A YA fantasy retelling of sleeping beauty where the enchanted beauty is the prince and the rescuer is a former noblewoman turned treasure-hunter. Fi is not only a former noble but also living under a curse placed upon her by a former partner, so she really does not want to become partners with Shane the huntsman but needs her to guide her to a magical treasure stash. Together the venture into the lost wilds and find the treasure Fi is after, but Fi pricks her hand on an enchanted rose which means she is the one who is supposed to wake up the fabled sleeping prince and restore the land. Fi is not convinced. And incidentally, she does not believe in love at first sight, destined love or any other nonsense about love.
The blurb for this compares the story to Indiana Jones but it was much more like a D&D campaign. ( )

* I got this book for review*

The highlight of this read was def the characters. I think the pacing of this book was not as strong and also the world building was not as clear and it was confusing to follow. But i really did loved the Rep in this read. It also remidned of reading 3 dark crowns cause the only male was the victim that needed to be saved. I also really loved the vast elemtns of a fairy tale. This story tried to do alot and i think it suffered to much to focus on some specic elements that I liked. But really fun read and willd def read the sequel! ( )

* I got this book for review*

The highlight of this read was def the characters. I think the pacing of this book was not as strong and also the world building was not as clear and it was confusing to follow. But i really did loved the Rep in this read. It also remidned of reading 3 dark crowns cause the only male was the victim that needed to be saved. I also really loved the vast elemtns of a fairy tale. This story tried to do alot and i think it suffered to much to focus on some specic elements that I liked. But really fun read and willd def read the sequel! ( )

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
One of the characters was previously in an emotionally abusive relationship where their male partner became continuously territorial and refused to let them leave. He eventually used magic to stop them leaving, and they were punished as a result. To give more specific details will give major spoilers for the book, so all I will say is that they have a permanent physical and magical reminder of what he did to them.

There is a part of the book where the character meets their abuser again, while the meeting is done on their own terms, the abuser does attempt to manipulate and humiliate them. These scenes may be difficult for people who have been/are in abusive relationships.

The Bone Spindle is an action packed fantasy adventure that for the most part didn’t feel like a fairytale remake to me. It could quite easily be an original fantasy novel if I didn’t know anything about Sleeping Beauty, and I loved this take on retelling a fairytale. For those who are all about the fairytales, don’t worry, there is plenty of fairytale goodness in The Bone Spindle too. However, Vedder hasn’t made The Sleeping Beauty mythos integral to the protagonist’s lives. The protagonists aren’t Aurora, or anyone related directly to the fairytale; they’re treasure hunters!

Fi is a bookwormy historian who would much rather spend time hunting down ancient treasures in old ruins than having anything to do with fairytales princes. But when an accidental prick of her finger binds her to Briar Rose, a prince who’s been asleep for a hundred years, Fi finds herself in a world of magic and Witch Hunters. Her life is already complicated enough, and I loved that the tag line on the cover is so deeply sarcastic. Kiss the prince, break the curse. If only it was that simple.

But who wants simple? Simple is dull! And Vedder definitely does not do dull. Fi is accompanied by Shane, a fellow treasure hunter who has been Fi’s partner and her competition at times. The result is a lot of snark, a begrudging acceptance of aid on Fi’s part and a partnership that grows into a stronger friendship. Like Fi, Shane has her own secrets and her backstory is fascinating. Throw in a random mystery witch that Shane keeps running into and there are so many juicy things happening in The Bone Spindle.

The genderflip of the whole fairytale genre, especially of this particular fairytale which relies heavily on the whole damsel in distress trope is brilliantly done. I couldn’t help but think “this is a more ideal world” when it comes to gender and sexuality, while reading this novel. Even in families where succession is an issue, sexuality is not an issue. While I grimaced at the idea of a lesbian woman from a royal family having to sleep with a man to secure an heir rather than adopting a child (hence the “more” ideal, rather than ideal world), at least two women could marry and rule. It was refreshing not to read a fairytale retelling that rehashed the same bigotry over and over.

Briar is an intriguing character who doesn’t seem to know exactly who to be, or who he is. That’s to be expected when you’ve been in a magical sleep for a hundred years and everyone you know is dead. Like Fi and Shane, there’s much more to his story than just being the cursed prince and on top of everything he’s grieving a loss he never realised he would have to experience. What he expected to happen when he awoke, I’m not sure, but his kingdom in ruins and the life he knew to be everyone’s ancient history was probably not it.

Vedder manages to keep everything balanced, and I didn’t feel that there were too many moving parts. Instead, it just felt like an extremely interesting story and universe that I devoured. I can’t wait to see where the story leads in the next book!

For more of my reviews please visit my blog! ( )

Fi is a bookish treasure hunter with a knack for ruins and riddles, who definitely doesn't believe in true love.

Shane is a tough-as-dirt girl warrior from the north who likes cracking skulls, pretty girls, and doing things her own way.

Briar Rose is a prince under a sleeping curse, who's been waiting a hundred years for the kiss that will wake him.

Cursed princes are nothing but ancient history to Fi--until she pricks her finger on a bone spindle while exploring a long-lost ruin. Now she's stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose until she and Shane can break the century-old curse on his kingdom.

Dark magic, Witch Hunters, and bad exes all stand in her way--not to mention a mysterious witch who might wind up stealing Shane's heart, along with whatever else she's after. But nothing scares Fi more than the possibility of falling in love with Briar Rose.

Set in a lush world inspired by beloved fairytales, The Bone Spindle is a fast-paced young adult fantasy full of adventure, romance, found family, and snark. ( )