17 magical stories from bestselling, award-winning authors that will warm even the coldest hearts. Inspired by old favorites as well as lesser-known tales, find retellings of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Old Rinkrank, King Thrushbeard, The Princess and the Pea, and many more – all with fresh, romantic twists.THE GLASS MOUNTAIN – Alethea KontisOn the way … Kontis
On the way to her wedding, brave and clever Princess Sabine falls into a Glass Mountain, where she is trapped with a crotchety man she calls “Old Rinkrank.” The two form a unique, unlikely friendship while working to escape.
THE BAKERS GRIMM – Hailey Edwards
When two struggling business owners compete for the contract of a lifetime, it’s all bakers on deck. Mix in a dollop of rivalry, a tablespoon of romance, and a pinch of magic, and you’ve got the recipe for one heck of a bake-off.
GALATEA AND PYGMALION – Kate Danley
A young woman in ancient Greece is tasked with carving a new statue for Aphrodite’s temple. But what happens when she falls in love with her art?
RED– Sarra Cannon
Charlotte is searching for a cure to save her sister, but what she finds in the woods is not at all what she expects…
PRINCESS CHARMING – Yasmine Galenorn
Sometimes, the road to Happily Ever After leads a girl right past Prince Charming… into the arms of his sister.
MAD ABOUT YOU – Jennifer Blackstream
Alice doesn’t want to marry the Mad Hatter. Will an unexpected trip to Wonderland change her mind?
THE SEA KING’S DAUGHTER—Anthea Sharp
A mermaid gives up everything to be with the mortal man she loves – but can there be a happy ending when the Sea Witch intervenes?
ROMEO AND JULIET: THE AFTERLIFE – Julia Crane
Juliet enters the afterlife and discovers the truth behind her relationship with Romeo and Paris – and that their greatest challenge is yet to come.
SOOT AND STONE: A Fae Tale of the Otherworld – Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
Aisling, a young Faelorehn artist, finds herself falling for the son of one of the famed Tuatha De Danann.
THE HUNTSMAN’S SNOW – Mandy M. Roth
Sometimes, a prince isn’t as charming as history would like you to believe. And sometimes, a princess needs an alpha male shifter to find her happily ever after.
RUMPELIMPSKIN – Debra Dunbar
An imp finds herself in a fairytale world without her infernal powers facing an impossible task. Will Sam barter away her firstborn? Will her angelic main-squeeze save her? Or will she come up with a devilish solution of her own?
THE GLASS SKY – Alexia Purdy
Star’s refusal of suitors lined up for her hand has her family in knots, but when the city is bombed and overthrown, she loses everything…
RUSH – C. Gockel
Misogyny is a beast.
When the incarnation of Creation gets angry at Rush for innocently stating his opinion, she curses him to find true love in two weeks … or else.
PERCHANCE TO DREAM – Phaedra Weldon
Her first love has been placed under a spell. But will her kiss wake him… or kill him?
THE TOAD PRINCE – Nikki Jefford
Isabel Ivers’s stepfather will do anything to secure his place as Far North’s new ruler, even if it means marrying her off to the depraved prince of the lowlands.
CRAFTED WITH A KISS – Shawntelle Madison
Despite fighting in countless battles to bring peace to warring kingdoms, Pynnelope, a warrior maiden made of wood, knows no fear. Yet becoming human is all she desires..
A SMALL MAGIC – Devon Monk
A cursed princess, a talking pea, and a wish that changes everything.
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Once Upon A Kiss: 17 Romantic Faerie Tales (Once Upon Series Book 2)
Some excellent stories and skillful writing
I knew I liked some of the authors in this collection of variations on classic fairy tales, so I bought the book because of them. To my pleasant surprise, I was introduced to several new (to me, anyway) authors. So I’ve added them to my watch list. I didn’t particularly enjoy a few stories, but some were outstanding. Some of the variations on the classics were truly inventive, original and enjoyable. I was amazed at the new ideas and ways of writing “outside the box”. So if you like several of the authors, and twists on the classics, you may find several great stories and several more authors to follow, just as I did.
There were several stories in this book and out of all of them, there was one or two stories I didn’t like… Cinderella’s version the author made, and one just had too many curse words and me personally I don’t like that. I believe you can get what you want to say without having to curse.
Oh my goodness. This was so much more than I had expected. All of the stories were very short (that’s part of the point, I know), but boy did most of them pack a punch! I remember reading Once Upon A Curse (book 1) and being impressed by quality, but sad because that’s the nature of the book. I’m happy to say, this book did NOT leave me sad (for the most part). It was very well done, and even introduced me to some old tales that I really didn’t remember or hadn’t heard of.
I’m not reviewing every book-that seems silly when most of them are only 30 pages long or so. I want to say that they felt complete despite that (save two, that felt like beginnings), and left me happy I had the chance to read them. I do want to highlight my favorites.
Perchance To Dream (sleeping beauty remake) was simply phenomenal. I’ve never read anything by Phaedra Weldon, but now I want to. A truly interesting take on the old tale.
Soot and Stone was a fun redo for Cinderella (never my favorite story, but this one was good!).
Mad About You, in typical Jennifer Blackstream fashion, rewound Alice into a, still twisted, but adult and powerful heroine with a wonderfully colorful partner.
Princess Charming was simply hilarious. I laughed quite a bit.
I loved most all of the books in this set honestly, it’s definitely worth the dollar to give it a shot.
A Small Magic by Devon Monk. This one truly touched me with how the author chose to completely remake the princess from the princess and the pea. Not only imaginative, but simply beautiful.
Love these spins on the classic fairy tales so much fun to read, hard to put down!
I didn’t know what to think when I started the book. I was wonderfully surprised to find a re-make of traditional Faerie Tales and see how they were modernized. A tremendous read – would highly recommend!
Another good entry in this series – perhaps, a bit more lighthearted than the others – still with interesting stories and skilled writing. Along with the other in this series, I chose this because of my past familiarity with C. Gockel’s praise-worthy “I Bring the Fire” novels. A new author I discovered in this collection was Devon Monk who I highly recommend.
Great new telling of old memorable tales…
What a great selection! Of course, as with every anthology, there were some less enjoyable than others, but I’d say 90% of these were hits with me.
Once upon a Kiss
A unique collection of short fairytale retelling that were interesting and fun.
The Glass Mountain
An interesting tale of a glass mountain lost in time. It was a little too quick to really get a good feel for the characters and their relationship but it did put a smile on my face.
The Bakers Grimm
Entertaining! This was a fun little story with a dash of magic and a sprinkle of romance.
Galatea and Pygmalion
A great story full of wonder, imagination and magical love.
Red
A sweet story of forbidden love that left me wanting more.
Princess Charming
I had a hard time getting into this one. It was meant to be funny but with style with the writing letters I don’t know it was hard for me to get into.
Mad About You
A fun twist on Alice and Wonderland with new original creatures and ideas.
The Sea King’s Daughter
I enjoyed this one very much. I liked the retelling of the Little Mermaid it was full of magic and love.
Romeo and Juliet The Afterlife
A different story about what happens in the afterlife with a twist to the classic Romeo and Juliet romance. I was a little upset that the story just ended with no real ending.
Soot and Stone
A sweet story full of love, magic and art. I enjoyed the characters.
The Huntmans Snow
A cute little short about Snow White and the Huntsman with a touch of magic, romance and misunderstandings.
Rumpelimpskin
A funny fast paced tale that moved quickly. It was just okay for me I couldn’t really get into the story or the characters.
The Glass Sky
A time traveling romance filled with second and third chances to get live right lol
Rush
A little different. I enjoyed the various concepts explored but not sure what I think of it overall.
Perchance to Dream
A fun twisted tale full of unpredictable magic, mistaken identities and of course romance.
The Toad Prince
Well not much to say about this one to be honest. I was kind of disappointed nothing really happened.
Crafted with Kiss
A very unique take on Pinocchio. I enjoyed the twist!
A Small Magic
Interesting for sure! I liked the flow and it kept me interested the whole way through.
I loved finding new authors to read. It is a really good collection as far as I’m concerned. All of the words above describe this set of books.
I liked it a lot.
Like most other readers, I enjoyed some of these stories, but disliked others. Unfortunately, you have to read the stinkers to get to the good ones. Overall the good were good enough to offset the negative ones.
An entertaining read. Imaginative twists on the original stories.
Each story was so different, and for some, it was easy to guess what fairy tale it was based on, while others were so different from the original that you had to wait for the author’s note at the end, where they would usually say something about why they chose this particular story to alter. My favorite was the Cinderella story, written as letters between Cinderella and her pal Arabelle from beauty and the beast, where Cindy falls in love with Prince Charming’s sister, instead of him.
An interesting modern take on an old fairy tale.
Fairie tales from a different perspective – interesting read
I loved the muliple fairy tales wish some would have more storey to them but they were really intertaining
Wide range of stories in this collection. There is probably something for almost any “fairy tales retold” fan, but also probably several you won’t care for much. I noticed 4 that didn’t make sense as a “story” but appeared to be intended to interest you in the writer’s style so you would seek out other works. I get that most short pieces have that end-game in sight, but the story should also be worth something as a story, too. There were a few great stories, a number of decent diversions, and a handful of duds.
First off, I love fairy tales. These new witty and entertaining fairy tales are different renditions of old time favorites. Some of them are so different that I did not know the original tale. I enjoyed this book tremendously. I encourage you to read it. It is suitable for older children as well. I was sorry when the book ended.
17 short stories presented by fantasy writers, each one is a variation of a known fairy tale. For the most part, these stories were very good and well-written, and even the lesser ones were still better than average. What I particularly like is that none of the stories followed the path of the original fairy tale – they aren’t simply retellings, but completely new stories that only keep their roots in the original. These were fresh, unexpected, and absorbing. Highly recommended for those who like fairy tales.