Review of Goldilocks and the Bear by Vivienne Savage

Goldilocks and the Bear: An Adult Fairytale Romance
Once Upon a Spell book 3
By Vivienne Savage

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling/Fantasy/Romance
Number of Pages: 272

Date Started: December 13, 2017
Date Finished: December 15, 2017

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
Lady Victoria hungers for excitement, but how can she find it while cloistered in her cousin’s castle? Encouraged to journey north to pursue an adventure of her own, an abandoned lodge seems as fine a place as any to stop for rest.

Ramsay is a shifter without a mate. Overwhelmed by the responsibilities of becoming his clan’s new Father Bear–and the female attention that comes with that title–he leaves on holiday to enjoy the peaceful, northern hunting lodge. Finding his bed occupied by a golden-haired beauty wasn’t part of the plan, but claiming her may be.

Review:
I was so disappointed in this novel. Not only are we jumped from Victoria’s status as untrained to suddenly capable, but the romance doesn’t build at all, and it’s almost as if it’s supposed to be desire at first sight.  While I didn’t think they were a poor fit, there was almost no time spent on a connection developing between them, unlike the previous two books in the series.

This story also had quite a bit more Aladdin in it (though with a twist) than Goldilocks. It was a good tale, but not as great as the other three I’ve previously read. I did enjoy learning more about Safiyya since I had previously read Savage’s version of Rumpelstiltskin before the beginning of this series.

Author Biography: (From Amazon)
Vivienne Savage is a resident of a small town in rural Texas. While she isn’t writing fantasy or concocting ways for shapeshifters and humans to find their match, she raises two children and works as a nurse in a rural retirement home.

All works by Vivienne range from urban fantasy and sweet adult romance to spicy shifter fiction with an erotic kick. Visit her site to determine which series is best for you!

Official Site: viviennesavage.com
Facebook: facebook.com/savage.books
Twitter: twitter.com/msvsavage
Instagram: instagram.com/msvsavage
Email: vivi@viviennesavage.com

Review of The Beggar Princess by Lidiya Foxglove

The Beggar Princess
Fairy Tale Heat Book 4
By Lidiya Foxglove

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling, Romance
Number of Pages: 154

Started: August 28, 2017
Finished: August 29, 2017

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
“You will marry the very next man who walks in that door.”

As the only princess of a prosperous kingdom, I have wanted for nothing—and refused all suitors. What real man is worthy of my interest, when I secretly pen tales of handsome lords and beautiful brooding counts? But now my father has gathered up every eligible royal bachelor in all the realm. And it’s just as I suspected, not one to capture my fancy—especially King Brennus of the Wood Elves, who looks like a bandit and has the accent of a man born in a barn. I’d rather be on my own forever. I refuse them all. The last thing I expected was for my mild-mannered father to insist, in a fit of anger, that I marry the next man who walks in the door, even if he’s a peasant…and what do you know?

“No, lass. I won’t let you starve. But you won’t exactly be free either. And just remember, any time you like, you can stop me. All you have to do is work or beg.”

My new husband looks like a laborer and lives in a little cabin in the forest, but something tells me he’s not what he seems. He says he means to teach me humility in the form of honest work, making stew and scrubbing floors. But somehow or other, he knows all my secrets, all the deepest desires of my heart, and there is no one in the forest to hear me beg him for mercy…except the wolvenfolk who howl in the forest at night. They haven’t made any trouble in fifty years, but when the wolves are at the door, I don’t know if a peasant can save me…

The Beggar Princess is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s King Thrushbeard, a standalone fairy tale romance for those who like unabashedly adorable happily ever afters with a side of serious steaminess!

Review:
This book is great. You see a princess who has desires outside the norm, but that doesn’t stop her from being too spoiled and pampered. While I quite loved seeing her new husband attempt to teach her humility, I thought that while he might be playing into what he knew her deep desires were, she was far too… eager, and quick to admit love and need to serve him. Despite that, or perhaps because of that, she does try to become more humble, attempting to do what he had asked.

While she does actually do all the work he had hoped she might gain some perspective from and then some in the end, I couldn’t help but hope that something else might have happened. I did like the story overall, but I would have really enjoyed seeing our heroine in her new role at the end.

Author Biography: (From Amazon)
Lidiya Foxglove likes her fairy tales to be very naughty indeed. She grew up on a steady diet of fairy tales, folklore and fantasy and loves the swoon-worthy romance and happily ever afters, but thinks the best fairy tales also have the thrill of forbidden desires. If she’s not writing, she’s probably reading. Come hang out with her on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Lidiya-Foxglove-1702249670069437/
Contact: lidiyafoxglove@lidiyafoxglove.com