The Sevenfold Spell

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Most readers who follow the fantasy blogs will recognize Tia Nevitt???s name ??? she???s been running her own debut blog for years and is a regular contributor at the website I contribute to. She also happens to be a personal friend; she lives in my city and we like to trade books.

I suppose that???s why she didn???t send me a review copy of her own debut novella, The Sevenfold Spell. She probably figured I???d feel obligated to say something nice. Well I don???t (I???m not as nice as she thinks I am), but I also don???t like to critique my friends, so I quietly downloaded The Sevenfold Spell onto my Kindle and didn???t tell her I was reading it.

In Tia???s take on the Sleeping Beauty story, Talia and her mother???s livelihood and prospects are devastated when spinning wheels are banned. Talia, who has not been blessed with a pretty face, is forced to use other charms and skills (that???s the polite way to say it) to make ends meet.

As you???ve probably guessed by now, I must have liked The Sevenfold Spell, or else I wouldn???t be writing this. This short novella (I read it in an evening), which was published by Harlequin???s new e-book imprint, Carina Press, is definitely a romance and contains more seduction and sex scenes than I thought were possible to fit into such a short space, so it???s not my usual fantasy fare, but I enjoyed this little diversion. It was well-written, humorous, the characterization was impressive (especially for such a short book), and the story was sweet.

I liked Tia???s focus on a minor character in her re-imagined fairy tale. I understand that she has more of these in mind for the future. I???ll be quietly downloading the next one, too.

This particular version of the Sleeping Beauty tale is based on the familiar myth but makes it into its own unique version. While it is the same basic story with the fairies and a princess destined to prick her finger on a spinning wheel, the princess is not the main focus. The Sevenfold Spell is told from the perspective of a commoner named Talia, who is of marriageable age at the beginning of the story. The princess Aurora was just cursed by the evil fairy, and all spinning wheels have been outlawed from the kingdom. Talia and her mother earn their living by spinning, and the consequences of the seizure of their spinning wheel are devastating. Over the course of several years, we see just how this affects the course of Talia's life and how her story ties in with that of Princess Aurora.

Full Review