Review: A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn

What if "Sleeping Beauty" wasn't awakened by a prince in her own time, but instead was awakened by a guy in an Old Navy t-shirt from the 21st century? Well that is exactly what happens in Alex Flinn's "A Kiss In Time".

Jack, a normal teenage guy from Miami, was shipped off to Europe by his parents who (hoping he'd follow in his dad's footsteps) thought he needed some more culture. Tired of the monotonous museum tours, he and his buddy Travis sneak off to find a beach, but instead find a relic of a town hidden deep in the woods near France. Thinking that it was an abandoned amusement park, they begin to explore until they realize that there are people around and what's even stranger, they're all in a dead sleep. Unable to wake them or resist exploring the castle, Jack finds a girl asleep in a hidden part of the castle and is immediately mesmerized by her beauty. He cannot take his eyes off her and decides, what can one little kiss hurt?

Princess Talia, whose been warned countless times about touching spindles, finally fell prey to the cursed spindle and fell asleep for 300 years along with the rest of her kingdom. She and her world became a lost memory, that is until that fateful kiss...

And as the fairytale goes, the kiss broke the spell and Talia woke up to find a very confused Jack!

Talia, believing that Jack woke her because he is her one true love vows to make him fall in love with her and Jack (at 17 yrs old) is not about to deal with a bratty princess who thinks she's 316 years old...let alone marry her!

This is without a doubt one of the CUTEST books I've ever read :) The book is written with a two-person narrative, so you read the story from both Talia's and Jack's perspectives which really makes the story. The dialogue was downright funny and I would catch myself laughing out loud at some of the scenes. (My particular favorite was the scene where Jack was trying to show Talia how to use a a cell phone, lol!) Imagine meeting a girl who has never seen a car or bus or even a pair of jeans...how do you teach her about 'our' world when hers has been long gone?

Excerpt from Talia's perspective:
"Travis," he says, "her Royal Highness wishes to speak to you."
e hands me the object, "Hey, Talia."
I shriek and drop it. It bounces once, then falls to the ground. Jack grabs it.
"What's the matter?" Jack asks.
"Your telephone! Your friend Travis is inside it."
Jack shakes his head. "Geez."
Jack does something to the phone, then hands it back to me.
"Okay. It's gonna move around. When it does, don't throw it. Just open it up, say hello and don't throw it. Okay?"
I nod.
"What are you not going to do?"
"Throw it." I smile. He thinks me a simpleton. Perhaps I am.

The conversations were very much like what I imagine they would be like between a 18th century & a 21st century person.

However, this book is so much more than just the retelling of a fairytale. There are some great lessons to be learned about how much life, love, society and even the image of beauty have changed over the course of the last 300 years. You could say that this is a fish-out-of water and a coming-of-age tale and I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun, light read that will simply make you smile :o)

I give this book ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥