The Wide Awake Princess

THE WIDE-AWAKE PRINCESS

By: E.D. Baker

FIRST SENTENCE

“We can’t let it happen again,” Queen Karolina said, dabbing the tears that glistened in her deep blue eyes.

SUMMARY

from goodreads

In this new stand-alone fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty.  When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie, blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic, can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help.  She must find Gwen’s true love to kiss her awake.

But who is her true love? The irritating Digby?  The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The convincing Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn’t possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father’s guards, Liam, who happens to be outside when the sleeping spell stuck, Annie travels through a fairytale land polluted with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family… and perhaps even find a true love of her own.     

REVIEW

A new spin on a classic fairy tale, The Wide Awake Princess is a memorable and sweet story.  I loved that Gwen’s little sister, Annie, went to such great lengths to wake her up and set things right.  I also liked that the story was told in a fairy tale fashion – you know, “a long time ago in a castle far away” sort of way.

I really liked Annie as a character.  Since magic couldn’t touch her, she was more “real” than the other princesses.  Annie looked like her real self – an ordinary girl.  The other princesses, because they had been magically transformed, were especially beautiful – but it was not REAL beauty.  Annie had an awesome personality a good heart.

It was fun to read about the different princes that Annie came upon.  Some of them were conceited and some were nice.  I liked seeing how they were all unique.

The plot moved along nicely and I never felt overwhelmed by too much detail in any one scene.  You’ll have to read the book to see if the story has a “happily ever after” kind of ending. 

RATING

5        Plot

5        Characters

5        Attention Grabbing

5        Girlie Meter

4        Ending

24      TOTAL

5        STARS