Book Review: Slumber by Samantha Young

• Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
• Paperback: 350 pages 
• Publisher: CreateSpace
• Release Date: October 26, 2011
• Series: Chronicles of the Fade (Book 1)
• Source: Bought

Blurb: Sleeping Beauty may be the damsel in distress, but her White Knight? Why her rather un-knightish best friend of course. And the White Knight’s White Knight? Well… none other than her reluctant mortal enemy… When Haydyn falls victim to the mysterious Sleeping Disease, the world of Phaedra is thrown into Chaos. Rogan, Haydyn’s best friend and handmaiden, is the only one who can save her. Together, with the Royal Guard and their young Captain, Wolfe Stovia, Rogan must set off across the provinces to find the Somna Plant that will wake Haydyn from her dying sleep. Beset on all sides by the chaos, Rogan tumbles into a dark world of kidnapping, prejudice, betrayal and love… a journey that will change her forever, and a journey that will change their world forever, if she does not retrieve the cure. YA Fantasy for Older Readers.


Review:

I have a complicated relationship with self-published books.

When I first started blogging about books and doing reviews, I never really paid attention to the self-published world. Then, the requests started pouring in. Every week, I would get a handful of requests from self-published authors asking for a review -and I just couldn't say no. I wanted to help everyone out, but I quickly learned two things: 1) I don't have the time to read and review them all (as much as I wanted to) and 2) as much as I wanted to enjoy all these books, none of them managed to be good. I've found that many other book bloggers feel the same: we want to like self-published books, but, with every try, we continue to be disappointed. It's gotten to a point where I've almost completely given up on the self-publishing world.

Then, I read Slumber, and my perception of self-publishing changed. For the first time, it was good. I enjoyed it. I wanted to read more the second I put it down.

Slumber offers a unique twist of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, introducing an unconventional "white knight" with a unique adventure of her own. When Haydyn falls victim to the Sleeping Disease, it's up to Rogen, her best friend and handmaiden to save her. Along with the Captain of the Royal Guard, Wolfe, Rogen sets out to find the magical plant to save Haydyn -and discovers a romance of her own.

As I said before -I enjoyed this book. Rogen, our heroine, is a fun and spunky hero that's a joy to cheer for and easy to understand. The plot is interesting and unexpected, and the romance between Wolfe and Rogen feels natural, though at times somewhat extreme or exaggerated. I especially enjoyed author Samantha Young's unique approach to the tale of Sleeping Beauty, rather using it as a jumping-off point than as an inspiration for a full retelling.

Slumber, however, isn't without a few flaws. It could use a good edit to help clean up some of the writing and make it just a little more polished. Despite this, the pacing was still right, and the writing still had beautiful moments that were just a joy to read, and were almost lyrical.

Better than some of the books I've recently read by big New York publishers, Slumber has given me renewed faith in the self-publishing industry. Recommended for older teens and adults who enjoy fantasy, romance, and a good adventure.