My ranking: ★★★ (3 stars)

Initially, this retelling of Sleeping Beauty gripped me with its captivating beginning. The fantastical world she traversed bore semblances to Wonderland, adding an intriguing and distinct flavor to the narrative. Overall, it was an enjoyable and refreshing take on the classic tale.

Sleeping beauty meets Alice in Wonderland in this alternate universe version of Sleeping Beauty. Bitsy is transported to a world much darker that her own. This is an intriguing concept that I think fell a little short but I like where is was going.

I wanted to like this book. I love twisted fairy tale retellings and this sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. There was just too many things that made the main character grate on my nerves. It just wasn’t for me.
**Thank you Netgalley for a chance at the ARC. **

I really enjoyed the plot of this story, but it was difficult to build a connection with the characters since this was only a voice galley and not the finished audiobook.

This book was not only poor quality audio. But it was a slow meh book. It was hard to get thru and didn't really live up to the quality of the cover or the blurb

I cant really review the story because the Audio quality was so bad that I couldn't listen to it. Sorry.

I was thoroughly confused at the beginning of this story but I managed to figure out what was happening as I kept reading. The pace of the book was slow at times and quick at others.

Overall, it was an interesting read.

I did not enjoy much about this book. I thought the plot was fine but the writing style took away from it. It is a sleeping beauty retelling. The main character in plain princess that gets taken away to another/alternate world that is darker in all ways possible compared to hers. There is a romance interest and hard choices have to be made. I thought it was a real interesting take on the classic fairytale, but it just missed the mark for me. I felt like the themes and concepts the book was trying to discuss were for an older YA audience but the tone and the characters acted like younger YA characters. The writing style did not really work for me either. I did not like particularly how the character would break the 4th wall. I really did not like the ending. Is there going to be another one? If not then this book ends on one heck on a cliffhanger. This is a 2.5 STARS for me.

Man I wanted to like this! It felt like it had all been done before. And better. I am all about feminist retelling of fairy tales. This one just jumps and jumps and doesn’t really ever seem to be a true story. It’s a tell not show situation. The random speaking to the reader come off as awkward. Nothing makes sense and nothing follows any sort of reason. Just a “plain” princess trying to escape marriage and pricking her finger into an alternate reality. I could not get into it. I didn’t hate it. But I didn’t like it.

From the cover, and the title, I thought this was going to be a horror book for sure, but I took a chance on it. Instead, it was a very strange look at the sleeping beauty story, and what happens when the princess pricks her finger. Someone else compared it to Sleeping Beauty meets Alice in Wonderland, and I see it. However, it’s an interesting read. I was also surprised that the title, “creeping beauty,” ended up being not just a descriptor of the character, but also her unique ability.

It was definitely a strange book, but I did enjoy it.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

A big thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing both an eARC and advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sleeping beauty unlike anything you've read.

Creeping Beauty by Andrea Portes is a YA fantasy retelling of Sleeping Beauty where no one desires the dear princess. Bitsy isn't like most princesses, and though she may await the day when her dear prince will come, she soon falls to the ill fate of pricking her finger on the spindle of spinning wheel. And falls down into a world where cutthroats and con artists are more common than curtsies. Where no one ages and everyone is beautiful. Where an inscrutable evil rests at its core. A land where Bitsy’s fate and her future are solely in her own hands—and neither are what she expects.

I was immediately hooked with this being compared to the likes of Marissa Meyer's Heartless and Rosamund Hodge's Cruel Beauty, which are both two of my all time favorites. And this book did not disappoint. On the fact of it being quite gruesome. But on the other hand, it was a mediocre at best. Firstly, the first person wasn't doing it for me. (Mainly because of the many fourth wall breaks)And the mainly contradicting plot points made me feel like I was reading Furyborn all over again.

Overall, this book was just meh. Give it a try if you're truly desperately in need of something.

I think I would have loved this more if I'd read it. Unfortunately, with a digital voice arc, there are no nuances to the characters and you really need to pay attention to what's going on because you certainly cannot tell from the inflection in a digital voice. Honestly, the main character was sassy and smart and you just couldn't get that from the digital narration.
This is a different take on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and instead of falling asleep, the princess finally wakes up.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this audio e-arc.*

Intriguing premised of what is happening to Sleeping beauty during her sleep. The characters had depth, and the plot kept me guessing. Sometimes what we think we want, is not really what we want at all. I look forward to the next book!

When you aren't familiar with the author or their worlds, sometimes it's the cover that catches your eyes (vain thing that you are 😘) and gives you pause to consider. It takes a good blurb to sell you to even read it. It is then up to the author to get you to fully commit hours of your life on their story, all the while everyone is hoping for the grand payout -- an excellent story and a happy reader.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for an intriguing cover and to defend myself the blurb followed suit. What was there for me not to believe my fairy retelling dreams wouldn't come true?

When stories start out slow it's hard. When you add on poor character development and really no world-building, the problems just compile from there. This story has moments where it could shine, but it never really rose above the mediocrity and stereotypes that the author fell into. Bitsy's character, for example, fell into that 'woes is me' never pretty, good, or smart enough stereotype. The one were she will either wallow in it or try to rise above it through diversities. The problem here is that a poorly constructed world with nonexistent threats, gave no real weight to her supposed change, leaving her as she started -- as deep as a puddle.

Further frustrations mounted as other characters that I thought were important lacked fleshing out and were never revisited. Ones like Peregrine, left me wondering what was going on with the story, then getting okay with the direction, only to be thrown off a cliff with the about-face.

I felt like the writing style was all over the place, lacking finesse or any form of polish. Was this a rough draft? I almost hope so because it felt so unfinished and unrefined that I would hope it's not ready for publication. Overall the story had a chance at greatness, but what little glimpses of good attempts were not enough to pull this story through for me. It was so much of a let down.

* * Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to review this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion * *

Was an interesting read for sure. Sleeping beauty feels to start then throw in Alice in wonderland. It honestly was a weird one for me, not sure if I liked it or want to forget i ever read it.

I am not sure I was understanding what was happening in this book. I thought to a certain point that I was getting it and then I don't know what happened its like this book took a complete different direction then what I thought was going on. I really enjoyed the concept of this this and the story to a certain point, but I was left disappointed as this book was coming to climax. All in all I would say if you like retellings go for this book, but don't go in expecting what you think will happen because for me this book was like Sleeping Beauty mixed in with Alice and Wonderland.

This book is a fun book that is gripping and darkly atmospheric psychological thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. This haunting novel explores the depths of obsession, the consequences of hidden secrets, and the chilling power of manipulation, making it an engrossing read for fans of suspenseful and atmospheric stories.

Creeping Beauty showcases Portes' talent for creating a dark and atmospheric setting. The descriptions of the eerie and unsettling environment add to the sense of unease, creating a palpable atmosphere that lingers throughout the novel. The author's attention to detail and ability to evoke a sense of place further enhance the reading experience, immersing readers in the unsettling world she has created.

This retelling of Sleeping Beauty has a really creative twist where the princess protagonist ends up in another "land" as she sleeps back at her castle. I thought it was smart of the author to reveal what was happening back in the real world through the king's journal like entries, instead of just switching characters.

Ultimately, I struggled with so many pieces of this book, and it started with the first chapter. Immediately, she deems the visiting prince suitor unfit for her due to his extremely overweight physique (many comments0. There is also a constant stream of her not being "pretty", a lot of just doing what the man says, and multiple moments that gave me the ick feeling. This, combined with the writing style of the author, made me want to DNF. I pushed through only out of respect for the fact that it was released to me through NetGalley.

In addition, I didn't realize that some of the audiobooks on NetGalley are not the actual human narrators. I will always make sure that I know what I'm getting into, as the robotic narrator is barely a step above having Siri read to you...so awful. I can't in good conscience rate this as an audiobook, because I didn't actually get a true sense of what that would be like.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Creeping Beauty was an interesting retelling of Sleeping Beauty with the Frog Prince and other fairy tales tossed in. There was some fat-shaming that wasn't great. The ending was a big surprise, so it's hard to talk about without spoilers.