“She shall prick her finger on a spinning wheel, and fall to sleep…”There once was a girl who was born to be cursed. By no fault of her own, she was doomed to remind her kingdom of everything ugly. No matter how many good deeds she did or how kind she was, it was her destiny to die, and take her kingdom with her. Her mother and father wept when they saw her, and the witch who cursed her … cursed her celebrated gleefully as each year passed.
Except there was hope. Her sisters, older and wiser, and with no small amount of magic of their own, countered the witch’s curse. If Kumiko could be loved, truly loved, the curse would be broken, and everyone would see what the witch had hidden.
But all her life, Kumiko had been let down—by the parents who hid her away and by an ill-fated curse.
Until they arrived.
Four princes, full of smug confidence and pride, were determined to break the princess’s curse before her twenty-first birthday.
All they had to do was fall in love.
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Don’t miss this incredible retelling of Sleeping Beauty done only the way Ripley Proserpina can tell stories. I adored this Revere Harem novel. It blew me away.
I frequently cry over fairy tales and this one is no exception. I love the princes who travel to meet her, all four of them come with thoughts of the money involved in helping to break the curse. That quickly changes as they get to know her.
Kumiko’s curse appeared differently to everyone who sees her face. She really had decided to accept her fate as put forth by her curse. However Wataru, Reiji, Dai, and Goro, Princes on Iriogaki in Sara, have more than just curiosity about the princess and they aren’t going to give up easily.
This is made apparent when even after seeing her face they refuse to leave.
Now winning over the princess while not seeing her face is a challenge, but these guys are more than up to that challenge.
I loved the slow build, the incidents that complicate things even more, and the absolute love they manage to share.
Plenty of tears and laughter, Mr. Whiskers, Goro’s very large cat has quite the personality as well.
This is the 7th book in the Once Upon a Harem series. Each book is written by a different author and is a stand alone story. I have read 2 other books in this series, and when I saw one by Prosperina I had to check it out. Kumiko was cursed as a baby, and anyone who sees her is terrified. Considering all this, she is still a strong, kind, somewhat naive girl. I liked watching her rebel a little and live life. Her four princes were great, and I liked how honest they all were with each other. Overall, this is a great re-telling of Sleeping Beauty.
A somewhat modern spin and twist on the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty. The tale rides a thin line between modern with texting and airplanes yet still feels a bit old world with the nature of the curse and the magic. I found the story completely engaging from the very beginning.
Kumiko is so beautifully written that I felt her pain embarrassment and resignation while looking in the one way mirror at suitors reactions to her appearance as well as her curiosity when seeing her normal reflection. I felt her love for her meddling pushy sisters and her disappointment in her parents. I was thrilled along with her as one by one she begins to find things in common with the four princes her elder sister has brought to meet her. I felt her terror when the paparazzi chase them. I felt the urgency as her birthday approaches and the fate that awaits her if she doesn’t get true love’s kiss. The four princes share plenty of feelings of their own, duty, honor, curiosity, interest, metal, infatuation, vulnerability, creativity, protectiveness, frustration, bravery and love. I wish there hadn’t been a size restriction on this book so Proserpina could have really flexed her imagination and given us the same depth of character in the four Princes. I found myself falling for them right along with Kumiko as they get to know each other and their individual likes and quirks.
The tale inevitably takes a dark turn toward the end and the magic was described with such vivid detail it’s like seeing it grow and twist right in my minds eye. I was enchanted by this story. I got my happily ever after.