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An Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) is a paperback book published prior to the hardcover retail editions. These uncorrected proofs are published in very limited quantities. Many serious collectors consider ARCs/Uncorrected Proofs to be the true first edition. They're "not for sale" because they're intended solely for publicity and media reviews, making them rare and very collectible. ARCs may lack the final artwork, formatting, and binding of the finished product. The text of an advance edition may also differ slightly from the market book (the final version that is distributed for sale), because changes may be made after advance readers make comments or find errors in the manuscript.

A steampunk Sleeping Beauty story from the author of Beauty and the Clockwork Beast.

Doctor Isla Cooper is cursed. Literally. Each night, at the stroke of midnight she falls into a death-like sleep from which she cannot be awakened for six hours. To make it worse, the curse has an expiration date--after a year, it becomes permanent. And the year is almost up.

In a desperate attempt to find Malette--the witch who cursed her--Isla blackmails her way onto Daniel Pickett's private airship bound for the Caribbean, only to discover she's traveling with three illegal shapeshifters and the despicable Nigel Crowe, a government official determined to hunt down and exterminate every shapeshifter in England. Isla and Daniel must work together to keep the identities of the shapeshifters hidden while coming to terms with their own hidden secrets, and their blossoming attraction to each other.

Filled with suspense, intrigue, and plenty of romance, Kiss of the Spindle is steampunk Sleeping Beauty story. It is a race against the clock as Isla and Daniel try to hunt down the elusive Malette before Isla's death-like sleep becomes permanent.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Allen delivers pure reading joy in a steampunk riff on Sleeping Beauty that is equal parts race-against-the-clock adventure, social comedy of errors, sweet romance, and clever alternate history, with a strong moral compass befitting its fairytale heritage. Isla Cooper, a kind and empathetic physician and advocate for peaceful shape-shifters (and a hunter of criminal ones), negotiates passage on the private airship of wealthy, dashing Capt. Daniel Pickett, who smuggles shifters to the Caribbean. She has a sleeping sickness that plagues her for six hours a day; the voyage is her last hope of obtaining a cure before she falls permanently asleep. The charismatic and delightfully developed other passengers-the automaton servant who's part Data and part Jeeves, the shape-shifting older English intellectuals sadly leaving home, the antagonistic government official with an awkward secret-come together to support Isla in the tricky work of solving her problem, while Daniel starts looking like a good candidate to deliver the fabled curative kiss. Allen turns Sleeping Beauty's passive story upside down with Isla's active competence and frustration with how the curse interferes with her work; fans of strong heroines will be deeply satisfied.'' --Publishers Weekly, starred review

''In Allen's imaginative adaptation of the famed fairy tale 'Sleeping Beauty,' tensions fly as high as the airship itself as Isla and Daniel explore their attraction while protecting the shifters' secrets, and their own. As in Beauty and the Clockwork Beast (2016), Allen crafts a witty romance set against an exciting steampunk backdrop, capitalizing on both the sweet appeal of a Victorian romance and the adventure of a light fantasy.'' --Booklist

''Allen's extensive world building provides a view into an intriguing alternate universe, and readers will delight in following the author's imagination into its heart. Isla and Daniel have full lives and believable motivations, and the humor provided by a very realistic automaton-yes, an automaton!-is a welcome touch. This kisses-only love story is an action-packed thrill ride, complete with a ticking clock sure to keep readers' pulses racing.'' --Bookpage

About the Author

Nancy Campbell Allen is the author of thirteen novels, which span genres from contemporary romantic suspense to historical fiction. She has been a speaker at numerous writing conferences and events. She has a degree in elementary education and is the mother of three children.