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Second-Hand Princess
All a princess wants is to be rescued by her prince -- isn't it? Perhaps staying with her dragon wasn't such a bad idea after all...( Short story - fantasy humor/farce. This is not meant to be a romance.)Followed by "The Princess At War."
28 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 28, 2011
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171 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 29, 2011
Maybe my expectations were too high after reading the other reviews but I was really disappointed. I finished the story wondering, what was the point? I was looking for a quick entertaining story but this was not it. As I continued to read I kept thinking “this has got to get better”... I am still waiting. There is no point to the story and the characters are boring.
I would definitely tell everyone I know to skip this.
I would definitely tell everyone I know to skip this.
April 11, 2025
So this story reads as if it should be a parody of the fantasy rescued princess trope, but it doesn’t get there.
The humour falls flat and the overacting of the characters just comes across as stupid and even rude in some parts. The stupidity of our main character bordered on too-stupid-to-live. I was flirting dangerously with a DNF on a story this short, that would have been a first for me, but I managed to push through.
The writing is basic, the fundamentals of good story writing are missing and the nuances needed to pull off parody were clearly not present.
There are a few interesting ideas in here which is why it gets 2 stars and not 1. But they are not fully explored nor strong enough on their own to support the story.
I got this one for free on Amazon an age ago, wouldn’t bother with it or other work by this author.
I also really detest the cover, it’s almost illegible.
The humour falls flat and the overacting of the characters just comes across as stupid and even rude in some parts. The stupidity of our main character bordered on too-stupid-to-live. I was flirting dangerously with a DNF on a story this short, that would have been a first for me, but I managed to push through.
The writing is basic, the fundamentals of good story writing are missing and the nuances needed to pull off parody were clearly not present.
There are a few interesting ideas in here which is why it gets 2 stars and not 1. But they are not fully explored nor strong enough on their own to support the story.
I got this one for free on Amazon an age ago, wouldn’t bother with it or other work by this author.
I also really detest the cover, it’s almost illegible.
January 2, 2018
The synopsis of this story made it sound like it would be entertaining and cute but it wasn’t funny or entertaining to me.
February 24, 2020
Well... that was odd.
May 5, 2020
A quick read and a sweet story.
It's a fairy tale! It's sweet and I loved it. My nieces and nephews are going to love it too.
It's a fairy tale! It's sweet and I loved it. My nieces and nephews are going to love it too.
February 24, 2021
It is meant to be ridiculous
Don't take this story seriously. It isn't meant to be serious. It is short and ridiculous. It will take maybe 15-20 minutes to read.
Don't take this story seriously. It isn't meant to be serious. It is short and ridiculous. It will take maybe 15-20 minutes to read.
September 18, 2014
A princess is rescued from a dragon by Prince Aarach and taken to live in his castle, where nothing is what the Princess had expected. The windows aren't symmetrical, the tapestries are dirty, and her prince charming is anything but. Not to mention the very unusual residents of the castle. What's a princess to do when her happily ever after is worse than being trapped with a dragon?
To be honest, the plot weakened at points, much of the dialogue was stilted, and the overall writing style was a bit juvenile. But what this short story lacks in polish, it makes up for in charm and originality. I loved following the Princess as she nitpicked her new living situation, discovering increasingly disturbing aspects of it. The castle's residents were a fun addition, but I felt that the scene with the little girl Amelia was more of a distraction than an enhancement - it just didn't seem to fit in with the plot. Overall, this is a cute, humorous fairy tale with a twist that's worth a free download.
To be honest, the plot weakened at points, much of the dialogue was stilted, and the overall writing style was a bit juvenile. But what this short story lacks in polish, it makes up for in charm and originality. I loved following the Princess as she nitpicked her new living situation, discovering increasingly disturbing aspects of it. The castle's residents were a fun addition, but I felt that the scene with the little girl Amelia was more of a distraction than an enhancement - it just didn't seem to fit in with the plot. Overall, this is a cute, humorous fairy tale with a twist that's worth a free download.
October 9, 2019
This short story is a different approach to the traditional tale where a princess is saved by a prince. In this one, the prince may be attractive but is overall irresponsible and uneducated. The princess (even though I JUST read this, I can't recall if she was given a name in the story or just referred to as Princess the whole time) isn't quite into him, which is a bit amusing.
I can't recall reading a story like this one, which includes fantasy (dragons) and paranormal (ghosts) in what is otherwise historical fiction / traditional tale. I liked that addition because it felt unique, but ultimately the story fell flat.
I can't recall reading a story like this one, which includes fantasy (dragons) and paranormal (ghosts) in what is otherwise historical fiction / traditional tale. I liked that addition because it felt unique, but ultimately the story fell flat.
March 22, 2012
This would have been a much better story had it been expanded into a novella or even a book form. The writing style was great, the premise was fantastic and the characters, despite how short the work was, were three-dimensional. I think the author sold herself short by making the story just a story. The plot and the action would have been better served by more of a build-up and more background on the characters to better show why the characters felt the way they did and how they got to their present situations.
I would love to read this book in a longer format, but unfortunately, it disappointed me so much, it is going to be deleted off of my Kindle.
I would love to read this book in a longer format, but unfortunately, it disappointed me so much, it is going to be deleted off of my Kindle.
August 31, 2011
Short story.
Fun and different take on the fairy tale with a little of the paranormal thrown in.
The Princess has been saved from the dragon who imprisoned her. The more time she spends with the Prince finds her reluctant to marry him. He eats enough for 4 people and she's afraid he'll soon grow fat. He can't read; he burps; his castle is ill-fashioned and dirty.
Can a Princess escape her fate on her own or must she wait to be rescued?
Fun and different take on the fairy tale with a little of the paranormal thrown in.
The Princess has been saved from the dragon who imprisoned her. The more time she spends with the Prince finds her reluctant to marry him. He eats enough for 4 people and she's afraid he'll soon grow fat. He can't read; he burps; his castle is ill-fashioned and dirty.
Can a Princess escape her fate on her own or must she wait to be rescued?
September 22, 2012
I'm not really sure what this short story accomplished. There was a beginning and a middle, but no ending. I enjoyed some/most of the story line, but the Princess could be annoying at times (and that is saying a lot with only 23 pages to do it in).
We clearly were not intended to like Aarach and I didn't. But how are we supposed to feel about the second prince?
It was a super quick read, but it would have been better if the Princess could have found happiness.
We clearly were not intended to like Aarach and I didn't. But how are we supposed to feel about the second prince?
It was a super quick read, but it would have been better if the Princess could have found happiness.
September 17, 2011
Eh it was an ok short story though nothing special. It was an interesting concept (what happens after the princess is rescued from the dragon) but it wasn't that well developed and most of the characters were mildly irritating. All in all, it kept my interest well enough when I had to kill some time.
September 22, 2011
It was pretty cute, but nothing too special. I liked the concept, but I would have liked to see it more developed. The princess showed signs of growing as a character, and if the story was longer maybe she would have turned out to be ok. As it stands right now, she was a very typical fairy tale princess (pretty clueless and set in her princess ways).
June 1, 2015
Hard read
First off, this is not my normal genre. I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. The story was a little unreal for me and it's kind of hard to believe he couldn't tell her he was a wolf. If you like theses, then great but if not, then don't experiment. You'll be left unfulfilled.
First off, this is not my normal genre. I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. The story was a little unreal for me and it's kind of hard to believe he couldn't tell her he was a wolf. If you like theses, then great but if not, then don't experiment. You'll be left unfulfilled.
September 5, 2011
So did the princess live happily ever after once the prince rescued her from the beastly dragon who ate her parents? This super-short story was a fun cheeky continuation to the fable, but don't expect much depth to the story.
January 25, 2015
You have to be kidding
This has to be the most ridiculous story that I have ever tried to read. So silly that I could not finish it. I think I stopped after the butler passed on an did a jig, feeling better.
This has to be the most ridiculous story that I have ever tried to read. So silly that I could not finish it. I think I stopped after the butler passed on an did a jig, feeling better.
September 2, 2011
Entertaining. Nice twist at the end. made me smile.
September 4, 2011
This was odd...a satire maybe?
Very weird...
Very weird...
September 7, 2011
a short story free on the kindle. very cute.
September 7, 2011
cute story. short.
September 12, 2011
Not bad, but not all that funny either.
September 12, 2011
It was short, but a pretty fun book. I liked the situations that went on in the book and how the whole thing got turned upside down.
September 16, 2011
Short Story, paranormal fairy tale.... quite amusing to me.
October 13, 2011
Classic case of "The grass isn't always greener on the other side". It's a different take on an old fairytale.
January 31, 2012
DNF--writing was just okay, and I didn't care about either main character. I like the premise--princess rescued by a prince who lives in a haunted castle--but, it just didn't take off for me.
February 20, 2012
It was an entertaining read.
July 23, 2012
A weird short story of what happens after a princess is rescued from the dragon and ends up in a castle with the prince & his ghostly community. Did not make much sense but a quick read
July 1, 2012
Well, that was silly.
August 7, 2012
I only have one criticism of this lovely story, and that is that it was far too short! I do hope Ms Anderson has written some novels.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews