Crown of Slumber

Princess Aurelia is the crown princess of the summer court. Her fae kingdom is special within all other courts as they are the only ones with dragons. Her connection and love for these is so strong that she is fighting for their rights to live in peace, not be imprisoned and used by the other courts. One day when she is coming back from a ride she is meeting a handsome unknown fae male in her woods and really enjoys the encounter. When she returns in her castle her whole world is shuttered. A sleeping spell has befallen the whole castle as well as their army. The unknown guys shows up Aurelia first thinks he might be responsible for all of this but then it turns out he is Prince Fenn and wanted to strike a bargain with her as his country need urgently dragon fire to keep his people save from the onslaught of unseemly beast which hunt and kill them. As he can offer start dust, the substance needed to break this curse, both agree to work together for the good of their countries. During their journey both learn more and more about each other and also start to see behind the masks they wear in front of others but both have secrets which could destroy their starting trust in each other. Wow, I really enjoyed this book! The writing is fluid and right from the start I was directly in the story. What really impressed me is how the author used the well know story of Sleeping Beauty and turned it into a stunning new version of it. I mean using fae, magic and dragons in it I never thought it would work out and I am totally impressed how much I like it. Using the sleeping spell on the court and having the princess being the only who has to break the spell is a really good idea. Also that she is a strong character and has help here in form a her favourite dragon and the crown prince is well done. I don´t want to spoiler here but that also the spinning wheel shows up here was for me brilliantly worked into the story. Aurelia and her love for her dragons is very well written. Also her affection for her family and that she is willing to fight for her country. We learn about her dark secrets which makes her in my eyes even more special. Fenn is for me the perfect counterpart here. He is good looking, likes to have fun and enjoys the company of willing females to entertain him. This is the mask he shows the world. To see what is underneath this mask, his believes, for what he is fighting and risking all was well written. Also for me the chemistry between these two is believable and I really like the erotic encounter we read here. I really like that both of them have their own strength, different weaknesses but both discover so much in this not only about themselves but also about secrets about them, what is really important for them and for what they are willing to risk all. So who likes story re telling, who likes fantasy and who likes strong female characters should check this out.