Another fabulous faerie tale from Holly Black, and a wonderful expansion onto the existing Maleficent lore!

I have always loved Holly Black, and her books are actually what got me started on reading fantasy and fae books. This one definitely didn't disappoint and really took me back to my childhood when I would binge all the fae and fantasy I could find. I also love that it is connected to Aurora and Sleeping Beauty since that was my favorite princess movie as a child.

After giving Heart of the Moors a chance, I have decided that this book isn’t for me at this time. I am sure Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty fans will love this original tale!

This is the story of Aurora's (aka Sleeping Beauty's) life after living in the woods with her three fairy godmothers. In this story, we learn that Maleficent is not really bad, but it is Aurora's father that was actually the bad king whose heart had turned black after not marrying Maleficent who he really loved. The king caused a great division between the mortals of his kingdom and the immortal fairy folk of the Moors. Aurora, not certain that Prince Phillip's kiss was that of true love, is searching for true love while trying to bridge a peaceful existence between her two worlds, both of which she now rules. Combatting her father's advisor and another suitor, both with ulterior motives, Aurora battles the real forces of evil in her kingdom to save Maleficent and find true love.

Appropriate for upper elementary and middle school age kids, this book will appeal to the kids who like Disney's Descendants sagas. I like that Aurora is portrayed as a strong female protagonist who is also compassionate and devoted to building a peaceful relationship between two worlds. Maleficent has always been my favorite Disney villain, so I like this version where she is a little cantankerous, but mostly misunderstood and her main goal is to protect Aurora at all costs.

I wouldn't call this a standout, groundbreaking book for this age group, but will play well to the preteens and tweens who still love Disney and are curious about what happens After the story.

Another good novel by Black! I enjoyed seeing the story she presented in the Maleficent world! While this wasn't my favorite of Black's novels, it was still enjoyable. I would love to have seen a bit more depth to the story.

This was a quick read, and not for me. As this was a middle grade book and not what I was expecting as an older women. This is a great story for ages 8 and up. I feel after reading The Folk of Air trilogy, in which I loved, nothing seems to compare.

i really enjoyed it, and it was such a great new adventure from holly black. it was whimsical, and hopefully, and really left me wanting even more from this world.

Heart of the Moors by Holly Black is an amazing adventure and addictive read. I know my students will love this one. It's a great retelling!

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Holly Black is one of my all time favorite authors! I plan to read every single book she has ever published, so when I was approved for an advanced reader copy of the Heart of Moors, I was ecstatic!

Heart of Moors is a middle grade book that appeals to the young adult audience as well. While the book can be read without watching either of the Maleficent films, as another reviewer pointed out, it is particularly enjoyable to watch the first movie, read this book, and then watch the second film. Thank you, Cynthia R.!

Holly Black does a wonderful job world building and diving into Aurora and Maleficent's complicated relationship. The plot moves swiftly and readers are sure to be entertained as Aurora tries to bring together the fae and human kingdoms.

Like all of Holly Black's books, I would highly recommend Heart of Moors!

This was an all around win for me - I love Holly Black and I love retellings. Black did an excellent job at taking a unique look at the story of Maleficent. A really engaging read.

I love Holly Black and this was a great middle grade and followup to the movie. I loved getting Maleficent's perspective. The world-building was fantastic!

I usually read YA, and I did not realize this book was MG until I started it. That being said, I thought it was a very fun read. Fast, cute, sweet. I am a huge fan of both Maleficent and Holly Black, and I was very excited to read this, and very happy to be able to read an early copy.

In this story Aurora is trying to unite the land of the humans and the land of the fae, but she's facing a lot of push back and animosity on both sides. The pacing was great, and there were interesting different plot points. I also greatly enjoyed the different POVs. The characters were great, and I loved the Aurora-Maleficent relationship.

The descriptions of the Moors were also amazing, and I could really visualize the entire setting.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend.

This novel fills in the gaps between the first and the second Maleficent movies. Watch the first movie, read this book, then watch the next movie, perfection!

I enjoyed this book. I haven't read or seen any previous books or movies about Maleficient, and so I came to this book without preconceptions. While I felt as though I might understand the backstory if I had read or seen anything else related to this story, the story stands well on it's own and is very engaging. Recommended!

I thought this book was super fun. I love everything Holly Black writes, so I knew it was going to be awesome. I had already seen the Maleficent film, so I was up to date on the storyline. I could see if you hadn’t seen the film you *may* be a little lost. But as long as you know the basic story of Sleeping Beauty, it shouldn’t take you too much time to catch up. This was a nice tie in to the film, and I liked the “love triangle” aspect of Prince Phillip and Count Alain and Aurora. While trying to choose between them, she is also struggling to keep peace between the kingdoms. Fans of Holly Black, Disney, or fairy tales will love this story!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

A continuation story of Maleficent and Aurora. Aurora is now Queen of Perceforest and the Moors. She wants to establish a peace treaty between her two kingdoms, but first she must deal with two suitors, Prince Phillip and Count Alain and the animousity between her two kingdoms.
#ARC #Netgalley #HeartoftheMoors

Jumping into this book not realizing you needed to have some background with the Disney movie about Malificent made me a bit confused as to the relationships developed in this re-envisioned telling of Sleeping Beauty. Once I pushed through my confusion (because of course I was since it was Holly Black writing and I knew it would be good), I loved the story and the unique take on the perspective of the human and fey worlds. Black shapes Aurora as a budding young ruler trying her best to unite her people. A definite winner.

This was an okay book. Nothing truly wowing or rememberable. It was a quick easy read like your average fairytales.

This is a story of what happened after Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty) awoke from her cursed sleep. I actually never saw the movie about Malificent and so I felt a little lost at the beginning, but this is a terrific story. Aurora is trying to unite the human and faery kingdoms and is working hard on making in-roads in the both communities. There are a number of princes trying to win her heart (and hand) and gain favor and power. Aurora only has eyes for one and her godmother, Malificent, is trying to keep them apart. This is a wonderful, magical story of revenge, power struggles, and love. I think middle and high schoolers will love this one.

This was an excellent read, much better than I had hoped for. Holly Black takes the new Maleficent film and lore and pens a very well-written, heartfelt story. Aurora is still a young girl who is a little apprehensive about ruling, but is very strong and a wonderful character to see. She leads her people (both of her peoples) by example, trying to show the goodness in fairies and humans.