Prince Phillip has had his life planned out for him from the beginning. He has responsibilities to his kingdom, he has the duty to marry Princess Aurora, he must train to be better than the best to protect her from a potential curse. Everything he does must be for her, leaving no dreams or goals for himself.
Phillip knows he’s not the son his father wants,and that he’ll never live up to those expectations. He leaves him feeling trapped and bittered that he is doing all this work, his life revolving around a woman he never even met and constantly feeling like he’s never good enough. Even the facade of the carefree, errant prince is easily shattered when faced with real difficulties.
It doesn’t help that he can’t even sleep. His public life is controlled by his father while his dream life has a annoying stranger stalking him from childhood, privy to all his worst moments and insecurities as he is to hers.
But the day of the curse is coming closer and three fairies appear to him with a dire warning. Contrary to what his father has told him, the curse cannot be avoided. But Phillip may be the only one who can stop Maleficent as his dormant magic awakens. . .
Once again, Miller gets into the mind of one of fairytales most famous and elusive princes, adding layers one never imagined before.
As I mentioned above, Phillip is seen as charming and errant, but that is a facade he keeps up to hide his true morseness. His life is not his own, so he has made no expectations for himself or his happiness. In fact, he finds it hard to hope for true love or dreams because hoping for it makes it hurt so much more. He also has a cowardly habit of hiding or avoiding things that make him look less than a perfect prince. Which is a lot and not very conductive to the whole practice makes perfect and facing failure problems. Yep, Phillip causes a lot of headaches for himself through his selfishness but it only makes the pain and growth he goes through so much better.
Just as with her previous novel, Miller shows Phillip’s side of the famous story and Phillip’s adventures have a few parallels of his own when three fairies, Eris, Phrike, and Poena come to help him train with his newfound nature magic. He hadn’t thought he had any but this new power gives him control that he never had before.
This could be his chance to step out from the strict knightly king path his father has mapped out for him (the kind that requires him to train against older and more experienced knights when he was 10, to walk off his wounds, and never admit defeat). If he was a wizard, he could take charge of what he wants and his father wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
It’s also helpful as only a magical human can touch the Shield of Virtue and Sword of Honesty, powerful relics that can defeat Maleficent and which she’s trying to steal before he has the chance.
The trials has Phillip confronting his deepest flaws, his lack of belief in himself and in others, assuming the worst, and feeling no one understands him. He even finds a mentor in Eris.
Of course, anyone who’s seen the movie knows Phillip doesn’t have magic and Miller has a twist to explain that though readers may guess at it if they spot the meaningful names. But Miller takes the opportunity to really wrench the knife in Phillip as the ultimate test of who he wants to be.
There’s also his meetings with Briar Rose, expanding their relationship beyond two meetings. They’ve actually known each other they’re entire lives although they highly dislike each other for most of it, seeing the other as a nosy stranger and their brief glimpses of the other’s waking lives have left them with negative impressions of the other.
However, as the curse date draws closer, Phillip and Briar Rose’s dreams shift, allowing them to actually hear each other, touch each other and even see each other. They’ve come to realize that the other is potentially the only person who truly understand the unique situation they’re in. The isolation of their positions, the expectations placed on them by their guardians.
Phillip especially comes to see beyond his own feelings to sympathesize with Briar Rose and care for her. He had resented her for seeing him in his worst moments, and projected a lot of his self-anger at her but comes to realize she’s seen him at his worst and still cared and believed in him. She’s seen him at his best yet keeps him humble.
Basically, Miller creates a believable, sweet, realistic relationship amidst the fairytale world that will leave you smiling like an idiot when you get to the Once Upon a Dream scene in real life.
Aurora or Briar Rose as she appears for most of the story also gets a different layer. The dream world allows her to vent her loneliness, frustration and sassy side that she can’t show around her beloved aunts becauses she’s been taught to be obedient, grateful and safe even though she doesn’t know why she has to be the latter.
Her life parallels Phillip’s struggles with his father, adults that dismiss her feelings of wanting autonomy because they think they know what’s best for them yet hide the real world. How can she ever be who she is if she can’t even leave the village? Why won’t they trust her to pick up some food from the market? It’s a very real struggle that any growing adult would feel as they enter the real world and fight against the confining bubble of parents who see their kids as extensions of their own.
This another action packed adventure with plenty of meaningful lessons about making your boundaries known with your parents, the importance of responsibility, and the importance self-esteem so one can trust themself to take charge of their life rather than stew in bitterness of what they can’t have. It also lightly touches on how men are taught to follow one path in life. In Phillip’s case, the knight life that focuses on strength over wit and doesn’t allow for failure. Phillip’s journey shows him that he has to choose the path that suits his strengths and will make him happier rather than feeling like a failure.
It’s a strong book with more minute character-driven complexities that I haven’t even touchd upon, but there are a few flaws like Phillip’s companion character, Johanna. She’s his faithful squire, poet and grounding force but I feel like Miller is hinting at deeper characterization that she doesn’t get into. She’s a guarded character which makes sense but I wished for more from Johanna. There’s also a slightly dragged-out plot point where Phillip questions whether Briar Rose whom he’s learned is actually Aurora actually loves him in return (when it’s just so obvious!) but I tolerate it because it’s a Disney trope
While Phillip is tough to like at first, he grows on you from self-absorbed prince to a true noble hero. This is such a great series, expanding the Disney world and providing new layers to classic characters for all to enjoy. I can’t wait for the next, my bet is either Florian and Prince Henry (that’s Charming for those too lazy to wiki like I had to).
Rachel Reads & Reviews 
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