The Sevenfold Spell, by Tia Nevitt

Have you even wondered how the happy endings of fairy tales really come to be?  Or who else is involved with the story that we never hear about?  This is the behind the scenes story of Sleeping Beauty, and the involvement of a spinster named Talia.  We learn how the princess became cursed, what the effects of the fairy spell were, how the spell came to fruition, and how Talia played into all of it.

This is not your mother's fairy tale, and Disney would probably not approve.  I, however, give it two gigantic thumbs up.  I love when old traditional stories are reworked and reimagined in a way that is truly fresh, bringing something new to the table.  When done well, it can make you forget the original version of the story.  This is exactly what Tia Nevitt has done with this book.

I loved that the story was primarily about Talia, not the lovely but doomed princess.  Sure the princess is kind of why there is a story to begin with, but this is not her story, it is Talia's, and I love that.  I am also a big fan of the fact that the story is not so sanitized.  It is most definitely risqué, but probably a more realistic view of what a woman in Talia's position would be dealing with.

I highly recommend this book to adult fans of fairy tales, particularly reimagined ones.  If you are a fan of the books by Gregory Macguire, or the movie Ever After, then you will love this book.

A review copy of this book was provided by NetGalley.