I started this book yesterday and finished it today.

I was hooked.

This is a story like I've never read before, part fantasy/fairytale and part dystopian. While you think that might make it seem like just another Marissa Meyer book, that was not the case. It was reminiscent of Divergent meets Melanie Cellier's fairytales stories, and I loved it.

Thank you to the author, Kaitlyn Davis for the audio ARC!

I enjoyed a scenario that combined a post apocalyptic earthquake and a parallel fairy tale world where magic exists. The fairy tale retelling was a bit obvious, but also sweet. The romantic relationship between the two lovers, Asher and Jade, seem a bit rushed and rash to have been able to connect the way they did to break (or not break) a curse upon ones self and then also a curse upon an entire city. Yet, the theme of hope never gets old and the author has done a fantastic job of completing a compelling fractured/twisted fairytale of Sleeping Beauty. I would recommend to middle age, pre-teen to teen readers.
Thoroughly enjoyed the bright, brave, and fearless kick a$$ main character who is far too good at winging it and being a convincing liar all at the same time. I truly believe this is her real super power.

No Regrets! :-)

The Ellie Gossage did a great job! Her Queen’s voice was absolutely perfect and chilling! I feel like she really understood how to bring the words to life.

The story is easy to follow- I was able to listen at work with no issue or need to go back and re listen to parts.

Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for a ARC copy of this audiobook!

It's hard to rate audiobooks because you have to contrast the story against the performance and overall experience.

The story (for me) was a 3.5-4. (If I like something enough to finish it, it will always be at least a 3). The narration is great. The story is crisp and the characters are distinct.

Unfortunately, it didn't really feel like a "fresh" idea but the delivery (of both the writing and narration) was compelling enough to carry me through the story. Additionally, I enjoyed the world building and pacing.

The performance and sound quality was a 3.5-4. The performance was dynamic and fit the characters well. The sound quality was very tinny and flat. I admit that I am a bit sound sensitive, but (for me) this really distracted from the performance.

In a place where our world crashes with one of magic, comes a twist on a beloved fairytale. This PG romance was sweet and innocent with a strong focus on feelings. Another really great YA story!

Really enjoyed this and will be looking for the next fairytale spin off of Beauty and the Beast!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the narration and the story. I haven't read a fairytale retelling in awhile and I did enjoy this one. However, this one seemed aimed toward a younger audience than I anticipated and it also didn't seem very unique or unusual to all the other retellings out there. The one thing that I thought stood out was the idea that the evil queen steals people's emotions. That was fairly unique but then the ending and way toward ending the curse were far too simple and anticlimactic. Overall a good story for younger teens looking for a romantic fairytale retelling but doesn't truly break any new ground.

I wanted to like this book so badly I love retelling series. i liked the idea I just didn't like the writing unfortunately style and felt like it dragged on.

This is an interesting dystopian fairy tale interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. The connection to Sleeping Beauty is minimal, but it was a cute story and ended with a cliffhanger leading into the next story in the series.

I was really intrigued by this YA fantasy retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but I thought the execution was just okay. It was a very quick read, but it left me wanting more world and character development. The fast pacing from the start just never had me feeling fully invested in the tale. Overall, it was a good read, and I think it’s more successful for a YA audience getting into the fantasy genre.

Thank you to Kaitlyn Davis and NetGalley for the audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

I will be honest, I had a hard time getting into this book. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great but I didn't get into the more modern day setting of the book. I also thought the main character was whiny and annoying. I felt that everything would have easily happened without her. It was an okay read but I definitely would never listen or read it again.

Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages, cobblestone streets, a towering castle, & a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away. It has been 10 years now and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel. She works as part of the queen's guard, standing on the wall, guarding the city. Now she has been tasked with finding the queen's son, Prince Asher, and bringing him back. He ran away years ago and joined the resistance. However when she goes to find him, she gets kidnapped by the resistance and held captive. The longer she stays away from the queen, the more she is able to feel, and the more she falls in love with Asher. Jade will need to decide where exactly her loyalties lie, if she is ever allowed the freedom to leave.
I love re-imagined fairytales, & this is the reimagined story of Sleeping Beauty, so this was right up my alley. I loved the idea of the two worlds, post apocalyptic New York & an old fantasy medieval village like something right out of a fairytale (no pun intended), existing side-by-side, within view of each other. I really loved how kick-butt Jade was, and I was rooting for Asher and Jade to defeat the queen and free all of the people from her thrall. The ending sets the stage for the sequel, which is a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast. I am definitely looking forward to hearing how this story concludes. If you are a fan of fairy tales, or even just fantasy, then you should check this out.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator was good and the story was very interesting. If you enjoy young adult fantasy with some romance and plot twists, this is the book for you! I am excited to read this author's other publications. Thank you to NetGalley for providing this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I have nothing but positive things to say about this book. It has everything. Fantasy, realism, two worlds colliding. Good vs evil, hope, true love. I liked that there was a little bit of romance without it getting too overwhelming with smut. I wasn't crazy about the narrator at first, since I listened to the audio version, but she grew on me and in the end did a very good job. I hope, by the way the book ended, I can hope to see av second one in the future! Signed, this authors new fan!

I really enjoyed this take on sleeping beauty. It is definitely a version I've never heard of. It was very good. I enjoyed the people and the relationships between them. The relationship between mother and son is sad, and I felt bad for him. I do like that Jade fell in love and was able to get a happy ending. I can't wait to read the next book as the ending is so cute and makes you want to read more.

This is the first book in the Once Upon a Curse Series. A series of books retelling your favorite fairy tales. This one is on Sleeping Beauty.

We have an evil queen, a dashing prince and that's about it. Our princess in this story isn't really a princess but hey it's a retelling or reimagining. Instead of one person being asleep the whole kingdom is put under the thrall of our evil queen. Who has entered the mortal world quite on accident. Some convergence happened and the magical realm and the human realm collided leaving everything in chaos. I think this book was pretty sweet, it was a very interesting take on the classic story, in fact if you don't know it's a retelling you probably won't notice, until....the very end.....maybe. We have true loves kiss and magic and all that fun, but it is really not super obvious that this dystopian YA was a fairy tale.

Let's start with what I didn't like about the book. The narrator was ok, but she had some difficulties with male voices IMO. They just didn't flow well for our guys. It was almost like she struggled with the lower tones or just didn't know what she wanted to do with them. It takes you out of the story and is kind of distracting, but you do get used to it eventually. I also dislike the indecisiveness and repetitive nature of the story. I get these are kids but omg back and forth and back and forth. Make up your stinking minds. The description of the magic in this world was pretty nonexistent, it just is and no one questions how it works or anything like that? Where did the magic world come from. We just start in the middle of a story with no real background information.

I loved the cover. Love it! I like the contrasting colors and the red dress. I know some people hate covers with real people, I don't get that. I think this was beautifully done, it really draws your eye to the book and made me want to pick it up. The narrator did a really good job on the queen, I loved her take on the cool, unfeeling nature of the queen. The story was a fairly typical YA novel, girl meets boy and what not. Girl does not need to be rescued by the boy though so that's always nice. Girl can get it done when it needs to be done even when it's hard. Love that for her. The story was ok, I would love more world building but there are 4 more books in this series so maybe there will be more explanation in the future ones.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A dystopian adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. I loved the development between the characters,

Love the cover with the knife being held while dressed so formal.
This is a series starter sure to please teens interested in fantasy!

Gathering Frost was a quick and easy to read retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I do have to admit that I wanted more than I received with this one. The pacing was quick but it seemed rushed. The plot twists were easy to anticipate and the ending felt abrupt. I think some deeper world building would have done this book well. I did like Jade's character and the development she showed throughout the story even if the romance was really rushed. A lot of things felt unresolved at the end, but hopefully the sequels remedy that.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Gathering Frost was epic! I LOVED this book! I throughly enjoyed the fairytale retelling! I loved this take on the Snow Queen, it was fresh and interesting! I also really enjoyed that it was set in a sort of post apocalyptic type world. I cannot wait for the rest of the series!!

I wanted to like this. I liked the idea but the execution was not the best. I love the dystopian power vibes but everything else was not great.