Beyond the Four Kingdoms

Review of A Tale of Beauty and Beast by Melanie Cellier

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Beyond the Four Kingdoms Book 2
By Melanie Cellier

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling
Number of Pages: 295

Date Started: December 1, 2017
Date Finished: December 6, 2017

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
Princess Sophia has helped her twin sister Lily save the duchy of Marin. But now Sophie faces an even greater threat when she sets out to free the cursed kingdom of Palinar from its beastly prince. Alone, and with danger on every side, Sophie must navigate a magical castle and its even more mysterious master to discover the secret to breaking the curse.

Except the more time she spends with Prince Dominic, the more she starts to question who exactly she’s supposed to be saving. With time running out for the trapped inhabitants, and the reappearance of an old enemy, Sophie may have to choose between saving the kingdom and following her heart.

In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast, Beauty will have to use all of her strength and intelligence if she is to outwit her enemies, break a curse and find true love.

Review:
The relationship between the Beast and Sophie slowly develops, and that’s probably one of my favourite parts of this book. In many retellings the beauty feels sorry for him, or suddenly has feelings for him without knowing him at all, so this was a pleasant change from that. I loved that in order for the curse to be broken, both needed to change and grow. While I was heartbroken with Sophie to be torn from Lily, it was great to see her learn to stand on her own.

I enjoyed that the various servants had names and personalities. My favourite was Gordon. Both of her maids and the stable master were also quite well done, and deeper than one would expect for a secondary character. The way Sophie treated the servants was a good insight into the type of person she is.

While this is a story the reader already knows, the ingenious twists and turns of the curse and the townspeople are unique and draw you in further. Unique enough that you can’t guess exactly what is going on, this is definitely a good read.

Author Biography: (From Amazon)
Melanie Cellier grew up on a staple diet of books, books and more books. And although she got older she never stopped loving children’s and young adult novels. She always wanted to write one herself but it took three careers and three different continents before she actually managed it.

She now feels incredibly fortunate to spend her time writing from her home in Canberra, Australia where they don’t have a beach but they do have kangaroos hopping down the streets. Her staple diet hasn’t changed much, although she’s added choc mint Rooibos tea and Chicken Crimpies to the list.

She is currently working on The Four Kingdoms, a series of young adult fairy tale retellings.

Visit Melanie at her website: http://www.melaniecellier.com or follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Melanie-Cellier-689002674569364/ for all the latest news on The Princess Companion and other upcoming Four Kingdoms stories.

Review of A Dance of Silver and Shadow by Melanie Cellier

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses
Beyond the Four Kingdoms Book 1
By Melanie Cellier

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling
Number of Pages: 345

Date Started: November 30, 2017
Date Finished: December 1, 2017

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
When Princess Liliana and her twin sister set sail for new lands, Lily hopes to find adventure and romance. But the people of Marin live under the shadow of a curse–one powerful enough to destroy entire kingdoms. To protect them all, Lily and eleven other princesses are forced to participate in a mysterious and secret tournament.

Lily spends her nights competing in a magical underground realm and her days unraveling the dangers of this new court. Although she needs the help of the Marinese prince, Lily knows she can’t let herself grow too close to him. There’s no time for romance when the duchy is about to fall to the encroaching darkness and the winner of the tournament faces a terrible fate.

But Lily and her twin have a secret advantage. And Lily grows increasingly determined to use their magical bond to defeat the tournament, save the princesses, and free Marin. Except she might have to sacrifice true love to do it.

In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, there’s a lot more at stake than worn out dancing slippers.

Review:
What a creative and wonderful way of retelling a fairy tale! While there is the element of the story we know, it’s retold in an excellent style with characters that have depth and personality. From the beginning Lily and Sophie are easy to empathize with. The selflessness and caring shown by Lily and Sophie is endearing in heroines.

There are enough twists and turns to leave anyone guessing and wondering what might happen next. You may think you know The Twelve Dancing Princesses, but this is a fabulous retelling of the likes I’ve not seen before. Instead of a bare bones story, we’re met with political turmoil, descriptions and understandings of various lands and their workings, many different delegates and different types of personalities, and overall an amazing start to a series I look forward to reading in whole.

Author Biography: (From Amazon)
Melanie Cellier grew up on a staple diet of books, books and more books. And although she got older she never stopped loving children’s and young adult novels. She always wanted to write one herself but it took three careers and three different continents before she actually managed it.

She now feels incredibly fortunate to spend her time writing from her home in Canberra, Australia where they don’t have a beach but they do have kangaroos hopping down the streets. Her staple diet hasn’t changed much, although she’s added choc mint Rooibos tea and Chicken Crimpies to the list.

She is currently working on The Four Kingdoms, a series of young adult fairy tale retellings.

Visit Melanie at her website: http://www.melaniecellier.com or follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Melanie-Cellier-689002674569364/ for all the latest news on The Princess Companion and other upcoming Four Kingdoms stories.