There is something about the “playfully antagonistic but secretly love each other” trope that I love. I’m not sure what it is about it, but I can’t get enough – especially when the story is set in Faerie. Thank you to “Cari can Read” for recommending this book through her Youtube. Here is my book review for The Forest of Dreams and Whispers by Katherine McDonald.

This book is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, except for here, we have a sleeping prince. Prince Hawthorn was cursed to fall into a 100-year slumber on the day of his 18th birthday by the King of Unseelie. His own slumber would be mirrored by all the Fae in the court, and each mortal would be taken as a slave. Doomed from birth, he carries the weight of his fate on his shoulders. Even so, he attempts to chase the dark away with humor and playfulness. 

We follow Juliana Ardencourt, a mortal knight assigned to be his guard. Juliana has known Hawthorn since childhood, one filled with memories of them pulling cruel pranks on each other. For a while now, she hasn’t felt hatred towards him, but the habit is difficult to break. However, when the curse finally comes to pass, she has to come to terms with her feelings towards him, as well as the knowledge that she might be one of the few capable of breaking the curse.

The banter between Juliana and Hawthorn was honestly top-tier. They had a myriad of funny and adorable moments throughout this book. One of the things I’m incredibly grateful for is the sheer amount of time they spent together, on the pages. Practically 70% of the book was just them talking… something I’m genuinely not complaining about.

Of course, in a romance, the characters have to be compelling and pull you in. I think I’m incredibly biased in my love for these two, because I’m always chasing this specific character dynamic. One of my favorite books of all time is “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries” and the sequel, for the same reason. I just can’t help it. 

I loved how this book was “enemies to lovers”, but so much more pure. Juliana and Hawthorn had no genuine hatred for each other, and their past antagonism wasn’t unforgivable either. I loved that they addressed their cruelty to each other in the past and apologized for it, vowing never to do it again. It wasn’t swept under the rug, despite the fact that it wasn’t even as serious as it sometimes is (no murder of parents, severe bullying or anything unforgivable like that.)

I enjoyed the action scenes in this book. I love it when we can see the character’s resourcefulness in action – it feels so much more realistic like that. In this book, Juliana used her current resources, the weather and various other environmental details to aid her. This balanced out her power and made it seem less like she was just stabbing things that seemed way stronger than her. I enjoy books where the characters actually show their competency on the page, and we’re not simply told they’re really strong.

I genuinely hate it when in books, the author spends too long on the descriptions of the characters. Most of them could have been cut out of the book. Honestly, I was enjoying it more before I had to imagine how Juliana is “pretty enough to be Fae”, picture her “dazzling emerald green eyes” and read about her “velvety soft skin”.  I would much rather hear about Juliana’s scars and hard-earned muscles, her suntanned skin and freckles. How her eyes look lighter when she smiles.  

The same thing with Hawthorn… his “aegean lakes for eyes”, “perfectly sculpted abdomen” and “wicked smirk” were so annoying to read about! I felt like that kind of Roman god description didn’t even fit with his earnestness, loyalty and humor. Though, with Hawthorn, I did understand it more – Fae are supposed to be beautiful in an otherworldly way. I just felt like he could’ve been described in a more intimate way, a different way to how Juliana sees every other Fae. I find the little details and imperfections much more charming.

Despite how I enjoyed all the conversation, as a consequence, the plot was sacrificed. I felt like the story itself was kind of basic and nothing special. It was the characters that made it really come alive. Of course, the scaffolding this is built on is already a classic fairytale: sleeping beauty, dragon, true love’s kiss. This did put an interesting spin on it, but not enough of one to be called unique.

In conclusion, this book is a fun Sleeping Beauty retelling with a twist. It has a beautiful setting in Faerie, a strong couple at the center of the story and some exciting action. This book is a bit of a hit-or-miss – if you love the main couple and their conversations, you will adore this book. However, the plot itself is too flimsy to hold itself together if you don’t like the characters.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60309130-forest-of-dreams-and-whispers