Once Upon A Dragon: A Fantasy Romance Fairy Tale Retelling

Amberlyn Holland

Jul 2018 · Dragon Ever After Book 2 · Amberlyn Holland

About this ebook

This Cinderella's not at the ball to dance. He's a prince in disguise and he's there to steal a magic pumpkin that may be the key to saving his parents and his kingdom.

Prince Asher's task is simple.

Sneak into the Glicien Royal Ball. Uncover the royal family's closely guarded magic secrets. Escape before anyone is the wiser. But Ash didn't plan on Princess Beatrix getting in his way at every turn.

Since tragedy drove her sisters into exile, Bea has striven to be the perfect daughter and heir. Now, the king's failing health leaves the kingdom vulnerable to political maneuvering. To protect Glicien and ease her dying father's fears, Bea must choose a consort.

Soon.

Unfortunately, only two men catch her attention.

The unsuitable and secretive gardener. And a masked nobleman who disappears from the ball after a single dance. When a magic heirloom goes missing, though, Bea discovers the two men are really the same person.

And he's the thief.

Can Bea trust Ash to help her save her kingdom and her father? Or will he steal away with her heart and her family secrets to rescue his own parents from a cruel curse?

If you're looking for a clean fairy tale fantasy romance featuring dragon-shifters, fierce princesses, adventure, magic and happily-ever-after, don't miss the entire Dragon Ever After series of re-imagined fairy tales.

Keywords: fairy tale romance, free fantasy romance, slow burn, stand alone romance book, royal fairytale, Cinderella retelling, dragon shifter books, magic romance, enchanted magic, ya fantasy romance, sweet fantasy romance, epic, love story, witch and wizard, werewolf, throne, princess, wolf shifter, young adult, teen.

Ratings and reviews

Prince Asher of Arendelle is in search of magic to help him overthrow the evil sorceress Vailia who is currently sitting on the throne of Arendelle impersonating his mother. He has been drawn to the kingdom of Glicien because of a rumor that the royal family holds magic. So, he and his two wolf-shifter companions have been working at the palace as gardeners in preparation for the ball that is being thrown to help the heir to the throne Princess Beatrix select a consort before her father succumbs to his illness. And the best way for Ash to get closer to the throne, even though he has already caught the eye of Princess Beatrix, will be to infiltrate the castle as one of the guests. This is a romantic rendition of the Cinderella tale, woven to fit within the complicated story that is the ruling family of Ardelle. Asher is a wonderful dashing, conflicted hero, who is adorably unsure of himself and knows his duty is to his family, though he finds himself drawn to Beatrix, and wondering about her at every turn. While Bea has found herself attracted to a gardener, while trying to juggle palace life, worrying about her ailing father and the fact that the throne may soon rest on her shoulders, avoiding unsuitable suitors, and trying to appease the villainous Korgeto, a powerful duke in her court, who seems to think he can orchestrate her into doing what he wants. It also has wonderful side characters like Jalverek, the evil sorceress’s former huntsman, now trying to redeem himself with the Ardelle royals he wronged, who is stoic, with a dangerous air, and mysterious, though eager to help. And Lady Everly, Bea’s companion, who serves as her spy, who charms secrets out of all of the guards with the bat of her eyelashes. I would be interested in seeing a possible future romance story with Jalverek and Everly, just saying. I did like that it did have enough elements of the Cinderella tale in it, though reversed gender, while still being its own story. I loved Beatrix realizing he was more than just a gardener, that the mask didn’t fool her at all, and that she had to unravel the mystery around him. I loved that both Beatrix and Everly were smart characters. Why four stars and not five? Honestly, the story felt overly complicated and weighted and sluggish with all of the backstory covering events from previous books, rather than moving forward with its own plot. It kept having to infodump in dialogue, explaining all of the previous events, and it took up quite a bit of the book doing that. I’m betting if all of the complicated backstory got edited out, the book would have been only half the size, if that. Another problem is that this really isn’t a dragon shifter book, even though the series is marketed as being so. It is a fairy tale with a guy who sometimes magically turns into the shape of a dragon when he wants to, mainly for convenient transportation. There are no dragon instincts, the dragon nature isn’t influencing him in any way, it doesn’t seem to boost him in any way, and the dragon form doesn’t really have any real impact on the story. Will I be reading more of this series? The complicated backstory does have me tempted to pick up the prequel featuring Ardelle Princess Kyn, just to see how all of this started.

Good book to read

keeps you spellbound until the last word

About the author

Amberlyn writes epic fantasy romance and re-imagined fairy tales featuring dragon-shifters, fierce princesses, magic, and happily-ever-afters.

She grew up reading her older sister’s SFF collection and her mother’s category romances so it’s only natural her storytelling leans toward magic, romance and adventure.

Amberlyn currently lives in Northern New York where her writing schedule, and life, revolve around the whims of her dog. When not catering to a demanding terrier or getting lost in books, she enjoys crafting, watching football and hockey, and hanging out with her husband.

If you want to keep up to date on new releases and special events, as well as receive exclusive content like a free digital copy of Kiss the Dragon, sign up for her newsletter at http://www.amberlynholland.com/newsletter/