To me I felt like her character had a real depth to her. Not that Alyssa, Ava or Marie didn't have depth.....just that Celeste was always so certain of herself even with the curse. I loved how her character was so complex and had different layers that I slowly discovered as I read. If I'm being honest, I was a little confused about the curse in the beginning. Then at one point I guess it sorta clicked.

One of the real hoots I got, was William (from book 3 & Marie's brother), was really the only one getting duped! I mean the guy fell in love with two different girls that ended up being the same person. Ah! How's that for irony? It was slowly neat tho. Unlike the other romance, I was able to watch William slowly fall in love with every side of Celeste. He got to see the princess, sweet and fun side, as well as the tough, strong and fiercely brave side. And that's how loves supposed to be and what true love is. Loving every side of a person. And that's what William did. And of course, Celeste tried to ignore him and her clear love for him. (But honestly my favorite kiss in the whole series so far is Ava&Hans' and Rafe& Marie's). I think their love is the truest love just cuz they both saw beyond the beauty. (Moral of the story btw)

The second thing that was a hoot.....was Celine (who FYI is in the third book of Beyond the Four Kingdoms and at the rate i have been reading them, I'll probably reach that book by dinner time! Lol!----I'll let you know if I do). I mean she may only be fourteen and the youngest of seven, but she was able to handle things herself that's for sure. Sweet, sassy and full of spite. What makes a princess in any better than that. I only feel sorry for the prince who manages to fall for her later on. (And I have a feeling until her solo book she, Lily and Sophie are gonna get into some trouble;))

Now the one person I felt most pity for was poor ole Rafe. Come on guys! He just wanted alone time with his new wife! Poor guy got to spend weeks on a ship with half his family members trying to get some privacy! Is that too much to ask. I think he's my favorite male lead in any of the books so far and I just left so sorry for him.

The villiany in this book was a little hard to follow but I guessed who the real bad guy was a long time ago. It's always the person you least expect. But I guessed who it was by pointed in that. I was too busy trying to keep up with Celeste/Aurora (whatever you want to call her).

I can't tell you how many things surprised and shooked me in this book! So many twists and how the fairy tale was tied into the story was awesome! And that bit with Celeste's aunt..... brilliant! Overall, this one was just perfect. Like I said before it was a bit more complex than of the others but still amazing read!

The romance was of course amazing and clean. I still feel for William. Poor guy thought he was betraying his love for Celeste while falling for Aurora! Lol! I can't wait to see where their relationship heads.

(Also a side note: I'm so happy for Max and Alyssa!-----yes, even if their not real poeple. A girl can dream, can't she?!)

(⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐--Im not gonna even say anything, by now y'all should know these books deserve more than five⭐)

Off to book five! Bye! 👋

[Deanie Nelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a unique twist on Sleeping Beauty, the brilliant and beautiful Princess Celeste of Lanover is cursed to "sleep" on her sixteenth birthday. But instead of physically sleeping, she's cursed to act like her mind is asleep, while remaining herself inside. However, when she realizes that she can be her brilliant self as long as she's disguised, she reinvents herself as the spymaster "Aurora," working to stop a plot to overthrow her father as king.

This is such a clever take on Sleeping Beauty. Celeste is a unique princess, with her dual nature, and the author does a great job of describing her emotions when everyone else thinks she's an empty-headed princess. Plus, the Maleficent stand-in (her aunt Melisande) is actually a sympathetic character in the end, driven temporarily mad by the deaths of her husband and baby daughter. This is another great fairy tale from Melanie Cellier.

Re-read, re-review January 2023

With Cellier, some fairy tale retellings are closer to the original stories (i.e., A Tale of Beauty and Beast), and some are barely noticeable as a fairy tale retelling (A Midwinter's Wedding. This starts out as a fairy conventional Sleeping Beauty story, then takes a dramatic turn sideways, as Celeste isn't literally forced to sleep, but instead, the curse puts her brain to sleep. I think that might be worse. At least, if you were asleep, you wouldn't know what was going on around you. Celeste is essentially cursed to be stupid (on the outside), even though her brain is still active on the inside. It's a unique and clever take on the Sleeping Beauty story.

The rest of the review is echoing what I've said before. The plot is compelling, the characters are still interesting. Thankfully I don't have to wait for Celine's book now, since she is one character desperate for an adventure, at least when she's old enough to have one for herself.

[Alaina]

rtc

[Coralie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleeping Beauty has been my favorite since I was a little girl. As I've gotten older, other stories and princesses have challenged her, but deep down, Aurora will always be my oldest and first fairy tale love. I can honestly say that Mrs. Celier has done her justice.

First of all, William! SQUEE! He's positively dashing. In fact, the entire story would be well-summed up as dashing. There was quite a bit more adventure in this one than the previous ones. Even Ava wasn't as kickbutt and awesome as Aurora! I loved the skillset she displayed and how her instincts, training, and choices played into the plot. The plot was enthralling and pretty fast-paced. The setting was gorgeous and I wanted more of it. I think Lanover may be my favorite so far (except for maybe Arcadia, because it was my first). Though each kingdom has it's own strengths and forms of beauty, Lanover had that tropical paradise that I LOVE! Islands and sand and jungles and warm sunshine! Count me in! I really liked getting to see Celine so young and it makes me even more exited to see her story--which I'm hoping is the Snow Queen! The character interactions among all the siblings was precious and reminded me a little of my own family. I do hope we'll return to the rest of the family one day. Maybe Clarisse will fall in love or the older boys? :D Hey, a girl can hope! The twist on the classic fairy tale was clever and completely ingenuitive. It made for a unique and vibrant retelling. Mmm, and did I mention William?! He's the perfect Phillip. *sigh* *swoon* Well-written, intriguing plot, fantastic characters, and stunning setting. No language, sweet, sweet romance, and mild, dangerous violence. Nothing graphic. Dashing!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohh my goodness... this book definitely rivals as my favorite in the series. I did say The Princess Pact was my very favorite but now that I've read this one... It's impossible to choose!

I LOVED this reimagining of sleeping beauty. It was extremely unique and I was completely intrigued by it. The idea that only Celeste's mind was suppose to be asleep was soo neat.

So for characters, I loved them! Especially Celeste and William. Celeste was awesome. And of course, William was already a favorite from whenever I met him in The Princess Pact. I just love him. His sense of humor is great. I also love them together. It was perfect.
Oh, and getting glimpses of my other fav characters was wonderful!

I LOVE the secret\hidden identity in this one. The whole Aurora thing was absolutely awesome. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and couldn't put it down... which is why I was up extra late.

I also love the lesson Celeste learns and the moral of the story. Just wanted to add that!

So this was amazing! I'm now even more excited to read Celine's story in the Beyond the Kingdoms series. Goodness, I love this series!

2023 Reread-
This book was just as good the second time reading it. I absolutely love it! There’s just something about a good princess spy/secret identity story like this one. It was epic! I love these characters and this story so much.💗

[librarian.of.rivendell · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to retell Sleeping Beauty smartly? How to make the Prince fall for more than just a pretty face? How to keep the sleeping curse element while still having some interaction between the characters? Melanie Cellier once again found a solution to all of that and artfully presented it in the fourth book of this amazing installment. The characters were all endearing, smart, lovely, irritating, stressfully reckless... And the story constantly kept me on the edge of my seat, trepidating with expectation. I loved that Melanie kept her story very "loyal" to the original and often dropped elements from the classic that made me swoon and smile more than anything else, yet also turned it in a way that you sometimes forget you're reading a Sleeping Beauty retelling.

I am still so impressed by the fact that Melanie Cellier actually does the editing herself. For a self-published author, her books contain very few typos and spelling/syntax mistakes— a real feat, in my book!

I can't wait to read on and delve into the wonderful adventures of characters that now feel like my dearest friends.

A wonderful (and clean) retelling I recommend to everyone!!

[Loren Boutin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t a fan of this one as much because I wasn’t a fan of William in general. He was just okay in the 3rd book and 3.5. I am happy he found his princess. But I also felt like rave was not near as badass as he was in the 3rd book. I would have liked to see more of him and his bride step up in this book.

[Jules (Bookishfoxes) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5☆

I absolutely love this series, but this is the first book that I didn't love. It took me until the last few hours (I listened to the audiobook as I did with the others in this series) to start enjoying it.

I liked Celeste, and how smart she was, and it was frustrating that no other characters could see this. The whole book I was excited until others found out about it (and when that happened, I couldn't help smiling).

I wasn't sure how I felt about William at first, I didn't like how he showed romantic interest to both Celeste and Aurora, but when it was revealed that he had suspected she was the same person, I let that go. I like them together.

The ending and the epilogue were my favorite parts! I loved seeing what the characters from the previous 3 books were up to. (I kept being a little confused about Cordelia, the app I use doesn't have the novellas, only the main books, so soon I'll have to buy them to fully catch up.)

Celine really annoyed me, and I found Rafe less likeable than in The Princess Pact.

[Tales and Treats with Tay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite out of The Four Kingdoms series! A really unique twist on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale: the princess is not physically asleep but around others it appears on the outside that her mind is asleep, that she is a fool, but on the inside she is fully awake with a shrewd mind. Watching Celeste navigate her curse (purposefully appear dumb or make clever comments that had a hidden meaning) was super interesting. Celeste found a way to use her clever mind by creating an alter ego spymaster named Aurora.

This book is filled with action and intrigue (just what exactly is going on with her aunt, the woman who cursed her.)

Of course there is a love story and I was waiting anxiously for William to figure out who she really is.

Loved the epilogue that tied up and gave a hint of the happy endings for all of the couples in this series!

Content: loss, infant loss (past)

Christian faith rating: 0/3 clean fiction

[Tricia Mingerink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun take on Sleeping Beauty!

Re-Read Review: Now that this book has released on audiobook, I just re-read it that way. The narrator does such a great job with this series!

This book is one of my favorites. It has a lot of intrigue and adventure and a leading lady that has to overcome the obstacle of her curse. This is a more loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty, as the main girl isn't physically asleep. But I still love it for how twisty it is turning the Sleeping Beauty tropes on their head!

[Tenille Berezay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the premise: the princess is cursed not to fall asleep physically, but mentally (at least everyone thinks she's lost her mind). Meanwhile, she's actually the kingdom's spy master, cursed to hide her intelligence from everyone around her as she attempt to protect her kingdom. Check this one out!

[J.M. Stengl · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a clever way to allow the "sleeping beauty" to be an action heroine! This Four Kingdoms story includes the usual cast of lovable characters and evil villains, an exciting adventure tale, and a mystery to be solved. Also a sweet romance.
Don't miss it!

[suzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok and has some good bits (Celeste's realisation at the end, the aunt's story).

BUT I think it would have liked it better if it was just Celeste and no Aurora or the other way around. Or there was no curse at all. Having them both makes the curse a non-issue (not much of a handicap) I think. All of her skills are still there though she can't use them at the same time.

The Prince's love is also suspect to me. He's like a two-timer who got lucky.

[Christine Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shout out to all the Auroras among us today, whom the world has dismissed away as only Celeste! One of my favorite quotes from the book was,

“It didn’t matter if she deserved the hatred, because I was the one being consumed by it.”

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This was a creative reimagining of Sleeping Beauty. The characters were well done, and I appreciated the lesson this story taught. As always, it was good to see the interconnectedness of the characters between books in the series.

[Megan Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of this series! All these books are very fairytale. Happy ever afters and predictable endings... but sometimes a simple, cute series is what you need! Also, I am incredibly impressed by the beautiful way the author retells a classic fairytale in a way all her own.(This book especially.)

[Miriam Simut · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5