Title: THE SEVENFOLD SPELL
Author: Tia Nevitt
Series: book one of Accidental Enchantments
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: September 27th, 2010
Pages: 97
Status: electronic

LibraryThing Info

Review copy provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.

For those of you not in the know, THE SEVENFOLD SPELL is longtime blogosphere staple Tia Nevitt’s debut novella. Ms. Nevitt began blogging at Fantasy Debut and can now be found at Debuts & Reviews. So: yay for bloggers getting published!

THE SEVENFOLD SPELL is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, albeit from a different perspective. Nevitt chooses to focus in on the people most immediately affected by the curse: the spinsters who lose their livelihood when the country's spinning wheels are destroyed. Talia, a young spinster who knows she isn't pretty, puts all her earnings into the dowry without which she may never hope to marry. When she and her mother lose their spinning wheel, she has to dip into her savings for living expenses. As her dowry dwindles, her fiancé’s father forces him to break their engagement, and Talia becomes obsessed with conceiving a child so she can keep at least a small piece of her sweetheart with her. This small act of rebellion changes her life forever.

There’s a fair amount of sex and more than a little heartbreak herein, but I found THE SEVENFOLD SPELL more sweet than anything else. When Talia’s happy future flies south, she embarks upon a series of sexual encounters that help her cope and provide others with a little relief. She chooses her lovers not for their wealth or their looks, but for their outsider status. She tries to help them however she can, even as she gains some relief from her own troubles. It’s nicely done, and it gives the sex a little more weight than one might expect. It’s not gratuitous; it serves a clear purpose and jives with Talia’s personality.

Even though Nevitt focuses in on Talia’s story, she doesn’t ignore Princess Aurora or the prince who’s destined to marry her. They both play key roles, and I’m sure their inclusion will thrill fans of the original fairy tale. I thought Nevitt did a lovely job of showing how Talia’s story is intimately connected with theirs, without letting it overpower the tale she wanted to tell.

I’d certainly recommend this to older fairy tale fans and those who enjoy fantasy romance. It’s a quick read, too; you can whip through it in an hour or two, easy as pie.

3.5 stars

Age Breakdown:

Talia’s younger than me at the beginning of the story, but older by the end. Princess Aurora and Andrew are both younger all the way through. *grumble grumble*

Other Reviews:

Book Goggles
It's My Genre, Baby
Kay's Bookshelf
One More Page
Pearls Cast Before A McPig

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