This was such a good read for the FALL SPOOKY vibes. Think Fairy Tale meets Halloween.

It brings an exciting new twist to the classic story Sleeping Beauty by adding the gruesome plot twist of zombies. I liked that while it is based of this classic love story, the love story didn't overshadow the rest of the plot. I felt that it was a good mix between the love and the action and found that the amount of romance was just right for the intended YA audience.

Briar is a complex character trying to work through the challenges of what her life has become due to curse as well working through her past . It really makes you want to her to win!

I cant wait to see what twist get added to other classic fairy tales in the future.

I really enjoyed this darker twist on a fairytale. I really liked the characters and how they developed throughout the story. The plot was gripping, with lots of twists and turns that continued to get even better as you read. Overal a really great book and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

I enjoyed this novel and found it extremely easy to get into and stay into. I fell sick in the middle of reading it and once the brain fog lifted, I picked up right where I left off no problem. The premise was intriguing and I found the execution to be straightforward while still maintaining enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. The three main characters are well developed and I appreciate that despite the whole “fairy tale/true love/zombies” themes, Briar has a passion for science and logic that really grounds the story when things are very fantastical. Overall I found this novel to be an interesting read and I look forward to reading the next book when it’s released.

Thank you NetGalley and Elizabeth K. King for providing me this intriguing ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Although I’m not the intended audience for this novel, the incredible cover and the summary: Sleeping Beauty and zombies, immediately grabbed my attention. It’s a unique premise and the author utilitizes it well with horrifying results.

The story doesn’t shy away from grisly deaths and disturbing body horror, but it also does not take them to an unnecessarily gratuitous level.

The main characters of Rotting Beauty-Briar, Demetri and Garrett-were engaging and flawed individuals. While the male protagonists in some YA novels seem virtually interchangeable, Demetri and Garrett were portrayed with their own characteristics and their own arcs to overcome.

Briar was also an excellent protagonist and dealt with the particular horrors of her current situation-along with the neglect of her past-as best as she was able to while not becoming cynical.

The main villain was appropriately terrible and the secondary villains/antagonists added to the darkness of the story. I was also pleasantly surprised by the ending, as I almost expected one of the more sanitized “fairy tale happy endings,” and received something more bittersweet and unusual.

Rotting Beauty did drag slightly towards the middle of the novel and the ending did leave more than a few questions remaining. But as I’ve seen that there will be a second book in the series, I’m hoping that these answers may end up being revealed eventually.

A Sleeping Beauty retell with zombies, perfect for Halloween season!

This was a fun yet gruesome story. However the world building and pace came a little short for me which is unfortunate because it had so much potential. I would've loved to see more about this world but then again, I think this is a standalone dark fantasy book.
Overall it was an interesting twist and perfect for spooky season.

Rotting Beauty
Horrific Fairy Tales #1
Fantasy, Horror, YA
Elizabeth K. King
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is a Sleeping Beauty retelling with elements of horror and zombies mixed in!

The pacing was ok. I found the action and fighting scenes more interesting than the other parts in-between. Sometimes the scenes with lots of dialogue or too many descriptions slowed the pacing down for me and I found myself skimming paragraphs to find the action again.

There was some nice world building but I think the kingdoms and the fairies/magic could've been explored some more.

I liked the witty banter between Briar, Garrett and Demetri. I also liked Kinsley, the solider, and Isabelle. They hade a good sense of humour and handled strange situations very well.

The ending was ok but I wanted to find out how life went on after the curse was ended and how the people dealt with the consequences.

*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

rotting beauty
net galley ARC

a rewriting of a fairy tale but make it halloween ? i’m in ! i loved this book, it was really addictive and the characters were amazing ! the vibes were spooky and perfect for halloween season… the writing was very fairytale like, and the plot was also giving these kind of vibes. our main character, princess briar, was pretty iconic and i loved how her character evolved ! i also fell for the two boys, garett and demetri <3 the characters were overall complex and endearing. i felt like the worldbuilding was really good, easy to understand but logical, and the plot was interesting and entertaining!
this isn’t a horror book, and i was happy about that because these aren’t really my thing, but it had some gruesome elements that added to the retelling’s interest. honestly, it wasn’t the most groundbreaking retelling, and the story wasn’t the most unpredictable, but it didn’t bother me and i had a good time reading it. it’s the kind of addictive and easy to read book, that won’t be emotionally or intellectually invasive, which we all need to read at every now and then. what i want to say is that it is the perfect cosy read for a stormy fall evening, under a plaid and a hot chocolate !

I enjoyed reading this, who doesn't like fairy tales? Especially with a dark twist? - and a smart princess who's stronger than the prince. It's not much of horror, more on action-adventure-thriller with some funny moments. It's a perfect read for Teens / YA this spooky season. Definitely recommended.

I really did my best to get in to this book, but I might be a bit older than the target demographic. As such, the writing at times felt juvenile, reliant on similes and often choppy sentence structure. The action, while entertaining, was not gripping, nor was it particularly suspenseful. I did enjoy the plot twist, though the love triangle felt at times cumbersome and unnecessary. On a kinder note, who wouldn't love the premise? Sleeping Beauty with zombies? Sign me right up. I just wished it had held my attention a little better than it did.

This is a YA fantasy horror retelling of sleeping beauty!

First, this one is not scary but is a good read! Briar, Demetri and Garret's adventure against the clock to reverse the curse that put Briar to sleep 82 years ago.

Good story not overly exiting, slow paced. My favorite is Prince Garret. Totally love him and how his character develops.

The thing that I most like about this book is that I’ve not read a book like it. I’ve read many adaptations of the fairytales, but I loved the twist of this one. I think it was very well done and the character development was very well rounded. I liked how Briar put her people first even though they kept their distance from her for most of her life. I especially loved the ending and how Briar thought of a different way to end the “villian”, I thought that it stayed true to her character.

"Rotting Beauty" is a ya fantasy, with horror overtones, written by Elizabeth K. King. The book is a sort of dark retelling of the fairy tale of "Sleeping Beauty".

The story follows Princess Briar, cursed to fall into a sleep for a hundred years upon reaching her sixteenth birthday. A fate from which she cannot escape and which plunges her into oblivion. When the curse is broken eighty-two years later, Briar awakens to find that everyone in her realm has become rotting, flesh-eating, corpse-like monsters. Newly awakened, Briar is the only one in her castle unaffected by the mysterious rotting. She suspects her kingdom is under the influence of a curse, probably cast by the same dark fairy who bewitched Briar herself. Accompanied by the two princes who awakened her, Briar sets out to discover the truth and save her people. But then she suddenly begins to experience frightening symptoms: inexplicable bruises, memory loss, and an uncontrollable urge to devour her friends. Briar's quest to save her realm thus becomes a race to save herself before she joins the ranks of the undead. When information about what really caused the rotting curse comes to light, a truth with the power to break Briar is revealed. She will have to make a terrible choice and discover what really makes a monster.

I loved the premises of this book! A retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" with horror overtones and the presence of zombie-style monsters?! Wow, I jumped right in! It was a gripping, dark, macabre and fun read! I admit some things didn't convince me, I perceived several flaws, but overall it entertained me a lot!

I found the writing quite captivating, effervescent and fluent, characterized by a fast pace and the presence of short chapters. Evocative in its descriptions, it fascinated me quite a bit. I really enjoyed the horror tints of the story, in my opinion well handled. And what about the more macabre aspects? Simply fantastic! Seriously, many compliments to the author, because in certain creepy scenes she managed to make me shiver and laugh at the same time! The book in fact presents ironic tones, at times decidedly absurd, which are skillfully mixed with the more macabre ones. Yes, speaking of zombies there are slightly cruder scenes, but these are mitigated by the liveliness of the text. In short, it is prose that I really loved!

The world building seemed to me to be rich in potential, unfortunately little explored. The story takes place on a continent made up of five kingdoms. More specifically, the book is set in the Mountain Kingdom, the kingdom of Briar, previously plagued by the sleeping curse and now plagued by a rotten curse. Not much information is given about these realms, just the bare minimum necessary to avoid groping in the dark. There are fairies, djinn and witches, among other things, but notions about these creatures and magic in general are really scarce. I don't know, I felt a certain shallowness in the world building that left me slightly confused and disappointed.

The plot proceeds briskly and light, full of action and events. Overall I enjoyed it, but I admit that I perceived numerous convenient situations, plot holes and naivety. Some issues, often even important ones, for me were resolved too hastily. Nevertheless, it still entertained me quite a bit! I also appreciated the fact that the story is interwoven with other fairy tales, themselves modified!

Briar, Demetri and Garrett, protagonists with their respective third person povs, satisfied me. Or rather, I liked Briar and Garrett, while Demetri did not convince me much. Briar is the princess of the Mountain Kingdom, cursed to fall into a deep sleep, lasting one hundred years, upon her sixteenth birthday. Powerless, she is unable to escape her fate and sinks into deep oblivion. Only to be awakened, eighty-two years later, in a realm invaded by rotting, flesh-eating, corpse-like monsters. Briar is a character who has really been through a lot! Growing up with the knowledge of being doomed, she spent her first sixteen years confined to the castle, shunned by her parents and the court. Briar never saw the world, never had any real friends, until the arrival of young Prince Demetri, her betrothed. Until the curse hit her, changing everything. Briar is a determined, brave and loyal person with a brilliant and decidedly logical mind. Passionate about inventions, she loves to study the mechanisms behind various devices. Despite her difficult situation, Briar is a cheerful and witty girl who is not easily discouraged. Beneath the tough and ironic facade, however, lies deep fears and insecurities. Briar has been marked by the curse, by waking up alone in a new world full of monsters, even if she tries to hide it so as not to cause worry. She is a character that I liked a lot, with very good characterization and a beautiful evolution

Garrett is the prince of a neighboring kingdom, an adventurer constantly seeking adventures and dangers to face. Easygoing, wry and extroverted, he is a character who captured me right away! Scarred by a painful past, he hides his suffering under a carefree attitude.

Demetri, Briar's best friend and himself a prince, is the character who convinced me the least. I found him little depth, which is a pity considering the great potential derived from his particular situation.

All in all, I found it an enjoyable ya fantasy horror, albeit with its flaws, that I recommend to lovers of ya fantasy and dark fairytale retellings!

Thank you to NetGalley and Elizabeth K. King for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Elizabeth K. King for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Rotting Beauty: A Horrific Fairy Tale. I received an advanced reader copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Rotting Beauty is a story of what would happen if Sleeping Beauty woke up and instead of the happy fairytale ending, she found herself around zombies. It had the entertainment factor and a pretty humorous writing style. It had what felt like a fast pace to it. It was enjoyable for what it was and I would probably read it again.

Looking forward to the next book about a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

Thank you to NetGalley and Elizabeth King for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which will be available September 30 2023

A tale as old as time get a darker more horror based reimagining in the form of zombies. This was a fun gory read with a good plot that never let up even if the formatting of the arc was weird. I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptive writing and snorted a giggle a few times