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A Kiss in Time
Talia fell under a spell...Jack broke the curse.
I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic...
I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.
I awakened in the same place but in another time—to a stranger's soft kiss.
I couldn't help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to kiss someone. I didn't know this would happen.
Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away with this commoner!
Now I'm stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of her jewels...The good news: My parents will freak!
Think you have dating issues? Try locking lips with a snoozing stunner who turns out to be 316 years old. Can a kiss transcend all—even time?
I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic...
I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.
I awakened in the same place but in another time—to a stranger's soft kiss.
I couldn't help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to kiss someone. I didn't know this would happen.
Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away with this commoner!
Now I'm stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of her jewels...The good news: My parents will freak!
Think you have dating issues? Try locking lips with a snoozing stunner who turns out to be 316 years old. Can a kiss transcend all—even time?
384 pages, Hardcover
First published November 9, 2008
210 people are currently reading
12192 people want to read
About the author
Alex Flinn
29 books5,646 followersLove Jacaranda is out in the world! Hope you'll check out this fun wish-fulfillment romance!
Now, bio:
I grew up on a street called Salem Court. This probably influenced my interest in witches. When I was five, my mom said I should be an author. And when I was eight, I got my first rejection letter from Highlights Magazine.
I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.
My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.
It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.
I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I’m continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It’s a way of going back to being thirteen . . . knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, daughters, dogs, and cats.
Now, bio:
I grew up on a street called Salem Court. This probably influenced my interest in witches. When I was five, my mom said I should be an author. And when I was eight, I got my first rejection letter from Highlights Magazine.
I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.
My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.
It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.
I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I’m continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It’s a way of going back to being thirteen . . . knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, daughters, dogs, and cats.
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May 6, 2013
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Sleeping Beauty.
No, I'm not talking about the Disney movie. Though I have to say that movie is kick ass if for anything the artwork. Yeah, Aurora is a bit of a Mary Sue (okay, a lot), but the villain and the faeries make up for it. Not to mention, Prince Phillip is the first Disney prince that is sort of not a man-cessory. But we're not talking about the Disney movie.
Unfortunately.
Instead, we're talking about Alex Flinn's Sleeping Beauty retelling, A Kiss in Time.
I have to say the set up of this novel is fairly interesting. I mean, imagine waking up hundreds of years later because you made a stupid decision. The ramifications could be very interesting. Especially considering the fact that the country was basically be run in feudalism adjusting to 21st century life should be harder than turning it into Williamsburg: European Edition.
Yeah...me and this book we didn't work. And it's not a bad book. It's average. I was just hoping for something more....yeah, I know I'm am a Disney princess when it comes to that.
Okay, the book. The plot pretty much is non-existant. Oh, except for the last fifty pages and the reason for the Maleficient character....lame.
Yeah, I get she was trying to give the villain more backstory. But I think it backfired on her. I could understand why the king would get upset with her. Was it logical, no? But I understood the circumstances perfectly.
And for the villain to go mwhwhahahaha I'm not done with you yet. And then they forgive you after all that crap?
Stupid just stupid.
Almost as dumb as the main characters.
Let's start with our heroine, Talia. She's a spoiled brat. She lives in the 17/18th century and has dresses shipped from across the world for her stupid birthday. Oh, and then when she wakes up it's still about the dress. Oh, and how Jack must be her love because he kissed her.
And Jack, dear lord. You remember that horrible movie A Kid and King Arthur's Court-of course you don't....well, let me refresh your mind.
It sucked.
Big time.
Mainly because of the tool protagonist which is exactly what Jack was. A tool. Seriously, this guy breaks into a castle and kisses an unconscious girl because she's hot. He doesn't even think of calling 911-or whatever Belgium's version of 911 is because he has to play tonsil hockey with Talia who's unconscious....get your mind out the gutter.
And then he randomly let's her get on a plane with him to Miami and deems it necessary to book her with a model agency not even asking her if she wants to be a model before he finds out she's too fat and...
Yeah, Tala is too fat. Apparently so, despite being deemed "perfect looking". But don't you guys worry, the faerie that put that beauty charm of her adjusts to the time period's beauty standards so she's dropping those pounds like she's on Plexus.
Want to hit something. I do.
Okay, so insufferable characters, beauty spells that make you lose weight even though you don't need to, non-existant plots. What else can we add to this suckage fest....
Historical inaccuracy. Seriously, Flinn's idea of what the 17th century was like consisted of what a Disney movie would depict it as. Perhaps that's why Flinn kept mentioning Virginia (hello, Pocahontas and minus the cannibalism).
Best Feature: Easy Peasy writing. Flinn is a decent writer. It doesn't take much effort to read fifty or so pages. That doesn't mean the book was great. Just I didn't have to roll my eyes for bad similes and excessive violet prose.
Worst Feature: Historically Inaccurate. Really, really, Ms. Flinn I'm supposed to buy that Euphrasia (God knows, Genovia was even a better name for a made up country than that) is an accurate portrayal of how a European 17th/18th century country would be ran. For one thing, Talia speaks surprisingly modern for a girl from this period. And then the politics that were going on in that country weren't even discussed. Or the general lifestyle. Like Talia was perfectly clean, had tons and tons of dresses. Guess Flinn decided to gloss over the fact that there was no deodorant lots of social unrest in Europe during this period. And then once the country became visible again....yeah, CNN so would be reporting about this.
Appropriateness: There's some heavy teen drinking, annoying body image issues with this book, and I think there may have been some cursing. But pretty PG-13. Some might even say the tone of this book was more middle grade than YA. But the teen drinking definitely puts it in the YA category.
Sleeping Beauty.
No, I'm not talking about the Disney movie. Though I have to say that movie is kick ass if for anything the artwork. Yeah, Aurora is a bit of a Mary Sue (okay, a lot), but the villain and the faeries make up for it. Not to mention, Prince Phillip is the first Disney prince that is sort of not a man-cessory. But we're not talking about the Disney movie.
Unfortunately.
Instead, we're talking about Alex Flinn's Sleeping Beauty retelling, A Kiss in Time.
I have to say the set up of this novel is fairly interesting. I mean, imagine waking up hundreds of years later because you made a stupid decision. The ramifications could be very interesting. Especially considering the fact that the country was basically be run in feudalism adjusting to 21st century life should be harder than turning it into Williamsburg: European Edition.
Yeah...me and this book we didn't work. And it's not a bad book. It's average. I was just hoping for something more....yeah, I know I'm am a Disney princess when it comes to that.
Okay, the book. The plot pretty much is non-existant. Oh, except for the last fifty pages and the reason for the Maleficient character....lame.
Yeah, I get she was trying to give the villain more backstory. But I think it backfired on her. I could understand why the king would get upset with her. Was it logical, no? But I understood the circumstances perfectly.
And for the villain to go mwhwhahahaha I'm not done with you yet. And then they forgive you after all that crap?
Stupid just stupid.
Almost as dumb as the main characters.
Let's start with our heroine, Talia. She's a spoiled brat. She lives in the 17/18th century and has dresses shipped from across the world for her stupid birthday. Oh, and then when she wakes up it's still about the dress. Oh, and how Jack must be her love because he kissed her.
And Jack, dear lord. You remember that horrible movie A Kid and King Arthur's Court-of course you don't....well, let me refresh your mind.
It sucked.
Big time.
Mainly because of the tool protagonist which is exactly what Jack was. A tool. Seriously, this guy breaks into a castle and kisses an unconscious girl because she's hot. He doesn't even think of calling 911-or whatever Belgium's version of 911 is because he has to play tonsil hockey with Talia who's unconscious....get your mind out the gutter.
And then he randomly let's her get on a plane with him to Miami and deems it necessary to book her with a model agency not even asking her if she wants to be a model before he finds out she's too fat and...
Yeah, Tala is too fat. Apparently so, despite being deemed "perfect looking". But don't you guys worry, the faerie that put that beauty charm of her adjusts to the time period's beauty standards so she's dropping those pounds like she's on Plexus.
Want to hit something. I do.
Okay, so insufferable characters, beauty spells that make you lose weight even though you don't need to, non-existant plots. What else can we add to this suckage fest....
Historical inaccuracy. Seriously, Flinn's idea of what the 17th century was like consisted of what a Disney movie would depict it as. Perhaps that's why Flinn kept mentioning Virginia (hello, Pocahontas and minus the cannibalism).
Best Feature: Easy Peasy writing. Flinn is a decent writer. It doesn't take much effort to read fifty or so pages. That doesn't mean the book was great. Just I didn't have to roll my eyes for bad similes and excessive violet prose.
Worst Feature: Historically Inaccurate. Really, really, Ms. Flinn I'm supposed to buy that Euphrasia (God knows, Genovia was even a better name for a made up country than that) is an accurate portrayal of how a European 17th/18th century country would be ran. For one thing, Talia speaks surprisingly modern for a girl from this period. And then the politics that were going on in that country weren't even discussed. Or the general lifestyle. Like Talia was perfectly clean, had tons and tons of dresses. Guess Flinn decided to gloss over the fact that there was no deodorant lots of social unrest in Europe during this period. And then once the country became visible again....yeah, CNN so would be reporting about this.
Appropriateness: There's some heavy teen drinking, annoying body image issues with this book, and I think there may have been some cursing. But pretty PG-13. Some might even say the tone of this book was more middle grade than YA. But the teen drinking definitely puts it in the YA category.
December 26, 2018
1/5 Stars
If you want to waste your time and money I would definitely recommend this book.
This book was just boring and the characters were extremely unlikable.
The only thing I liked about the book was that it was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a twist. It's a shame that the author did a poor job at it.
I have been wanting to read 'Beastly' for such a long time and now finding out that it's from the same author of this awful book has completely changed my thoughts on even bothering with it.
If you want to waste your time and money I would definitely recommend this book.
This book was just boring and the characters were extremely unlikable.
The only thing I liked about the book was that it was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a twist. It's a shame that the author did a poor job at it.
I have been wanting to read 'Beastly' for such a long time and now finding out that it's from the same author of this awful book has completely changed my thoughts on even bothering with it.
September 12, 2024
Talia is a spoiled brat, AKA princess, who disobeyed her parents’ warning three hundred years ago, touched a spindle, and sent her country into a three century comatose state. Jack is a slacker—stuck on a European tour, sick of museums, and intent on finding the beach. Instead he finds Talia, kisses her, and winds up with Her Royal Highness in tow on a fast getaway from the dungeon and a quick flight to Miami.
Not exactly a match made in a fairy tale.
But somehow Talia, with Jack, isn’t so spoiled.
And Jack, with Talia, isn’t as detached and indifferent as his rep.
And the mystery behind that is the real story.
I loved the banter in A Kiss in Time and the characters’ observations of each other: especially our modern day hero’s forthright opinion of Talia, his astonished observations of her impact on his self-absorbed parents, and Talia’s less than stellar opinion of Jack’s so-called former girlfriend.
Not exactly a match made in a fairy tale.
But somehow Talia, with Jack, isn’t so spoiled.
And Jack, with Talia, isn’t as detached and indifferent as his rep.
And the mystery behind that is the real story.
I loved the banter in A Kiss in Time and the characters’ observations of each other: especially our modern day hero’s forthright opinion of Talia, his astonished observations of her impact on his self-absorbed parents, and Talia’s less than stellar opinion of Jack’s so-called former girlfriend.
November 10, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
When Jack escaped for the summer on a trip around Europe, he never dreamed he would be pulled into a real-life fairy tale.
His main goal in agreeing to the numbingly dull tour of European museums was to avoid an even more boring summer working in his father's company. Both his father and mother think he is a lazy slacker without any real interests. What they don't know is that Jack has an interest, but he knows that as the son of a successful business family, they will not approve of his future plans.
After weeks of museum tours, Jack and his friend, Travis, decide to skip out on the tour group and head for the beach. They take a wrong turn and end up sneaking through a thick hedge hoping to find the illusive beach, but instead they end up in a strange place that seems lost in time. As they explore, they stumble across some of the residents of the area, only to find them fast asleep.
When they arrive at the main gates to a huge castle, they begin to wonder exactly what is going on. Inside the castle they find the same situation - everyone is fast asleep. Life seems to have suddenly halted for these people, leaving them in the middle of whatever activity or task that had kept them busy before their sudden slumber.
Jack and Travis find their way to an isolated area of the castle and are surprised to discover a beautiful young girl sleeping peacefully. Travis is more interested in returning to the throne room and snatching the crown jewels, and Jack gladly sends him off. Jack is fascinated by the sleeping girl whose beauty is astonishing. He can't help himself. He bends and gently kisses her soft lips. Suddenly, she's awake!
By now readers will recognize the similarities to Sleeping Beauty, but what they don't know yet is that they are in for some great adventures.
Imagine being awakened by a stranger's kiss and learning you've slept for three-hundred years. The world doesn't even know your country exists, and you don't have a clue that things like cars, buses, airplanes, cell phones, and televisions are now the norm. Princess Talia believes Jack must be her true love, but at seventeen, he's pretty sure she must be wrong.
Alex Flinn, author of YA books like BREATHING UNDERWATER and BEASTLY, has a new treat for her fans. She puts a unique twist on fairy tale retelling - by connecting the past and present as Jack and Talia struggle through problems created by their strange meeting and their own personal family struggles as young teens trying to find their own direction in life.
When Jack escaped for the summer on a trip around Europe, he never dreamed he would be pulled into a real-life fairy tale.
His main goal in agreeing to the numbingly dull tour of European museums was to avoid an even more boring summer working in his father's company. Both his father and mother think he is a lazy slacker without any real interests. What they don't know is that Jack has an interest, but he knows that as the son of a successful business family, they will not approve of his future plans.
After weeks of museum tours, Jack and his friend, Travis, decide to skip out on the tour group and head for the beach. They take a wrong turn and end up sneaking through a thick hedge hoping to find the illusive beach, but instead they end up in a strange place that seems lost in time. As they explore, they stumble across some of the residents of the area, only to find them fast asleep.
When they arrive at the main gates to a huge castle, they begin to wonder exactly what is going on. Inside the castle they find the same situation - everyone is fast asleep. Life seems to have suddenly halted for these people, leaving them in the middle of whatever activity or task that had kept them busy before their sudden slumber.
Jack and Travis find their way to an isolated area of the castle and are surprised to discover a beautiful young girl sleeping peacefully. Travis is more interested in returning to the throne room and snatching the crown jewels, and Jack gladly sends him off. Jack is fascinated by the sleeping girl whose beauty is astonishing. He can't help himself. He bends and gently kisses her soft lips. Suddenly, she's awake!
By now readers will recognize the similarities to Sleeping Beauty, but what they don't know yet is that they are in for some great adventures.
Imagine being awakened by a stranger's kiss and learning you've slept for three-hundred years. The world doesn't even know your country exists, and you don't have a clue that things like cars, buses, airplanes, cell phones, and televisions are now the norm. Princess Talia believes Jack must be her true love, but at seventeen, he's pretty sure she must be wrong.
Alex Flinn, author of YA books like BREATHING UNDERWATER and BEASTLY, has a new treat for her fans. She puts a unique twist on fairy tale retelling - by connecting the past and present as Jack and Talia struggle through problems created by their strange meeting and their own personal family struggles as young teens trying to find their own direction in life.
February 12, 2012
I read this book because I liked Beastly so much. I finished that book in exactly one day. However, it took me quite some time to finish A Kiss in Time. Well, two days, maybe? But that was because I wasn’t reading it every second of the day. Well, yeah.
I really enjoyed this book mainly because it was based on Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney Princess. So yeah. I was sooo excited to read this.
And it turns out it was the right type of excitement! :) The reason I posted THAT cover (the one with the flower) is because I liked this cover more than the one with Talia. Well, she doesn’t really fit the description of Talia. Talia was supposed to be the most beautiful girl Jack saw. Maybe Taylor Swift as Talia, right? Yes. Definitely. Taylor Swift is the most beautiful blond I know. :)
I feel my legs crumbling to pieces everytime Jack thinks Talia’s cute and that he wants to kiss her. Like really. Those are some of the stuff I didn’t get on Beastly.
Talia’s extreme innocence was funny. LOL And I was glad it was Jack who awakened her. This really is an epic novel and I would read it again.
The part which made me annoyed was when Jack made out with Amber. Ew. And Talia saw it. I felt extremely bad for Talia and so it was nice when I first found out she was with some other guy. But then the guy was scary. Anyhoo, it would’ve been a whole lot better if there were lots of ‘sorry’ and ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you’ stuff there. hahahahha That would’ve been epic! I love stuff like those! :D
The book wasn’t how I expected it to be. I thought there was going to be a bloody fight scene (since Philip fought the dragon in Sleeping Beauty). However, the test that Malvolia made for Jack was funny yet nice. And sweet. Malvolia isn’t very mean. She’s actually really nice. :)
Taylor Swift is really pretty and she is my Talia :) I wonder who could be Jack. Hmmm.
The thing is, I haven’t had enough of Jack and Talia. I need more. Much much more. Agh. More, please! Alex Flinn, please be kind enough and make another novel based on the characters from A Kiss in Time. Pretty pretty please :))))))
I just need more and more and more Jack and Talia moments. Really. It wasn’t enough.
I almost died when Jack finally told Talia that he loves her. But he kissed her before that. It’s just so amazing. He never thought he’d fall in love with her. And he did. Agh! :)
This is all for now. Hahahaha I started working on this yesterday. And. Um. Yeah. :)
I’m currently reading ‘Entwined’ by Heather Dixon. I hear it’s good so, here I come, Entwined! :D
(http://jemimahabigail.tumblr.com/post...)
I really enjoyed this book mainly because it was based on Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney Princess. So yeah. I was sooo excited to read this.
And it turns out it was the right type of excitement! :) The reason I posted THAT cover (the one with the flower) is because I liked this cover more than the one with Talia. Well, she doesn’t really fit the description of Talia. Talia was supposed to be the most beautiful girl Jack saw. Maybe Taylor Swift as Talia, right? Yes. Definitely. Taylor Swift is the most beautiful blond I know. :)
I feel my legs crumbling to pieces everytime Jack thinks Talia’s cute and that he wants to kiss her. Like really. Those are some of the stuff I didn’t get on Beastly.
Talia’s extreme innocence was funny. LOL And I was glad it was Jack who awakened her. This really is an epic novel and I would read it again.
The part which made me annoyed was when Jack made out with Amber. Ew. And Talia saw it. I felt extremely bad for Talia and so it was nice when I first found out she was with some other guy. But then the guy was scary. Anyhoo, it would’ve been a whole lot better if there were lots of ‘sorry’ and ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you’ stuff there. hahahahha That would’ve been epic! I love stuff like those! :D
The book wasn’t how I expected it to be. I thought there was going to be a bloody fight scene (since Philip fought the dragon in Sleeping Beauty). However, the test that Malvolia made for Jack was funny yet nice. And sweet. Malvolia isn’t very mean. She’s actually really nice. :)
Taylor Swift is really pretty and she is my Talia :) I wonder who could be Jack. Hmmm.
The thing is, I haven’t had enough of Jack and Talia. I need more. Much much more. Agh. More, please! Alex Flinn, please be kind enough and make another novel based on the characters from A Kiss in Time. Pretty pretty please :))))))
I just need more and more and more Jack and Talia moments. Really. It wasn’t enough.
I almost died when Jack finally told Talia that he loves her. But he kissed her before that. It’s just so amazing. He never thought he’d fall in love with her. And he did. Agh! :)
This is all for now. Hahahaha I started working on this yesterday. And. Um. Yeah. :)
I’m currently reading ‘Entwined’ by Heather Dixon. I hear it’s good so, here I come, Entwined! :D
(http://jemimahabigail.tumblr.com/post...)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2017
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Princess Talia of Euphrasia has been told her entire 15 years of life to never go near a spindle as the evil witch Malvolia has cursed her and her kingdom. If she were to touch a spindle before the day of her 16th birthday, she and her subjects will fall into a deep sleep until she is kissed by her one true love. 300 years after she touches a spindle, 17 year old Jack is sent on a European Tour. In search of a beach, he ends up in Euphrasia where he sees the beautiful Talia sleeping and decides to kiss her, waking her up from her 300 year slumber. Now, convinced Jack is her true love, Talia travels back to America with him in the hopes to make him fall in love with her.
Obviously, this is a retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty story and I usually love fairytale retellings and find them so entertaining. I was very excited to read this book because I read Beastly by this author and it was one of my favourite books at the time. This one, however, fell short for me. I did really enjoy the alternating perspectives between Talia and Jack, but both characters annoyed me as well. Talia was a spoiled brat, which is understandable as she was raised as a bratty princess used to getting what she wanted. I did enjoy how her character developed throughout the book and she began to care more for others than herself. Her innocence and naivety were my favourite parts of the book. Jack bothered me right from the beginning... like I understand the whole point of Sleeping Beauty is to kiss the princess awake, but bro.... you don't go kissing unconscious girls because they're "really hot". It just gave me the creeps the way that scene unfolded. I did like the humour in this book and it was quite funny when Talia didn't know what anything was from the 21st century. The book does a great job showing the cultural differences of the times Talia and Jack grew up in. Its also a very easy to read book and the pages fly by without you noticing. The biggest problem I had with this book was the love story. It was choppy and annoying. One second they hated each other and a day later they were madly in love.
I definitely think if I had read this when I was 14/15 I would have enjoyed it a lot more than I had now.
Princess Talia of Euphrasia has been told her entire 15 years of life to never go near a spindle as the evil witch Malvolia has cursed her and her kingdom. If she were to touch a spindle before the day of her 16th birthday, she and her subjects will fall into a deep sleep until she is kissed by her one true love. 300 years after she touches a spindle, 17 year old Jack is sent on a European Tour. In search of a beach, he ends up in Euphrasia where he sees the beautiful Talia sleeping and decides to kiss her, waking her up from her 300 year slumber. Now, convinced Jack is her true love, Talia travels back to America with him in the hopes to make him fall in love with her.
Obviously, this is a retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty story and I usually love fairytale retellings and find them so entertaining. I was very excited to read this book because I read Beastly by this author and it was one of my favourite books at the time. This one, however, fell short for me. I did really enjoy the alternating perspectives between Talia and Jack, but both characters annoyed me as well. Talia was a spoiled brat, which is understandable as she was raised as a bratty princess used to getting what she wanted. I did enjoy how her character developed throughout the book and she began to care more for others than herself. Her innocence and naivety were my favourite parts of the book. Jack bothered me right from the beginning... like I understand the whole point of Sleeping Beauty is to kiss the princess awake, but bro.... you don't go kissing unconscious girls because they're "really hot". It just gave me the creeps the way that scene unfolded. I did like the humour in this book and it was quite funny when Talia didn't know what anything was from the 21st century. The book does a great job showing the cultural differences of the times Talia and Jack grew up in. Its also a very easy to read book and the pages fly by without you noticing. The biggest problem I had with this book was the love story. It was choppy and annoying. One second they hated each other and a day later they were madly in love.
I definitely think if I had read this when I was 14/15 I would have enjoyed it a lot more than I had now.
July 19, 2011
I’m pretty new to the whole fairy tale retelling, and actually Beastly by this same author is the first and only other one I’ve read, which I enjoyed quite a bit. So I was curious how Alex Flinn would re-create Sleeping Beauty’s story in A Kiss in Time.
Overall, I have to say it was somewhat entertaining and at times slightly far-fetched. So if you go into this story with the intention of being entertained, you’ll enjoy this book. However, if you’re looking for a re-telling, that’s where some might be disappointed and slightly underwhelmed.
Many might call the protagonist Talia pretentious, precocious and quite immature, and Jack somewhat weak and lost, but if you give them both a chance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by their character growth at the end of the novel.
The majority of this story takes place after the kiss. Interesting enough though, Flinn decides to have the princess sleep for over 300 years, waking the entire kingdom into the modern world where love at first sight, jealousy and curses take on a whole new meaning. So let me focus on those aspects I found interesting.
Flinn takes a whole new approach on the curse. If you remember, the King and Queen simply failed to invite Maleficent to the celebration of Aurora’s birth and because of that Maleficent casted a curse over the baby. Well in A Kiss in Time being snubbed by the King and Queen was not the sole reason for Malificent’s or in this case Malvolia’s curse. There was more to it. A deep seeded revenge on the King, which you’ll have to read to find out.
Also, the curse specifically stated that on her sixteenth birthday, before the sun sets, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Merryweather was unable to undo Maleficent's curse but rather only able to weaken it. The curse didn’t say “might prick her finger” or “could possibly prick her finger” it was destiny/fate for the princess to fall victim to the curse. So hiding the princess away or burning all the spinning wheels in the kingdom wouldn’t help, it was inevitable. It was interesting how Flinn spun that aspect in her story.
Lastly, when the fairy sought to lessen the curse, she said that the princess would awaken by “love’s true kiss.” In A Kiss in Time I got the impression that Flinn doesn’t believe a merry dance by the meadow between two strangers constitutes “true love” so in her retelling, she makes these two character go through a lot more to prove they truly love each other.
All pretty interesting when you change the cast; add a few more gifts by the fairies; really pay attention to the curse; extend the sleep by 300 years; and force the knight in shining armor to do more than cut some weeds and slay a dragon to prove his love.
Overall, I will have to say it requires a substantial amount of reality suspension, but don’t all fairy tales?? Fun retelling, that is either a huge hit or miss for YA readers. I enjoyed it enough though.
Overall, I have to say it was somewhat entertaining and at times slightly far-fetched. So if you go into this story with the intention of being entertained, you’ll enjoy this book. However, if you’re looking for a re-telling, that’s where some might be disappointed and slightly underwhelmed.
Many might call the protagonist Talia pretentious, precocious and quite immature, and Jack somewhat weak and lost, but if you give them both a chance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by their character growth at the end of the novel.
The majority of this story takes place after the kiss. Interesting enough though, Flinn decides to have the princess sleep for over 300 years, waking the entire kingdom into the modern world where love at first sight, jealousy and curses take on a whole new meaning. So let me focus on those aspects I found interesting.
Flinn takes a whole new approach on the curse. If you remember, the King and Queen simply failed to invite Maleficent to the celebration of Aurora’s birth and because of that Maleficent casted a curse over the baby. Well in A Kiss in Time being snubbed by the King and Queen was not the sole reason for Malificent’s or in this case Malvolia’s curse. There was more to it. A deep seeded revenge on the King, which you’ll have to read to find out.
Also, the curse specifically stated that on her sixteenth birthday, before the sun sets, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Merryweather was unable to undo Maleficent's curse but rather only able to weaken it. The curse didn’t say “might prick her finger” or “could possibly prick her finger” it was destiny/fate for the princess to fall victim to the curse. So hiding the princess away or burning all the spinning wheels in the kingdom wouldn’t help, it was inevitable. It was interesting how Flinn spun that aspect in her story.
Lastly, when the fairy sought to lessen the curse, she said that the princess would awaken by “love’s true kiss.” In A Kiss in Time I got the impression that Flinn doesn’t believe a merry dance by the meadow between two strangers constitutes “true love” so in her retelling, she makes these two character go through a lot more to prove they truly love each other.
All pretty interesting when you change the cast; add a few more gifts by the fairies; really pay attention to the curse; extend the sleep by 300 years; and force the knight in shining armor to do more than cut some weeds and slay a dragon to prove his love.
Overall, I will have to say it requires a substantial amount of reality suspension, but don’t all fairy tales?? Fun retelling, that is either a huge hit or miss for YA readers. I enjoyed it enough though.
January 29, 2011
I just finished reading this, and I have to say--it's so cute! The couple of Jack and Talia, well, what's not to love? Talia's a girl who doesn't consider herself to be spoiled, but in fact is, and is kind of a brat. She transforms to a kind, warm-hearted girl who adapts fairly well to this century, going from a girl who believes that men are the ones to do all of the work, to a believer of women's rights and hard work. Jack transforms from a Miami party-boy, although to be honest I never really felt the "Miami party boy" side of him, even when they were actually at a party in Miami, and he becomes softer, a person who starts following his dreams instead of the demands his parents make of him. Malvolia, too, was a character I could not help but to love, but in the beginning I didn't like her very much, as she was the books antagonist. I won't give away any trade secrets about her, but let me tell you, when I found out the truth about Malvolia, all I felt for her was pity and compassion. I wanted her to have a happy ending, because if the ending is not happy, how can the journey feel worthwhile?
I think the only concern I had with the book was how to pronounce Talia's name. Is it Tuh-lia? TAH-lia? It became annoying in a way to read her name over and over again with little idea as to its pronunciation.
I seriously recommend this book to anyone who can read it in one sitting. It's not the kind of epic you can't put down, but it's a book that you can't help but to love.
After reading Alex Flinn's Beastly, and now A Kiss in TIme, I believe that this author is truly a sight to behind. I'm anxiously awaiting Cloaked, and any other books that have to do with fairy tales that Flinn can put a spin on. : ) Of course, I am also awaiting her other books, too. But her modern-day fairy tales are so... cute!
I think the only concern I had with the book was how to pronounce Talia's name. Is it Tuh-lia? TAH-lia? It became annoying in a way to read her name over and over again with little idea as to its pronunciation.
I seriously recommend this book to anyone who can read it in one sitting. It's not the kind of epic you can't put down, but it's a book that you can't help but to love.
After reading Alex Flinn's Beastly, and now A Kiss in TIme, I believe that this author is truly a sight to behind. I'm anxiously awaiting Cloaked, and any other books that have to do with fairy tales that Flinn can put a spin on. : ) Of course, I am also awaiting her other books, too. But her modern-day fairy tales are so... cute!
June 8, 2009
I adore this book. It's hilarious, for one thing. Furthermore, it's the kind of book that hooks you in with the first page. The two person narrative between Talia and Jack was brilliantly done, and made the character development for both characters much stronger; Plus, it made the relationship between Talia and Jack much more realisitc, and I could actually see their opinions of eachother bloom throughout the book. Alex Flinn also does a good job of portraying teenage characters—sometimes authors don't have any idea what teens are really like, but Alex Flinn is not one of them.
I really enjoyed this book, and I can't say there's anything I would have done differently.
I really enjoyed this book, and I can't say there's anything I would have done differently.
October 2, 2017
God, that was 😕😕😕
November 2, 2011
Read more reviews at Yearning to Read
Pages: 371
Release Date: April 28th, 2008
Date Read: 2011, May 14th-18th
Received: Own
Rating: 4/5 stars
Recommended to: 15+
Reviewed Fairy Tale Fortnight.
Summary -
Spindles are an illegal device not to be had. At least, not in Euphrasia. Euphrasia is a small country near Belgium, and its princess, Talia, has been put under a spell. A spell that says she will prick her finger on a spindle before her sixteenth birthday, and she will die. The good fairies tried to change the spell, so now the entire kingdom will fall asleep upon Talia's spindle-pricking. Until a prince, Talia's true love, comes to the castle and kisses her awake. Talia's parents have done all they can to secure that Talia would not prick her finger on a spindle, but when the evil witch's curse comes to pass anyway, the entire kingdom passes into a deep sleep, a hedge grows around their small country, and the rest of the world forgets there ever was a Euphrasia...
Until the day when Jack, an attention-starved high-schooler from Miami, Florida, happens upon the hedge of briars during his boring and uneventful trip to Europe. When he enters the castle and finds Talia, he feels the unexplainable urge to kiss her - not to mention he suddenly knows her name. When he does kiss her, she wakes in his arms and he is forced to help her - and save his own hide from her angry father, the King-No-More of Euphrasia. But with Talia convinced he is her true love, he won't be getting rid of her very easily. At least it'll make his parents mad...
My thoughts -
I devoured this book easily. It wasn't that the writing was easy to read (however, that is also true), but more so that the story flowed so well I couldn't put it down. There was no break in the character development or story-line. I was entranced in the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty as though I hadn't heard it a hundred and one times before.
I was absolutely surprised at how much I liked this book. Jack and Talia are both memorable characters; the events of the story are well-placed; it is very original for being yet another retelling of a fairytale. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed the present tense, first person standpoint, which normally really bothers me. But not this time. This time I was thoroughly engrossed and loved feeling as though I was there. And on top of that, this book is funny. And I mean FUN. NY! Laugh out loud, giggly, hilarious, whatever you want to call it. It pretty much made me laugh all the time. (Especially Talia's reaction to telephones and TV's...and Jack's reaction to the clothes she gives him from her time-period. They were both so confused!)
Alex Flinn does a great job at comparing and contrasting the culture Talia comes from and the culture that she has now been thrust into. The innocence of the 16, 17, and 18oo's is greatly played upon. Talia is disgusted by all the almost-all-the-way naked women at the beach, and is shocked by the half-naked women around town (compared to floor length dresses and covered bosoms...yah, they were practically naked). She hates how the young girls are flaunting themselves in Jack's presence; how Jack's friends treat each other and themselves (which is terrible); how Jack feels like he can't talk to his parents or sister. (What a culture we live in, to not know how to use the power of speech! Talia's point on this is quite driving and really struck me as serious and realistic.)
There was only one (literally, only one) drawback in this story for me. The love story. I know, I know. Sucks, doesn't it?
Well, the love story was good. It was sweet and innocent.......but a bit choppy. It wasn't until I was half of the way finished when I realized this. Nothing much, except the first kiss at the beginning and Talia being beautiful, happened that would make the characters love each other. (And that's not even very convincing, sorry!) No deciding factors, no developing thoughts about it. Just, half-way through: "I think I'm falling for him." and "I think I'm falling for her." Jack's attempts to save Talia from her curse (read it to know what I mean!) were great but still...there was something missing. And their moment of discovering that they truly love each other had no spark, no firecrackers. It was just... "Yay, they love each other." Not: "Oh my GOSH they are so in love and are so passionate about each other!!!" Which kind of disappointed me, since I know Alex Flinn has that capacity. She did it masterfully in Beastly. I just wish there had been more of that in A Kiss in Time.
My favorite character -
Jack. He was great and real. Easy to get along with, but kind of a push over. Passionate about things, but afraid to tell his parents what he wants to do with his life. Blind to his faults, but when they are presented to him, he wants to change... These are all things that make a character real and human and just plain awesome.
My favorite aspect of the story -
Tali'a's innocence. Now, she may know that she's drop-dead-gorgeous, but she knows this in a...young kind of way. The way her "newness" affects the story and Jack's life and makes him a better person is just phenomenal. I loved that and applauded her when the story was over.
One word I would use to sum up this book (and final thoughts) -
Cute. So, so cute. Everything about it was cute, even the romance. I think the lack of "passion" in the romance was what made it "cute". I will most definitely be reading this book again, and hopefully soon. I am officially a huge Alex Flinn fan and recommend this book to ages 15/16 and up.
For the parents - Teenage boys will be teenage boys... About 10-15 short references throughout the book to hot girls, their sizes, and what they're wearing. But the biggest thing is the party: drinking and girls. A bunch of underage high schoolers get together to drink and make out (and possibly more, though it wasn't even referenced to). Talia is taken unawares when this guy from Jack's school gives her too much to drink and he tries to take her clothes off once he gets her further away from the party. It's a very quick scene (with minimal description - nothing much happens 'cause the dude doesn't get very far before Talia lashes out), during which Talia realizes her folly, Jack realizes his stupidity in bringing her as a way to get back at his ex, and both learn a huge lesson in maturity.
Pages: 371
Release Date: April 28th, 2008
Date Read: 2011, May 14th-18th
Received: Own
Rating: 4/5 stars
Recommended to: 15+
Reviewed Fairy Tale Fortnight.
Summary -
Spindles are an illegal device not to be had. At least, not in Euphrasia. Euphrasia is a small country near Belgium, and its princess, Talia, has been put under a spell. A spell that says she will prick her finger on a spindle before her sixteenth birthday, and she will die. The good fairies tried to change the spell, so now the entire kingdom will fall asleep upon Talia's spindle-pricking. Until a prince, Talia's true love, comes to the castle and kisses her awake. Talia's parents have done all they can to secure that Talia would not prick her finger on a spindle, but when the evil witch's curse comes to pass anyway, the entire kingdom passes into a deep sleep, a hedge grows around their small country, and the rest of the world forgets there ever was a Euphrasia...
Until the day when Jack, an attention-starved high-schooler from Miami, Florida, happens upon the hedge of briars during his boring and uneventful trip to Europe. When he enters the castle and finds Talia, he feels the unexplainable urge to kiss her - not to mention he suddenly knows her name. When he does kiss her, she wakes in his arms and he is forced to help her - and save his own hide from her angry father, the King-No-More of Euphrasia. But with Talia convinced he is her true love, he won't be getting rid of her very easily. At least it'll make his parents mad...
My thoughts -
I devoured this book easily. It wasn't that the writing was easy to read (however, that is also true), but more so that the story flowed so well I couldn't put it down. There was no break in the character development or story-line. I was entranced in the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty as though I hadn't heard it a hundred and one times before.
I was absolutely surprised at how much I liked this book. Jack and Talia are both memorable characters; the events of the story are well-placed; it is very original for being yet another retelling of a fairytale. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed the present tense, first person standpoint, which normally really bothers me. But not this time. This time I was thoroughly engrossed and loved feeling as though I was there. And on top of that, this book is funny. And I mean FUN. NY! Laugh out loud, giggly, hilarious, whatever you want to call it. It pretty much made me laugh all the time. (Especially Talia's reaction to telephones and TV's...and Jack's reaction to the clothes she gives him from her time-period. They were both so confused!)
Alex Flinn does a great job at comparing and contrasting the culture Talia comes from and the culture that she has now been thrust into. The innocence of the 16, 17, and 18oo's is greatly played upon. Talia is disgusted by all the almost-all-the-way naked women at the beach, and is shocked by the half-naked women around town (compared to floor length dresses and covered bosoms...yah, they were practically naked). She hates how the young girls are flaunting themselves in Jack's presence; how Jack's friends treat each other and themselves (which is terrible); how Jack feels like he can't talk to his parents or sister. (What a culture we live in, to not know how to use the power of speech! Talia's point on this is quite driving and really struck me as serious and realistic.)
There was only one (literally, only one) drawback in this story for me. The love story. I know, I know. Sucks, doesn't it?
Well, the love story was good. It was sweet and innocent.......but a bit choppy. It wasn't until I was half of the way finished when I realized this. Nothing much, except the first kiss at the beginning and Talia being beautiful, happened that would make the characters love each other. (And that's not even very convincing, sorry!) No deciding factors, no developing thoughts about it. Just, half-way through: "I think I'm falling for him." and "I think I'm falling for her." Jack's attempts to save Talia from her curse (read it to know what I mean!) were great but still...there was something missing. And their moment of discovering that they truly love each other had no spark, no firecrackers. It was just... "Yay, they love each other." Not: "Oh my GOSH they are so in love and are so passionate about each other!!!" Which kind of disappointed me, since I know Alex Flinn has that capacity. She did it masterfully in Beastly. I just wish there had been more of that in A Kiss in Time.
My favorite character -
Jack. He was great and real. Easy to get along with, but kind of a push over. Passionate about things, but afraid to tell his parents what he wants to do with his life. Blind to his faults, but when they are presented to him, he wants to change... These are all things that make a character real and human and just plain awesome.
My favorite aspect of the story -
Tali'a's innocence. Now, she may know that she's drop-dead-gorgeous, but she knows this in a...young kind of way. The way her "newness" affects the story and Jack's life and makes him a better person is just phenomenal. I loved that and applauded her when the story was over.
One word I would use to sum up this book (and final thoughts) -
Cute. So, so cute. Everything about it was cute, even the romance. I think the lack of "passion" in the romance was what made it "cute". I will most definitely be reading this book again, and hopefully soon. I am officially a huge Alex Flinn fan and recommend this book to ages 15/16 and up.
For the parents - Teenage boys will be teenage boys... About 10-15 short references throughout the book to hot girls, their sizes, and what they're wearing. But the biggest thing is the party: drinking and girls. A bunch of underage high schoolers get together to drink and make out (and possibly more, though it wasn't even referenced to). Talia is taken unawares when this guy from Jack's school gives her too much to drink and he tries to take her clothes off once he gets her further away from the party. It's a very quick scene (with minimal description - nothing much happens 'cause the dude doesn't get very far before Talia lashes out), during which Talia realizes her folly, Jack realizes his stupidity in bringing her as a way to get back at his ex, and both learn a huge lesson in maturity.
December 12, 2010
To let you know something more about the plot we basically follow the story of Sleeping Beauty when she wakes up. Talia happened to be the Sleeping Beauty 300 years ago, and at the start of the book we see a little of how she found the spindle. Then, we are coming in our time and see how Jack found her and kissed her. That's only the first part of the book. The story continues with Talia following Jack cause she thinks he is her destiny and try to make him fall in love with her while Jack feels kinda responsible for her and of course to bring a girl home will freak out his parents(something which find really important). As the story goes on with those two, the evil witch appears again and believes the curse broke my mistake and tries to get Talia back.
I will admit i was a little afraid with a story who changes a classic fairytale but it was ok. Actually it was amazing! One of the best books i have read. Alex Flinn doesn't change the story of Sleeping Beauty, she just put the prince in our time. The writing is fast and simple (not in a bad way). I didn't get bored in not even one part of the book. It was interesting from the very first page and kept me entertained.
As for our main characters. Talia at first is really annoying. Well, she was a princess who had everything in her life and to have her live in our world where we don't have servants it's a big change. But as the story goes, you get to know her better. She is a really sweet,kind,clever,naive..she is indeed a fairytale princess. Her character is simple.
Jack is a normal guy. And when i say normal i mean it. Not bad or good like other love stories. Normal. I could see my best friends in him so it was easy for me to like him. He cares about what he did but at the same time he was thinking about himself as well. He didn't fall in love with her immediately or cause of magic. He fall in love when he starts to know her better. And that's what i liked a lot about him. The beauty wasn't the most important thing. He gives her a chance for something more.
But what i find most important and i like more at the book is the whole set up of the story and writing! It's a mix of our world and the fairytale world. While Talia learn some new expressions like "it sucks", she still talking in the old princess way and stays herself. And Jack doesn't try to change her. Also the book is amazingly funny. Since Talia was sleeping for 300 years she has missed the whole technology evolution! Her reactions are so authentic when she meets something new. Plus positive for me, it's written in first person by Talia and Jack. So you get to find out how they feel about same situations and what they think of each other.
I say, you definetelly have to read the book! ;)
I will admit i was a little afraid with a story who changes a classic fairytale but it was ok. Actually it was amazing! One of the best books i have read. Alex Flinn doesn't change the story of Sleeping Beauty, she just put the prince in our time. The writing is fast and simple (not in a bad way). I didn't get bored in not even one part of the book. It was interesting from the very first page and kept me entertained.
As for our main characters. Talia at first is really annoying. Well, she was a princess who had everything in her life and to have her live in our world where we don't have servants it's a big change. But as the story goes, you get to know her better. She is a really sweet,kind,clever,naive..she is indeed a fairytale princess. Her character is simple.
Jack is a normal guy. And when i say normal i mean it. Not bad or good like other love stories. Normal. I could see my best friends in him so it was easy for me to like him. He cares about what he did but at the same time he was thinking about himself as well. He didn't fall in love with her immediately or cause of magic. He fall in love when he starts to know her better. And that's what i liked a lot about him. The beauty wasn't the most important thing. He gives her a chance for something more.
But what i find most important and i like more at the book is the whole set up of the story and writing! It's a mix of our world and the fairytale world. While Talia learn some new expressions like "it sucks", she still talking in the old princess way and stays herself. And Jack doesn't try to change her. Also the book is amazingly funny. Since Talia was sleeping for 300 years she has missed the whole technology evolution! Her reactions are so authentic when she meets something new. Plus positive for me, it's written in first person by Talia and Jack. So you get to find out how they feel about same situations and what they think of each other.
I say, you definetelly have to read the book! ;)
June 27, 2011
Princess Talia of Euphrasia pricks her finger on a spindle, causing the entire kingdom to fall asleep for 300 years. They awaken when Talia is kissed by Jack, a teenager sent by his parents to tour Europe for the summer. A Kiss In Time is obviously a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
I try really hard to write balanced reviews. I try to point out the good with the bad. I'm having a hard time finding the good here. I should start by saying that I really enjoyed Flinn's Beastly, and I love fairytale retellings, so I went into A Kiss in Time with pretty high expectations. I came out really disappointed.
First, Flinn does an excellent job in Beastly of bringing the classic elements of the fairytale as well as the magic into the modern world in a plausible way. That just didn't happen for A Kiss in Time. There are so many contradictions in the world building that it just feels lazy. How is it that the Eurphrasia is completely forgotten by all of Europe, but the insulted concierge is able to send Jack directly to it? And how are the spires of a Castle in a supposedly forgotten Kingdom visible from a plane? What teenage boy could know a girl (who is wearing a full-on ball gown) for a few hours then walk into a Gap and buy her clothes that fit? How many manufactures of fake IDs are hanging out in Gap and willing to do business with a teenager? For that matter, how many Gaps are there in rural Belgium? I don't believe Flinn's contemporary world, much less the magical elements. (ETA: It also doesn't help that I was continually thinking about how much better OSC handled all of this in Enchantment.)
The characters are even worse. Talia is a spoiled brat, thoroughly nasty in her own time. I understand that she felt stifled, but her behavior was more that of a 6 year old than a 16 year old. The modern day Talia is irreconcilable as the same character - she has a completely different personality. Jack is shallow, selfish and self centered. He is lazy and ungrateful, completely unaware of anyone around him. Each of their parents are studies in extremes - either overbearing in their care or completely hands off. The only character for whom I felt ANY compassion was Malvolia, but that was more picking the best out of a bad lot. They were all cardboard. The HEA was forced and contrived.
It feels like Flinn was just going through the motions with this one, and I feel frustrated that I wasted my time with it. I know this is not the best she can do, so I will continue to read her work. However, I will do it more cautiously in the future.
I try really hard to write balanced reviews. I try to point out the good with the bad. I'm having a hard time finding the good here. I should start by saying that I really enjoyed Flinn's Beastly, and I love fairytale retellings, so I went into A Kiss in Time with pretty high expectations. I came out really disappointed.
First, Flinn does an excellent job in Beastly of bringing the classic elements of the fairytale as well as the magic into the modern world in a plausible way. That just didn't happen for A Kiss in Time. There are so many contradictions in the world building that it just feels lazy. How is it that the Eurphrasia is completely forgotten by all of Europe, but the insulted concierge is able to send Jack directly to it? And how are the spires of a Castle in a supposedly forgotten Kingdom visible from a plane? What teenage boy could know a girl (who is wearing a full-on ball gown) for a few hours then walk into a Gap and buy her clothes that fit? How many manufactures of fake IDs are hanging out in Gap and willing to do business with a teenager? For that matter, how many Gaps are there in rural Belgium? I don't believe Flinn's contemporary world, much less the magical elements. (ETA: It also doesn't help that I was continually thinking about how much better OSC handled all of this in Enchantment.)
The characters are even worse. Talia is a spoiled brat, thoroughly nasty in her own time. I understand that she felt stifled, but her behavior was more that of a 6 year old than a 16 year old. The modern day Talia is irreconcilable as the same character - she has a completely different personality. Jack is shallow, selfish and self centered. He is lazy and ungrateful, completely unaware of anyone around him. Each of their parents are studies in extremes - either overbearing in their care or completely hands off. The only character for whom I felt ANY compassion was Malvolia, but that was more picking the best out of a bad lot. They were all cardboard. The HEA was forced and contrived.
It feels like Flinn was just going through the motions with this one, and I feel frustrated that I wasted my time with it. I know this is not the best she can do, so I will continue to read her work. However, I will do it more cautiously in the future.
June 27, 2015
Last read: April 2012
Re-read: June 17, 2015
First of all, Wowza! this book was just everything I wanted it to be. It takes place first of in the 1700 century with Talia and tells of the tale similar to sleeping beauty on how she pricks her finger and sleeps.
The story then jumps three hundred so years and that's where Jack (awesome but slacker) comes into the story. He decided to skip his Europe tour and ends up coming across a magical place where everyone seems to be asleep and not helping himself he wakes up Princess Talia (beautiful but bratty).
The story then properly starts with this whole adventure happening with Talia and Jack
This book was such a cute and entertaining tale! As Flinn did in Beastly, she made the spell so that it could only be broken by true love. It’s a bit of a cheesy motif, and I think it was done very well as it was in Beastly. In A Kiss in Time, it’s more about the teens’ relationships with their parents, not just the relationship with one another. Talia runs away because she’s tired of her dad’s ruling of her life. I particularly appreciated the attention given to Jack’s relationship with his parents. His father is Busy McBusinessMan and his mother is part Suzy Homemaker, and the other part didn’t want to pay too much attention to her children. It was amazing to see their character development as a family as they help not only Jack save Talia, but also helping Jack achieve his new life goals.
Overall, this was an A+ for me. After reading Beastly, I decided to re-read this and man, it still gave me the swoons. I love it so much I may well read it again sometime soon, because it was such an enjoyable read! Didn't take me too long, and I can definitely see it becoming a film. It would make a great movie. :)
Re-read: June 17, 2015
First of all, Wowza! this book was just everything I wanted it to be. It takes place first of in the 1700 century with Talia and tells of the tale similar to sleeping beauty on how she pricks her finger and sleeps.
The story then jumps three hundred so years and that's where Jack (awesome but slacker) comes into the story. He decided to skip his Europe tour and ends up coming across a magical place where everyone seems to be asleep and not helping himself he wakes up Princess Talia (beautiful but bratty).
The story then properly starts with this whole adventure happening with Talia and Jack
This book was such a cute and entertaining tale! As Flinn did in Beastly, she made the spell so that it could only be broken by true love. It’s a bit of a cheesy motif, and I think it was done very well as it was in Beastly. In A Kiss in Time, it’s more about the teens’ relationships with their parents, not just the relationship with one another. Talia runs away because she’s tired of her dad’s ruling of her life. I particularly appreciated the attention given to Jack’s relationship with his parents. His father is Busy McBusinessMan and his mother is part Suzy Homemaker, and the other part didn’t want to pay too much attention to her children. It was amazing to see their character development as a family as they help not only Jack save Talia, but also helping Jack achieve his new life goals.
Overall, this was an A+ for me. After reading Beastly, I decided to re-read this and man, it still gave me the swoons. I love it so much I may well read it again sometime soon, because it was such an enjoyable read! Didn't take me too long, and I can definitely see it becoming a film. It would make a great movie. :)
December 11, 2012
The premise for this book is good, but unfortunately, it has a horrible execution. The writing is awful—awkward, unrealistic dialogue; pathetic attempts to seem “young, hip, and cool”; and references or comparisons that frankly just made me cringe (“her skin is the color of milk with just the tiniest bit of strawberry Nesquik mixed in”). There is a lack of meaningful and cohesive character development, and the most believable part of the plot is that the whole kingdom fell asleep for 300 years. Talia starts off as a spoiled brat, but apparently flying over the Atlantic turned her into some amazing diplomat who has an ease with people (which makes no sense considering she makes such a commotion about the only interaction she had with people growing up was with her parents and servants). Jack seems to leave some of his slacker ways by the end, but then again, I’m not really sure when and how this happened because of the overall absence of any depth to ANY of the characters. Parts of the plot are completely ridiculous or don’t even work with the internal logic of the book. The reasoning behind Talia’s trip to America was at the best shaky; Jack’s parents acceptance of the whole princess thing and his interests in gardening seemed too easy after all the hype (not to mention, if his parents had really been caring about him the whole time as Jack later discovers, how come no one remembered to pick him up at the airport?); Euphrasia became lost to the world, yet the concierge at the hotel is able to lead them directly to it; the first half of the book emphasizes how small the kingdom is (yet big enough to be identified from an airplane.), but the ending makes it seem much bigger with its great number of hills with cottages at the top. Speaking of the ending, to put it simply, it was horrendous.
September 1, 2011
If you are a big fan of Beastly, which is made also by Alex Flinn, then you would love this another great book of hers. I just read this overnight and I think its the first time I read that fast, or maybe its because the book isn’t that thick at all. I love this book, I’ll rate it 5 stars. I’m a big fan of fairytale stories since I was little, like I re watch all Disney princesses movies all the time and now that I’m older, I watch it again! Sometimes with my little cousins who loves and adores it as much as I do, then I kept thinking about what if fairytales like this can be done in real life? (yeah right, with magic and stuff) And the romance! I love the whole idea! Alex Flinn, she did a great job in turning these classic fairytales into reality, especially the romance. Beastly is successful, just watched the movie and its WOW. But kinda disappointing because its not the way it turn out in the movie as it is in the book but what can we say? Movies are always like that, so don’t expect much.
Okay, back to the review. All I’m saying is that I FELL IN LOVE WITH JACK AND TALIA. (they’re the main characters) If Beastly follows the story of “Beauty and the Beast” , well “A Kiss in Time” follows “Sleeping Beauty”. Great story plot, romantic and funny, you’ll enjoy it, and feel like its real. What if you do kiss a girl which turns out to be three hundred years old? What would you do? Its very believable which turns out to be an exciting read.
Read my full review here in my blog
Okay, back to the review. All I’m saying is that I FELL IN LOVE WITH JACK AND TALIA. (they’re the main characters) If Beastly follows the story of “Beauty and the Beast” , well “A Kiss in Time” follows “Sleeping Beauty”. Great story plot, romantic and funny, you’ll enjoy it, and feel like its real. What if you do kiss a girl which turns out to be three hundred years old? What would you do? Its very believable which turns out to be an exciting read.
Read my full review here in my blog
October 10, 2015
This is a modern re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. On the eve of the 16th birthday Princess Talia (Aurora is a middle name), pricks her finger on a spindle and she and everyone in the kingdom fall into a deep sleep, never to awaken until her one true love awakens her with a kiss. Three hundred years later, Jack is on a European tour. Bored with museums and churches he convinces his friend Travis to ditch the tour and head for the beach. But they get lost and discover the abandoned kingdom. When he comes across a “hot chick” he can’t control his impulse to kiss her. Voila!
These two young people are very unlikeable. Talia is a spoiled and selfish brat. Jack is constantly acting out in an effort to get his parents’ attention. I admit that over the course of the novel they do manage to mature and grow, helping one another see how their past behaviors haven’t helped and that a different approach might actually succeed.
Still there were MANY cringe-worthy scenes and tortured dialogue. The way in which Jack gets Talia back to his home in Miami Florida was implausible in the extreme. There is something appealing about fantasy and fairy tales, but this hybrid doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. I was never transported and the effort to modernize the tale seemed obvious and forced.
These two young people are very unlikeable. Talia is a spoiled and selfish brat. Jack is constantly acting out in an effort to get his parents’ attention. I admit that over the course of the novel they do manage to mature and grow, helping one another see how their past behaviors haven’t helped and that a different approach might actually succeed.
Still there were MANY cringe-worthy scenes and tortured dialogue. The way in which Jack gets Talia back to his home in Miami Florida was implausible in the extreme. There is something appealing about fantasy and fairy tales, but this hybrid doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. I was never transported and the effort to modernize the tale seemed obvious and forced.
July 25, 2009
I didn't realize when I first found A Kiss in Time that it was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. How I missed that, I honestly don't know. I just thought it was a story of a girl who had been cursed to sleep until true loves kiss. Now that I think about it, that is Sleeping Beauty. How did I miss that...?
Anyway. I found the book to be truly humorous. It's a recipe for success in my book. See, you mix:
1 316-year-old Princess of a forgotten kingdom cursed to sleep until true love's kiss
2 Bored teenagers looking for a beach
A pinch of magic
1 Annoying little sister and
2 Completely different lives
Think about how much our world has changed in the past 300 years. That's what Talia's got to deal with. And I must say, she faces most of it with great courage and optimism.
And yeah, the story did get a bit cheesy at times, but how many retold fairy tales have you read that don't at some point or another? I hadn't read a Sleeping Beauty retelling until now and I found it quite enjoyable. More than likely it will be reread.
Anyway. I found the book to be truly humorous. It's a recipe for success in my book. See, you mix:
1 316-year-old Princess of a forgotten kingdom cursed to sleep until true love's kiss
2 Bored teenagers looking for a beach
A pinch of magic
1 Annoying little sister and
2 Completely different lives
Think about how much our world has changed in the past 300 years. That's what Talia's got to deal with. And I must say, she faces most of it with great courage and optimism.
And yeah, the story did get a bit cheesy at times, but how many retold fairy tales have you read that don't at some point or another? I hadn't read a Sleeping Beauty retelling until now and I found it quite enjoyable. More than likely it will be reread.
December 26, 2013
This book was a fun, easy read. I really enjoyed the characters and the fast pace of the book. This modern retelling of the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty was very well written and entertaining. I loved the book!
September 3, 2018
First of all Dari and I have never read this book but we are currently listening to it for the 11 th time since we got it in 2013 . The audio book is superb and is read by a 16 yr old boy and girl who are utterly fantastic . it continues to be our favorite audio book of all time and never fails to entrap our attention and wrap up our emotions. To us this is the best retelling of Sleeping Beauty because it takes a character from a 1700's kingdom that we can only imagine and puts her in a 2000's high school that we can all relate to .
Jack is 17 and Talia is 15 going on 16 . Jack is your typical high school athlete/partier/(a bit of stoner because he thought to himself when offered mushrooms by the king "some psyllicide mushrooms would be pretty good about now" but in general he's a nice kind pragmatic chap . Talia is your typical lovably spoiled 16th century princess but is also frustratedly suffering from a curse placed on her at birth by an evil witch to punish her parents for not inviting the witch to her christening .
In the book Both Talia and jack narrate a section of the opening of the book that brilliantly develops their character defines these situations and makes us feel for them
This audio book is so skillfully and wittily enacted that both my husband and I get crack up or get choked up and have tears in our eyes.
In Chapter one Tialia narrates about her life from child hood and how it sucks being a cursed princess in the country of Eurphasia and you definitely get an empathy for her . In chapter 2 jack narrates how it sucks that Amber ,his girl friend, dumped him and broke his heart just before his parents pressured him into joining a group tour of Europe threatening to make him work in a law office if he did not .
The group tour ends up being a total bummer(totally sucking in his words )The premise is that 17 yr old Jack and his buddy Travis are unwillingly touring europe when they want to be back on the beaches of florida partying with their friends and are bored shitless with the tour . Unable to take another day of it so they decide to ditch the tour guide get a six pack and sneak off to the beaches of France by they are given misdirections by a french clerk named Jaques who does not like americans and end up in a wilderness while trying top find the beach eventually they stumble upon a very tall thick thorny hedge and think that the beach must ebon the other side of it. To their amazement a village where everything seems very old fashioned and everyone is asleep awaits them on the other side( the kingdom of fantasia . This may sound corny but Alexandria flynn ( yes -she's female) makes Jack's and Travis' "stoner" reaction to what so happening so contemporary that it lends a heavy air of reality to it as if two 17 year old boys a bit stoned really had stumbled onto such a village while on a tour of europe (Belgium to be exact) Alex , as I said write so realistically that this is just the way .
Jack Finds Talia sleeping and falls in love with her rand kisses her . Only true loves first kiss can awaken her so we know that his love for her is true and she also falls deeply in love with him so much so that when he goes to live the normal life of a teenager in his parents home she begs him to take her with him ( against his own parents wishes ) the question then is "how will 16 yr old Jack's parents react to jack bringing home a 15 yer old girl from europe ? How will 16th century Talia integrate into the modern high school world of cell phones etc ? How will Jack's old girlfriend ( Ashley) react to Talia ? How will Jack sister react to Talia ? How will it end ? and the witch is now angry that her curse was broken and complains that Jacks love was not true after all and seeks to test his love . So this book is deeper than it seems and the message is that true love overcomes all obstacles.
Like twilight some readers give this book only 1-2 stars . Like I said dari and I have never read it but only listen to the audio book again and again but having said that I think that we just have very simple,pure loving hearts and are therefore able to feel great empathy with both Jack and Tialia and root for them with all our hearts every time .
We sincerely believe that some people just don't have the emotional aptitude to feel what we feel when we listen to this audio book . I'm afraid audible.com is the only place you can get the audio book . Alex flynn also wrote "Bewitched "( a retelling of Cinderella , little mermaid and hansel and gretel( mostly Cinderella ) and "Beastly" ( a retelling of beauty and the beast) we own all 3 audio books and listen to them all at lest one a year .
Jack is 17 and Talia is 15 going on 16 . Jack is your typical high school athlete/partier/(a bit of stoner because he thought to himself when offered mushrooms by the king "some psyllicide mushrooms would be pretty good about now" but in general he's a nice kind pragmatic chap . Talia is your typical lovably spoiled 16th century princess but is also frustratedly suffering from a curse placed on her at birth by an evil witch to punish her parents for not inviting the witch to her christening .
In the book Both Talia and jack narrate a section of the opening of the book that brilliantly develops their character defines these situations and makes us feel for them
This audio book is so skillfully and wittily enacted that both my husband and I get crack up or get choked up and have tears in our eyes.
In Chapter one Tialia narrates about her life from child hood and how it sucks being a cursed princess in the country of Eurphasia and you definitely get an empathy for her . In chapter 2 jack narrates how it sucks that Amber ,his girl friend, dumped him and broke his heart just before his parents pressured him into joining a group tour of Europe threatening to make him work in a law office if he did not .
The group tour ends up being a total bummer(totally sucking in his words )The premise is that 17 yr old Jack and his buddy Travis are unwillingly touring europe when they want to be back on the beaches of florida partying with their friends and are bored shitless with the tour . Unable to take another day of it so they decide to ditch the tour guide get a six pack and sneak off to the beaches of France by they are given misdirections by a french clerk named Jaques who does not like americans and end up in a wilderness while trying top find the beach eventually they stumble upon a very tall thick thorny hedge and think that the beach must ebon the other side of it. To their amazement a village where everything seems very old fashioned and everyone is asleep awaits them on the other side( the kingdom of fantasia . This may sound corny but Alexandria flynn ( yes -she's female) makes Jack's and Travis' "stoner" reaction to what so happening so contemporary that it lends a heavy air of reality to it as if two 17 year old boys a bit stoned really had stumbled onto such a village while on a tour of europe (Belgium to be exact) Alex , as I said write so realistically that this is just the way .
Jack Finds Talia sleeping and falls in love with her rand kisses her . Only true loves first kiss can awaken her so we know that his love for her is true and she also falls deeply in love with him so much so that when he goes to live the normal life of a teenager in his parents home she begs him to take her with him ( against his own parents wishes ) the question then is "how will 16 yr old Jack's parents react to jack bringing home a 15 yer old girl from europe ? How will 16th century Talia integrate into the modern high school world of cell phones etc ? How will Jack's old girlfriend ( Ashley) react to Talia ? How will Jack sister react to Talia ? How will it end ? and the witch is now angry that her curse was broken and complains that Jacks love was not true after all and seeks to test his love . So this book is deeper than it seems and the message is that true love overcomes all obstacles.
Like twilight some readers give this book only 1-2 stars . Like I said dari and I have never read it but only listen to the audio book again and again but having said that I think that we just have very simple,pure loving hearts and are therefore able to feel great empathy with both Jack and Tialia and root for them with all our hearts every time .
We sincerely believe that some people just don't have the emotional aptitude to feel what we feel when we listen to this audio book . I'm afraid audible.com is the only place you can get the audio book . Alex flynn also wrote "Bewitched "( a retelling of Cinderella , little mermaid and hansel and gretel( mostly Cinderella ) and "Beastly" ( a retelling of beauty and the beast) we own all 3 audio books and listen to them all at lest one a year .
November 23, 2012
This story was such an easy read that captivated me from the start. I had started off reading this story just before dinner, and thought I would just read a couple of chapters while I waited for dinner to be ready, but instead found myself reading and not wanting to stop! Suffice it to say, I finished reading this book in less than 24 hours.
I have to say though, I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second half.
It started out perfectly with Alex Flinn giving us a brief historical background on how Princess Talia came to be the "Sleeping Beauty" and the circumstances that led up to it. Followed by a brief background on how Jack from the 21st century, came to be prince charming, who found this sleeping princess and kissed her awake - when he was anything but! Followed by their journey together, when Talia decides she has to leave after upsetting her Father, who feels betrayed by his spoiled daughter who could not stay away from the spindle even though it was the only thing they ever asked of her. Talia runs away with Jack, to get away from her Father's anger, but also because she believes that he is her true love, and destiny brought them together - albeit 300 years late. Jack, feeling responsible for her, allows her to tag along not knowing what else to do. He takes her back to Miami, his hometown, to stay with him and his family - which shocks his parents to no end, and from there, their adventure begins.
I loved the spin-off to the ancient fairytale "Sleeping Beauty", and I found a lot of it hilarious. Imagine two centuries colliding and clashing, and you will know what I'm talking about. A 17 year old guy from the 21st century and a 16 year old princess from the 17th century - let's just say, the dialogue was hilarious. I particularly loved the part where Jack made the King listen to "Yesterday" for the Beatles on his iPod, and the King then quoting the song back to his daughter.
The only thing I did not like, and why I said I enjoyed the first half more than the second half is because somewhere throughout that whole pool party confusion with Amber and Talia and Robert and lots of alcohol, Jack seems to suddenly realise he is over Amber and is falling in love with Talia. And it was very unclear to me. And very abrupt. And sudden. And almost made no sense. One minute he's complaining about her, the next minute he seems to be in love with her - I don't know, could be just me, but I thought the moment he realises his true feelings for her would be a little more profound. Not to mention that one minute Amber is a huge part of his life, the next moment she is gone and he is completely over her that we never see her again. It seems a little immature honestly, and the fact that he IS 17 years old, but is supposed to be this 316 year old princess's destiny makes me want him to live up to these expectations.
The ending was also a little disappointing. I think Flinn is a great writer, who has a solid understanding of both worlds and manages to share those with us brilliantly. But also one who can relate to both ordinary guy and extraordinary girl and make them connect with the reader. Not to mention that she has an incredible sense of humour that left me laughing out loud throughout the book.
What I feel was lacking however, is the emotional intensity. With Jack climbing that hill, and trying to save the princess and having them reunite and so on, I expected the emotional intensity to be out of this world. It wasn't though. So that for me was a little disappointing, and hence, 4 stars.
All in all, this is a story worth reading. You don't find a retelling of a common, popular fairytale in this form everyday. It is magical, yet real. And that, I think, is the secret to its success.
I have to say though, I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second half.
It started out perfectly with Alex Flinn giving us a brief historical background on how Princess Talia came to be the "Sleeping Beauty" and the circumstances that led up to it. Followed by a brief background on how Jack from the 21st century, came to be prince charming, who found this sleeping princess and kissed her awake - when he was anything but! Followed by their journey together, when Talia decides she has to leave after upsetting her Father, who feels betrayed by his spoiled daughter who could not stay away from the spindle even though it was the only thing they ever asked of her. Talia runs away with Jack, to get away from her Father's anger, but also because she believes that he is her true love, and destiny brought them together - albeit 300 years late. Jack, feeling responsible for her, allows her to tag along not knowing what else to do. He takes her back to Miami, his hometown, to stay with him and his family - which shocks his parents to no end, and from there, their adventure begins.
I loved the spin-off to the ancient fairytale "Sleeping Beauty", and I found a lot of it hilarious. Imagine two centuries colliding and clashing, and you will know what I'm talking about. A 17 year old guy from the 21st century and a 16 year old princess from the 17th century - let's just say, the dialogue was hilarious. I particularly loved the part where Jack made the King listen to "Yesterday" for the Beatles on his iPod, and the King then quoting the song back to his daughter.
The only thing I did not like, and why I said I enjoyed the first half more than the second half is because somewhere throughout that whole pool party confusion with Amber and Talia and Robert and lots of alcohol, Jack seems to suddenly realise he is over Amber and is falling in love with Talia. And it was very unclear to me. And very abrupt. And sudden. And almost made no sense. One minute he's complaining about her, the next minute he seems to be in love with her - I don't know, could be just me, but I thought the moment he realises his true feelings for her would be a little more profound. Not to mention that one minute Amber is a huge part of his life, the next moment she is gone and he is completely over her that we never see her again. It seems a little immature honestly, and the fact that he IS 17 years old, but is supposed to be this 316 year old princess's destiny makes me want him to live up to these expectations.
The ending was also a little disappointing. I think Flinn is a great writer, who has a solid understanding of both worlds and manages to share those with us brilliantly. But also one who can relate to both ordinary guy and extraordinary girl and make them connect with the reader. Not to mention that she has an incredible sense of humour that left me laughing out loud throughout the book.
What I feel was lacking however, is the emotional intensity. With Jack climbing that hill, and trying to save the princess and having them reunite and so on, I expected the emotional intensity to be out of this world. It wasn't though. So that for me was a little disappointing, and hence, 4 stars.
All in all, this is a story worth reading. You don't find a retelling of a common, popular fairytale in this form everyday. It is magical, yet real. And that, I think, is the secret to its success.
October 5, 2009
Like Flinn's other young adult novel I read (Beastly) this is a fairy tale re-done and modernized. In this case its 'Sleeping Beauty' and I definitely feel less of a Disney vibe from this (for some reason Beastly put me in mind of the Disney Beauty and the Beast, not the fairy tale itself). I do admit however that Sleeping Beauty was never a popular fairy tale for me growing up--it didn't seem like the Princess did anything at all, but she got herself a Prince. It seemed terribly unfair to me.
The book itself is broken up into 3 Parts--Part 1: Talia (before the curse), Part 2: Jack (before he broke the curse) and then Part 3 Talia and Jack (after the curse is broken), with Part 1 and 2 being told in first person from Talia or Jack's POV and the third part alternating back and forth between them.
At first Talia annoyed me--she really did seem like the obnoxious brat her companion, Lady Brooke, accused her of being. For instance for her 16th birthday she wanted the PERFECT gown to celebrate so her father orders in 25 different dressmakers to create 20 different dresses all in her particular size. She is very rude to most of them out loud and even worse mentally. I was kind of happy when she got cut down to size by the witch Malvoila.
Then I met Jack and any annoyances I had towards Talia went out the window. Jack is every worse teenage stereotype all rolled up into one (for much of the book at least). He's in Europe, on a vacation across the continent and all he does is complain about how its not all topless beaches and sleazy euro-trash celebrities in cafes. He's visiting all sorts of museums and while he's sort of interested, he's too busy trying to get to the topless beaches to really care.
The two of them together is humorous--its kind of a test of wills to see who can outdo the other in sheer brattiness. Talia at least has a decent reason--she's a Princess after all and let's face it traditionally raised royal children in fairy tales are not sweet, generous and used to trials. Jack seems to mostly want to embrace his inner angst muffin status and be left alone to sulk about his misfortunes and ruined summer.
In the end I wasn't as interested in this book as I was in Beastly and its style (I really did like the chat room sessions for all of the unfortunate transformed kids), plus with both leads vying to annoy me the most I didn't want them together. The world would implode came to mind a few times.
The book itself is broken up into 3 Parts--Part 1: Talia (before the curse), Part 2: Jack (before he broke the curse) and then Part 3 Talia and Jack (after the curse is broken), with Part 1 and 2 being told in first person from Talia or Jack's POV and the third part alternating back and forth between them.
At first Talia annoyed me--she really did seem like the obnoxious brat her companion, Lady Brooke, accused her of being. For instance for her 16th birthday she wanted the PERFECT gown to celebrate so her father orders in 25 different dressmakers to create 20 different dresses all in her particular size. She is very rude to most of them out loud and even worse mentally. I was kind of happy when she got cut down to size by the witch Malvoila.
Then I met Jack and any annoyances I had towards Talia went out the window. Jack is every worse teenage stereotype all rolled up into one (for much of the book at least). He's in Europe, on a vacation across the continent and all he does is complain about how its not all topless beaches and sleazy euro-trash celebrities in cafes. He's visiting all sorts of museums and while he's sort of interested, he's too busy trying to get to the topless beaches to really care.
The two of them together is humorous--its kind of a test of wills to see who can outdo the other in sheer brattiness. Talia at least has a decent reason--she's a Princess after all and let's face it traditionally raised royal children in fairy tales are not sweet, generous and used to trials. Jack seems to mostly want to embrace his inner angst muffin status and be left alone to sulk about his misfortunes and ruined summer.
In the end I wasn't as interested in this book as I was in Beastly and its style (I really did like the chat room sessions for all of the unfortunate transformed kids), plus with both leads vying to annoy me the most I didn't want them together. The world would implode came to mind a few times.
July 26, 2017
As I started reading this, I realised that this was a book for teenagers, and I was not too fond of it. Sigh, I have grown old and acquired a different taste in books.
The characters are goofy, awkward and weirdly described - wait, were they even described? I didn't really like any of them. I wouldn't say the characters are flat, but they aren't exactly nuanced and complex as such.
Obviously, it's a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty"; a modernised version where an 18th century girl (yes, it's 18th century because she lived in the 1700s - the writer got that wrong in the book) meets a 21st century boy. I suppose it's hypocritical of me to say: I don't like the random parantheses in the book, they make the dialogue or storytelling too informal, in my opinion.
I found that the book lacked cohesion at certain points; In Euphrasia, Jack wears a wristwatch and clearly states that his phone is running low on battery, so it would be best not to use the phone too much. Later, and still in Euphrasia, he checks his phone to see what time it is. I facepalmed. I am still facepalming to this day.
The overall writing style is horrible. There's too much dialogue; it might as well be a screenplay rather than a novel. Occasionally, the author also jumps from one scene to the next without further ado. As I have grown used to reading books where the writer has paid great attention to detail, it pains me to read such sloppy work in which the writer thinks she can merely say, 'And then we were in Miami.' Sloppy!
But of course, there must be something redeeming about this book, why else would I give it two stars?
I think the overall idea was great and had much potential; modern guy meets medieval princess - yes, very appealing. Also, it opens up for a lot of hilarious moments where centuries clash. Of course, the writer managed to sneak in some differences between Talia and Jack and their way of life, but they were most certainly not hilarious.
Lastly, I think I must admit that reading fairy tales - for this was indeed a fairy tale - is out of the question for me. They are unappealing and, quite frankly, boring.
The characters are goofy, awkward and weirdly described - wait, were they even described? I didn't really like any of them. I wouldn't say the characters are flat, but they aren't exactly nuanced and complex as such.
Obviously, it's a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty"; a modernised version where an 18th century girl (yes, it's 18th century because she lived in the 1700s - the writer got that wrong in the book) meets a 21st century boy. I suppose it's hypocritical of me to say: I don't like the random parantheses in the book, they make the dialogue or storytelling too informal, in my opinion.
I found that the book lacked cohesion at certain points; In Euphrasia, Jack wears a wristwatch and clearly states that his phone is running low on battery, so it would be best not to use the phone too much. Later, and still in Euphrasia, he checks his phone to see what time it is. I facepalmed. I am still facepalming to this day.
The overall writing style is horrible. There's too much dialogue; it might as well be a screenplay rather than a novel. Occasionally, the author also jumps from one scene to the next without further ado. As I have grown used to reading books where the writer has paid great attention to detail, it pains me to read such sloppy work in which the writer thinks she can merely say, 'And then we were in Miami.' Sloppy!
But of course, there must be something redeeming about this book, why else would I give it two stars?
I think the overall idea was great and had much potential; modern guy meets medieval princess - yes, very appealing. Also, it opens up for a lot of hilarious moments where centuries clash. Of course, the writer managed to sneak in some differences between Talia and Jack and their way of life, but they were most certainly not hilarious.
Lastly, I think I must admit that reading fairy tales - for this was indeed a fairy tale - is out of the question for me. They are unappealing and, quite frankly, boring.
July 8, 2012
I probably would never have read this book, if not for a librarian who forced it upon me. (I'll explain.) Honestly, it was because of the title. And the cover wasn't helping much either. But one day, I was at the library, and this librarian (who's really nice, she didn't actually FORCE me to read it) found out that I really liked other books by Alex Flinn, Beastly and Bewitching. Anyway, she recommended this book, which I had seen before, and never particularly wanted to read. So I smiled and nodded and said, "Sure, that sounds good, I'll have to read it sometime." I expected to be able to walk away and never think of this book again. But the librarian actually went out of her way to get the book for me, then find me in the library and hand it to me. So I couldn't exactly say, "You know what? I don't really want it anymore." She had this HUGE smile on her face, so I took it and said, "Thanks!" And then I checked it out.
So a week month or two later, I got around to reading it. And it was actually pretty good. It wasn't overly romantic or fairy tale-ish or anything. It was like a teenage version of the movie Enchanted. Looking back, I feel like I should have known it would be a good-not-sappy interpretation of Sleeping Beauty, since Beastly was the same way (except with Beauty and the Beast). Also, both books are set in the ACTUAL world, with a bit of magical embellishment. I would (GASP) actually recommend this book.
So a
March 27, 2011
Princess Talia of Eurphrasia had a curse placed on her as a child. When she was 16 she would prick her finger on a spindle and die, but a good fairy was able to counter this curse and no, Princess Talia would not die she would merely sleep as would the entire country of Eurphrasia until such a time when Princess Talia would be awaken by true loves first kiss. Fast forward 300 years. Eurphrasia is forgotten. No one knows that this country once existed. Meet Jack. He's in Europe for the summer going to museums and such. He decides one day to escape from the group and go find a beach instead of spending time in "boring" museums. While Jack is trying to locate a beach he was given directions to he happens upon Eurphrasia. And there he finds Princess Talia and kisses her and awakens a country that has been sleeping for 300 years. How is Princess Talia going to fare in the 21st century? Is Jack really her true love? Is the curse really broken? These questions and more will be answered in this new enchanting modern retelling of the classic story of Sleeping Beauty.
I really enjoyed this book! It was told in alternating voices (Jack & Talia's) so you really got to know the characters very well. It was a magical, romantic, suspenseful, funny book filled with drama that made you want to know more. I would consider it a fast read, and very light reading. Once I started reading this book I couldn't stop and finished it within two days. I would definitely recommend this book. You won't be disappointed :)
I really enjoyed this book! It was told in alternating voices (Jack & Talia's) so you really got to know the characters very well. It was a magical, romantic, suspenseful, funny book filled with drama that made you want to know more. I would consider it a fast read, and very light reading. Once I started reading this book I couldn't stop and finished it within two days. I would definitely recommend this book. You won't be disappointed :)
August 8, 2009
This was a fun retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. I’m not sure if it has been done before, but the idea of a modern day teenager waking up a princess who has been asleep for three hundred years was genius. Talia lives a very sheltered life due to the curse that was placed on her as a baby. In order to prevent the curse from being fulfilled her parent’s ban the use of spindles in their kingdom and Talia is never left alone. She starts out kind of bratty, which is kind of understandable knowing where she came from, but as the book progresses so does Talia. She really turns into a lovely girl on the inside to match her beauty on the outside. Our young hero, Jack is your typical teenage boy. He is shipped off to Europe for the summer. Instead of being amazed by the beauty and history all around him, he is bored. Destiny intervenes and he soon stumbles upon an enchanted castle where he happens upon the sleeping princess. And that is where the fun begins. After Talia awakens she soon realizes she is no longer in 1709 and has a lot of catching up to do.
Watching Talia experience the 21st Century for the first time is fun, as well as her relationship with Jack. I also loved the take on our evil witch Malvolia, her motives were clearer and it was a fun twist on the original story. I liked that the book still had that fairy tale feel to it. It was a great re-imaging and would make a very fun movie. If you like Flinn’s Beastly then you will enjoy this as well.
Watching Talia experience the 21st Century for the first time is fun, as well as her relationship with Jack. I also loved the take on our evil witch Malvolia, her motives were clearer and it was a fun twist on the original story. I liked that the book still had that fairy tale feel to it. It was a great re-imaging and would make a very fun movie. If you like Flinn’s Beastly then you will enjoy this as well.
December 30, 2009
To start off, let me just say that this is possibly one of the cheesiest books I've read so far. Right on up there with Beastly.
Now that I've said that, let me also just say that this is also a totally awesome book. Right on up there with Beastly.
Other than the cheese factor, I really enjoyed this book. It was a really fun read. It switches off between characters, Jack and Talia. They were both pretty enjoyable characters. Talia was a little stuck up in the beggining, but this is how it's supposed to be. As the story goes along though, I really started liking her more and more. Jack was pretty likable, too.
The story moved pretty fast for the most part. It's the type of book you read in one sitting. I really couldn't put it down; it was addicting. The writing was very good, especially from going from Talia, who spoke very old fashioned and now found herself in the 21-centry, to Jack, who is the typical American teenager. As Talia spent more time in the new world, she started speaking more like, but she always kept that old-fashioned tome to her.
All in all, A Kiss in Time is very well-written and a good read. In my opinion, it's the perfect modern fairy tell. Also, like I said before, it was super-cheesey, but this factor made the book what it was.
Now that I've said that, let me also just say that this is also a totally awesome book. Right on up there with Beastly.
Other than the cheese factor, I really enjoyed this book. It was a really fun read. It switches off between characters, Jack and Talia. They were both pretty enjoyable characters. Talia was a little stuck up in the beggining, but this is how it's supposed to be. As the story goes along though, I really started liking her more and more. Jack was pretty likable, too.
The story moved pretty fast for the most part. It's the type of book you read in one sitting. I really couldn't put it down; it was addicting. The writing was very good, especially from going from Talia, who spoke very old fashioned and now found herself in the 21-centry, to Jack, who is the typical American teenager. As Talia spent more time in the new world, she started speaking more like, but she always kept that old-fashioned tome to her.
All in all, A Kiss in Time is very well-written and a good read. In my opinion, it's the perfect modern fairy tell. Also, like I said before, it was super-cheesey, but this factor made the book what it was.
January 6, 2015
4.5 stars
A Kiss In Time was a wonderful story! I've read a few fairy tale retellings this year and enjoyed them all, so I definitely plan on reading more in this genre. I loved that while A Kiss In Time (obviously) had similarities to Sleeping Beauty, it was also very different!
There were many times I laughed out loud while listening to this book. Maybe it was the way the narrators (who were great, by the way) read the story, but I loved how hilarious A Kiss In Time was at times. For instance, some of the things Talia said about the modern world were just too funny. :)
I loved the last couple chapters. I was quite surprised by what Jack had to do to get to Talia and I loved those scenes. There were a couple things in A Kiss In Time that I didn't like - mainly the way God's name was used, but since this is a mainstream novel, I wasn't surprised by that.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed A Kiss In Time! It was great that I had an audiobook copy to listen to, since it was more convenient than having to sit down and read - plus, I loved the way the narrators read it! I recommend A Kiss In Time to fans of YA and fairy tale novels.
*I did not get this book for review. I borrowed an audiobook copy from the library. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*
A Kiss In Time was a wonderful story! I've read a few fairy tale retellings this year and enjoyed them all, so I definitely plan on reading more in this genre. I loved that while A Kiss In Time (obviously) had similarities to Sleeping Beauty, it was also very different!
There were many times I laughed out loud while listening to this book. Maybe it was the way the narrators (who were great, by the way) read the story, but I loved how hilarious A Kiss In Time was at times. For instance, some of the things Talia said about the modern world were just too funny. :)
I loved the last couple chapters. I was quite surprised by what Jack had to do to get to Talia and I loved those scenes. There were a couple things in A Kiss In Time that I didn't like - mainly the way God's name was used, but since this is a mainstream novel, I wasn't surprised by that.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed A Kiss In Time! It was great that I had an audiobook copy to listen to, since it was more convenient than having to sit down and read - plus, I loved the way the narrators read it! I recommend A Kiss In Time to fans of YA and fairy tale novels.
*I did not get this book for review. I borrowed an audiobook copy from the library. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*
September 14, 2020
2020
Very cute adaption to the Sleeping Beauty story. As a child, the only reason I didn't like Sleeping Beauty as much as I could have was because I always felt like the princess was less involved in the story than she should have been. She was almost a background character to the main story (which is sad because she shouldn't be a background character in her own princess story). However, Flinn corrected that by making Talia a very important character in the story.
Talia starts off by being, well, a brat (she was called that in the story and it was very much accurate). But she does have a very big character growth during the story. She learns to be more diplomatic and kind to people. Even though she maintains quite the air of innocent and naivety.
I really liked the growth that Jack had with his family as well. He learned to actually communicate with them rather than just be in the same room without knowing how to interact. Plus, he had some very close moments with his father, who had always seemed a little distant to Jack.
The ending was very cute, too!
Very cute adaption to the Sleeping Beauty story. As a child, the only reason I didn't like Sleeping Beauty as much as I could have was because I always felt like the princess was less involved in the story than she should have been. She was almost a background character to the main story (which is sad because she shouldn't be a background character in her own princess story). However, Flinn corrected that by making Talia a very important character in the story.
Talia starts off by being, well, a brat (she was called that in the story and it was very much accurate). But she does have a very big character growth during the story. She learns to be more diplomatic and kind to people. Even though she maintains quite the air of innocent and naivety.
I really liked the growth that Jack had with his family as well. He learned to actually communicate with them rather than just be in the same room without knowing how to interact. Plus, he had some very close moments with his father, who had always seemed a little distant to Jack.
The ending was very cute, too!
February 21, 2017
Having read "Beastly" by Alex Flinn, I had an idea that I would be in for a light weight retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I had to keep on reminding myself that I was not the intended YA audience, that I was reading it for a class and needed to have an open mind, but the audio edition didn't make it any easier for me in that the two voice actors had incredibly annoying voices.
Talia is the princess in question who is alive in the 1700's in a small European kingdom. Blah, blah, blah, she pricks her finger and she and the castle inhabitants fall asleep. Fast forward to modern day and petulant Jack is on a European tour and stumbles across her. His kiss awakens her, but can this bratty princess and teenage slacker find true love together? There were a few funny bits of Talia and her court adjusting to modern day, and the stark difference between manners and civility then and now, but overall this book wasn't the best retelling of the SB tale.
Talia is the princess in question who is alive in the 1700's in a small European kingdom. Blah, blah, blah, she pricks her finger and she and the castle inhabitants fall asleep. Fast forward to modern day and petulant Jack is on a European tour and stumbles across her. His kiss awakens her, but can this bratty princess and teenage slacker find true love together? There were a few funny bits of Talia and her court adjusting to modern day, and the stark difference between manners and civility then and now, but overall this book wasn't the best retelling of the SB tale.
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