Book Review: A Sword in Slumber
I was a Disney Princess girl growing up — still am, my 2025 planner has Disney princesses all over it — so believe me when I say I would have been downright obsessed with the Queen’s Council books as a young reader, and even now as an adult, I find myself deeply enchanted with these sequels of sorts to the beloved classic movies. The latest in the series, A Sword in Slumber, which follows Princess Aurora after the events of Sleeping Beauty, continues to be every bit as enchanting as the books that preceded it.
The story follows Briar Rose, now known as Princess Aurora, as she prepares for her wedding to Prince Phillip, while also preparing to assume her responsibilities in the kingdom of Austria, until her father is killed and she finds herself not only made Queen overnight, but also assuming her father’s candidacy for ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. She and Phillip — who share the sweetest romantic banter — along with her childhood friend Benedickt, travel to the seat of the Empire to compete for the title against a warmongering queen and her daughter, and must work together to come out on top.
Like Tangled after it, the story of Sleeping Beauty is an interesting one to consider from a character point of view. Once the princess is rescued from her circumstances, and reunited with her family, and the happy ever after chorus begins to sing…then what? Aurora now has to live with the knowledge that her life as Briar Rose was a fabrication, albeit one designed to keep her safe, and the people who want her to call them mother and father don’t actually know her at all. Not to mention this massive, life-changing role she is expected to assume. It would be too much for anyone. Top that off with Phillip struggling to cope with PTSD from his encounter with Maleficent and all that followed, and you’ve got a light-hearted book about royalty and magic mixed in with heavier themes.
Fortunately, A Sword in Slumber doesn’t shy away from such concepts, instead embracing them wholeheartedly — while also asking a specific question about the fairy godmothers that has plagued me since I was old enough to consider such things. Beyond that, though, like the other novels in the series, A Sword in Slumber focuses on Briar Rose’s challenges in assuming a throne she didn’t expect to have to take, and really brings to the surface characteristics she always had, even in the movie, but which perhaps didn’t have time to rise to the surface.
A Sword in Slumber is out now.
