Trials and Command

by Erin Halbmaier

Protecting a prince’s sister-in-law seems simple until a queen tries to match him up with her daughter.

Keenan left home to watch out for a young woman searching for her friend. But when bandits attack, leaving them separated, Keenan is left lost and wounded, stumbling through the woods in search of help.

Princess Sakura needs a titled husband to inherit the throne. Since a prophecy declared her the future bride of a common soldier, she only has a few months until her brother is named heir in her place. But it’s hard to find a husband at all in an isolated castle.

When an injured young man staggers up to their door, the queen offers him the chance to prove he is a “true prince” and so marry her daughter. Sakura believes their guest has enchanted the queen…until her mother confides a plot that will guarantee Sakura the throne. All she has to do is make Keenan fall in love with her.

But he doesn’t trust her or her mother – and the key to her crown might be too powerful to give up.

Trials and Command is a clean, no-spice retelling of The Tinderbox and The Princess and the Pea. It is book five in The Roumaterra Chronicles, a series of interconnected, standalone fairy tale retellings perfect for readers of Brittany Fichter and Annette K. Larsen.

529 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2025

About the author

Programmer. Composer. Author of clean, no-spice romantasy with swoony moments and a dash of adventure.
Erin Halbmaier’s love of a good tale covers multiple genres, but the relationships are always what draw her in. Her flawed characters stay in the 1.5-2 level for romance and have to struggle for their happily ever after, but she doesn't do sad endings.
When not buried in a book or writing one, she can be found fiddling with computer code, writing music, or hanging out with her husband and kids.

Keep up with updates, promos, and fun stuff: find all the links at https://erinhalbmaier.com/links/

Reviews

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was better than I expected. I've come across an unfortunate number of books in the YA/romantasy genre featuring the 'enemies to lovers' trope where the couple seems to hate each other simply because the author decided we need a little bit of drama and of course everyone loves the trope, so why not use it again? And again? Right? I truly do love that trope, but I wish it weren't so predictable. That's not the case here. I feel like the characters' reasons for their dislike are genuine and unique. Really, those words describe what I think of the entire book. It's genuine, unique, and delightful.
Keenan was my favorite character (aside from Mori). I especially loved how his temper was portrayed. You see a lot of characters like him either constantly lashing out or with a good control of their emotions. Keenan falls into that little-seen in-between place where yes, he does get very angry, but he doesn't take it out on everyone or have this expert way of keeping himself in check. He has to get away from everyone and walk it off. It was amazing, in a way, to see this alternate solution to dealing with emotions. Not everyone can just try to avoid shouting or getting angry. Sometimes walking away and taking a moment is the best answer.
I couldn't like Sakura as much as I like Keenan. She was well-developed and real, but she reminded me too much of cliches: the perfectionist who wants to please her parents, or the girl who secretly likes science, but knows no one will approve and hides it from everyone. Not to say that she falls into these tropes, simply that she reminded me too much of them.
I have come across way too many books recently that were poorly edited. I didn't realize how many until I read this one. It sounds weird, but it was quite honestly a joy to read one so well-edited. I will say, though, that Keenan's face on the cover really bothers me. Other than that and Sakura, there's really nothing I can criticize without nitpicking. Trials and Command felt real in a way that few other books do - the type of real you don't realize is even missing until you find it. If you like romantasy without the angst, original fairytale retellings, engaging characters, and clean content, then this is the book for you.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really surprised me! Maybe because I am not as familiar with the story of the Tinderbox. Regardless, this book was not at all what I was expecting.

I LOVED IT ANYWAY.

I will admit, it took a while to warm up to Princess Sakura. At the beginning, the only thing I really liked about her was how much she liked her animals (although she felt the need to hide this because it was princess-like). As the story progressed, she grew on me and I began to like her character!

Keenan is another really likeable MMC. He is a complex character, with realistic emotions and responses. If you like a Protective MMC, you will love Keenan.

There are also a bunch of amazing side characters as well. I loved meeting Mori, and I hope we get to see him again in the future. It was nice seeing Oliver again, I really like his character!

There are also adorable animal companions in this story! I love stories with animal companions!

I think the author did a wonderful job blending these two stories together, keeping just enough of the originals that you can see their influence, while making it her own!

I have read every book in this series and it is one of my absolute favorites. I cannot wait for the next book! A combined retelling of beauty and the beast and puss in boots? Can you imagine how amazing that is going to be. The sneak peek at the end of the book has me dying for more!! I think I have some clues about what is going to happen and I can’t wait to see if I am right.

I am also excited because I think we will see more of Keenan in the next book, as it appears the two plots are connected!

Overall, if you like a book with banter, a protective MMC, and cute animal companions, I recommend you give this book a try! But, I encourage you to read the earlier books first, because they are interconnected!

I received an ARC from the author; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Rosalyn Nightshade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredible addition to the Roumaterra Chronicles! I've never read (or even heard of!) The Tinderbox fairy tale before, so the little summary of the fairy tale at the beginning was very helpful (thank you Erin!). The Tinderbox and The Princess and the Pea blended very well together! And the allusions to the stack of mattresses...🤣!

I loved Keenan and Princess Sakura very much! Keenan is such a great, awesome, protective hero! And I LOVE Sakura's passion for mechanical engineering and her kindness and determination hidden underneath her "perfect princess" mask. They both fit so well together! Sakura helps Keenan control his temper and affirms that he would never hurt anyone, while Keenan makes her more relaxed and helps her understand how commoners are not "beneath" her.

I loved Churippu (Cherry!) so much! After all, a baby dragon🐲! What's not to love? Cherry is so sweet and adorable!

Getting to see Oliver again was great too! I wonder if he'll ever get his own story. He's definitely one of my favourite characters and getting to explore the hidden fae world with him would be cool!

This book definitely had some twists and turns that I did not see coming! It was pretty fast-paced but then the journey was long and I feel like their romance and relationship was very realistic. It definitely wasn't love at first sight, and there were some obstacles and drawbacks before they finally started to realise they loved each other. The romance was sweet and clean with only mild kissing.

I can't wait for Liesl and Tobias's story in Boots and Roses!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the author. I was not required to leave a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am voluntarily writing this because, seriously, TRY THIS BOOK! It's awesome!

[Riella Cristobal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun addition to this world! I am still relatively new to this series, but I was so excited to continue in this world.
I love a blend of fairytales and this is definitely a different combination than I have seen before. It was so cool to see the threads of the story within this one. It had a very fairytale adventure feel with the journey and trials elements.
I felt for Sakura. She had such high expectations placed upon her about her role as the future queen. It made her so cautious about her relationships, friendships and otherwise, as well as others’ perception of her. I loved watching her grow into establishing her own convictions and beliefs. Sakura was so set on becoming queen and could see few options to get there. However, over the story, she starts to see new points of view and new opportunities in the world.
Keenan was such a sweetheart! I love his protective nature and how he cared for people. He started his journey to protect Lisel and over the story it played into many of his choices. He learned so much over the story, especially in journeying to another land and getting swept into their political scene.
The magic in this series is so interesting! I love learning about it through every story and I definitely need to go back and finish the earlier books in this series! I am so excited to continue this series, especially with the hints of the stories in this book! This fairytale inspired fantasy is part of a series, but can be read as a standalone. It has some light fantasy violence and only a few kisses.
I received an ARC.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trials and Command by Erin Halbmaier
When bandits attack, Keenan is left lost and wounded, stumbling through the woods in search of help...
This one is a retelling of The Tinderbox with a bit of Princess and the Pea mixed in. I belive this is the first Tinderbox retelling I've read, but the author kindly gives a summary at the beginning for anyone not familar with the original. I feel this author does a great job of making the retellings her own. A bit on the longer side but the pacing is good. Keenan was my favorite character, awesome protective MMC! Also Cherry was the cutest! And that ending left me wanting the next book right away! Highly recommend this series.
Book 5 (best read in order but this one could be read as a standalone)
Quote: “Is blacksmithing a highly sought- after topic among your titled guests?”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ARC (will be published Oct 31)

[Jacquelyn 💐 {This Rapunzel Reads} [Jesus Christ, my Living Hope] · Rating 4 out of 5]

🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉

3.5 stars, rounded up. This is a retelling of Princess and the Pea and the Tinderbox. This book is a chunker! It took me a while to get into it and I was quite confused throughout it. I loved that there were two pictures in it…so cool! Sakura was pretty mean at the beginning and I did not like her or trust her. But thankfully, she gets better. Keenan was an interesting character. He had been through a lot. His comments were pretty funny! Sakura and his banter was hilarious and one of my favorite parts of the book. Their love story was sweet, but took a long time to happen. I also liked that there were dragons in this book. Overall, it was a good read and I’m looking forward to the next one.

🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉

[Ami Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This clean fantasy romance was a great combination of The Tinderbox and The Princess and the Pea. I loved the way these two fairytales were combined, how the main characters had to learn to get along, then fell in love, and how they chose to be their best selves and not take the easy way out, and in so doing, became the people that triumphed in the end! I’ve loved each story in this series so far! I received an ARC copy and this is my review.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masterpiece

I fell in love with the characters and the story. The depth in the characters and the struggles are relatable. How often we don't see our own value or carry guilt that's not ours to carry? I should've known not to start one of her books at bedtime, who needs sleep 😴 when one has a good book? I enjoy reading clean books that have suspense, adventure, magic and unexpected events.

[Adena Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this mashup of The Tinderbox and The Princess and the Pea. I particularly like the characters, heroes and villains alike. Each felt so realistic in their own ways - I sympathized with both Sakura and Keenan and I loathed the queen - that it was hard to put this down and deal with adulting. Darn adulting anyway!

[emeraldragonlady (Maddie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting read. I am familiar with the Princess & The pea story but not with the Tinderbox until now. I’m very grateful for the brief summary Erin included in the beginning of both stories. It helped me pick out the details that she used from each story. I’m not quite sure how I feel about the story but I can tell you that I did enjoy it. It was kind of like an enemy to lovers forced proximity type book. But I do think there was enough of the story to make the romantic but believable. This was definitely not something I expected, but I did enjoy and of course, my favorite part was the baby dragon. If you are familiar with the princess and the pea and the tinderbox story could be a retelling for you.

Audiobook Update: I knew there were going to be accents based on the setting and names of the characters. But Elaine K. Schultz does an amazing job with the accents. Elaine really made the story authentic, and I definitely loved being emerged back into this interesting retelling. I loved hearing the voices to characters I loved. Cherry is my favorite. You can easily follow along with the book and it feels like its a movie that is playing out in your mind. If you like retellings, closed door romance, and mythical creatures this is the adventure for you.

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow, the ending shocked me. I thought I knew what was going to happen but man was I wrong.

The author definitely knows how to take two classic stories and turn them into her own.

I loved Kagemori and Cherry. They are great for comic relief.

As always I can’t wait to read the next book the author releases!