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I received this book for free from HarperCollins Audio in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A spinning wheel.
A prick of a finger.
A Terrible curse.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept. Everyone expects Aurora to marry her betrothed and restore magic and peace to the kingdom before revolution tears it apart. But after a lifetime spent locked in a tower for her own safety, Aurora longs for the freedom to make her own choices. When she meets a handsome rebel, she is tempted to abandon everything for a different kind of life.

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

A Wicked Thing is a surprising, spellbinding reimagining of what happens after happily ever after.

As you’ve probably noticed, I am a sucker for retellings. They are very hit or miss with me, but I really enjoyed this one. I listened to the audio of this one, and though it took a while to get used to the narrator, it was a good story. I loved the twist on the retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I thought it was fabulous where the author took the story of after she wakes up. And it’s not to her beloved prince like in the original. It is one hundred years after she has fallen asleep from her curse, and it’s not a happily ever after. The King and Queen are awful and only want to use her for their needs. The prince, Rodric, is only doing what he is expected to do. There are secrets and lies, and Aurora can only trust herself. She has gone from the prison of over protection in her childhood, to imprisonment again. This time so no one else an use her for their own plans.

Aurora wakes up in a whole new world pretty much. It’s been one hundred years since she fell asleep. Nothing is the same, and everyone she knew is long dead. The new King and Queen are cold and expect her to just conform to what they want. She is locked away at night and is not allowed to go off on her own. The prince is nice and all, but he isn’t exactly what she would want in who she is going to marry. Aurora sneaks out into the city to just be able to be away from it all, and starts to fall for a boy, Tristan. He is kind, funny, and makes her feel alive. She feels like she can make her own choices out away from the castle. That is until things fall apart and she finds that everyone has secrets and she may not be safe anywhere. She is tough though and she takes her fate into her own hands. She will not let a tale of her life decide her fate.

There is a hint at romance in this, but I really liked that it kind of stayed away from it, for now anyways. Of course there is her “True Love” who woke her, then there is Tristan, but also Finnegan who is an arrogant ass. I kind of liked him though. Even with being a bit full of himself, he was also very blunt and I found it refreshing and humorous. Even though there was some slight sparks and chemistry with Tristan, it never took off. And she starts to soften towards Rodric, but it’s not enough to create feelings besides friendship. Finnegan was different. There is definite chemistry there, but he is so infuriating that it’s hard to want her to fall for him. He is so helpful and caring in his own way though, which makes you kind of hope for it. I am interested to see where the romance aspect goes in the future books.

This audio wasn’t my favorite, but I did listen to it rather quickly since I was wrapped up in the story itself. The narrator didn’t seem to fit the story at first, and I have a hard time if I am not enjoying the person reading it, but I did feel like she did told the story well. I soon got used to her, and really enjoyed her narrating. I do with that I had felt a little more emotion out of the story though.

This was such a creative way to retell Sleeping Beauty. I really liked that it was more of a harsh reality type story than a butterflies and rainbows type of one. This was more like a slap in the face than a happy ending to her curse. There was a lot going on in this story with rebellions and covered up secrets in the royal family. I will definitely be continuing this series to see where it goes. I think that it was a fantastic start and I look forward to the rest of it.

3.5 Hot Espressos