After finishing The Rose and the Balloon, I rushed to pick up Spindle Dreams, book two in the Once Upon a Twist Tales series. Spindle Dreams is a loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty that follows a not-so-skilled spinner, Marita Kadlec, as she struggles to pull her family out of poverty. We also join Felix, a young noble, as he fights to uncover the truth about his harrowing nightmares.

Clocking in at 150 pages, this novel was a quick, enjoyable read that very much reflected a fairytale. Mystery, suspense, and danger abound, but it all wraps up with a nice little bow.

Ratings for Spindle Dreams

Story: 4.5/5

Worldview: 3/5

The story here is greatly improved from The Rose and the Balloon. There are clear stakes and solid characterization. Marita and Felix are likable, and watching them fall in love is sweet and organic. Marita’s father is more of a letdown, being that he is simultaneously portrayed as a sympathetic character with a gambling addiction and a selfish, callous, good-for-nothing father who betrays his daughter for money. Marita’s father, Lucas, is the main reason why the worldview rating suffered for me.

Being a fairytale, I don’t expect much out of Christian themes. Spindle Dreams, however, could have reflected the amazing power of the blood of Jesus. And it just didn’t. Lucas is left to be judged for being a gambler, and Marita has little hope of him actually changing. Being a Christian saved by God’s grace, I know the magnitude of the transformation Jesus did in me. Knowing that, it bothers me that this novel lost out on that message. The characters do pray, but not often. I mean, Marita literally said this:

“I’ve learned a lot about forgiveness lately,” she said finally. “It’s hard to move on, but I know it’ll be best for me. For all of us.” Her eyes still stayed riveted on the ground. “I have forgiven him, Felix, but I don’t know how long it’ll take me to trust him again.” She licked her lips. “I can only hope that this scare with death has broken him from his old life.”

Fichter, Kirsten. Spindle Dreams: A Sleeping Beauty Story (Once Upon a Twist Tales Book 2) (p. 124). Kindle Direct Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Felix was another missed opportunity here. Plagued by nightmares of death and fire, I would think that Felix would pray for guidance or help or deliverance, but Felix only falls further into worry and anguish. I know God can speak through dreams, but when another character says “if you’re awake, it’s probably because someone is dreaming about you”, I know that’s not of God. Especially when the character struggles to sleep later and actually believes it.

Overall thoughts

All in all, this was a nice fairytale retelling on its own. The Christian aspect felt lukewarm, but I hope to finish the series to the end (I did buy them all on Kindle on sale). I hope the other novels hold more depth in that arena.

If you’re interested in fairytale retellings with a more solid Christian foundation, I recommend Melanie Dickerson’s Dericott Tales series. I have read and reviewed House of Refuge, Cloak of Scarlet, and Lady of Disguise.