Thank you, Book Sirens, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Aurora and the Thief is a fun, middle-grade retelling of Sleeping Beauty. This book features an unconventional princess who will not conform to what people think a princess should be, an evil stepmother who is actually a witch, an arrogant prince, and a thieving commoner who really wants some silk robes.

My favourite thing about this book was Princess Aurora and how unconventional she was. I like princesses who are skilled at sword fighting and aren’t afraid to punch someone in the nose when they deserve it. I liked how she narrated this book, and I thought some of her comments and internal dialogue was quite amusing.

The action scenes in this book were fun to read. I liked the sword fighting and the shenanigans used to escape from almost certain death. I also liked the magical elements of this story, and I thought it added a nice layer to the adventure in this book.

Even though Phillip annoyed me in this book, I enjoyed the bickering between him and Princess Aurora. The romance element in this book was there because it’s part of the story of Sleeping Beauty, but it’s not the main focus of the story. I thought that Phillip, Miles, and Aurora made a great duo for adventuring through the forest, even if Phillip and Miles were kind of useless with a sword.

Overall, this was a fun, quick read. I think it falls very solidly into the middle-grade category, and the characters are clearly young. If you like unconventional princesses and sword-fighting, this might be the book for you!