Once Upon a Viking

Romance a Medieval Fairytale #8-10

by Demelza Carlton

A collection of three Viking fairytale romances with hot Viking warriors and the strong women they fall in love with.
Three medieval fantasy romances from USA Today Bestselling Author Demelza Carlton that will sweep you away to a land of fierce warrors, mighty swords and quests where fairytales can come true.

This collection
Princess and the Pea Retold
Three Little Pigs Retold
Hansel and Gretel Retold

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Ebooks, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Medieval

793 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2023

About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Sensationalist spin? No - Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.

Reviews

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the first story a lot! the others fell flat.

[Gingertea Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun. I like that all the stories were interconnected. Grieve and Rhona were my favourite

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave it a very good try, but I realized I was forcing myself to keep going, and skimming multiple chapters in a row, and I promised myself I'd start dnf'ing books when I wasn't feeling them because it's 2024 for goodness' sake. I did finish the first book of the collection- a Princess and the Pea retelling. It felt a bit too insta-love for me (yes, even for a fairytale retelling). So cons: the main couple spent NO time together and I could not believe in their romance. The adventures they both were on separately felt very incomplete and like the plot of those went...nowhere. And the actual retelling of the original Princess & the Pea events took approximately one chapter? I didn't mind having some additional plot added to the story (if those plotlines felt completed I would've been happier), but then to have the fairytale's original plot just kind of tossed in at the end was incredibly disappointing. It sort of felt like this didn't need to be a retelling at all and should have just been an original fairytale.
Pros (because there were pros): I did like that we got dual POV of the main couple. The writing itself was good. It was just the plot felt very weak and I couldn't get invested in the couple.
But I pushed through. And the second book did NOT have insta-love. Yay!
But then...I just could not get interested. And even though I found the ROMANCE of the second main couple believable, I just wasn't interested in them as individuals and again: they were on separate adventures (or at least were up until the point I gave up).

I'm sure this series is great for someone, but that person is not me.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting!

While each of these stories brings to life a different fairytale, the characters and details of the stories are strongly intertwined. I was impressed by how the author loosely took details from the fairytales and wove so many aspects of Viking lore into them. While each story is self contained, I found I had greater pleasure reading them in the order of this box set. With each story focussing on a different set of main characters, we got to see how all the different characters influenced and contributed to each separate story. Simply wonderful and very satisfying all at the same time!

[Adena Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am profoundly impressed by this author’s grasp, accuracy and careful use of the historical background of the Vikings in these retellings of the Princess and the Pea, the Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel. There is very little lightheartedness or airiness about these tales, but the Vikings were anything but gentle, pacific peacemakers. Difficult and dark these stories might be but they ring in the gut and feel true to the spirit of the original unexpurgated Grimm’s fairytales. I highly recommend these to anyone who has a passion for medieval Vikings and for fairytale retellings.

[Uncas Zeuthen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please, these details... I can't... but personally I really liked the way men wants different women. Also, also how they want to desire women so baaaaaad, like *ugh* nam nam. This is straight up the dream. xD

Anyways, I couldn't stop reading this fairytale, after reading 10 pages... It just got me so baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.... and im still in love with that...

And dont ask me how I read this in like 2-3 days, I need to fix my sleep schedule...

[Chris Mckay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

These are three books from the Medieval fairytale series by Demelza Carlton. All are stand alone books and very well written and are a more adult rewriting of familiar stories you grew up with. Read them and you will fall in love with this author.

[Jeanne Johnston]

Fun, interrelated stories

A complex trio of tales with satisfying endings, though with quite a few editing misses (e.g. wrong verb tenses...)

I did wish I'd skipped the fourth short one, which was a dead end with no resolution. 😒

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this

A great read full of adventure and love with a smattering of magic. Totally enjoyable and also a wonderful rewrite of the fairy tales... and an improvement imo. I'm going to read more of these books

[Suez · Rating 4 out of 5]

In addition to the excitement and adventure of each story, what stands out the most to me is the author's ability to build upon each narrative and connect the fantastic characters from one tale to the next. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them all.

[Wendy Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

entertaining

I loved this book. It is three stories based on fairy tales. It was well written and kept my interest throughout. I loved the way each story entwined with the other ones.

[Vel McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

New take on fairy tells

Ver interesting perspective of these old tales along with hunky hero’s and their ladies. I will have to look up some of the others as their are quite a few of these retold tales.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF: mini books about Vikings retelling of fairytales. First book was included rape and just no great characters. The main couple were also pretty flat. Interesting idea but could have been expanded into deeper characters and story. After the first book ended I decided to not read the other three.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/23/2023)! 🎁

[John Cornett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book review

Good short stories. As all good books go,the story ends. Another book has to be started before you can start another. Thanks

[Ariadne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good reimagining of several classic fairytales. I enjoyed the realism and details. Would read this author again!

[The one Whom Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of a re telling of classical fairy tale stories however I was bored to tears on the second story "three little pigs" that after 86 pages I DNF.

[Laurel]

Appease: Princess and the Pea Retold - DNF
Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold
Return: Hansel and Gretel Retold
Fenrir

[Jodi Gajadar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to dnf this when I got to the necrophilia. It was probably just the one scene, but I couldn't overcome the ick.

[Alegna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNF’d this book.

TRIGGER WARNING! I was not expecting to read about rape and necrophilia in a medieval fairytale romance. The premise was good, and the main leads are promising, but I did not finish this book due to the previously mentioned trigger warnings.

[Chelsea]

Appease: Princess and the Pea Retold (Book #08)
This was an interesting retelling of the Princess and the Pea and I enjoyed getting to know Princess Sativa and her betrothed Reidar. The part in the beginning of the book when they meet as children was really cute. The book does take some pretty dark turns later on but has a good end. Reidar's cousin Rudolf looks like an interesting character and I look forward to reading his story Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold (Book #09).

Series Character and Story Connections for Appease: Princess and the Pea Retold (Book #08)
Rudolf and Portia's story is in Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold (Book #09)
The tale of Melitta and George (and the dragon) is in Embellish: Brave Little Tailor Retold (Book #07)

Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold (Book #09)


Return: Hansel and Gretel Retold (Book #10)

[Ariela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wasn't for me.

[Susie Necker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting only because I just returned from Viking country.

[Caroline Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

good premises, but felt they needed more fleshing out.

[Savannah Fredericksen]

DNF’d at 100 pages. The book seemed to be moving very slow and I had hard time connecting to the characters. I also hated reading about what happened to Nekane. Just not my cup of tea. Maybe someone else would enjoy this book more than me.