King Thrushbeard: An Erotic Fairy Tale

by Shelby Cross

It is the year of our Lord 885, and Lord Noth of Wessex is accompanying King Alfred’s daughter to Mercia, the ravaged land to the north. Noth’s skill with the sword is legendary—but he is no match for the Viking ambush that befalls them. It takes a mysterious slip of a boy to save his small party from certain death. What Lord Noth fails to realize is that the brazen boy he’s now indebted to isn’t, in fact, a boy at all. Known as the “Iron Maiden of Mercia,” Lady Merewyn of Evesham is a willful warrior whose spirit cannot be tamed. Yet when she is accused of treason against Mercia’s new queen, Merewyn is forced to banish herself to a nunnery…or marry a Saxon minstrel, the only man still willing to have her. Unbeknownst to her, her cocky minstrel is no common servant at all, but Lord Noth in the very man whose shameless attitude and commanding presence has managed to rile her—and beguile her—at every turn. As Lord Noth drags his defiant wife back home to Wessex, he begins to discover the power of her staunch loyalty and unbridled passion. Realizing he has finally met his match in the stubborn female, smitten by the enchantment of her elusive surrender, he vows to tame her at any cost. But in their war-torn land, love comes at a high price, and Merewyn must soon choose between loyalty to her country…or the king of her heart.

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 25, 2015

About the author

I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and submissive. My husband is my Dom of over eighteen years. We have a CPE (complete power exchange) relationship dynamic.

Some people call me a smart-assed masochist, but that's not exactly true. I'm not a masochist: I don't enjoy pain. What I like is that fact that I don't like pain.
I suffer for those whom I love.

I am a huge fan of Doctor Who. I crochet, but I don't knit. I cut coupons. I'm horrible at math. I have a functional addiction to twitter and Fetlife. I'm honest, but I can be coy if I'm trying to flirt. I hate my nose. I like the color of my eyes. I can be a brat…and I take a good punishment for it.

I write.
Any questions? Email me: shelbycrosswriter[at]gmail[dot]com

Reviews

[crashqueen73]

Read the sample.

It was decent.

Not good enough though for me at the moment.

Really looking for something that is better than decent.

I'm looking for awesome!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely an interesting retelling of Grimm's King Thrushbeard. I've had several people recommend Shelby Cross's books to me before, so when I saw this new release, I just had to grab it.

The beginning was a bit confusing - just with all the names and the set up. Once I moved beyond those first few chapters, everything was much smoother and easier to focus on the story being told.

The historical aspect was a really nice refresher to all the contemp I've been reading lately - it reminded me why I love a good historical :) Plus, ya.... Noth and Merewyn steam up the pages quite a bit.

I enjoyed Cross's retelling of King Thrushbeard. I really enjoyed the dynamics between Merewyn and the other characters. I definitely want to check out more by her in the future.

[Maria and Anthony Teresi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

Good read. Good characters and dialogue. Well researched historical fiction. Looking forward to reading more. I hope to read more of her Hotel Bentmore works.