The Bone Spindle: The Cursed Rose: Book 3

By Author / Illustrator

Leslie Vedder

Genre

Fairy Tales & Folk Tales

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Hachette Children's Group

ISBN

9781444972887

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

15-02-2024

Synopsis

Two fighting partners. One monstrous prince. A last battle. The finale of The Bone Spindle, a fractured fairy tale based on Sleeping Beauty, with a m/f and a f/f romance. Perfect for fans of CINDERELLA IS DEAD.

With Prince Briar Rose's life on the line as he slowly turns into a monster at the hands of the Spindle Witch, treasure hunter Fi must escape from a tower to rescue him. Meanwhile, her axe-wielding partner Shane is on the hunt for a mysterious weapon that holds the key to the Spindle Witch's demise. But Shane must also protect her lover, the beautiful witch Red, from the Spindle Witch's executioner.

As tensions rise and partnerships crumble, Fi and Shane need to work together again, putting their treasure hunting skills to the test at the greatest lost ruin of them all - the tomb of the Witch Queen Aurora. Will they finally unravel the thread that ties them all together and defeat the Spindle Witch and her twisted creatures once and for all?

Packed with kick-ass fight scenes and featuring two romantic storylines, this retelling of Sleeping Beauty is the spectacular finale to The Bone Spindle.

Full Series: The Bone Spindle: Book 1; The Bone Spindle: The Severed Thread: Book 2; The Bone Spindle: The Cursed Rose: Book 3

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Reviews

With Briar Rose slowly turning into a monster at the hands of the Spindle Witch, treasure hunter Fi must solve a riddle and escape from a tower to rescue him. Meanwhile, her axe-wielding partner Shane is on the hunt for a mysterious weapon that holds the key to destroying the Spindle Witch's power but must also protect her lover Red from the Wraith, the Spindle Witch's executioner… Will Fi and Shane finally unravel the thread that ties them all together and defeat the Spindle Witch for good? Will Fi be able to save Briar before he loses his humanity?

The Cursed Rose, like its two predecessors, is full of action-packed adventure. With so many twists and turns in its pages, it will have readers totally immersed in the plot. The book would also be great for book clubs as it has so many opportunities for discussions and further reading.

This spell-binding retelling of Sleeping Beauty is a great conclusion to The Bone Spindle. It has a brilliant, well developed cast of characters, even the scary ones! The author has been so clever in twisting so many elements of classic fairytales into her plot, along with tomb raiding and curses to break; how these characters had time for humour and romance I will never know.

I have enjoyed every single page of this series and I'm a little sad it’s over, could there be a spin off? Hopefully so as I think that these excellent characters still have so much more to say.

400 pages / Ages 13+ / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian