Briar Rose 2

She never wakes up. The prince doesn't reach her. The book ends essentially at the beginning of the narrative, giving a bit more background to the prince's motives and Briar Rose's existence in eternal sleep. Somehow I feel like this is a satisfying ending, though. Normally, stories have to have some kind of conclusion that wraps up the conflict and pays off the reader's expectations. But that's really the question, isn't it? Did we, as readers, expect Rose to wake up at the end?

I personally didn't expect her to, nor was I surprised that the prince never reached the castle. Rose has had so many false awakenings that didn't turn out well and the prince has imagined just about every possible way he could interact with her once he finds her - imagination overcomes reality here. If the event ever actually happened in the narrative, we readers would invariably have been disappointed because anything we can imagine would be more exciting or romantic or lusty or frightening. With such a circular, dream-like story, the chosen ending (if that's what it can be called) is a smart choice.