Written by Alex E. Harrow, A Spindle Splintered follows Zinnia, a terminally ill 21-year-old who finds herself swept into a multiverse alternate reality where curses are real and she finds herself helping a sleeping beauty, Primrose, in hopes of also helping herself.

I enjoyed this novel much more than Harrow’s other novel, 1000 doors of January.

Zinnia, and Char, are wonderful characters that just kept me going through this book – I wanted to know what would happen with Zinnia, and if her story would end or not.

If you are looking for a story with LGBTQ+ characters – the supporting characters in this story – and something with fantasy and strong female characters, give this book a chance. And the narrator is wonderful as well, her voice keeping the story floating along. (Also, she is fast enough that I don’t recommend speeding up her talking.)

This is one series that I DEFINITELY want to follow, as it looks like the sequel book coming out in 2022 is going to follow Zinnia, and I want to read what happens.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I listened to A Spindle Splintered on audiobook. I loved this fairytale adaptation and the way it was entwined throughout Harrow's story. The narrator was great and it was a delightful, light read.

Zinnia Gray has a rare condition that will take her life before she turns twenty-two. Her impending death has haunted her since childhood and with with her 21st birthday approaching, the clock is ticking.

Charm is her best friend and plans a special surprise to celebrate what is probably Zinnia’s last birthday. It’s a sleeping beauty theme with a spinning wheel and tower. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, she’s transported to a fairy tale world where she meets sleeping beauty and the two contrive to prevent the fairy tale fate.

Harrow uses wit and creativity to create this fracturing of the traditional tale. The best part is the relationship between Zinnia and Charm and their witty banter. This is a sleeping beauty story with multi-dimensions and multiple beauties. It is creative but lacks the emotional punch that would make readers invest completely in the characters. The audio version is fun and nicely narrated; it showcases the spunk and energy of the novel.

When I’d first started this book, I made the mistake of having certain expectations as you normally would with a fairytale which was clearly a mistake. I wish I could say that this book surpassed my expectations but unfortunately, it did not. While I won’t divulge the details of the story, I will say that if you’re looking for a short read with a strong main character and are on board with a very real modern queer feminist retelling, you may like this book. If it weren’t for such truths about fairytales, I probably would’ve liked it more. For the most part, I did but so much reality ruined any sort of fairytale for me. I tend to read to escape reality for a bit & this book didn’t help. While it’s not necessarily a bad book, it’s just not what I’d expected.

I LOVED this book. I found the retelling of sleeping beauty beautiful and had a wonderful feminist voice.l As well as shining a light on a rare medical condition that I had no knowledge of. The drawings in the physical book is fabulous. I loved the narration and the production of the audio book. It also has a queer narrative that added another lovely twist that really gave a new version to the classic sleeping beauty fairy tale.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* great read!! loved it from the start, the characters were awesome and i can't wait to see what the other books in this series are like!

A Spindle Splintered was a quick listen. Alix E. Harrow has a distinctive writing style that is very enjoyable to listen to. I would highly recommend this novel for anyone who is a "Sleeping Beauty" fan.

A Spindle Splintered is a modern queer feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Zinnia Gray has a rare congenital condition the result of an industrial accident. None of the survivors have lived to age 22. Zinnia is obsessed with the Sleeping Beauty story as it parallels her life, even majoring in folklore studies in college to study it more. Her best friend Charm wants to make Zinnia’s birthday special so goes all out with creating a tower and a spinning wheel. But things don’t go as expected when Zinnia pricks her finger on a splinter.

Three words to describe this book: Imaginative. Unexpected. Fast-paced.

Cover: Love it!

Character Development: Given that this is a novella, I was quite impressed with the amount of character development in this novel for both Zinnia as well as the main supporting characters.

World-Building: Zinnia spends time in another world and the author does an excellent job making this fairy tale land real. I particularly liked how modern elements like cell phones clashed with this

Plot & Pacing: Excellent. I love novellas and this was a fast-paced book that could easily be read in one sitting. While some of the elements of the plot were expected, I loved how the author surprised me with new revelations about the Sleeping Beauty curse and the ending. I’ll never think of Sleeping Beauty the same way again.

Narration: I enjoyed the narrator a lot. I felt like her voice matched what I thought of Zinnia in my head.

Verdict: If you like retold fairy tales, you should check out this book!

ARC was provided to me by Macmillan Audio, in exchange for an honest review.

Alix E. Harrow brings to life an intriguing re-telling of a classic tale with A Spindle Splintered , the first of her Fracture Fables series.

Zinnia Gray, a self-proclaimed "dying girl" (who is not expected to live much past her 21st birthday) and Sleeping Beauty enthusiast, gets more than she bargained for when her best friend Charm plans her a Sleeping Beauty -themed 21st birthday in the tower of an old penitentiary. Upon pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, she gets transported from her sleepy Ohio town, into what seems to be a fairy tale universe. She is left with many questions including, "Where am I?", "How did I get here?" and "Could the answers to these questions hold the cure for her fatal condition or will her fate catch up to her before she can get back home?"

I enjoyed this feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty , with its self-awareness and modern pop references, it felt familiar and relatable. The novella's short length allows it to be comfortably read (or listened to) in one sitting. I also enjoyed Amy Landon's narration of this tale.

I can understand, however, that this novella has a very specific target audience, and that there are many other people who might not appreciate this piece of literature. I, personally, did not find this fable as gripping, as some of the other tales I have read, but it was still worth the read (or listen).

Overall, if you are looking for a charming, perceptive, re-imagining of a fairytale, that historically has had arguably the most passive protagonist, look no further. This novella gives hope for "everyone who deserves a better story than the one they have."

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my copy of this audiobook!

Unfortunately, Alix E. Harrow's new book has fallen prey to the curse of the novella. This one had such an interesting concept: girl with chronic, deadly illness who is obsessed with Sleeping Beauty falls into her own version of the classic story to try and break both curses. There is portal hopping, feminist takes on evil fairies, gay princesses, and more. And yet, none of this hit emotionally for me. It could have been expanded into a full novel, where Zinnia and Charm explored the physics question to a deeper degree. This is just a disappointing attempt at something that could have been really cool. || 2.5 stars

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow is the first book in the new Fractured Fables which is a fairytale retelling series. The premise of this story really intrigued me. Zinnia Gray has a rare condition that will end her life during her 21st year, which is why she identifies with the fairytale, Sleeping Beauty. On her birthday, her BFF Charm plans a birthday party that is the full Sleeping Beauty experience, held in a tower and complete with an antique spinning wheel. What she doesn't expect is that Zinnia will prick her finger and end up in another world and dimension where another young girl was about to prick her own finger.

I enjoyed this take on Sleeping Beauty where Alix E. Harrow depicts strong women who take charge of their own lives, rather than wait for the prince to save the damsel in distress. Both Zin and Primrose challenge the typical roles they are expected to take and find their own answers to break the curses they are dealing with. I like that the story opens up multiple universes and we meet many different Sleeping Beauty characters, although briefly, who all have their own strengths, characteristics and paths to follow. This story fractures the original fairytale and takes Zin and Primrose on a journey that is fun, captivating with clever twists, and full of sarcastic humour. This is unlike any Sleeping Beauty Zin has ever heard before. I listened to the audiobook that was wonderfully narrated by Amy Landon. She voiced the characters with great accents and transitioned easily between the voices that identified each character. Her expression was also spot on and helped me to enjoy this story even more. This may be a short story/novella, but the just under 3 hours I listened to this book were an enchanting and exciting adventure. If you enjoy fairytale retellings, I recommend you pick this one up, before A Mirror Mended, Snow White's story, hits the stores.

I was sooooo excited to get my hands on a sleeping beauty retelling. However, this felt a little too abstract from the story. I really enjoyed the secondary characters, they helped to propel the story.

For as long as I can remember, Sleeping Beauty has been my favorite fairy tale - and my favorite Disney movie. When I heard that one of my very favorite authors started a new series with a Sleeping Beauty re-telling, why it seemed like it was written just for me!! I was ecstatic!! I immediately pre-ordered it and was also excited to get the chance to listen to an early audio ARC. And the best part of all those high hopes - that I loved this novella even more than I expected to!

The audio is brilliantly performed - the actor's accent for primrose reminded me of Hayley Mills! And I definitely listened to this at each and every opportunity that I could! The characters all come to life and Harrow certainly breathed fresh life into this retelling - making it fresh and original! I loved the many references - and the Sleeping Beauty facts! - and most of all, I am so excited that this is a start to a new series! I can't wait for the sequel! This is simply an updated, modern fairy tale that is utterly enchanting!

I received this Audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely devoured this story. To be honest I never liked the story of sleeping beauty, I always hated how weak and helpless she seemed. She didn't even seem to be an actual part of the story really. It always seemed that story centered around someone else with Sleeping Beauty a background character, but this re-telling really made the story come alive. I loved the how the different versions of the tale all came together in a 'Spiderman multiverse' feel. There was also a lot of representation of different types of characters. You have the main character that was born with a terminal illness, characters who have been through horrible trials, and even characters who are still figuring out their sexuality. I loved all of the side characters and the narrator really helped to make the story come alive. I would warn the listener to use headphones since the F word is used quite frequently. I would definitely recommend this audiobook.

Loved this! Cannot wait for the next one in the series, and I'll totally be buying my own copy of this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

A quick novella that's a twist on the fairy tales we grew up on. Interesting premise.

Narrator did an excellent job.

I’m a sucker for a retelling of fairytales, and this one did not disappoint. The retelling of this very much loved fairytale of sleeping beauty within adult spin was exactly what I needed to read at exactly the right time. The author did an amazing job of weaving modern nuances with a classic framework of a fairytale story. This is the first book I have read of this authorAnd I will absolutely be picking up more!

Thank you to net galley for the advance listeners copy.

I received this as an audio galley to listen to for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me access.

This was a fun spin on all things Sleeping Beauty. Harrow did an amazing job at creating this alternate world that Zinnia falls into. There are lots of twists and turns, with an outcome I wasn't expecting -- which was refreshing!

I really enjoyed the pace of the audio narration and would recommend listening tho the audiobook.

Alix E. Harrow has once again written a masterpiece, starting her new Fractured Fables series off with a bang -- A Spindle Splintered is exciting and a little heartbreaking, packing a tremendous amount of character development into a very short novella. Zinnia is a compelling heroine, surrounded by interesting and complex secondary characters, and living in a world that drags the reader in and leaves them begging for more. Amy Landon's narration does not add much to the story, but nor does it particularly detract from the gem that is A Spindle Splintered.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me an ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I love fairy tales and many of their retellings, but "A Spindle Splintered" was not my cup of tea. To be fair, the plot summary I read initially was found on NetGalley, so my request to review this title was based on that content. Had I read the book blurb on Goodreads or other locations, I most likely would have taken a pass. Quite simply: I am NOT the target demographic for this book. It's written in the voice of a 21 year-old, and has the feel of someone even younger than that in my opinion. The narrative did not hold my interest, and I had trouble suspending disbelief to make the virtual jump into Harrow's multiverse. I did feel for the plight of young Zinnia Gray, struggling with a chronic health condition, as well as for her parents who yearned for her healing. That said, I can find very little to recommend in this one. As a reader I was as mismatched as Princess Primrose was with her intended Prince Harold. I suppose not all couplings can be winners. To each their own.