Review: A Wicked Thing

A Wicked Thing
Author: Rhiannon Thomas
Publication Date: February 24th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.

A Wicked Thing is a perfectly okay book. The characters are okay. The writing is okay. The whole feel of a fairytale is good. But for me, that's all it was. Not great. Not bad. But good. Good. That's where the problem lies. There were a lot of doors that were open during the story that were never really closed, and if it would've taken one of those open doors and ran with it, I think it would've made it a lot stronger than it was, because I felt like it didn't go anywhere as such. Stuck in the palace. The Queen spewing some commands and lies at her. Aurora complaining and bitching in her head but nodding and acting like the doll they tell her to be. Sneaking out at night. Next day. Stuck in the palace. The Queen spewing some commands and lies at her. Aurora complaining and bitching in her head but nodding and acting like the doll they tell her to be. Sneaking out at night. How entertaining.

Okay, I'm being a little mean, I wasn't exactly bored while reading because I loved the way it was written, but I wasn't exactly NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NOW. Also, knock knock. Who's there? World building. World building who? Exactly. Nothing seemed fleshed out enough.

I liked Aurora, but the girl had no backbone. You could argue she's been asleep for a hundred years, in the same place that's completely different and all her family are dead, of course she's not going to know what to do or how to challenge what she thinks is wrong, etc.  But isn't that the reason why she should've had one? She had nothing to lose, she needed to see that sooner and actually used it. The other characters I couldn't really give a stuff about, even the bad guys because they're just unbelievably bad, and not in a good way. Even Celestine, considering this all went down because of her she's surprisingly non-existent to the story, and considering she had the power to put Aurora under that sleeping curse until her one 'true love' (yes, I am rolling my eyes as I type that) awoke her, she's surprisingly weak.

It's not all bad though, what's the two things we know about fairytales? It's always a Happy Ever After and it's centred around twu wuv. A Wicked Thing is not. It's realistic in the fact that you have this fated love suddenly sprung on you and you a) don't want it and b) don't even know that person, and C) possibly want to stab that person and what they represent, and Aurora reacts the way you want all characters to react to insta-love . Not very well. It's not your traditional fairytale and I loved that about it.

If you want a different kind of fairytale,  compelling writing and easy reading, A Wicked Thing is your book. Just don't expect anything complex. Or interesting.

Rating: 3/5