A retelling of Sleeping Beauty that's full of mystery and magic. The princess is forced to attempt to work her way through the web of the evil demon in order to save herself, and her kingdom.

I did not finish this book, and will not be reviewing it further. Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read it.

This book was too slow and too dense. I really wanted to like it, and I want to try E.K. Johnston again, but every time I pick this up, I can't get into it.

The tone and narration of this really stopped me from getting into the story. I've read others by Johnston and I expect that I will pick up future works despite this one.

Excellent writing, perfect for young adults who love retellings. The story is beautifully written and vivid.

Another great book by an awesome storyteller! Did not disappoint !

Im sad to say that the no name characters do not go away in this companion novel to A Thousand Nights. This one based on the story of Sleeping Beauty was very boring. The pacing was weird and I was just not very invested in the story at large. Not much was happening during most of the story and the descriptions get in the way and slow it down even more. I ended up DNFing around 45% in.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the opportunity to read and review Spindle by E.K. Johnston! Spindle is book two of the series, A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston, but it can be read as a stand-alone book. The story is told in a young man's point of view, Yaasha. His mother is ill and wants him to leave her and travel onward. Yaasha travels with a few of his close acquaintances. He rescues Little Rose from a tower that she was locked in. The group tries to keep their freedom but are eventually captured. They grow very close and create strong bonds of friendship. The tone is dark and the evil Storyteller Queen is a demon who wants to destroy Little Rose; 4 stars for this fairy tale fantasy containing suspense, loyalty and the bonds of friendship!

E. K. Johnston has done it again. Lush prose makes this retelling a hit. The dust jacket and what's underneath it makes this book even more beautiful - I can hardly take my hands off of it! E.K. Johnston dewfinitely has a fan in me, and I'll continue to pick up any book she writes!

All spinners have left the kingdom after the demon gifted the Princess Little Rose with a curse. Suffering under the growing power of the demon, Yashaa, son of a royal spinner and his group of rag-tag buddies set out to break the curse. When they encounter Little Rose, however, they are determined to keep her safe and help her fulfil her destiny.

Loved this more than the first book in the series. This definitely stands on its own. A very original take on Sleeping Beauty.

This book was a major disappointment from the first one; it just fell flat for me.I think the the problem was that the author was trying too hard to live up to her first magnificent novel, and this one didn’t live up with the characters, plot, or writing. Regarding the writing style, it was not poetic, instead being dialogue-heavy and simply predictable.

Set thousands of years later, although the setting is still the “Kingdom of Sleep”, this companion novel follows a group of two teenagers who are like family, across the wilderness of the mountains and the dusty desert. They’re on a mission to get to Little Rose and break the curse that is plaguing the weavers and the land.

This is a retelling of sorts, but in my opinion the two major events are similar to what happened in Rapunzel and the Beauty and the Beast. Yashaa our MC and romantic involved partner is basically risking his life to accomplish this mission, but honestly this type of retelling that leans towards tropey isn’t anything new to YA fantasy/. The chemistry of Little Rose and Yashaa is unremarkable and didn’t stick with me in any way. I didn’t feel like this “love” was swoon-worthy even though I badly wanted to. Instead, I felt like it was rushed, done mostly out of duty/obligation, and distracting to what was going on in the main plotline.

The “squad” as I like to think of them in my head, is a tightly bonded group of survivalists who also are teenagers . I’m sorry, I just find it pretty realistic that four young adults were able to do what they were able to pull of but thank god the author inserted something (view spoiler) I still wanted more character development from all of them individually though.

Plotting and pacing was not thought-out well or planner out, because literally for 99% of the book we see them walking and talking. Thanks for reminding again and again that they are just doing the thing every day of this journey. I’ve come to realize that I always hate when there’s physically/geographical journey that happens because it drags on and on. Maybe it’s just not my thing.

In recap: Nothing happened, this is a meh-bleh book.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review**

My very favorite read of 2016 was A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston. Spindle, her newest novel, is gently tied to that tale.

Long ago the story teller queen saved the world by banishing a dangerous demon and his cohorts. Now the prison which holds the dangerous jinn horde is weakening and a new power has slithered forth, intent on destroying mankind. It had been a spinner who banished them from the world before and using a strong, sinister spell the demon binds the power of the spindle to the life of the princess. More, any who spin develop the lung sickness, which steals the very breath from their body. Yashaa has come to hate the young princess Rose who through no fault of her own has brought hard times upon his family. Once they made the cloth that dressed kings. Now they sit at a foreign cross road, his mother dying of the spinner’s sickness and his family all but starving in this new place. When his mother sends him to find them a new home, he goes instead to their old one, determined to fix the curse over their land once and for all, even if it means killing the young girl who has taken everything from him. But they will not be saved by hate, but by love.

This retelling of Sleeping Beauty places the tale in Arabia and provides us with a feisty, strong version of a girl who is most famous for lying around doing nothing. A truly fascinating take on an ancient fable.

Memorable moment: First kiss between Yashaa and his princess: Awkward, teenage and wonderful

And then she kissed me, full on the mouth.

Wearing shoes, the Little Rose stood at eye level with my chin. To kiss me, she had to stand on her toes and propel herself forward and upward. I was not at all prepared for this sort of attack, which pulled me away from my center of balance and onto my heels, but I did manage to catch her before she overbalanced us both or caused us to fall through the screen and into the well. Her nose pressed against mine, and she stepped on my foot.

“Spindle” by E.K. Johnston is a book that has been one of my most anticipated novels of the year. I am a big fan of retellings. Spindle is a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and it was done with such great imagination. With strong female character, this companion novel to A Thousand Nights can be read as a standalone.

A good addition to the series, but the author is clearly running out of steam.

I enjoyed this book. I liked that the main character had to figure out his feelings, confront past events, that he learned from the past. I also enjoyed that the book was more of a companion then a sequel. What I didn't enjoy was the end.

I enjoyed this story well enough. The scenery is gorgeous. I definitely enjoyed this more than A Thousand Nights, but I still felt it could've used more. The ending was quite abrupt. It was also bittersweet. I think I wanted differently.