Of Dreams and Destiny by Sandhya Menon is a romance-fantasy mix with a thrilling twist on the classic childhood tale of Sleeping Beauty. The plot of this book follows Daphne Elizabeth — DE — as she recovers from past betrayals of her love interest and her family. A snowstorm traps all the students in the school with no communication with the outside world. However, a historic secret unfolds as this storm starts to get very mysterious and people start falling into death-like sleep. DE and the new student — Xander — join forces to uncover the secrets of the past, hoping to find the solution to this phenomenon before the ominous warning of death comes true.
Although it is book #3 in St. Rosetta’s Academy series, it can be read as a standalone and the plot will make perfect sense. The only difficulty would be some references to past relationships of the main character — Daphne Elizabeth — or the relationships of her friends. The plot is engaging and not too dragged out. There is a perfect balance of mystery, fiction, and romance which makes this an enjoyable read without being too overwhelming. However, due to this balance, it is also a very easy and calm read, hence it might not be the best choice for those looking for more action, suspense and clue finding. The mystery was also somewhat easy to figure out and at times I got annoyed at the characters’ stupid actions. The protagonists are very sweet and likeable and the chemistry between them is well represented. Overall, this was a very chill read with some shortcomings so I would give it a 3.5 out of 5.