I love fairytale retellings. But this one fell a bit flat for me.
I enjoyed parts of the story, like the beginning and how descriptive it is. However, I found the pacing to be uneven in places, and the ending is anticlimactic.
Briar doesn't really have much depth as a character and has pretty much no progression. At the end, her existence is still kept hidden? I can't figure out why. I really disliked the ending.
Sel should have stayed and helped Briar to acclimatise not just leave.
I did like Sel as a character however.

Headlines:
Sisters
Curses
Separation

Spellbound was an imaginative, fantastical story based loosely on Sleeping Beauty. It had its own direction, characterisation and it felt unpredictable in ways. There were three characters at the fore, Sel, Briar and Talia. These females' lives were interwoven with a complexity fostered by dark magic and a curse.

What I appreciated hugely about this story was that the turns the plotlines took were founded in difficulty for these characters and those around them. Those hard times were mitigated by periods of brief joy, routine and finding pleasure in simple things like animals, books and hard graft.

The secrets that knotted these characters together meant that how Sel, Briar and Talia connected to those around them was always frought with distrust, a sense of being left in the dark and that hampered depth of feeling and good communication. Sel and Briar really did have a strong connection but as time went by, the secrets eroded their love.

Jacken and Gadd were welcome side characters and I felt much satisfaction where one of those stories ended. In terms of the sisters' stories, that felt an opening ending and a possibility for more which I would definitely welcome.

A really enjoyable debut from Georgia Leighton which felt 'out of the box' with a fresh voice. Thank you to Bantam Books for the beautiful arc.

This book is a Sleeping Beauty Retelling. The pacing of this book makes it very confusing to follow and the amount of character POVs does not help with this. I can see what this book is trying to do but for me personally the pacing makes it very difficult to follow. The overall writing is good and I would like to try another book from this author to fully form my opinions.

3.75⭐ (rounded for 4)

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access in exchange for an honest review.

Spellbound is a fantastic twist on a classic fairy tale ~ what if beauty never went to sleep.

This is not Sleeping Beauty as you know it but a twisting tale of motherhood, sisterhood, betrayal and revenge. Romance takes a back seat whilst the spectrum familial love and friendship between women steps up to centre stage.

Whilst I enjoyed Spellbound, I finished feeling a little dissatisfied with the ending. It felt like more of a beginning, we spend a majority of the book watching Talia and Briar grow up, waiting for the curse to strike. Whilst compelling and well written the 5 POV's meant you never really get to the depths of each character. The characters and their relationships are complex and but mean the action and plot are placed on hold until 2/3rds of the way into the book.

It is however and enjoyable read, and fans of Angela Carter will enjoy Leighton’s unique retelling of the Grimm classic.

You’ll know this story - it’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but with many differences. There’s no prince to free Beauty from her sleep for one.

I don’t want to list the story outline, as it’d be more enjoyable seeing it unravel as you read. Suffice to say, I loved the strong female characters, the connection to magic and nature and seeing the early years of the princess unfold in a fresh, new way.

The ending felt a little rushed, I’d have liked more time to be spent on evil Noatina’s return to finish the curse. One of the three narrators seemed a bit surplus to requirements.

Overall a really solid and enjoyable read; I’d love to delve back into this kingdom in other books.

This fun novel is a loose interpretation of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. There are some great, strong female protagonists, and the world that is created for this kingdom is rich and compelling. I don’t know from the ending whether we will be getting a sequel – if so, though, I would love to revisit these characters.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

Spellbound by Georgia Leighton

3.5 STARS

Love a classic fairytale retelling story. This is Sleeping Beauty with a twist - no handsome princess is coming to save the princess this time. The setting is atmospheric and still retains semblance of the original story whilst being different. A good YA fantasy read.

This was such a good read! It took a while to get into it, but by the third chapter I literally couldn’t stop reading. I love that it’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and Briar’s friendship with Jacken was beautifully written.

Georgia Leighton’s Spellbound is a captivating modern twist on Sleeping Beauty, asking the intriguing question: What if Sleeping Beauty never fell asleep? This fresh take on the classic fairy tale weaves together elements from multiple retellings, creating a story that feels both familiar and completely new.
As a longtime fan of fairy tales, I absolutely loved this magical book. Leighton skillfully incorporates details from different versions of Sleeping Beauty, adding layers of depth and meaning. For example, the inclusion of characters named Talia—referencing Sun, Moon, and Talia—and Briar—tying back to the Brothers Grimm version—demonstrates a thoughtful nod to the tale’s history while keeping the story original.
Beyond its magical retelling, Spellbound is rich in detail, offering an immersive experience that kept me hooked from start to finish. The ending also hints at the possibility of a sequel, which I’m eagerly hoping for! If you love fairy tale retellings, this book is a must-read.

A superb fantasy action adventure, set in a magical world, that will have you on the edge of the seat right from page one. A must read that is highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this, I liked the twists, the world building and Sel was absolutely fantastic. I also enjoyed Briar’s friendship with Jacken, and Sel’s own hopeful happiness after so much heartache. I did find myself wanting to learn more about the villain and the curse but overall, this was a great read. Thank you the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This was a very interesting take on Sleeping Beauty. Although, it definitely isn't the classic version.

I liked Sel the most. Her self-sacrifice was a breath of fresh air. I also love her romance with Gad. It was the best part of the book.

The twins were interesting, but they fell a bit flat for me. I would have liked to have seen more depth of character. We got glimpses of personality, but I just didn't feel that it was fleshed out enough.

I also felt that there should have been more backstory about the Queen and her sister. We got the basics, but I would have liked to understand more about why everything happened as it did.

The pacing was quite slow. It did read like a fairytale, and it had that kind of vibe. But it was mostly following the twins growing up and viewing them both through their PoVs as well as a few others.

I did enjoy this, overall, and I would actually read more set in this world.

3.5 stars

A spellbinding reimagining of sleeping beauty. Full of magic, curses and twin princesses. Really enjoyed reading this.

Spellbound by Georgia Leighton | Pub Date Apr 24 2025

This book was a bit difficult for me to get through. Despite having some hopes, I’ve now realized that all these retellings (just like live-action remakes) simply aren’t my cup of tea.

At first, I was somewhat intrigued by the story. It had a modern touch and some fairly interesting worldbuilding. But after a while, I started to lose interest in what was happening, or rather, what wasn't happening.

That said, one thing I did enjoy was the use of multiple POVs. It gave a deeper insight into the characters and their emotions, which added a nice layer to the overall narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

A Sleeping Beauty-inspired fairytale with multiple POVs, very little romance, and an appreciation of horses - obviously I am a targeted audience member of this.

This wasn't a fast-paced book by any means, but it did read like a fairytale, which I found absolutely charming, and had a lot of care for its world and characters (Sel, my love). Overall, a lovely read.

Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

This has such great potential being a sleeping beauty retelling that was about feminine rage and women saving themselves but for me it just fell short.

I found almost all of the character really unlikeable. Talia had the potential to be great but her character just wasn’t fleshed out enough for me.
Sel was the only likeable character for me, I loved her story of sacrifice and her resilience throughout. Her love story was Gad was the best part of this story and I’d actually have loved more of that!

About 70% of this book was just following Briar and Talia growing up very slowly and it was a bit painful to get through. Suddenly in those last 30% pages everything starts happening but then it just ends, without much actually happening and it was all a hit confusing. The spinning wheel? The after effects on the queen? It was all very strange and felt a bit rushed especially as one minute we were dealing with the after effects of Noatina showing up and the next the king is doing the parade?!?

If a book came out about Sep, Gad and their journey to the central realm then I would be all over that as the magic system sounded so interesting but there just wasn’t enough about it.

This was such a fun little take on the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty

This was my first retelling of a fairytale, and it did not disappoint for my very first one!

The book is themed around the question ‘what if sleeping beauty never fell asleep?’ which is such an interesting take

The story follows multiple POVs, which are surprisingly easy to keep up with

Not the ending I expected at all!

Thank you to the author, publisher and of course to NetGalley for this ARC

This was a really unique take on the fairytale of sleeping beauty. It deconstructed the tale to its base elements and rearranged them in a way that was fresh, and much more complex.

I enjoyed following Sel the most, she was someone that was in the wrong place at the right time, or the right place at the wrong time, depending on your opinion, who had her entire existence turned upside down by now having to care for a cursed baby. The constant running and hiding, all while managing a growing child who draws people to them. I liked her relationship with Gaddeous because he actually seemed like a very genuine person.

The writing style was something I struggled with here, particularly in how the characters were written. When you have such a range of characters from all sorts of locations and backgrounds you would expect them to be different, but despite the range from a queen to a peasant, everyone has the same tone and the same way of speaking. For me there was no difference in the way Briar and Talia spoke and acted at 5 versus at 16. In the first Talia chapter I thought she was older until the next chapter when another chapter said she was 5! This was the problem, condensing 16/17 years of development into 400 pages means that there are some missed elements and nuances that would have benefited the writing.

This was described as three women saving the day, but really they are very flawed characters. The Queen is obviously very traumatised, both from her childhood and from the birth, though why she would invite the blessings when she knew what would happen is odd, but she was cold the entire book and even by the end she defended them but that didn’t feel strong enough. The lady in waiting felt really manipulative to me. Maybe that’s not the right word, but everything she did was for appearances and to live up to expectations, nothing was done for Talia and she barely though of Briar in any of her chapters.

I’ve never read a fairytale retelling before so this one was new for me, and I enjoyed it much more then I was expecting too! The book was themed around the question ‘what if sleeping beauty never fell asleep?’ And the story is told via several POV’s. The characters are brilliantly written, the plot was interesting and I loved how magic was sprinkled in.

Before I launch into my review, I would like to say a huge thank you to Georgia Leighton, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, and Netgalley for the Advanced Digital Reader Copy of this title. For anyone with their eye on this title, here is my personal review of the book to help you decide whether you are interested or not. All opinions offered are my own.

There were a few reasons this book caught my eye. The title, Spellbound, was giving fantasy vibes and was just the easy-going genre I needed after a mind-bending, twisty thriller. I was looking for something that offered an absolute escape. The cover also caught my eye. I did not give much thought to the actual print in the first instance, I was just drawn to the colors and the swirling pattern formed by the roses, which drew me further into the feelings of escapism. Lastly, and probably most of all, I was drawn to the allusion of a retelling of the classic fairytale, Sleeping Beauty.

The beginning definitely had that fairytale feel. I kept wondering if Rumpelstiltskin was going to make an appearance. I enjoyed the nativity vibe it was giving off with these random masters all trying to reach a given destination as close to the birth of the new baby as possible. It reminded me of the Shepherds and Wisemen following the star to find the Messiah. But if at this point you are still expecting a close retelling of Sleeping Beauty, you will be sorely disappointed. Instead, the story takes a major departure from versions we know and love, whilst still loosely maintaining features of various versions of Sleeping Beauty.

I read a few reviews during my early reading of this novel and noticed there were quite a few that mentioned odd/slow pacing. There are time jumps every so often once we have been given a sense of what a certain time in the characters’ lives has been like. I, personally, did not have a problem with skipping years whilst dwelling on others. This often coincided with moving between homes. I also noticed that there were several reviews that outright stated that this was not a love story, and that there would be no prince coming to the rescue. I liked this idea because it empowered the female characters and tells a fairytale for adults where we are not still believing that we need a man to save the day.

Like other reviews, I would agree that the ending was not expected and maybe didn’t do all the main characters justice, however, I did like that it was not entirely expected. I would also agree that the characters could have been more fleshed out. Upon finishing the story, I had questions about the family dynamics that led to the upset in the first place. I would have liked to have seen more magic or had a better understanding as to why magic was frowned upon, particularly when there were still Masters that could wield it.

Whilst reading the story, I was satisfied with the pace and the world around me at the time, but overall, I wanted more. For a fantasy novel, the world building could have been stronger. Several locations were used but in retrospect, it is difficult to distinguish them from each other.

The novel is probably best suited to young adult readers. There are some allusions to sexual relations but otherwise the story is fairly mild. Death also features, but again, it is not particularly descriptive making it tame for a younger crowd. Overall, given the target audience, the interesting plot twist, but lack of detail that left me wanting to know more, I rate the book 3 out of 5 stars.