Dreamer of Briarfell: A Retelling of Sleeping Beauty (Fairytales of Folkshore Book 7)

"Makes you question what was fate, and what was fairies."When I didn't think I could get more impressed or in love with this series, Lucy Tempest goes and absolutely knocks it out of the park. Fairytales of Folkshore have been a consistent 5 star series for me, and the way that the stories are interwoven and entangled bring such joy that it's easy to get lost in this world.Brief spoilers for previous books can be found belowDreamer of Briarfell, the seventh installation, did not disappoint and in fact surpassed all of my expectations. Fairuza was not introduced as a likeable character during Ada's story. This stood to reason as they were both vying for the hand of the Prince, so rivalry is to be expected and if we're seeing it from Ada's side, the opponent won't be shown in the greatest light. The further we delve into Ada's trilogy, the more we see her as a morally grey character who, whilst her main concern is herself, proves herself to not be entirely selfish or 'villainistic'."We do this together, Fairuza - or not at all!Fairuza is our Sleeping Beauty in this retelling, and as we all know how the disney version goes, I was incredibly curious as to who our Prince Phillip would be and who Fairuza would walk with Once Upon A Dream - and let me tell you that when I found out who it was I was absolutely SHOCKED. I, if I'm being honest, wasn't exactly sure how Lucy was going to pull this off as our 'Prince Phillip' had his own Maid prior to this retelling and I didn't know how it would work. All of my concerns were for naught as it worked perfectly.I don't want to go into too much of what happened within the book, so as to not spoil anything, so I will just talk about what I loved about this book.The way that Fairuza is represented and the twist on the sleep until she is awakened by True Love's Kiss curse was beautiful. The fact that Fairuza would grow to be one of my favourite characters within this series has blown my mind and was not something I was expecting, she has such strength and courage within her that was just waiting to be brought to the surface. The way that the relationships were able to be developed, through the twist, was absolutely perfect and not something I would have thought of."I've had such a grey view of the world for so long, I kept hoping someone would come and paint over it for me. Any color would have done, really. But with your opinions, and the hope they give me, you're painting it every bright color I've forgotten exists."One of the things that I really enjoy about these series are the allusions to future retellings and the insight into other characters lives, so you get a feeling for where the future books may be heading. There is a lot of foresight within these books and it is wonderful to see guesses come true in each new edition. The budding relationships between other characters within the stories is also lovely to see, it's like we have several mini storylines interwoven throughout the main one, with no conclusion left untouched.I have really enjoyed seeing Lucy grow as an author and bring her stories to life in such a humourous, heartfelt and beautiful way. I eagerly await her further works and will immediately preorder them as they become available.

Dreamer of Briarfell tells the story of Princess Fairuza, Adelaide's rival in the original trilogy. Fairuza is Folkshore's version of Sleeping Beauty, cursed to die before the sun sets on her eighteenth birthday. A botched amendment to the spell from an attempt to save her resulted in her spirit separating from her body when the curse took effect. Fairuza awakens in a castle where her brother brought her unconscious body for safekeeping and realizes to her horror that no one can see or hear her. She is caught in a ghost-like state between life and death and helplessly floats through the halls until a handsome rogue shows up who can miraculously communicate with her. When she tells him about her plight, he agrees to help her and allows her to join him on his quest to the enchanted land of Faerie in her ghost-like form. Along the way, she is reunited with her two handmaidens, who she learns had a larger part in amending her curse than she initially realized. The only problem is that the rogue who is determined to save her is also quest of his own to rescue his beloved Maid Marian.From the very beginning of the book, Fairuza and Robin see each other in ways that no one else can. She encounters him prior to her curse at a masked ball where he saves her from the threat of a werewolf. For a large portion of the story, he is forced to act as her interpreter because he is the only one who can communicate with her. Fairuza has little interest in the heroic stories of Robin Hood that had grown popular throughout the land, so she sees Robin as a person first and a hero second. Her quest to find a fairy king to proclaim his love for her and break her spell is heartbreaking when it is crystal clear from the beginning that Robin Hood is perfect for her. Fairuza believes that marrying a noble man is the only way to break her curse, and a thieving rogue seems to be the furthest thing possible, regardless how strongly she feels toward him. His loyalty to Marian poses an even bigger threat.This book does a terrific job of expanding upon the mythology within the Fairy Tales of Folkshore series. It incorporates Greek mythology with the Underworld, which will be explored further in Folkshore's upcoming adaptation of "The Little Mermaid." It also makes references to the earlier books in the series by bringing back characters like Bonnie from Beast of Rosemead and Beauty of Rosemead and expands upon how everyone is related through various relatives in the land of Faerie. I love the dichotomy between the human world of Folkshore and the magical world of Faerie, where time moves differently and everyone is a magical being. The main characters from Folkshore always start out knowing little about magic and travel to Faerie and learn that they are much closer to the magic than they could have ever realized. In this case, Fairuza must learn to give up her prejudices against fairy people like her brother Leander did before her when she learns that many of the people she cares about are part of that race. It's a beautiful lesson on tolerance in a detailed fantasy setting.I highly recommend Dreamer of Brairfell to anyone who enjoys fairy tales. It is a beautiful love story with excitement and adventure waiting on every page. I never wanted to put this book down. Turning Fairuza into a ghost was the perfect solution to the issue of Sleeping Beauty being asleep for the majority of her story. Incorporating the rich mythology of Robin Hood into her love interest was a clever twist that made his side of the story that much more intriguing. I loved the idea of Sleeping Beauty going on an adventure with her rescuers to offer advice to pass the trials they needed to do in order to save her. In a way, it gave her a chance to save herself, but she couldn't do it alone. For me, this was the perfect reimagining of a somewhat outdated fairy tale.

Honesty the best thing to come out of 2020 so far.This book is absolutely amazing! Ever since we met, and started to get to know Fairuza in the first couple of books I could not wait for this book. I was sucked in from the very beginning and continued to be enthralled throughout the book. Lucy does such an amazing job developing awesome, relatable characters that you can't help but want them to succeed in their quests! This combination of the Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood fairytales was absolutely flawless.This is one of my favorite series of books I've ever read, and Lucy Tempest continues to wow and amaze me with each and every book. I am so happy with this book and all its predecessors and although this one can be read as a standalone I absolutely recommend reading the whole series!

Ever since meeting Fairuza in the first three books of this series, I've been eagerly awaiting this story. Fairuza starts on this series just a spoiled, perfect princess, and it was aching to read her thoughts and feelings.This book handles the Sleeping Beauty part in an interesting fashion. It is always difficult to build a romance while one of the main characters is asleep. I won't give away how this story manages it, but it was a fun version.Fairuza's love interest is hilarious and fun. I've never seen Robin Hood paired with Sleeping Beauty before, and it made this story take a few interesting twists and turns not usually seen in a Sleeping Beauty retelling.Definitely a fun addition to this series, and I can't wait for the next few books!

I loved this story. I wasn’t sure before I started it after knowing Fairuza’s character from the first three books but her relationship with Robin was really sweet and there were lots of lovely moments. The ending was really emotional as well. It was also good to see some of the pervious characters like Leander and Bonnie as well as Yulien and Ella as well as getting an insight into some future characters which I can’t wait for. If you liked the first books then you’ll love this one.

5 stars."Robin Hood, the selfless thief, the scourge of the unjust. He was the noblest of men."I found a new favourite.Just reading the synopsis already had me excited. I mean, Robin Hood retellings are a rare thing! But mixed with Sleeping Beauty? What a spicy mix....I was looking forward to Fairuza's story a lot, paradoxically, and Lucy Tempest rocked her story. I didn't just like her because she can play the piano and harp (which I do too <3) but because her character had depth and meaning. Her pesky, selfish behaviour from books 1-3 was explained and justified and her back story was really though through. I related to her in a way I didn't think I would and Fairuza now has a special place in my heart, more than any other girl in this series.I was very much intrigued by how the characters see each other... It was so... Realistic! I had already been surprised in Princess of Midnight when Ella wasn't just gushing about Bonnie, even though she'd been her only sort-of friend, but here too, the feelings and thoughts characters have about each other aren't bubbly pink, but a real, human way of perceiving others when they've wronged you, even if you've forgiven them. And that gave incredible depth to the story.Now about Robin... What can I say, he's perfect. His personality was very close to how I imagine Robin Hood in classics and his story was amazing. I'm not going to say anything more because then I'll spoil, but thank you Lucy because I never knew I needed a Robin in my life before this guy.Finally, let's talk about the dreams of premonition characters have, I just find them so cool! And they give such curiosity-inducing glimpses of the next books too!Ah, and I need to mention the world-building. Although I was quite confused in book one, by this book, everything has settled down and has been explained-and what hasn't been, I've concluded for myself. I find Lucy's world incredibly interesting and unique, really, I've never seen anything like it. The diversity of allusions and places is breathtaking.If you're looking for a clean read (a real one), with adventure, intrigue, travel, magic, fae and otherworldly experiences, this is the book for you!