This little novella packs a big punch, but who's surprised when it's Alix Harrow writing?

As anyone can tell you, I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings, and most especially ones that involve some serious twists on the original, while still keeping their magic. A Spindle Splintered is one such story--sleeping beauties crossing each other's timelines across the multiverse? Evil fairy godmothers with actual honest-to-goodness backstories and motivations? Girls who don't take their fates lying down (pun intended)? SIGN ME UP.

This is a distinctly feminist twist on the original tale, and I am 100% here for it. While the story isn't without its flaws, the gorgeous writing, brilliant characters, deep themes around mortality and agency, and the near-constant thread of humor make it a 5 star read. Definitely recommend!

☀︎︎Sleeping Beauty meets Into the Spiderverse with this intriguing tale about a fairytale not always ending happily☀︎︎

𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚...
- multiverse theories
- hilarious MC that thrives in chaos
- fairytale retellings done RIGHT
- chronic illness rep
- 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛

Then you are gojng to LOVE this book.
It is everything you could ever ask for. From a heroine cursed with an early death to the hidden ways that sometimes, a curse isn’t all that it seems.
Everything about this book is perfection and I absolutely ADORED it. Read it faster than any other book I’ve read before, and I’m anxiously awaiting for the next book already.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 are incredible. Each one is very lively and unique, and they all add something important to the story. From our MC Zinnia and her urge to actually 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒, to her best friend Charm and doing anything she can to bring her friend peace and show her how much life she’s got. There’s so much attention to detail that it’s easy to fall in love with the characters and understand every aspect of their emotions.
Iᴛs ᴀʙsᴏᴜʟᴜᴛᴇ ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩 is like nothing I’ve ever read before.
As someone who is a big fan of fairy-tale retellings, I was sure it would follow on the same path of ‘girl is cursed- she falls in love with surprise hero- curse is broken’ but it was not that in the SLIGHTEST.
Everything about this story was unique and beautifully told. And Alix Harrow creates a story that is sure to suck you in and stick with you.

𝙄𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣: this book is PERFECT for lovers of fairytales and all their different endings, especially for those that love how sometimes, you have to write the own ending to your story

- a big thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

A Spindle Splintered is the first in what appears to be a multiverse-spanning series of fairy tale retellings. And while it is just a novella, it packs quite a punch, with commentary of fairy tale history and what the gender roles of women in these tales often had to say about women in real life, while actively fighting against that.

I loved following Zinnia as she was dealing with her own modern day version of a Sleeping Beauty curse, and finding herself transported to a magical world to partner up with another Sleeping Beauty, Primrose, when her own “curse” takes effect. There were some great revelations along the way about the true intent of the “wicked fairy,” and how she played into the larger Sleeping Beauty legacy. I also loved how this story was about Zinnia and Primrose saving each other, and that love can come in many forms.

I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to see what’s next for Zinnia and the rest of the cast. If you love fairy tale retellings, you won’t want to miss this one!

This is so so wonderful. Author Alex E. Harrow just keeps getting better, more creative and adept at producing explosively dynamic magical worlds. A SPINDLE SPLINTERED works as a many layered delight: a fractured fairy tale, a multiverse of fairy tales, a feminist revision of fantasy heroines and a chronically-ill feminine voice locked out of her life by well-intentioned caregivers. The plot is creative and tightly woven; this is more a novella than a book. I could read an anthology of these tales in a heartbeat. I’m a huge fan. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

My favorite of Alix's books so far. I think she's definitely found her niche. It's definitely not as fluffy or prose heavy like Once and Future Witches, but I think this worked! I'm not an own voices reviewer for chronic illness, but I think that it was handled well. Looking forward to the next installment!

Zinnia Gray has always had a great kinship to sleeping beauty, someone who shares her fate, despite the fact that she is destined to die before her twenty-first birthday owing to a rare genetic disease.

Her best friend, Charm decides to throw her a sleeping beauty-themed birthday party, equipped with a tower and a spinning wheel. Zinnia pricks her finger on the spinning wheel’s spindle and she is swept away from her home to a new world not dissimilar to her own. She falls into a fairy-tale world with another Sleeping Beauty, Princess Primrose.

There, the lives of the two women get intertwined as they work together to save themselves from their destinies.

The novella might be short, but it is nonetheless impactful. The feminist implication of the original fairy-tale is very well executed. It talks about taking control of your circumstances and at the same time highlights the importance of sisterhood.

Zin is a really witty and entertaining character. I love characters like her, who are aware of their sad fate, but they never stop living. Other characters like Charm and Primrose are equally adorable, and so is the queer representation in the book.

This is a novella that you can finish in one sitting.

A Spindle Splintered is about the power of narrative to shape and warp people’s lives. And it’s about the power of sisterhood and friendship that helps them to break free.

Zinnia Gray is dying. For her, Sleeping Beauty is more than a myth or a fairy tale. It’s a dream of wish fulfillment. Sleeping Beauty went to sleep, and when she woke up her curse was broken and all was well.

Zinnia would be happy to sleep for a century if she could wake up and be healthy, with all of her loved ones around her. But it’s not to be, and she knows it. She has an incurable disease that is going to take away all the birthdays after this one.

Her best friend Charm is determined to give Zinnia the full Disney Princess Sleeping Beauty experience, complete with crumbling castle and defective spinning wheel. But the power of their friendship and the power of narrative and the multiverse turn out to be a whole lot stronger than either Zinnia or Charm could possibly have imagined.

Zinnia, like all the other Sleeping Beauties before and after her, pricks her finger on the spindle, but instead of sleeping for a century, Zinnia finds herself spinning out into the multiverse of all the Sleeping Beauties who have ever, or will ever, do the same.

Zinnia cries out through the multiverse, not for someone to save her, but for someone she can save. And her cry is answered in ways that Disney and the Brothers Grimm never imagined.

Escape Rating A+: First, this book is just plain wonderful. It’s a wonderfully twisted re-imagining of the Sleeping Beauty story, and it’s a terrific story of friendship, sisterhood and agency. I always love it when the princesses save themselves – as they should!

Most of the reviews make a comparison between A Spindle Splintered and the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and that comparison is certainly there to be made. Just as Miles Morales teams up with variations of Spider-Man from across one multiverse, Zinnia teams up with Sleeping Beauties from myths and fairytales that spread across their multiverse.

There is, however, an element to A Spindle Splintered and the multiverse of Sleeping Beauties that wasn’t present in the Spiderverse. Come to think of it, there are two elements. One is that Spider-Man in all of his, her, and their incarnations, including Spider-Ham, is an active character with agency. Once that radioactive spider bites their victim, the resulting Spider-person becomes an active force for good.

Sleeping Beauty is a passive character. Her fate is to prick her finger and sleep for a century, only to be woken up by a kiss. She’s the progenitor of the woman in the refrigerator trope. She’s not even the protagonist of her own story.

But the original point I wanted to make about the royalty of princesses (yes, royalty is the collective noun for a group of princesses) who would be Sleeping Beauty is that many of them, and clearly the ones who answer Zinnia’s call, don’t want to be Sleeping Beauty. They are being forced or coerced or shoved into the role by the power of the narrative to shoehorn people into predetermined patterns or tropes. It’s a concept that has been used to power entire stories or series like Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes, the Five Hundred Kingdoms series by Mercedes Lackey, and the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. The force of narrative, of its need to recreate timeless stories by shoving people into roles they don’t want in order to fulfill its directive, makes A Spindle Splintered a powerful story because we already know how the story is “supposed” to go and want to see it subverted.

And it’s wonderful – especially when all the Sleeping Beauties carry off the princess and save the day, not just for her, but for each other as well.

Speaking of stories that could use a different ending, the Fractured Fables series will continue next summer with A Mirror Mended. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, will Zinnia Gray save the sorceress or take a really big fall?” Or both. We’ll see what we see when we look in that mirror.

This matter-of-fact, like you're reading from someone's personal journal-type story was such a breath of fresh air. I thought it was a memoir, at first. Then, the fantasy element arrives and due to the heroine's unique perspective, it completely works.

While this is a very obvious commentary on many things, it was still lighthearted in a gothic kind of way? I told you, it's different. I loved the ending and the characters were so realistic you could see people you've met in them.

This was so fun and full of voice. This is everything I want from comedic fractured retellings. The backdrop of chronic fatal disease from lack of care about drinking water was interesting. I loved how she got to Primrose's kingdom, the unexpected part with the wicked fairy, and really everything about this. I can't wait for more.

A Spindle Splintered, Alix E. Harrow’s wonderful retelling of Sleeping Beauty, stands the fairytale’s premise on its head while managing to hit the right familiar notes to evoke emotions in its readers.

Zinnia Gray suffered through a rare industrial accident that has given her a fatal disease which will kill her before the age of twenty-two.  Her friends, led by her best friend Charm, know the clock is running out for her and throw her a Sleeping Beauty-themed party on her twenty-first birthday.

But when Zinnia touches the spindle on the prop spinning wheel, she finds herself zapped into a new dimension.  Given the opportunity to change the world for another Sleeping Beauty named Primrose  – and thus change her own fate – after being dropped in a medieval-like kingdom, Zinnia finds herself dimension-hopping to help others.  When all of these folks collide, what will happen?

My biggest criticism of A Spindle Splintered is that it is way too short – barely 128 pages long, and it’s bursting with ideas and worldbuilding and good prose.  That it has to end so quickly is frustrating, and leaves the reader wondering what more might happen to Zinnia out there in the multiverse.  I wouldn’t pay for it as a hardcover novel, but its spirit and spunk pleased me.

I liked Zinnia, and Primrose, one of the Beauties who gets the largest share of backstory in the novel.  I could only sit back and yearn for a bit more, wishing the novel didn’t end where it ended, in the end.  The way it handles its queer, feminist, disabled characters is a treat.

A Spindle Splintered is a quick read, but a good one.

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This is the “Sleeping Beauty” tale for the 21st century. Alix E. Harrow’s novella, "A Spindle Splintered," she fuses traditional variants with modern knowledge. How many fairy tales have working smartphones in them? This story is NOT a fairy tale retelling, but a “fractured fairy tale.” This is NOT a fairy tale retelling (per se), but a modern fairy tale. "A Spindle Splintered" is a tragic yet entertaining story about the lasting affect of fairy tales, and what an individual should do when they find themselves in one. Once again, Alix E. Harrow reminds her audience of the significance of fairy tales and their everlasting impact throughout culture and humanity.

Advanced Reader’s Copies (I ended up with an egalley and the audiobook) that were provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook is from Macmillan Audio and the egalley is from Macmillan- Tor/Forge.

This was a fun novella from Harrow! I loved the concept that fairytales have been told by so many people throughout generations and generations that the essence of each tale has seeped into parallel universes and spaces to allow for a Sleeping Beauty (for example) in each dimension. In A SPINDLE SPLINTERED, each version of Sleeping Beauty has their own version of a curse that will end their life too soon. For Zinnia Gray, that means a rare disease that means she won't see her 22nd birthday. But when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel, she finds herself in a different world... with another Sleeping Beauty who is running out of time. But this allows Zinnia the courage to decide to try to find a way to stop the cycle and give every Sleeping Beauty ownership of their own destinies.

May everyone have a best friend like Charm. I need more of her story! Amy Landon does a great job with the audiobook performance too.

4.5

Despite opinions stated within this story, Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorites. So when I saw that Alix E Harrow was going to flip what has been traditionally known about this fable, I was all for it. But I think I really appreciated the fact that Alix (through main character Zinnia) really tackled all the complex and, let's face it, problematic issues regarding the Sleeping Beauty story throughout its many iterations. I think it was interesting to acknowledge where the story came from and how it morphed from Perrault to Disney and other things in between. Then, most of all, I enjoyed seeing where Alix E Harrow took the story.

An industrial accident left Zinnia Gray with a rare condition. She is just turning twenty-one and doesn't expect to live much longer. Zinnia has much identified with the story of Sleeping Beauty - a young woman who lives under a curse to sleep for 100 years - except when the time comes Zinnia will not be falling asleep only to be awakened with true love's kiss. While Zinnia has grown evermore resigned to her fate, her best friend Charm is not ready to let go so easily.

For her twenty-first birthday, Charm throws Zinnia a Sleeping Beauty-themed party, complete with a spinning wheel and everything. What starts as Zinnia cheekily playing along with the fairytale, ends up sending her through a portal where Zinnia meets Primrose, a princess who is also living her own Sleeping Beauty tale.

Zinnia soon sees an opportunity to rewrite her own story, with the help of Primrose and interdimensional texting with Charm, Zinnia just may live to see her next adventure.

For me, the story was all about changing your narrative. Taking the power that's rightfully yours and making your own story. I think it resonated so well in that regard. This idea of our fates being laid out before us set in stone, yet really it takes some determination - and let's face it an awesome support system - and we can obtain the unimaginable. I love that despite Zinnia's rather bleak outlook, there's so much hope infused within she just needs to find her path, her own story.

I loved that this was such a quick read. I think that it made the story more fine-tuned to the really important parts. There was no time for extra, and Alix E Harrow really brought out all the best within the story making it feel very full.

I see that this is listed as #1 of a new series so I'm really excited to see what fable Alix E Harrow decides to fracture next because I am here for it!

I am never one to shy away from retellings, and I can’t deny Alix E. Harrow presented an intriguing remix of Sleeping Beauty in A Spindle Splintered. I certainly loved what this story tried to be, but unfortunately, there were other forces at play.

Zinnia Gray is obsessed with Sleeping Beauty because she’s been cursed just like the classic fairy-tale princess. Unfortunately, Prince Charming’s kiss is not a cure for Zinnia’s rare medical condition. Nobody with Generalized Roseville Malady (GRM) has lived to twenty-two, and Zinnia has already spent twenty-one years under her parent’s oppressive sorrow with a need to live life and do it quickly. For her last birthday, Zinnia’s best friend surprises her with a sleeping beauty-themed party in an abandoned tower complete with warm beer, roses, and even a spindle. Fully committed to the theme, Zinnia pricks her finger on the spindle and is immediately transported to another world. She finds herself in a fairy tale with Princess Primrose who shares the same curse as Sleeping Beauty. The two decide they want to rewrite their stories and set out on an adventure to find a new happily ever after.

Our initial introduction to Zinnia’s world was captivating. She’s brutally honest about her dire situation and arms herself with a lot of irreverent humor. I was on the verge of buying in at first, but once Zinnia pricks her finger on the spindle the threads start to unravel. The novella reads like a young adult novel that got torn apart and forced into smaller packaging. The essence of this story is just not there and the connective tissue between moments is really thin. Everything was rushed and any sort of character development or worldbuilding was but a shapeless blur passed over in order to hit the main plot points. It was like reading SparkNotes - I got the main idea without any of the depth to make it meaningful.

At the root of this story is the tale of Sleeping Beauty, a princess that probably stars in every feminist’s worst nightmare. She certainly doesn’t play an active role in her own story, so I can understand how empowering it is just to have our female characters take action and *gasp* speak more than five words. But the story also wants to explore Sleeping Beauty’s inability to escape her fated curse through the lens of Zinnia’s illness. Both are heavy-hitting topics to explore, and I believe it was too big for this short story to handle. There simply was not enough time or space to support both in a meaningful way.

Female empowerment in this novella basically boiled down to “if you’re a woman you can make choices, too.” Spindle didn’t expand on that and it’s fine. But it’s a shame the story failed to fully realize its potential with Zinnia’s predicament because it is really interesting. Even when faced with death she’s able to take action. She’s not afraid to make choices and we’re made to believe she desires to live. It’s just that we see her going about it with the enthusiasm of selecting a cereal to eat for breakfast. It’s not enough to simply choose to live, but how and why you make that choice in the first place. What is a life if not something to LIVE for? The book’s inability to explore Zinnia’s conviction dilutes the choices she makes along the way. Her flippant actions also sully the idea of dying and it becomes a severely diminished threat compared to her desire to return to her homeworld.

A Spindle Splintered certainly started off strong but it lost its way quickly. Could you find enjoyment in this simple reimaging of Sleeping Beauty? Absolutely. A lot can be forgiven when it’s a comfortable story you love. I may not have particularly enjoyed this one, but I can still appreciate the message it tried to convey. I only wish the packaging was a little different to bring about the story’s full potential.

Rating: A Spindle Splintered - 4.0/10

In general, I love retellings of Sleeping Beauty because, when done well, authors take a story where the main character has almost no agency, and spin it so that she does. Since I first got my copy of Spindle’s End at Borders (am I showing my age?), no author has come close to the brilliance that is Robin McKinley’s writing.

And then I read A Spindle Splintered. Harrow does a fantastic job of exploring the origins of the fairy tale, and how it’s actually a truly horrid tale, while also creating a story that’s fresh, unique, and entirely new. This subversive, feminist novella already has a spot in my favorites of 2021 (and a spot on my all-time favorites list!)

I can’t wait for everyone to meet Zinnia, and would highly recommend this novella to any fantasy fan! Also, I’m incredibly excited that we’re getting another novella set in this same universe (with an equally gorgeous cover)

A Spindle Splintered by Alice Harrow is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. This novella delves into important subjects, such as chronic illness and how that can impact lives. I loved the representation shown with the queer love story. Zinnia made me laugh with her sarcasm and her friendship with charm, charmed me (pun intended). The only thing I wish was different about this was the length. I wanted more! It’s an easy story to get hooked on to and truly enjoy.

This was an unexpected cute spin on a fairy tale. I was always a fan of the sleeping beauty story and this is an interesting take. Zinnia is about to die, she was diagnosed with a fatal disease and is just counting down the days. On her 21st birthday, she pricks her finger, as a joke, and she is catapulted into a fairy tale world. Except these princesses don't want the classic HEA. Zinnia is a favorite heroine, equal parts debbie downer and wittiness. This is a fast read where princesses aren't what they seem and neither is Zinnia. A queer take on this fairy tale that has these female characters taking hold of their destinies. It was a battle cry into smashing the patriarchy and pretty fun. It does have a lot of morbid and sad issues that are addressed but that's exactly who Zinnia is.

I adored Harrow's Ten Thousand Doors of January so I was excited to try this Fractured Fables seres. This one didn't disappoint!

This was a fantastic feminist twist on the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty. I loved the LGBTQ rep and the strong female lead. The narration was great as well. I loved the subtle humor and pop culture references sprinkled throughout.

I will disagree with one point made - the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice is NOT the superior version. I totally disagree with that statement. Colin Firth is the only acceptable Mr. Darcy. Fight me.

Great audio! A huge thank you to MacMillion Audio for this copy.

Sleeping Beauty meets the multiverse. Zinnia has a terminal illness, and no one who has it has ever lived past twenty-one. She has always loved the tale of Sleeping Beauty, in part because she relates to the princess and in part because it provides a happy ending she can never have. But on her twenty-first birthday, Zinnia pricks her finger and finds herself falling through reality into a very familiar fairy tale world – or so it seems.

At first, this book seemed painfully predictable, with our heroine ending up in a real-life version of her favorite story, but it ended up going in some interesting directions. I loved the revelation of who the “wicked fairy” actually was. And the alternate-universe “princesses” were fantastic as well. The characters were great, but plotwise it was a little thin, in part because it was so short, and I kind of wished it had been longer and done more to subvert the tropes it played on.

Representation: Lesbian and bisexual characters, people of color as side characters

CW: minor mention of drug use

Y'all, I had so much fun reading this! Our main character, Zinnia, has a disease that guarantees she won't live until her 22nd birthday. As such, she's obsessed with Sleeping Beauty who suffers from a similar curse. On her 21st birthday, at a sleeping beauty themed party, she pricks her finger and finds herself "spiderversed" into another sleeping beauty story.

First, if you don't know the name Arthur Rackham off your head, google that before you start reading. But yeah, if you like fairy tales or fantasy or snarky narrators, this is delightful! It's also a novella so it's short. I've been wanting to read an Alix Harrow book for a minute and it's very telling that I finished this book and immediately checked her other works out. So yeah, I liked it a lot! I think she's doing more of these spiderversed tales and I'm certainly down for it. 4 stars - will booktalk and recommend to fantasy loving teens and adults!