This was an absolutely, fantastic story that manages to address multiple serious issues without weighing you down or making you feel sad. Inspiring and beautiful. It’s only 3 hours, so it’s a little difficult to say much without revealing anything. The narrator did a magnificent job of bringing the characters to life and making them easily identifiable. The unique take provided on the fairytale was original and one I was very surprised by.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alix E. Harrow for the opportunity to listen to an early release of this audiobook in consideration of a review. I listened to it 12/28/21. I checked it out from the public library for a reread and it was just as wonderful as I remembered. 5/4/24.

Not every fairy tale is as magical as it seems in the telling. That's a lesson Zinnia Gray discovers. Zinnia was involved in an environmental disaster that means she is living under the promise of an early death. In fact, no one with her condition has lived past twenty-one. Once Zinnia was old enough to understand her fate, she fell in love with the story of Sleeping Beauty. If only she could sleep for a hundred years while someone found the answer to her medical issues.

Her best friend Charm throws Zinnia a party on her birthday in a tower decorated with rose petals and a spinning wheel just like in the fairy tales. But when Zinnia pricks her finger on the spindle for a joke, she finds herself transported to another land where Princess Primrose is about to undergo a hundred year sleep although she wants no part of a Prince Charming coming to wake her with a kiss. Even worse, in older and darker versions of the tale, the prince does more than kiss the woman who has no ability to consent and that is Princess Primrose's greatest fear.

Together, Zinnia and Primrose are determined to do whatever it takes to disrupt the fairy tales and the medical prognoses and find a way to live the life they want, not the one that is granted to them regardless of their personal desires. Readers will be fascinated with this feminist retelling of how society hems in young women and forces them into shapes and lives they never asked for. This book is recommended for fantasy readers.

After seeing many positive reviews, I fully expected to enjoy this novella length fairytale retelling. Unfortunately, I felt disconnected the entire time.

While the narration was excellent, sadly this book didn't work out for me. The plot had a couple of glaring holes in it, the magic didn't make a ton of sense or seem plausible (how in the heck did her phone work in a fantasy land?). I think it won't age well either with all the pop culture references and meme winks. Love the author but this one wasn't for me.

A great retelling of sleeping beauty, in which the curse is both real and fable. Our main character has been "cursed" with terminal cancer but she is whisked away to a magical land where fairies are real and curses are enchantments. This is a fast, fun and a little dark way to tell the story and I highly enjoyed it. Disability and queer representation present!

This was a fun twist on the fairytale but it didn't suck me in at all. Loved the ending, that's finally where I started to get intrigued.

A fun fairytale adventure novella with a good plot and intriguing characters. Those who enjoy folk tales will appreciate little details the author includes in order to put a fresh spin on the original story. I'm glad that this is a series and look forward to reading future twists on traditional fairy tales.

I am downright obsessed with the Fractured Fables duology (and I am more than a little sad that the series is finished because I absolutely LOVE the worldbuilding and character work in them)! These books have an incredible sense of humor and such a strong narrative voice. After finding a way out of her tragic ending in A Spindle Splintered, I didn’t know where Zinnia would be going in A Mirror Mended, and I absolutely couldn't wait to find out. While A Spindle Splintered provided an exciting open ending for Zinnia, I needed another book ASAP! The ending was exciting and unexpected, and I am so ready to see where the characters go next. After reading these books, I will never read the line “They lived happily ever after” the same again!

I adored the choice of Amy Landon as a narrator for A Spindle Splintered. Her narration was a perfect fit for Zinnia, just so sassy and right! I also really enjoyed the length of this novella in an audiobook format, not too long or too short. It made this a perfect book to listen to on a shorter trip!

My Recommendation-
If you love twisted fairytale retellings, powerful queer characters, or the concept of a multiverse of storytelling, you need to grab copies of the Fractured Fabels series right away! I would especially recommend this book to readers who enjoy examinations of storytelling as a legacy.

Sadly, this title just didn't do it for me. I wanted to love the story since Sleeping Beauty is my favorite of the fairy tales, but A Spindle Splintered fell flat for me and in the end I could not finish it. I want to try the book format because I do think the narrator is where my big issue was-something about them didn't work for me unfortunately.

This was a very quick and easy read. I listened to the whole thing while creating my bullet journal spread. While it was entertaining to be read in one sitting and the writing was good. I can honestly say the story hasn’t stuck with me. I’m glad to have read it and will look forward to the sequel!

I am a sucker for retellings and this was such a quick listen. The audiobook was so well done and grabbed my attention early on. I loved the interesting take on this novella. I wish I would’ve also had a physical copy, but I still enjoyed this audiobook!

I loved this book! Although it's set during the Alaska - Yukon - Pacific Exposition (1909) the rivalry between the illusionists gave me circus / carnival vibes. The author takes hefty historical liberties to bring this fantasy to life, but I didn't even mind.

If you want a fast-paced read that contains fantasy, heists, con artists, and a gay love story: Look not further!

Alix E. Harrow's full length novels are some of my favorite reads of the past few years, especially her debut, The Ten Thousand Doors of January. This new novella was a diverting listening for an afternoon of housecleaning. I enjoyed the fractured fairytale vibe and will likely pick up the next one, but it didn't stick with me like Harrow's novels. I'd recommend anyone who enjoys a fairytale remix pick this one up though, there are definitely worse ways to spend a few hours!

A Spindle Splintered was a fun and unique retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale. After an industrial accident when she was young, Zinnia was left with a rare condition. The one thing that is known about her disease is no one has lived past the age of 21.

Growing up, she has had an almost obsession with the Sleeping Beauty tale. For her 21st birthday, her best friend surprises her with a birthday bash and tops it off with a spinning wheel. When Zinnia pricks her finger, though, rather than falling asleep, she is transported to another dimension and meets another cursed girl.

I really liked how the author didn’t just use the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty - there are so many more interpretations of this story.

This was a short read and I am definitely looking forward to more if Alix E. Harrow writes more fractured fairytales.

I listened to this as an audiobook thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

Wow. What a fantastic retelling of sleeping beauty. This is a short novel it leaves itself open for multiple sequels that I can’t wait to read. The modern sleeping beauty is actually a sick young woman with a fatal disease. It’s her 21st birthday and people with her disease don’t see 22. Celebrating her birthday in the top of the tall tower she pricks her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel as a joke, but that is where the joke ends. Zinna Gray is transported to another room where she has the ability to save another sleeping beauty and to learn more about the past and history of the current, future, and other world sleeping beauties. This book is part fairytale part fantasy, all adventure and all heart. It is faithful but also completely unfaithful to the Disney stories you know and to the historical stories you don’t. This book is fantastic and I can’t wait to read what comes out next.

4.5 Stars (I received an arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

I did get an audiobook arc for this book but I actually ended up reading it in physical form from my library as I was told there was illustrations. I could also see myself re-reading this with the audiobook format. This novella was a great twist on the sleeping beauty mythology, with powerful themes including friendship, women in STEM, medical trauma and damsels no longer in distress. Everything is switched up to turn this story into a female empowerment tale with beautiful illustrations. I am highly anticipating the next novella in the series, which is focusing on Snow White but of course it looks there is yet another twist.

A enjoyable re-imagining of sleeping beauty with strong women. Quick, fun read. Audiobook narrator was good. This isn’t as creative as Ten-Thousand doors, but is still a good book.

This book is short and sweet! Perfect for those who love fantasy, but don't have enough time to read because of the world building. I loved how Alix took this fairytale and made it her own. Also, can I just say how beautiful the cover is!? Amazing. The narrator did an excellent job in this audiobook. I listened to it in one sitting. I can't wait to she what she does next with this series. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this read in exchange for a review!

A subversive story tale.

Zinnia Gray is a scholar. Her specialty is the stories related to Sleeping Beauty. As she explains, only sick girls love Sleeping Beaity, because she doesn't do anything. She just stays in bed, waiting to be rescued.

And that's the problem of Zinnia. She has a rare disease that will kill her after her 21 birthday. She will not have another one.

This story is a total shift in the agency of the main character, what means a great refreshing tale.

If you love fairytale retellings then we’ve got a great one for you that is wonderful in audiobook format!

Spindle Splintered is the story of sleeping beauty like you have never read it before. Zinnia is turning 21 and it is the last birthday that she will have. She has a rare medical condition in which nobody has ever lived past twenty-one. Zinnia has always thought that she is a modern sleeping beauty.

Charm, Zinnia’s best friend, wants to make the last birthday special but, when Zinnia pricks her finger on the spinning wheel, she finds herself in another dimension with another sleeping beauty.

This modern Sleeping Beauty gives the power back to the women whose lives are stolen. It is a quick read that I absolutely loved because the women are no longer helpless
Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my copy of this books