Title: A Spindle Splintered (Fractured Fables #1)

Author: Alix E. Harrow

Publisher: Tordotcom 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 126

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Seasonal TBR

It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no-one has lived past twenty-one.

Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.

Loved this meta fairy tale where Zinnia falls into her favorite story, Sleeping Story. We get multiple pop culture references along Zinnia’s path to her own story. This book is very short, but fast-paced and fun. I loved seeing her interact with the other fairy tale characters. The twist at the end made the book worth it.

Fractured Fables

• #1 A Spindle Splintered

• #2 A Mirror Mended

Next up on the TBR pile: