The Sleeping Beauty (Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms #5)

Heavy is the head—and the eyelids—of the princess who wears the crown… In Rosamund's realm, happiness hinges on a few simple beliefs: For every princess there's a prince. The king has ultimate power. Stepmothers should never be trusted. And bad things come to those who break with Tradition…. But when Rosa is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Determined to escape and save her kingdom from imminent invasion, she agrees to become the guinea pig in one of her stepmother's risky incantations—thus falling into a deep, deep sleep. When awakened by a touchy-feely stranger, Rosa must choose between Tradition and her future…between a host of eligible princes and a handsome, fair-haired outsider. And learn the difference between being a princess and ruling as a queen. The moral of the story? Sometimes a princess has to create her own happy endings…. Publishers Weekly Welcome to Eltaria, the land where fairy tales come true. A magical force known as the Tradition focuses on the beautiful Princess Rosamund shortly after her mother's death. After fleeing the Royal Huntsman, Rosamund meets the seven dwarfs, drinks a potion, and falls asleep. When Viking hero Siegfried finds her, he tries to kiss her awake--but Lily, Rosamund's fairy godmother, has other ideas and manipulates events to satisfy the Tradition while giving Rosamund a chance at a loving prince and happy ending. Lackey's fifth fairy tale retelling (after 2008's The Snow Queen) also includes passing nods to Hansel and Gretel, The Frog Prince, and Puss-in-Boots, along with cameo appearances by Brunnhilde and Wotan. Despite plenty of twists and laughs, the plot is surprisingly forgettable, and most of the fun comes from finding all the fairy tale in-jokes peppering the pages. (July) Heavy is the headand the eyelidsof the princess who wears the crown In Rosamund's realm, happiness hinges on a few simple For every princess there's a prince. The king has ultimate power. Stepmothers should never be trusted. And bad things come to those who break with Tradition. But when Rosa is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Determined to escape and save her kingdom from imminent invasion, she agrees to become the guinea pig in one of her stepmother's risky incantationsthus falling into a deep, deep sleep. When awakened by a touchy-feely stranger, Rosa must choose between Tradition and her futurebetween a host of eligible princes and a handsome, fair-haired outsider. And learn the difference between being a princess and ruling as a queen. The moral of the story? Sometimes a princess has to create her own happy endings. Heavy is the head—and the eyelids—of the princess who wears the crown... In Rosamund's realm, happiness hinges on a few simple beliefs. For every princess there's a prince. The King has ultimate power. Stepmothers should never be trusted. And bad things come to those who break with Tradition.... But when Rosa is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Determined to escape and save her kingdom from imminent invasion, she agrees to become the subject of one of her stepmother's risky incantations—thus falling into a deep, deep sleep. When awakened by a touchy-feely stranger, Rosa must choose between Tradition and her future...between a host of eligible princes and a handsome, fair-haired outsider. And learn the difference between being a princess and ruling as a Queen. Rosa believes that for every princess there's a prince, stepmothers should never be trusted, and bad things come to those who break with Tradition. When she is pursued by a murderous huntsman and then captured by dwarves, her beliefs go up in smoke. Sometimes a princess has to create her own happy ending ..