Cellier

Review of An Inconvenient Princess by Melanie Cellier

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Synopsis (from Amazon):
Penny knows all about expectation. After all, she’s a seventh child and they’re always blessed, especially in a fairy-favored family like Penny’s. But Penny also knows all about disappointment. Because there’s nothing magical about her at all. She’s perfectly ordinary, even outshone by her own twin, Anneliese.

But maybe being ordinary is a good thing in this case, since gifts from the family’s fairy godfather, Mortimer, tend to lead to disaster. Which is why Penny is filled with dread when she discovers her twin has called on Mortimer for help. Anneliese ran away to find adventure, but now it sounds like she needs rescuing—if only Penny knew where to find her.

But soon Penny has far more problems than the location of her missing sister. When she’s forced to call on Mortimer herself, she’s soon embroiled with a rogue fairy, a tower without doors, a charming prince, and one highly inconvenient princess. With more and more people looking to Penny to secure their happily ever afters, will Penny ever have a chance to find one for herself? Find out in this twist on the classic fairy tale, Rapunzel.

An Inconvenient Princess is a romantic fairy tale novella. It can be read on its own, but is more fun when read as a part of the Entwined Tales, a series of interconnected fairy tales by six different authors. Each story follows the adventures of one of seven children from the same family as they seek out their own happily ever afters in spite of their reluctant fairy-godfather.

Review:
Penny is pragmatic. She doesn’t want to find trouble,but she knows her sister lives in a realm of tall tales and being extravagant, so when she sets off, Penny knows she will have to follow. Penny is an intelligent heroine, which makes her interesting. Despite being the younger twin, she feels responsible for Anneliese, and it drives her to great lengths. Finding her courage to become a leader instead of a follower, and try to do what is right makes this a great ending story for the series, especially since the happy ever after isn’t what you’d expect it to be.

Star Rating: 

Review of The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty by Melanie Cellier

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The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty
The Four Kingdoms Book 4
By Melanie Cellier

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling
Number of Pages: 267

Date Started: December 22, 2017
Date Finished: December 24, 2017

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
They call her the Sleeping Princess, but Celeste is far from asleep…

Celeste has been cursed since her sixteenth birthday–just not in the way the rest of the kingdom thinks. All they see is her breath-taking beauty, marred by her foolishness. Only she knows that she retains her brilliant mind. And it’s a secret she must keep at all costs.

Over the years she’s grown accustomed to the necessary deception. After all, her life depends on it. And she’s even found a way to protect her kingdom, working from the shadows. But now a dangerous new threat has emerged, one that Celeste can’t defeat alone. She needs the help of a newly-arrived prince. One who’s altogether too handsome and too charming. Somehow she needs to keep her secret, save her kingdom and find a way to free herself from the curse. The last thing she has time to do is sleep.

In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, it’s only the princess’ mind that is asleep. And sometimes appearances can be deceiving.

Review:
Oh my goodness. This book was absolutely fantastic. While various parts of the original Sleeping Beauty were kept alive, the curse, the gift of fairy godmothers, this was a completely different and wonderful tale. The duality of Celeste was expertly done, and will remind most of how others perceive them versus how they are inside.

William was phenomenal, and as perceptive as I thought he would be. All of the characters had great depth and I quite enjoyed the story altogether.

The Four Kingdoms and Beyond the Four Kingdoms are some stories I believe anyone who is a fairy tale buff/aficionado would love, and they’re included on Amazon Unlimited.

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 The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin by Melanie Cellier

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The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin
The Four Kingdoms Book 3
By Melanie Cellier

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling
Number of Pages: 267

Date Started: December 20, 2017
Date Finished: December 21, 2017

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
Spinning straw into gold was only the beginning of the story…

Marie, the dutiful princess of Northhelm, chafes under the rigid protocol that governs her life. Then a growing darkness threatens the kingdom and uncovers the lie at the centre of her whole life–a single pact that changes everything.

Throwing off convention, she joins Rafe, a handsome, charming newcomer, on a quest to save her kingdom. Except he doesn’t know she has a mission of her own–to discover the truth about her identity. Increasingly drawn to Rafe’s strength and good humour, Marie is torn by her double purpose. With time running out and death and destruction looming, Marie will have to unravel the bargains that surround her and choose where her true allegiance lies.

In this twist on the classic fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin, a hidden identity is just one of the things Marie will have to unravel.

Review:
Marie was so easy to care about, given that she had worries and fears about her differences that many people feel throughout their lives. I had hoped reading the first book in The Four Kingdoms series that one would tell more about Marie, so I was quite pleased for this one to focus on her.

Marie’s journey was mostly of self discovery, though she learned quite a few useful skills along the way. I thought that Rafe was an excellent character and quite enjoyed the ending, though I had suspected long before the reveal. While part of me wants to admonish Marie for how easily she was manipulated, many people are pressured in similar ways regularly.

Rumpelstiltskin wasn’t at all the same story, or, part of it was, but for once, it was not necessarily Marie who had to go through the traumatizing experience with him. I quite enjoyed the way he was characterized, as well as both the description of and reasoning behind his appearance.

I quite enjoyed this story, and am reading book 4 in the series now!

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 The Princess Fugitive: A Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood by Melanie Cellier

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The Princess Fugitive: A Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood
The Four Kingdoms Book 2
By Melanie Cellier

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

Date Started: December 18, 2017
Date Finished: December 20, 2017

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
Princess Ava used to be a weapon – sharp, strong and beautiful. But when she fails at her most important task, she’s forced to flee from her own family.

Only her personal bodyguard, Hans, remains loyal. Hans claims to know the real Ava but she finds that hard to believe – after all, she’s been the villain so long that she can’t remember anything else.

Deep in exile, Ava learns her kingdom needs a hero and she might be the only one who can save it. The catch? She’ll have to ally herself with the very people she blames for her downfall.

But in a game of life and death where the stakes are an entire kingdom, winning over her enemies will only be the beginning. Can one fugitive save her people, her kingdom and, hardest of all, herself?

In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood, the girl in the red hood has been swallowed up by the wolf and must decide if she’s willing to fight for her freedom, no matter the cost.

Review:
I was apprehensive when I started this book. I wasn’t sure there was anything that would make me care about Ava and want her to succeed. I was happy to find that I was wrong. Cellier does a great job of going into the motivations of why people do things, and how change can only happen if the person who is going to change WANTS things to be different.

I had been curious about Hans and Ava’s relationship after how he dragged her away in The Princess Companion, so I was happy to see more of their interactions. I also enjoyed how characters from the first book in the series became important in this one, and that there was a deeper glimpse of the lives of secondary characters and what happened to them in the time between The Princess Companion and The Princess Fugitive.

I did like how the red cloak and wolf played into the story, it was quite well done. The symbolism wasn’t lost, either. There were certainly enough of the classic story elements within this retelling, but this story is far from anything a lover of the original fairy tale knows.

As I write this review, I’m already reading book 3 in The Four Kingdoms series.

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 Tale of Beauty and Beast by Melanie Cellier

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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

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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.