A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

A Kiss in Time


Picture courtesy of Goodreads

Author: Alex Flinn
Release Date: April 28, 2009
Pages: 371Review by: Tessa

       Talia is the princess of her kingdom, destined to reign as queen, and she just made the biggest mistake of her life. Ever since she was born, Talia was warned to never touch a spindle. She wasn't told why or what would happen if she did. Right before her birthday, she touches a spindle. Why? Because some creepy old lady told her to. Now, her entire kingdom is put in a deep sleep until the curse in broken.
       Jack is on vacation in Europe trying to avoid old museums and his nosy parents. He skips his tour group, and stumbles upon a comatose kingdom. He explores the place, and everyone is asleep! When he finds an unconscious beauty, he just has to kiss her.
       I think you know where this is going, but don't knock it until you try it. After the kiss, Talia wakes up. Jack is now stuck with her. They have to save the kingdom from modernization and escape both of their angry fathers. Not an easy task.


       I know that everyone must be sick of rewritten fairytales by now, but I really liked this one. It was written by Alex Flinn, who is basically the modern Hans Christian Anderson. He also wrote Beastly, Cloaked, and Bewitching. He specializes in fairytales. This is (obviously) a remake of Sleeping Beauty. Talia is Aurora. Jack is the lucky prince who wakes her up. But that is where the story takes a turn. Sleeping Beauty wakes up in the real world. I love it! A modern day princess. Together they have to face the dangers of high school parties and angry parents.
       At first, both of them are jerks. Talia is vain. She cared more that she was forced to wear "servant" clothes than the fact that her entire kingdom was stuck in time. Jack is just plain lazy, but, surprising, they compliment each other well. Her innocence was balanced with Jake's knowledge of the world.
       My only complaint is the way magic was incorporated into the story. It was just treated as an underlying problem, nothing to worry about. The way the kingdom was put to sleep was true to the original story, but did not fit into the new tale. I wish Flinn had mixed it up.
      As for the ending, we all now every fairytale has to have a happy ending.