While the concept of this book was one that appealed to me, the writing just did not live up to the expectations. The fairytale that inspired this retelling is my favorite, so I might have had to high of expectations for the story. This might be one that I give a second chance.

It was very YA fantasy. Slow read. 3 stars because it was well written but didn’t wrap me into the story like I hope it would. Thank you to the publisher for the arc. I read this on NetGalley.

This is a YA fantasy retelling, and it felt like one.

Please, don't get me wrong: there is a plethora of YA fantasy retellings that I hold very close to my heart. But in 2023 where the market has been hugely saturated with them--it needs to stand out. CREEPING BEAUTY did not do that for me. Sleeping Beauty has been the subject of many retellings over the centuries and this one failed to stand out. Compared to CRUEL BEAUTY (a favorite), I was quite interested, but that is an older title--and while still holds up well--in a shifting market, it felt odd for the publisher to promote this work using that.

This is a book that might work better if marketed for a younger audience, but I did not get that was the publisher's intention. The writing style was nothing outstanding (I cringed at the "Dear Reader"). The story was not outstanding. The characters were not outstanding. This book was a flat stretch of "sameness" in the YA market and fails to elevate its interesting premise through any narrative elements.

Several years ago this book might have fared well. But it will not in 2023.

I love retellings, I love fairytales, and I love Sleeping Beauty. I did not love this book. The description and cover instantly drew me in, but unfortunately, the writing did not live up to the hype. Everything just felt very dull and flat, and there was basically no world building. I don't mind when characters break the fourth wall if it's done well, but that wasn't the case here. The content feels like it's aimed at older teens/adults, but the writing made it feel like it was for a much younger audience. The idea is there, but everything else just needs much more development.

I received a gifted copy of this book from netgalley and in exchange I'm giving a review. All opinions my own.


Y'all this book had so much potential. I was really looking forward to reading it, even. I love retellings of fairy tales. For example, i loved the malice duology, which was a sleeping beauty retelling.
This one... Not so much. The premise is great. The world building is good. The story? Not so much. Neither are the characters--they're extremely flat. I often ended up confused as well.
I don't like to give bad ratings -- when I don't like a book I usually just don't rate or review it, because other people may like it. But I'm obligated to with netgalley. So, those are my thoughts I guess.

2/5 stars

When I first saw this book I was excited to read a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The description sounded like something I would be interesting and the cover was amazing. Once I started this book, I found that all I really liked about the book was the description and the cover. The plot and characters themselves were somewhat dull.

The story is centered around Bitsy, who pricks her finger and finds herself falling into another realm. When Bitsy finds herself in a different realm the plot at first is intriguing, especially as I waited to read about this new world. But this is also where the book was lacking. There wasn't any world building to really describe this new world or even the world Bitsy came from. The plot didn't develop from there either, I felt like all the events sounded the same and the characters, including the main character, were a little boring to read about.

I also did not enjoy the author's writing style which was another downside to reading this book and I felt like I was reading a book meant for middle school but had some mature content targeted for young adult.

This book baffles me, and not in a good way. Creeping Beauty is retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but when Bitsy, our princess, touches the spindle, she is whisked away to another world. There, she is taken to a village, where everything from way of life to language is different. These strangers insist she fight in their wars, and that she might be the one the prophecy tells of.

I felt like I was reading a middle-school book with young adult content. I can 100% guarantee my mom would not have let me touch this book with a ten-foot pole when I was eleven. While it was not graphic, there was some violence, and a few kiss scenes, that would have ensured this book was used as kindling or ripped apart for art projects in my house. One of the main reasons the writing was cheesy was because Bitsy (I won't get into how weird of a name the author chose) talks directly to the reader. Using phrases like "Dear reader," and asking us about our surroundings is something I would have loved when I was younger, but it just felt incredibly juvenile here.

I could not connect with any of the characters. We strictly saw everyone from Bitsy's point of view, and her personality only assigned one characteristic to each character. In the beginning, she made some questionable remarks that might be construed as fatphobic. Everyone was either handsome, scary, adorable, or something along those lines. To be stuck only seeing everyone as she did meant I never had the opportunity to form opinions of them on my own. I did not care for being in Bitsy's head. Her name should have been ditzy for how incredibly dumb and lacking observational skills she was at times.

The plot did not stand out to me, I loved the idea of Sleeping Beauty being taken to a world so unlike her own. I am shocked that this was compared to Heartless, which had fantastic world-building and atmosphere. That is a disgrace to the set-up Marissa Meyer displayed. There was nothing descriptive or immersive about this world. It was the building blocks everyone starts out with within a YA novel. On top of that, the plot was not anything new. I have read at least a dozen variations of the author's plot twists in other retellings. It is hard to stand out in the fairytale retelling genre, but there has to be something that makes me pause and appreciate it. How else are you going to get people to love your book?

To put it succinctly, everything in this book from the writing to the characterisation to the plotting leaves much to be desired.

The plot of Sleeping Beauty being transported to an alternate world upon pricking her finger on the spindle should've been good, it's one of those "active" retellings of the tale that usually works wonderfully, but the writing in first person POV that breaks the fourth wall (Princess Bitsy talks to the reader like some sort of wannabe Jane Eyre) is grating, infantile, and ultimately doesn't match the plot contents, which are for an older audience. Ever read a book that is clearly for older teens and adults but is written in a way that reads like it's talking to children? This is such a book.

Who ever thought of calling a princess "Bitsy"? This cutesy princess is like some pet lamb with a baby-talk name that's thrown into a bloody world she can't navigate and has problems thrown at her that she barely handles enough to not be swept away by the mess. Bitsy is as lost in the world she's taken to as a naïve lamb would be and ridiculously mismatched to the "creepy" atmosphere of that world and its mad king. Not to mention the plotline is so haphazard that it ends on a major cliffhanger (and bear in mind this book doesn't have a continuation, "The End" is written right there at the end, like in some Looney Tunes skit), and it all leaves you dissatisfied and confused.

Creeping Beauty had a great premise that drew me in. And I wanted to like this book a lot. There were some great moments that made me laugh out loud and were very clever. This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty that reversed the events, and it did seem very much like falling down a rabbit hole, which was fun at times, though confusing at others, which was why I rated this three stars. In my opinion, it is worth a read for the ingenuity, but was left longing for just a little more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Andrea Portes and Harper Teen for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book much more then audo-generated narration. The story is of course the same but the little character voices in my head provided a lot better of an experience.

Initial Thoughts: Hm. Wow. I thought at first I could give this book 3 stars. The beginning is extremely episodic, but there were things intriguing about the world building. However, the longer the book goes on, the less sense any of it makes. Things directly contradict each other. (Think: There's some legendary city that that apparently no one goes to because 100% of people who try die, yet also people have heard of this city and it seems to receive imports?) Important themes are not explored. (Like people being sold into slavery and not . . . holding that against the people who sold them?) I could write a very long list of things that are illogical, but I don't wish to be overly spoilery. I had hopes for this because I love books with fairy tale elements, but I just cannot recommend this. It needs major developmental editing. Very disappointing.

I’m so disappointed. This book lacked world building, lovable characters, and an interesting plot. I was so incredibly bored reading this - nothing really grabbed me and I struggled to finish it. The main character, Bitsy, is cringey and had zero redeemable qualities. The prose was cheesy and dumbed down. I always try to find something positive to say about any book I read but I cannot think of a single thing I actually liked. The whole novel needs to be reworked (or just completed scrapped at this point).

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and HarperTeen for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: 22 Aug 2023)

What instantly drew me to this book was the enchantingly beautiful cover. Once I saw that the story was a retelling of the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty, I was eager to read it.

The story turned out to be unlike any I’ve ever read before. It started off unassuming and then became a bit bizarre once Bitsy pricked her finger and entered a foreign land.

The story was a bit difficult to follow from there until Bitsy finally found people who spoke her language. Bitsy’s thoughts, actions, and words were incredibly age appropriate for a shy teen, but difficult to muddle through from a reader’s perspective. Thankfully, once Bitsy can actually communicate with the characters and starts to come out of her shell, the story became very enjoyable - full of dark twists and adventure.

I really came to like Bitsy and Peregrine as the story progressed. Peregrine was a delightful ray of sunshine and amusement that this story desperately needed with so much darkness. Bitsy was rather funny at times and a true princess through and through.

Due to the strange writing in the beginning, the abrupt ending, hardly any loose ends being tied up, and the slow-burn romance that left me wanting, I had to take away two stars from this review. Once I got past the bizarre beginning, I did enjoy the story, was laughing out loud several times, and was cheering for Bitsy to complete her quest so she could return home.

Overall, I would recommend this book to readers who would enjoy a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a dramatically dark Wonderland twist.

#creepingbeauty #netgalley
I thought this was an interesting take on Sleeping beauty. The writing is amateurish, but I feel like this author will take off eventually. She has a good idea and premise, but it just needed a bit more to make it great.

First off, thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins for letting me read an ARC of this book! Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. The writing style felt very juvenile and the story was really confusing. I think that the summary and the concept sounded really cool but the execution was just not there. I really wanted to enjoy this book but it just did not live up to my expectations.

Andrea Portes' latest book is easy to read and well-written, which is something that should always be celebrated, but an off-putting plot and oddly unlikeable cast of characters leave a lot to be desired. I agree with the majority of other early reviewers who have expressed their confusion over CREEPING BEAUTY, as I also felt that regularly throughout the story.

Even after finishing it, I'm not completely sure what went down and why — the why behind it all is the most baffling part — and I'm somehow not invested at all in reading possible future books that may just answer exactly that. The romance arc is really unsettling — do not love their 'meet-cute' or the fact that this character did Bitsy so dirty (!!!) and yet she doesn't hold any of that against him.

All in all, despite many unanswered questions, feelings of unease and generally being lost for much of CREEPING BEAUTY, I didn't feel the urge to DNF, which I think speaks to a redeeming sense of intrigue that Portes skillfully manages to hook readers with.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

A retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

One of my favorite fairytales!

Sign me up!

Princess Elizabeth Celementibe DeBoudas Roix aka Bitsy does feel she is beautiful as her mother. Her mother, the queen, is everything that beauty is. From the strands of her hair to her beautiful figure. But Bitsy is everything to her mother. She loves her immensely but she wants to see her married. As does her father that he arranges for princes from all over to be paraded for Bitsy to marry. One day, one does come and Bitsy is far from interested that she disappears into a room where a spindle awaits her. Touching it and she is transported to another world. A place where she has to fight in order to return.

I have to admit the premise of the book drew me so that I had to request it. Sleeping Beauty has always been a favorite next to Beauty and the Beast. So, to find a book with this element was surprising and yet slightly disappointing to me. The book's writing style was different in that it went from breaking the fourth wall to entries from the king to Bitsy's adventure in a world that seemed a bit out of a mixture of Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty. There was a lot going on and the plot felt like it was all over the place. The writing in particular could not decide between young adult to middle-school children's books. One moment, we see it geared toward young adults with small scenes of kisses to images of violence and then the writing changed and became geared toward middle school children. It kinda almost lost me there. I contemplated not finishing it.

But I wanted to see the end. I wanted to see if Bitsy made it back home. But did it end so abruptly? The cliffhanger (or whatever you want to call it) fell so short that it annoyed me.

This book had a lot of potential and sadly, it fell short.

This was such a great read! I absolutely loved this story and characters which is why I flew through this book. The plot was exciting and full of twists and turns. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

I wanted to really love this book but I had to DNF at 20% through. It was hard to read and honestly I was a little bored. It’s supposed to be a sleeping beauty retelling but It just wasn’t going the direction I thought it would.

I really enjoyed this one. It was a quick read with very short chapters. The story was fun with a lot of action. Bitsy went on an epic adventure where she learned much about herself and found what she wants to stand for. I enjoyed the King’s journal entries; I thought that that was an interesting way to keep the reader apprised to what was going on in while Bitsy was in her other world. It worked well. I did find the ending to be very confusing, but the more I contemplated it the more I think I liked it. That ending alone could lead to some good discussions.

My biggest problem with the novel is that the writing style was very inconsistent. Every now and then the writing would switch and become more geared towards middle school. In the beginning I actually kept forgetting that I was reading a YA novel. I’d come across content that I would think to myself should not be in a middle grade book but then remember that this is YA. The majority was definitely what I would consider YA, but it had its moments, especially early on.

I think that teens and young adults who like fairytales, fantasies, or adventure novels with fighting scenes will enjoy this one. It was a fun, fast paced, and creative take on the classic Sleeping Beauty story.

And I have to comment on that cover! It’s beautiful!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.