Release Date: August 22nd 2023
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 336
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: I received an E-ARC via Netgalley
Rating: 2.25/5 stars

Synopsis

Bitsy is no one’s ideal princess.

She’s heard it all: that it’s a shame she’s so plain, so lacking in grace. That the best thing for her to do is simply wait (and wait some more), and hope some prince will grant her a happy ending.

Then Bitsy pricks her finger on a spindle and falls down, down, down.

Into a world where cutthroats and con artists are more common than curtsies. Where no one ages and everyone is beautiful. Where an inscrutable evil rests at its core.

A land where Bitsy’s fate and her future are solely in her own hands—and neither are what she expects.

The dark and deadly world of Heartless meets the empowering twist of Cruel Beauty in this thrilling, unpredictable, multigenre retelling of one of the most beloved fairy tales: where instead of falling asleep to await her prince, this sleeping beauty finally wakes up.

Review

Creeping Beauty caught my eye as it was described as a subversive and feminist take on Sleeping Beauty. I love reimaginings of Sleeping Beauty so couldn’t wait to dive in. Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for me. The story follows Bitsy a plain princess and heir to the throne. Her parents want her to marry but are finding it difficult to find a suitable match. When Bitsy accidentally pricks her finger on a spinning wheel, she is transported to a world where beauty is the most important thing and people will do anything they can to make themselves beautiful. Will Bitsy be able to escape and return to her kingdom, and will she be the same person when she gets there?

The story does have an intriguing premise, but the plot felt very disjointed. It is quite a quick paced tale and the writing was easy to get into but I was hoping for more atmosphere in the sinister and cut throat land that Bitsy is transported to. The story didn’t really come to a satisfying conclusion and I was expecting something more to happen before the story came to an end.

Bitsy as a main protagonist was fine but I didn’t particularly connect with her and I didn’t feel like the romance worked at all. There were other characters I was more interested in and wished we got to know more of. Overall Creeping Beauty is a different take on the Sleeping Beauty tale. If you’re looking for a fairytale reimagining this could be something you’ll really enjoy but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.