I really wanted to love this one, but while reading it I felt less and less involved with the story.

It has a great premise. The Bone Spindle is a gender-swapped retelling of the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, which is the feature of this book I most appreciated. I loved the idea of a sleeping prince waiting for a girl’s kiss to break the curse which put him and his reign to sleep for years. What I didn’t expect was that while the prince was sleeping, the writer managed to make him, Briar Rose, part of the story through a smart magic system.

However, the magic system was generally a bit lacking, and it was combined within a complex history of witches and curses which didn’t get enough explanation, but rather, thrown here and there in the plot.

The structure of the plot is the major issue I had with this story. First of all the main two characters, Fi and Shane, were put together in this treasure hunt with almost no introduction. Their background story is told little by little with flashbacks in between scenes, and for some chapters, it felt like it took away too much from the main story. It was like reading three books at the same time. It was like I couldn’t feel Fi and Shane bonding as treasure hunt partners. There is also the romance on the side, and even that takes too much away from the main plot and it didn’t allow me to fully grasp the world, the different witches and the origin of the curse which put the reign of Aldar and Briar Rose to sleep. Fi also has her own curse, and, to be honest, there are still things not fully clear about its dynamic.

It is still a good debut, it’s easy to read but for the reasons I mentioned about the plot structure and world-building, the pace was slowed down. The main two characters felt too much as separate orbiting planets, their respective love interest taking away from their partnership and treasure hunt quest. Briar Rose was definitely an interesting character, no, wait, strike that. Briar Rose was the most interesting character of the story, even if he didn’t get so many chapters with his own POV, but I can see there is an opportunity to make him so much more appealing in the sequel.

It’s just that, even if this book is without any doubt a solid debut, it was not fully convincing and I don’t feel tempted to put the sequel under my priorities of series to read. As usual, I know I’m in the minority and I am sure this book will be appreciated by lots of fantasy readers.

When Fi teams up with huntsman Shane, their plan to do one single job together, and then go their separate ways, does not play out as they imagined. Fi pricks her finger on a spindle and becomes the only one capable of saving the sleeping prince, Briar Rose, and his kingdom who was cursed a hundred years ago by a dark and powerful witch.

Even though fairy tale retellings seem to be everywhere right now, this one manages to stand out from the crowd. I have personally never read a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but think this is a wonderful spin on the story! It adds so many layers, and I appreciate that Vedder manages to establish a relationship between the prince and his saviour before they meet. This gives them a chance to get to know each other which makes the inevitable kiss not as unbelievable as a kiss of true love, it is also just way less creepy this way.

The only reason this is not a 5/5 stars for me is that the romances were not really my cup of tea, they moved a bit fast for my personal taste. I think this is something others might not mind as much, as it is not badly written, it's more about personal taste, and I tend to be quite picky when it comes to romance.

Overall a fantastic read that I would recommend to anyone on the lookout for a new YA fairy tale retelling!

My thanks to Hachette Childrens Group and for the e-arc of The Bone Spindle in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

If you love fairytale retellings that have an aspect of gender flipping, The Librarian, Indiana Jones or The Mummy style treasure hunts, action and adventure then this YA fantasy debut from Leslie Vedder is definitely one you should pick up.

Vender’s debut goes one step further with this retelling, flipping the gender, honouring the original fairytale and adding one hell of a twist that is totally engaging and fun!

The key protagonists are Fi, educated, clever, fascinated with puzzles and learning with a successful pedigree as a treasure hunter, until she was betrayed and branded with the Butterfly Curse by her ex. She has now withdrawn from all relationships and is solely focused on finding a cure for this curse…until she meets Shane.

Shane is everything Fi isn’t, she’s brash, confident, impetuous and is a huntsman, protecting others with her strength and faithful axe! Just think total opposites. Shane finds a map with magical inscriptions and persuades Fi to join her on just one treasure hunt, solving clues from the map to find treasure left behind an ancient Order of Witches!

As usual, not everything goes to plan and this book delivers some fabulously handled tropes including the slow burn friendship between Fi and Shane; from reluctant and distrustful allies to full on Thelma and Louise friendship!

The girls plunge into an action filled adventure, punctuated with fun filled snark and banter as they launch into the rescue of Briar Rose, which only serves to strengthen the growing bond between them.

Briar Rose totally fulfills the gender flip aspect of this retelling and just for once, it was great not to have an Insta-love between our sleeping Prince and protagonist Fi. The romance between these two is definitely slow and steady, at Fi’s insistence and determination not to be pulled into a true love fairytale!

However, there is an instance of insta-love between Shane and Red, punctuated by instant infatuation and what appears to be a lack of solidity or evidence for this sudden love…I struggled with this a bit, but am hoping the next book will provide more perspective on this.

The world-building in this book is also fresh and wholly compelling, this is no step by step retelling. Character back stories are solid, the history if the kingdom and even Briar Rose’s name gave a lineage. Aurora was the first Witch Queen and witches descended from the royal line are given the second name Rose. The Spindle Witch is Maleficent, who bargains with Briar Rose’s mother to save Briar’s life as a baby in exchange for valuable secret spells from the Order of the Rose, but magically kills his mother as a consequence of the spell to cure Briar Rose. She is then banished by the king, and swears revenge!

The Bone Spindle stands proud in the field of fairytale retellings, this is no step by step duplication of the original take in a different setting with the bonus of a gender flip, but a unique, entertaining, fun and adventurous story that honours the original, and enhances it with snark, humour, twists and turns and a great plot! I loved this book, it was a great, fast but fun read and I’m definitely eagerly awaiting book 2!

4.5 stars
I really liked this book so much I can’t even put it into words, it was such an amazing adventure and I was along for the whole journey. The characters are amazing, the relationships they developed warmed my heart and the twists kept me on the edge of my sit. I can’t wait to read the next book and I’m gonna be anticipating it’s release date and hoping that it comes out soon (seeing as this has just come out I doubt it so my heart is slightly crushed). I loved the concept of this book and it was written so well. Definitely will read more by this author. I also loved the lgbtqia+ rep. The insta love is probably the only thing that brought it to 4.5 stars rather than a 5 star rating.

Five words…
Gender swapped Sleeping Beauty retelling.

YES PLEASE!

Briar Rose is the Prince of the last magical kingdom and has been asleep for the past 100 years. Fi is a treasure hunter, on a (reluctant) quest with huntswoman Shane to find a way to erase her own curse. When she pricks her finger on a bone spindle, Fi not only attracts the spirit of Briar Rose but also Witch Hunters and the fearsome Spindle Witch. Can Fi and Shane face dark magic, forests of thorns and, worst of all, exes to break the spell?

The Bone Spindle is a fun, wild adventure of a book. Fi and Shane as main characters were perfection! Fi is a bookish, practical character whose previous heartbreak has caused her to reject the idea of fate, destiny and love at first sight. Shane, however, is the complete opposite! Where Fi is analytical, Shane is impulsive and passionate. Preferring girls to boys, her axe to books and sarcasm to silence, Shane is the best friend we all need in our lives! Both young women are running from the lives they left behind…and straight into a massive adventure!
Although Fi and Shane dominate the storyline and the POVs within The Bone Spindle, the award for best supporting character has to go to Briar. He was so cute and genuine, desperate to impress but also a victim of his own trauma. His POV chapters perfectly demonstrated his turmoil and ensured that his character really resonated with the reader.

If you want a fairytale mashup with excellent worldbuilding (I’m here praying for a book map), amazing characters, magic, action, treasure and sapphic romance then look no further. I absolutely adored this book and cannot wait for the sequel.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book ahead of it’s release on February 3rd 2022.

Just read: #TheBoneSpindle on #NetGalley. Page turning adventure, as treasure hunter Filore & Shane the huntswoman, battle with dark magic, witch hunters & curses to rescue Briar Rose from his enchanted sleep. Can't wait for the sequel!
📚🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟📚

Twitter review @DHFS-Lrc

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Children’s Group for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Fi is a bookish treasure hunter with a knack for ruins and riddles, who definitely doesn't believe in true love. Shane is a tough-as-dirt girl warrior from the north who likes cracking skulls, pretty girls, and doing things her own way. Briar Rose is a prince under a sleeping curse, who's been waiting a hundred years for the kiss that will wake him. Cursed princes are nothing but ancient history to Fi--until she pricks her finger on a bone spindle while exploring a long-lost ruin. Now she's stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose until she and Shane can break the century-old curse on his kingdom. Dark magic, Witch Hunters, and bad exes all stand in her way--not to mention a mysterious witch who might wind up stealing Shane's heart, along with whatever else she's after. But nothing scares Fi more than the possibility of falling in love with Briar Rose.

Fi is strong and stubborn, using her extensive knowledge - courtesy of her upbringing - to not only find treasures and learn about their history, but to also save herself. I liked that she was slightly more meek, yet incredibly headstrong. The attraction she felt for Briar as time passed felt right and real - it was gradual enough to continue drawing me in to see how her character would grow or change with such developing feelings. I feel like I wanted to see a little more of her scared side when it comes to the curse she’s under, the one she’s doing all she can to break. We get to see glimpses of her trepidation and her concern that the curse may never be broken but I feel it’s something that fell into the background and wasn’t mentioned as much as it could be.
Shane is unexpected in many ways. Just when you think you’ve got her figured out, she comes along and surprises you. I really liked that about her character. I like that she is very strong willed - both physically and mentally - but also has the comedic element, typically in the form of sarcasm. Whilst not her role, Shane’s character adds a little levity in the harder moments of the book which makes it much easier to read.
Briar Rose is a sweetheart. That sums up my opinion of him. His kind nature, despite the circumstances, and gentle heart immediately mean I have a soft spot for him. I like the little twists that accompanies his character and I do wish we could have seen a little more into his struggles being trapped into an enchanted sleep - though I’m not complaining about the tender moments we did get to see!

I really did live the twist on the classic Sleeping Beauty story. Having Briar be asleep and Fi the one to rescue him felt fresh and the approach to it was done well. The pacing felt a little slow at times but it didn’t deter me too much. One or two moments felt a bit repetitive - especially where the Witch Hunters were concerned - but when they’re the threat your facing in that moment, it isn’t too surprising. The LGBTQ+ inclusion was great because it was present but there was no song and dance about it which made it feel abnormal - as has been the case with other books I’ve read. Love is love, let’s celebrate it by not putting it on a pedestal but by just including it in a story and letting the characters share their story naturally!

Overall, The Bone Spindle is an fresh retelling of Sleeping Beauty that has left me wanting more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to NetGalley and Hachette Children’s Group for an advanced copy of this book. Review will be live on my blog on release day.

This is a very evocative novel that very cleverly plays with the original fairytale of Sleeping Beauty and explores questions of gender and identity throughout.
What I particularly liked about this novel was the lack of gender assumptions made throughout; the gender identities of characters are normalised as being fluid, which was very refreshing.
The plotting worked well and the conclusion was very satisfying.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC of "The Bone Spindle" by Leslie Vedder.

I absolutely loved this debut! I'm a sucker for a good retelling and Vedder definitely knows what she's doing. Fi and Shane are one of my favourite characters I have ever had the pleasure to meet in a book however, the side characters of Briar and Red were just as amazing.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves a good Sleeping Beauty retelling or a nice debut fantasy.

I am really disappointed in this book if I'm totally honest. It was sold to me as Indiana Jones meets Sleeping beauty, the plot and the gender-bending retelling sounded so good and right up my street, but honestly this was not it. It was very much aimed at the younger teens.

I didn't like the characters at all, Fi in particular was not great. Shane I could manager, she was a bit sassy but nothing unusual.

There were some good parts, and there was a lot to take away (it's OK to have exes, not to meet your love at first sight etc) but I think I would've enjoyed this if I was younger.

Kinda disappointed tbh. This had such a good idea for a plot and gender-bend retelling. But the overall result felt a bit bland to me. This is definitely a teen read.

The main issue for me was the slow plot and shallow characters. The whole story is aimed towards going to save Briar Rose but that only happens in the last 50 pages?? Like 350 pages was almost nonsense there was nothing really important happening in it. They visit an ex but go to a ball?? Spend days just wandering and sleeping even though there’s meant to be a sense of urgency. And Fi was such a know it all that none of the traps or tricks were interesting cause she figured them out before anything happened. Shane was a cool buff lesbian but also never seemed to be in any real danger so I wasn’t scared for them. The spider scene was probably the most interesting part….

That brings me to the characters and their relationships. Fi was the brains, Shane was the muscle and that was their whole personality. Shane was more bearable because she showed such a loyal side to her (even though the characters she was loyal too probs didn’t deserve it). Her friendship with Fi was SO one-sided. Fi acted like she didn’t give a damn about what Shane thinks because Fi has all the brains. Shane was constantly reprimanded for asking questions which is kinda fair when Fi is dragging her around without saying a word about her plans? (Also speaking of brains… it would make way more sense to just tell people she was cursed instead of ignoring everyone?)

I think I’m starting to rant now. Don’t get me wrong, the story does have some nice aspects, like the presence of exes and how it helps little girls reading understand that it’s okay not to find your one true love straight away.

Other than that…the plot is kinda predictable too. Maybe I’ve read too many books. And I’m too old for this. I have a feeling I would have enjoyed this a lot better when I was 13.
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Thank you to Hachette Children's Group and NetGalley for an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sleeping Beauty meets Indiana Jones AND gender-switched?! Sign me up! When I saw that that's what this book was, I was instantly intrigued and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

I loved everything, the plot, the characters, the setting, the romance - which might I warn you is slow burn. The story is fast-paced and if I didn't have adult responsibilities or was in a fantasy slump, I would have read this book in one sitting. I loved the little twist on curses in this book and I absolutely can't wait until the next book!

The pacing was bone achingly slow, nothing really happened, the insta-attraction romance was annoying and yeah, DNF'd and cancelled my pre-order. Disappointing.

I have to review every single book I get or my NetGalley percentage will never hit 100%, sorry.

i loved the premise of this book, and this was actually my first sleeping beauty retelling. i was really excited for this book, after hearing it had wlw in to i was more excited.

the story itself was quite interesting, particularly odd but good. i have lots of unanswered questions which i am hoping will be answered in the next book? however, i will be in no rush to pick up the next one (if/when it comes out) sadly.

the chemistry between fi and briar was rather good and i did enjoy their characters, however i prefered the friendship that grew between fi and shane as the book went on. i really enjoyed their growth as characters and found them rather enjoyable to read about.

the ending felt like a cliffhanger but also not? i just felt like something was missing and expected more to happen…

The Bone Spindle is described as a gender swapped Indiana Jones meets Sleeping Beauty and the book certainly delivers on that. In it we follow Fi, a treasure hunter, and Shane a warrior huntswoman on an adventure to break an ancient curse. It's a perilous journey filled with adventure, dark magic and curses. This is a fun story and I found the writing easy to fly through and read it in a couple of days.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette for the chance to read The Bone Spindle.

What a brilliant retelling! I really enjoyed this fresh take on Sleeping Beauty, it was well paced and well written and a wonderful addition to the Young Adult genre!

This gender switched, Sleeping Beauty meets Indiana Jones YA fantasy was an absolute pleasure to read. With beautifully lush world building and a loveable, treasure hunting duo serving us Xena, Lara Croft and Evie (from The Mummy) vibes that I couldn’t help but love—it’s an utterly captivating retelling and a must read for all fairytale and YA fantasy lovers.

The story is centred around bookish treasure Hunter Fi who, whilst exploring some old ruins pricks her finger on a bone spindle and ends up stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose, the legendary Prince of Andar, who has been under a sleeping curse for the past 100 years. Now Fi and her axe wielding, business partner Shane must now break the curse and save Briar’s kingdom.

Dark magic,evil witches, witch hunters and even nightmarish beasts (not to mention a curse or two) all stand in their way —as Fi and Shane make the perilous journey to the kingdom where the Prince’s body waits…

This was just… WOW! Words cannot do justice to explain just how incredible this is, I loved every second of it. The world-building was full of intricately rich details that really brought the whole thing to life, so much so in fact, that I have a truly desperate urge to visit The Witches’ Jewellery Box and do some treasure hunting of my own.

I loved the plot, which was just the right blend of fantasy,romance and daring adventure; keeping the pace fast without sacrificing any of the compelling or emotionally significant character development (an exceptional feat given this is a debut novel.)

The plot was incredible (I loved it) but it was the engaging and in depth characters that kept me invested. Shane (our axe wielding and fiercely loyal mercenary) was an absolute joy the get to know (I really enjoyed the backstory about her family and how she came to be a woodsman for hire) and the hilarious banter/ bickering with the bookish and pragmatic Fi—even in the face of danger— was honestly the perfect way to lighten the more intense moments.

Not to mention the absolutely swoon-worthy romance we’re treated to with Fi and Briar, whose chemistry was amazing, though I should warn it is a slow burn. Shane also has chemistry laden romance of her own—with the mysteriously irresistible Red, whose appearances are a bit of a whirlwind but, I have to admit they’re always memorable.

Vedder also makes ample use of the multi POVs (Fi, Shane and Briar) which really added to the immersive experience and helped connect with all three characters. Briar’s was especially helpful as he does spend the entire novel pretty much a ghost, so to get more insight into his life (and emotional state are being alone for 100 years) was great.

I also wanted to mention just how great the LGBTQ+ rep was and how much I loved the Shane and Fi’s incredible bond of friendship and their support for one another through difficult situations. I was also pretty pleased with Vedder’s choice to use stereotypically gendered titles/roles (such as King, huntsman) for any gender (as opposed to changing the title to Queen or huntswoman) and found it really refreshing to see.

Overall, this magically atmospheric and beautifully thrilling, gender-switch retelling of Sleeping Beauty is an absolute must read for all fairytale lovers, adventure aficionados and fans of Socrcery of Thorns or Cinderella Is Dead.

Also a huge thank you to Hachette Children’s Group and Netgalley for the e-arc.

What a brilliant read!

This is a gender reverse retelling of sleeping beauty, it has adventure, romance and wit. The story starts off with two treasure hunters, each who has a hiddened past and who don't like each other very much, pair up to do a job. The story is told from both perspectives and learn more about each characters backstories before they learn more about each other. I loved that world building was written into the unfolding story and not a big chunk a the beginning that we had to get through to get to the story.

I have really been getting into fantasy lately and this was just brilliant, first fantasy 5 star of the year and cant wait for the next instalment!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!! So. Much. Thanks so much BKMRK for my ecopy. This was an action & humour packed fantasy with fantastic dialogue, brilliant character development and lots of action, adventure and brilliant plot. Bring on book 2!!! 😍

I am a huge fantasy reader, and I've read a lot of re-tellings of the classic European fairy tales. This is one of the better ones I've read. I really enjoyed the world that the author built, with it's different kingdoms and towns. That being said, a map at the beginning would have been nice, to be able to follow Fi and Shane's journey across Darfell and Andar. The LGBT+ representation in the book was fantastically written in my opinion - accepted without question in this world, it was no issue that Shane was a lesbian and still heir to her father's throne. I loved the relationship portrayed between Fi and Briar as well, with Fi's feelings for Briar growing over the course of the novel - no case of insta-love here! Can I also say, in most re-tellings where the gender of the main fairy tale character is changed the author's also feel the need to change their name to fit? I loved the fact that in this instance, the name Briar Rose was kept and the author came up with an explanation and history to fit that name. It was refreshing!

My one issue was that it was pretty obvious from the beginning that Red was going to be related in some way to the Spindle Witch. That was not a surprise or a big reveal. Not sure if this is what the author was aiming for, in order to have a redemption story in the next book? I will admit that I was disappointed when I realised I was getting to the end of the book, and that there was going to be a sequel, but on reflection this was good as there were an awful lot of strands to still wrap up and we hadn't even met the main villain yet, so glad it wasn't rushed.