Review of The Sevenfold Spell

	The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt 97pp (E-book) My Rating: 7/10 Amazon Rating: 5/5 LibraryThing Rating: 3.5/5 Goodreads Rating: 3.4/5

The Sevenfold Spell is a new novella by Tia Nevitt, who runs the wonderful Debuts & Reviews site. This Sleeping Beauty story is the first in a series of fairy tale retellings called Accidental Enchantments. The next book will be based on Cinderella, and there are plans for books based on Beauty and the Beast and Snow White as well. The Sevenfold Spell was published in e-book format and was just released this week.

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. A good portion of Talia's dowry goes toward a new loom so she and her mother can begin learning and practicing a new trade. As a result, she and her suitor Willard do not have enough money to begin a life together and Willard's father sends him to a monastery. 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.

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The Sevenfold Spell is a fast, absorbing novella. It didn't take long at all too engage me, and it only took about an hour and a half to two hours to read from start to finish. As someone who is a paper book fan, I was a little unsure about reading an e-book and I think it would have been hard for me if it hadn't grabbed my attention pretty quickly or if it had been dense. Fortunately this was not the case and I quickly forgot I was reading on a screen (other than on a couple of occasions when I noticed how heavy the iPad gets).

The first half of the book was actually pretty racy, and I was a little surprised by the amount of sex and wondered at first when it would get to more about the fairy tale. It began with showing just how terrified people were to be losing their primary means of making money when the spinning wheels were banned, and the next part was a lot of sex scenes. Early in the story, I wasn't quite sure how they related to the rest of the book, but by the time I was finished, I felt that it ended up shaping her character quite a bit. It made sense that she'd decide just to have some fun and forget about her reputation - her prospects for marriage were gone and she was probably feeling pretty hopeless at that point. Plus it did shape her character throughout the years, and it influenced some advice she gave to a certain prince later.

The second half of the book ended up dealing more with the fairy tale, and Princess Aurora and the prince take on larger roles. I especially enjoyed reading about the explanations for the details in this well-known story, such as why the fairies could not counteract the curse.

The Sevenfold Spell is still the Sleeping Beauty we are all familiar with but with a different perspective that sets it apart from being just another retelling of this fairy tale. It moves at a good pace and is entertaining - and a bit romantic.

My Rating: 7/10

Where I got my reading copy: The author sent me a copy.

Other Reviews:

• The Book Smugglers
• Stella Matutina

Tia's Pajama Party Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Sevenfold Spell

Today I am pleased to welcome Tia Nevitt to celebrate the release of her novella The Sevenfold Spell, the first in a series of fairy tale retellings called Accidental Enchantments. Since Tia is normally only available to comment after business hours, she has been stopping by while in her pajamas, thus the name. For a schedule of all the tour stops, you can see the full list here on her book review site, Debuts & Reviews.



Wow. Today is it. The release date. Be kind to me, world! Thank you so much for having me, Kristen. To celebrate the release, I’d like to give away a copy of The Sevenfold Spell. To enter, either leave a comment, or email me at tia @ tianevitt . com (remove the spaces) and please mention that you saw this at The Fantasy Café.

For today’s post, I’d like to discuss the books that have touched me over the years. They are all works of fiction, listed (roughly) in the order in which I read them over the years. Most are fantasy or science fiction—but not all.

2001 by Arthur C. Clarke
This is the first speculative fiction novel I ever read. For a long time, it was the standard by which all others were judged. It had to be hard science fiction—no space opera for me! However, it also had to have wonder in it. And the Jupiter approach scene is just about the most wondrous scene I have ever read.

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
I learned a great deal about character development from this novel, which I read when I was in high school, and before I entertained any serious desire to become a writer. I have since reread it many times.

The Once and Future King by T. H. White
Simply put, this novel made writing look so fun that I just had to try it for myself.

Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey
My husband had this lying around and I picked it up out of boredom. It was my first space opera. It touched me because of the music. I loved reading about a musician who goes off and finds a lucrative and exclusive line of work because … she has perfect pitch. And because she had to pass a rigorous physical, mental and intellectual exam to get in. I so wanted to be a crystal singer.

Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
I loved this series because the authors did their damnedest to include wonder in every chapter. You just don’t get a shot of wonder like this when you read today’s gritty fantasies. If you disagree, I’d love for you to recommend some titles.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
I learned a great deal about point-of-view while I was reading it, as it alternates between omnipresent to third person as it goes from chapter to chapter. I also learned that you can take an unpleasant character and make them compelling.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
This book showed me that a novel can take on a serious subject and still make the reader howl with laughter.

Sentenced to Prism by Alan Dean Foster
I was blown away by this novel. Initially, I didn’t want to read it because I didn’t like the punny title. A friend convinced me to give it a try. It was totally not what I expected and when I name my favorite science fiction novels, this one always makes the list.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
This novel taught me the importance of bringing out a character through dialog. It also made me fall in love with romance again.

And to round out this list, a recent one:

The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe
I just reread the review of this novel, and it made me wonder why I have not bought the second novel—I certainly intended to, and now I think I’ll get it for my nook. I loved Eddie LaCrosse, and while it was drenched in blood and gore, it had unexpected wonder, redemption and soul.

Ok, I have obeyed the blogger’s rule of THERE MUST BE TEN, so I’ll leave it at that.

Which novels would make your top-ten list, and why?

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Thank you, Tia. That's an intriguing list of books! I'm going to have to think about my top ten list; that's a tough question to answer.

Here's some more information on The Sevenfold Spell, which was released today as an e-book from Carina Press:

Have you ever wondered what happens to the other people in the fairy tale?

Things look grim for Talia and her mother. By royal proclamation, the constables and those annoying “good” fairies have taken away their livelihood by confiscating their spinning wheel. Something to do with a curse on the princess, they said.

Not every young lady has a fairy godmother rushing to her rescue.

Without the promise of an income from spinning, Talia’s prospects for marriage disappear, and she and her mother face destitution. Past caring about breaking an arbitrary and cruel law, rebellious Talia determines to build a new spinning wheel, the only one in the nation, which plays right into the evil fairy’s diabolical plan. Talia discovers that finding a happy ending requires sacrifice. But is it a sacrifice she’s willing to make?

Good luck to those entering to win a copy of The Sevenfold Spell! To enter, email Tia at the address she provided or leave a comment with your top 10 favorite books - we'd love to hear about which books you love the most and why!