What do you think?
Rate this book
Andras Karlaff is a man outcast, due to his unusually large size and gruff demeanor. He’s never answered to anyone– but he’s never met anyone like Jacqueline, the first tax collector in the kingdom he hasn’t been able to send fleeing in terror. Her beauty ignites him, her stubbornness infuriates him. Her compassion might break his heart.
Her Royal Highness Princess Jacqueline knows she can’t go on pretending to be a commoner forever, but after an erotic night with Andras, she wishes she could. With a fiancé waiting for her at court and her father, the tyrannical king, running out of patience, she knows she must eventually tell Andras the truth. But can Andras love a princess as much as he loves a peasant?
Jacqueline knows that every day she remains missing is another day she will have to account for, while Andras dreads they day she leaves him to his solitude. Protecting their love requires sacrifice, but it could be the difference between life and death...
Her Royal Highness Princess Jacqueline knows she can’t go on pretending to be a commoner forever, but after an erotic night with Andras, she wishes she could. With a fiancé waiting for her at court and her father, the tyrannical king, running out of patience, she knows she must eventually tell Andras the truth. But can Andras love a princess as much as he loves a peasant?
Jacqueline knows that every day she remains missing is another day she will have to account for, while Andras dreads they day she leaves him to his solitude. Protecting their love requires sacrifice, but it could be the difference between life and death...
101 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 18, 2011
196 people want to read
About the author
Abigail Barnette
64 books1,279 followersAbigail Barnette is the pseudonym of Jenny Trout (alias Jennifer Armintrout, an author, blogger, and funny person. Jenny made the USA Today bestseller list with her debut novel, Blood Ties Book One: The Turning. Her American Vampire was named one of the top ten horror novels of 2011 by Booklist Magazine Online. As Abigail Barnette, Jenny writes award-winning erotic romance, including the internationally bestselling The Boss series.
As a blogger, Jenny’s work has appeared on The Huffington Post, and has been featured on television and radio, including HuffPost Live, Good Morning America, The Steve Harvey Show, and National Public Radio’s Here & Now. Her work has earned mentions in The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.
She is a proud Michigander, mother of two, and wife to the only person alive capable of spending extended periods of time with her without wanting to kill her.
As a blogger, Jenny’s work has appeared on The Huffington Post, and has been featured on television and radio, including HuffPost Live, Good Morning America, The Steve Harvey Show, and National Public Radio’s Here & Now. Her work has earned mentions in The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.
She is a proud Michigander, mother of two, and wife to the only person alive capable of spending extended periods of time with her without wanting to kill her.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 22, 2011
Still aboard the Sickly train. Gonna be reading a LOT this weekend. Yesterday, when I saw a tweet from RT_Magazine, I investigated Abigail Barnette aka Jennifer Armintrout and bought three stories from her.
This one, Giant, is a twist on the fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk. The hero, Andras, is a bean farmer who happened to inherit gigantism from his father. Jacqueline is the heroine, a princess who fled the Court and her boorish fiancee under the guise of being a tax collector for the realm. She and Andras meet when she attempts to collect his back taxes.
This is not a happy story. There's a happy ending, of sorts, but Barnette doesn't whitewash what life was like in medieval times or what Andras faces in life. He is completely alone, living in poverty, and he always must fear that the neighboring village will rise against him for some imagined evil. At the end of the book, Andras is forced to leave his home and the last mementoes of his parents. He consoles himself that the loss is worth it to be with Jacqueline, but I didn't really buy it. Unfortunately, Barnette didn't really answer the question of why Jacqueline. An argument could be presented that Andras falls in "love" with Jacqueline, simply because she is the first woman he's ever really known and the first woman he's slept with. There's also the fact that if Jacqueline had revealed her true identity to Andras when she chose to stay with him, perhaps they could have made plans, could have circumvented what happened next. To me, Jacqueline is the reason this story is at three stars rather than four.
One detail that I did like is that Barnette didn't assign ages to Andras and Jacqueline. The condition of gigantism is usually accompanied by a host of other medical problems and these people rarely live beyond middle aged. Andre the Giant, of The Princess Bride fame, died when he was 47 from congestive heart failure. Given the medieval setting and lack of advanced medical care, it is likely Andras would probably not even reach 40. Since no contradicting evidence is given by the author, the reader can pretend Andras is 18 and will be able to watch any future offspring grow up.
This one, Giant, is a twist on the fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk. The hero, Andras, is a bean farmer who happened to inherit gigantism from his father. Jacqueline is the heroine, a princess who fled the Court and her boorish fiancee under the guise of being a tax collector for the realm. She and Andras meet when she attempts to collect his back taxes.
This is not a happy story. There's a happy ending, of sorts, but Barnette doesn't whitewash what life was like in medieval times or what Andras faces in life. He is completely alone, living in poverty, and he always must fear that the neighboring village will rise against him for some imagined evil. At the end of the book, Andras is forced to leave his home and the last mementoes of his parents. He consoles himself that the loss is worth it to be with Jacqueline, but I didn't really buy it. Unfortunately, Barnette didn't really answer the question of why Jacqueline. An argument could be presented that Andras falls in "love" with Jacqueline, simply because she is the first woman he's ever really known and the first woman he's slept with. There's also the fact that if Jacqueline had revealed her true identity to Andras when she chose to stay with him, perhaps they could have made plans, could have circumvented what happened next. To me, Jacqueline is the reason this story is at three stars rather than four.
One detail that I did like is that Barnette didn't assign ages to Andras and Jacqueline. The condition of gigantism is usually accompanied by a host of other medical problems and these people rarely live beyond middle aged. Andre the Giant, of The Princess Bride fame, died when he was 47 from congestive heart failure. Given the medieval setting and lack of advanced medical care, it is likely Andras would probably not even reach 40. Since no contradicting evidence is given by the author, the reader can pretend Andras is 18 and will be able to watch any future offspring grow up.
August 21, 2012
(This review was originally written for Nocturne Romance Reads)
Abigail Barnette produced an interesting and arresting twist on the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk with Giant. Ms. Barnette really embraced the old adage “opposites attract” and added a darkly imaginative adult fairy tale that readers will enjoy from start to finish!
The story itself centers on a giant of a man struggling to live in the harsh and often turbulent medieval era and a reluctant princess who has run from her royal life to escape a loveless marriage and the court way of life. The relationship between Jacqueline and Andras was hot and erotic with just the right amount of reality to keep readers wanting more. They truly sizzled together and made for an interesting and unconventional couple although their courtship and relationship seemed a bit rushed during the story. Also, the emotional and societal issues both characters had throughout the story was both intriguing and eye-opening as well. The fact that both came from such different cultures was very interesting even if it was not thoroughly described in the story and really gave readers some insight on medieval times and the different classes of people. While both Jacqueline and Andras suffered, Andras in particular seemed to have a great deal of hardships and losses that grew worse because of his relationship with Jacqueline. The end result seemed to make up for most of the problems the two had throughout the story, but many questions remained unanswered and issues unresolved that hopefully will be answered in other stories as this series progresses.
In the end, Giant was an enjoyable, erotic story with two complex yet realistic characters that will captivate readers from the beginning of the story all the way to the end!
Abigail Barnette produced an interesting and arresting twist on the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk with Giant. Ms. Barnette really embraced the old adage “opposites attract” and added a darkly imaginative adult fairy tale that readers will enjoy from start to finish!
The story itself centers on a giant of a man struggling to live in the harsh and often turbulent medieval era and a reluctant princess who has run from her royal life to escape a loveless marriage and the court way of life. The relationship between Jacqueline and Andras was hot and erotic with just the right amount of reality to keep readers wanting more. They truly sizzled together and made for an interesting and unconventional couple although their courtship and relationship seemed a bit rushed during the story. Also, the emotional and societal issues both characters had throughout the story was both intriguing and eye-opening as well. The fact that both came from such different cultures was very interesting even if it was not thoroughly described in the story and really gave readers some insight on medieval times and the different classes of people. While both Jacqueline and Andras suffered, Andras in particular seemed to have a great deal of hardships and losses that grew worse because of his relationship with Jacqueline. The end result seemed to make up for most of the problems the two had throughout the story, but many questions remained unanswered and issues unresolved that hopefully will be answered in other stories as this series progresses.
In the end, Giant was an enjoyable, erotic story with two complex yet realistic characters that will captivate readers from the beginning of the story all the way to the end!
October 27, 2011
Enjoyable smutty-tale.
A princess running from an arranged marriages ends up at the doorstop of a lonely giant with a huge heart.
A friend rec'd Ms. Barnette's first Naughtily Ever After, The Glass Slipper and I truly enjoyed it. Although this book wasn't as clever or as naughty as the first, it was a quite pleasant, smutty read. It did, however, feel a bit rushed and lacking in the character development of the first book.
I was delightfully surprised by the link to the first book and by the unexpected edge of darkness towards the end of the book. That made it truly feel like an adult fairy tale.
Overall, a good addition to a delightful (and hopefully continuing) series. A 3.5 star erotic fairy tale.
A princess running from an arranged marriages ends up at the doorstop of a lonely giant with a huge heart.
A friend rec'd Ms. Barnette's first Naughtily Ever After, The Glass Slipper and I truly enjoyed it. Although this book wasn't as clever or as naughty as the first, it was a quite pleasant, smutty read. It did, however, feel a bit rushed and lacking in the character development of the first book.
I was delightfully surprised by the link to the first book and by the unexpected edge of darkness towards the end of the book. That made it truly feel like an adult fairy tale.
Overall, a good addition to a delightful (and hopefully continuing) series. A 3.5 star erotic fairy tale.
March 6, 2013
The heroine is more sexually experienced than the hero in this one, which is a nice change of pace. The story is well told, and made me cry at one point I was so touched by it. I liked that some characters from the first book showed up here but did not overshadow the main characters' story.
February 5, 2016
He is a giant and she is a princess. She tried to collect his over due taxes. This story was different than any other. Great! LOVED IT! You go Ms. Abigail Barnette.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews