Once Upon A Princess Reviews
“The Once Upon A Princess Duet by Deborah A Bailey (fantasy romance) broke the reading funk and gave me a warm and tingly feeling as I read the stories. These are pure romance and the brilliance is in the simplicity of the storylines. The reader immediately falls into the fantasy setting and cheers for the characters happy endings. Both stories delivered what I needed, but the first one, Heart of Stone, has to be my favourite. If you’re looking for low angst, heart-warming books with a touch of heat, you won’t go wrong with this collection.”
Love Africa Book Club
“Fairytales were my first favorite childhood genre, and in my later years, I haven’t strayed too far from them. The list continues to grow of fairytale mash-ups, retellings, dark, and inspired versions. A few missed the mark, but most get it right. Once Upon a Princess Duet nails it!
In Heart of Stone, we have Leesa, princess leader of a kingdom in ruins. Those who killed her family and destroyed the land are gone too. Leesa ekes out a living for her grandmother and the people of her village the best way she can.
This leads Leesa to search for treasures at Silver Palace, also in ruins and once home to her betrothed who never returned from the war.
Leesa is caught by Willem, the gargoyle, self-proclaimed guardian of the castle ruins. He makes Leesa an offer—stay in the castle for three weeks and he will give her all she needs to care for her village.
This grownup version of Beauty & the Beast doesn’t deliver a wide-eyed, naïve ingenue and a loathsome beast, but a thirty-year-old woman who’s left her days of royalty and privilege behind and a snarky, supernatural creature who may or may not be just a bit pervy. *HA! *
The bargain is not an easy one even as a guarded trust grows between the mismatched couple.
Trouble arrives in the forms of Lester and Sir Kyle, who’s determined to take the castle’s hidden riches… and Leesa as his wife.
With problems temporarily abated, Willem releases Leesa from their agreement, insisting she leaves before the nefarious Kyle returns with backup. Leesa is reluctant to leave—she has come to care for the gargoyle—and wants to fulfill her part of the agreement… and perhaps even help free Willem from the enchantment which binds him to the castle.
Trouble returns, and it is chaotic. Leesa’s resolve weakens as she believes she’s lost someone else important to her. It builds to an excellent ending, which for me, could have gone on and on.
While she only appears in a few pages near story’s end, Polly, a no-nonsense barmaid from town, leaps to the top of my favorite characters list. Polly wasn’t up for any foolishness and did not suffer fools lightly.
In Beauty and the Faun, Kayla and her mother are taken in by her uncle after Kayla’s father dies.
Although they are equals, Kayla and Julia, her mother, are treated as servants…like Cinderella. The good-natured women don’t mind… much, as they both miss their life living in the woods with Christopher, Kayla’s late father.
When Julia fell in love with Christopher, a woodsman, her family didn’t consider him good enough for Julia and she had to choose—her wealthy family and easy life or poverty with Christopher. Of course, Julia chose love with no regrets. But illness took Christopher all too soon.
Now Kayla learns Sir Frederick, her uncle, and a habitual gambler is ready to marry her off to help settle his gambling debts.
The plan is to marry Kayla off to the son of a king. Usually a coveted betrothal, King Reynard has been unable to find a bride for his son because Reynard is a wolf-shapeshifter and his son… changes into things. The young prince is also said to be wild and disappears for weeks at a time.
Despite Kayla and Julia’s objections, the wedding plans proceed, so Kayla decides to solve her own problem.
Striking a deal with fellow servant, Jackon, Kayla plans to go into the village and find a job so she can take care of her mother and be away from Frederick’s control. Jackon tricks Kayla and leads her into an attempted kidnapping. Kayla escapes and eventually ends up with Del, a woodland faun.
Loved the twists and turns of this quick read which included a wedding ball, a fairy godmother and… pomegranate.
Leesa and Kayla are two great characters—women just trying to figure it all out. They’re not sitting around waiting to be rescued, but Prince Charming does arrive… in his own way! You’ll enjoy rooting for their happily-ever-afters.
I highly recommend these two engaging fairytale sendups. But, don’t buy them for your twelve-year-old. Yes, there’s sex, (but it’s not over-the-top). We grow up, why can’t our fairytales?
Enjoy!”
–Felicia Denise at Nesie’s Place
“Once Upon A Princess Duet is actually a collection of two books: “Heart of Stone” and “Beauty & The Faun”. Both of the books are fairytale romances, meaning they’re paranormal romance but read like fairytales.
In “Heart of Stone,” Princess Leesa is desperate to find a way to help her people, and on her quest to find a valuable item she can trade for supplies, she comes across an abandoned palace. There, she finds a gargoyle, Willem, who is willing to give her everything she needs, for a price. Is Leesa willing to take this risk? I really liked this novella, in particular the gargoyle, who has a quirky, funny personality. I also liked Leesa and how she was willing to sacrifice everything for her people.
The second novella, “Beauty & The Faun” was my favorite of the two. Kayla is a young woman who is, against her will, pushed into an arranged marriage by her aunt and uncle. Desperate to escape, Kayla hides in the Great Forest, where two mischievous fauns find her and deliver her to a faun shifter, who has some plans of his own with her. I really liked Del’s personality, how caring he was and how charming.
Both paranormal romance novellas are excellent, but the second one was my favorite. The writing is excellent overall, and I would recommend this duology to fans of fairy tale romances.” -Majanka Verstraete at I Heart Reading
“5 Stars. A fun & sensual fairy tale! “Once Upon a Princess: Heart of Stone” is a perfect afternoon read. I was pulled into the story from the first page, and kept reading straight through to the end. Deborah Bailey did an excellent job creating the magical fantasy world of Leesa and Willem. Her rich characterization and sensory details brought the story to life. She made Willem (the gargoyle) funny and sexy – something you don’t normally see in a book. I highly recommend this novella to romance and fantasy lovers. You won’t be disappointed!” –E. Kelly
“Another fun and sexy fairy tale! “Once Upon A Princess: Beauty and the Faun” is the second in a series of shifter novellas that combine a steamy romance with unusual paranormal characters. Deborah A. Bailey has invented a detailed fantasy world where fauns and other mythological creatures live in the Great Forest. Kayla is looking to escape an arranged marriage and finds herself at the mercy of a faun shifter named Del. I loved the chemistry between the two as they got to know each other and developed a steamy love affair. Fans of fantasy and shifter romances will enjoy this book.” – E. Kelly
2 love stories of the century
“I had this book for moths; I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to read it! Deborah Bailey is a great writer and this book is delightful. Leesa and Willem, the gargoyle, was really Eduardo. His brother, Erokan had turned him into a gargoyle to watch as he took Leesa to be his wife. However, it didn’t work that way as Erokan was killed before his plan came to fruition. The second story about Kayla and Del was also a great one. Del was a faun while Kayla was normal…but she could touch a flower and make it bloom. Kayla’s aunt and uncle were pieces of work and Jackon trying to give Kayla to other shifters to pay a debt. A must read book!” – charws