Broken Dream

A Sleeping Beauty Retelling (Why Choose Fables)

De: Ivy Cole

Narrado por: Jamie Treselyan

There are three sides to every story. Theirs, mine, and the truth. Here's my truth. This is how my life became a fairytale.

Can a love be so strong that it transcends death itself? A love that is woven into the very fabric of your soul that you find each other in each reincarnation?

After what feels like a lifetime of bad luck, Briar finds herself in her grandmother's mansion after her parents death.

Though instead of finding a cold and lifeless home, it's filled with warmth and ghosts of a past life. At least that's what it feels like. How is it possible that when she dreams, she's haunted by three men?

Men that feel so familiar and seem more worried about her than their own fates. Can Briar help save these men trapped in the in-between?

©2025 Ivy Cole (P)2025 Ivy Cole

Delightful

This story is a different take on romance. It's a story that has never been this point of view before.

Interesting take on a classic...

POV: in your grief, as you sit literally, over your love who just p4ssed away, you accidentally accept an ‘offer’ from what is clearly an evil sorceress and the next thing you know, you’re trapped in this cycle of being unalived / watching them unalived over and over again …

✨💭✨

This one lured me in with the pretty cover—and did capture my attention instantly. That was a bit of an intense opener.

Written in first-person POV
Present tense.
Alternating timelines shown.



Magic.
No choosing.
Blends historical and contemporary feels and timelines.
Reincarnation.
Eternal bonds.
Fight scenes.
D34th scenes.


Overall:
This was okay—unfortunately it didn’t stay as gripping as it started out, so at times I struggled through, while at other times I was on the edge of my seat.
And apparently this is a fairytale retelling, though I missed that, the vibes weren’t really there for me, outside of maybe naming the female lead Briar. (Not really a bad thing, IMO.)

My issue was with the writing style which tended to favor some ‘telling’ instead of ‘showing’. There was no chemistry between the FMC and her 3 men, despite them proclaiming undying love—it just wasn’t shown, so the feels weren’t there / it just didn’t hit on this end.

Ultimately, a very dramatic, action-packed read though.

3 stars.


🎧 Audio:


Note:
The voice acting was great. The overall sound had a tinniness to it—not the crisp, clear sound that I expect from a professional production, so just ‘okay’ on this end as well. If the sound quality were there, it’d be a 5-star rating for me on this front, but unfortunately it’s just a bit choppy.

✨💭✨

I’m so sorry for the c3ns0rship—I have trouble getting these through otherwise.

Great Narration!

The great strength of this item is excellent narration, showcasing a wide range of distinctly performed characters using a variety of accents and gender personifications.

Voices are Amazing! Even the girls

I find sooooo many books where the female voices arent done very well by male narrators but I really loved this! Great diversity of voices, super sweet/bittersweet story,, not much spice, quick listen but very engaging. I have listened to a few of the narrators books and theyre always excellent to listen to. I dont have to speed them up like other books which is nice too :)

✨ A Fairytale… But Not Really ✨

Ivy Cole writes a story that feels like a fairytale and yet doesn’t. The story revolves around FMC and her loves. Caught in a cycle of death and reincarnation due to a blood bond made by a witch, all of them are tethered to each other in life and in death, The concept was good, though I think I wanted more from the story. I wanted more depth, which I felt lacking.

Then narration was great, though sound quality was a little lacking.