Slumber (The Slumber Duology #1)

Summary:

Not all princesses get their happily ever after...

They tell me I killed my boyfriend Phillip in cold blood. I stabbed him twenty one times. I’m only seventeen years old, and I am serving life in Spindle Ridge Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

I don’t remember killing him, so it’s really hard to believe I’m capable of murder. In fact I don’t remember anything before I came to Spindle Ridge, not even my boyfriend.

I can only grasp onto my realistic dreams while the madness of the asylum threatens to pull me under. I dream I’m a beautiful princess and there is an evil faerie named Maleficent who is bent on my destruction. The dreams are the closest thing I have to memories of my life, except they aren’t real.

I’m crazy. I’m not a princess. 

They’re the mad illusions of an irrational teenage girl, right?

They’ve assigned me a new doctor, and she says I can trust her, and that she’ll help me see the truth of who I really am. 

When she arrived she brought a new patient, Sawyer, who is everything Spindle Ridge isn’t: exciting, mysterious and beautiful. He promises he’s here to rescue me. Trusting either of them frightens me.

Could it be possible that my dreams are more than just the imaginings of a delusional girl? Could they be truth?  (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Please note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review courtesy of YA Bound Book Tours.

Review:

I really really enjoyed this read!  I was expecting this to just be a retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” set in the modern world, but it is not.  The merging of the asylum world with the fantasy world was done beautifully.  The book is definitely a light read, but still very enjoyable with the darkness of overall events balanced by the sweet moments between Rory and Sawyer.

I did find the climactic events in the book were slightly abrupt.  There were a few things that happened that I had to reread because I was sure I hadn’t understood correctly.  I think a little more blending of those events would have helped.  The only thing I was disappointed by was find there was a sequel as it had seemed like the book was going to wrap up as a standalone.  Regardless, I enjoyed the read and certainly would read the second!

Warning: Contains violence and mild sexual content. 

Rating: 4 stars!

Who should read it? Fans of fairy tale retellings who are looking for something a little more mild.

What to read the whole series?

• Awaken (The Slumber Duology #2)