What do you think?
Rate this book
Servant of the Forest
Once upon a time a prince was cursed and a kingdom was dying.
Desperate to find a cure for his son, the king arranges a three day feast, everyone is invited. The witch who saves Gauthier will get his hand in marriage and will eventually become queen. But only a witch can break the curse and all the witches were killed when the curse was set.
Orabella knows nothing of witches and the magic in her blood, but she wants to see the cursed prince, even though her stepmother bans her from attending the party. As Orabella discovers the secrets of her past and the truth about her mother and the prince’s curse, she learns that no one is to be trusted and not everyone wants the prince to survive.
Desperate to find a cure for his son, the king arranges a three day feast, everyone is invited. The witch who saves Gauthier will get his hand in marriage and will eventually become queen. But only a witch can break the curse and all the witches were killed when the curse was set.
Orabella knows nothing of witches and the magic in her blood, but she wants to see the cursed prince, even though her stepmother bans her from attending the party. As Orabella discovers the secrets of her past and the truth about her mother and the prince’s curse, she learns that no one is to be trusted and not everyone wants the prince to survive.
151 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2017
12 people are currently reading
737 people want to read
About the author
Shona Husk
97 books620 followersShona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Blessed with a lively imagination she spent most of her childhood making up stories.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 3, 2018
I take back any ill thought I've ever had towards Cinderella retellings! Full disclosure: I normally shy away from "Cinderella" tales in general. She's never been a favorite princess of mine so naturally I don't tend to seek out those stories. Servant of the Forest, however, captured my attention and sucked me into a scintillating world of magic! What a remarkable and enchanting retelling! A delightful balance of the original story and the enchantment Shona weaves!
Think of this book as a Cinderella/Beauty and the Beast crossover of sorts.
Orabella lived on the edge of the forest, well, kinda. She lives in her father's old house with her step mother and two step sisters Near the forest. As the forest grows more wild and dangerous she feels the pull into it's depths. But why?
Gauthier is the prince cursed and trapped in his castle seeking a cure before his 20th birthday.
When the king invites everyone in the kingdom to attend a 3 day birthday celebration in honor of his son, Orabella's stepmother adamantly forbids her to attend. Yet a stirring awakens in Orabella. A need too great to be ignored. She must go and meet this prince. With her rebellion comes repressed memories unlocking the secrets she never knew.
I thoroughly loved and adored pretty much everything about this book. This tale was perfect! Not joking. I was averse to put it down to attend normal life! I can't wait to read more from Shona.
I received this book for free from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Think of this book as a Cinderella/Beauty and the Beast crossover of sorts.
Orabella lived on the edge of the forest, well, kinda. She lives in her father's old house with her step mother and two step sisters Near the forest. As the forest grows more wild and dangerous she feels the pull into it's depths. But why?
Gauthier is the prince cursed and trapped in his castle seeking a cure before his 20th birthday.
When the king invites everyone in the kingdom to attend a 3 day birthday celebration in honor of his son, Orabella's stepmother adamantly forbids her to attend. Yet a stirring awakens in Orabella. A need too great to be ignored. She must go and meet this prince. With her rebellion comes repressed memories unlocking the secrets she never knew.
I thoroughly loved and adored pretty much everything about this book. This tale was perfect! Not joking. I was averse to put it down to attend normal life! I can't wait to read more from Shona.
I received this book for free from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
July 7, 2021
Former Crown Prince Gauthier is under a curse. As a child he was cursed by a witch who had been executed for poaching. All manner of creatures swarm and attack him. Through the years all sorts of witches and wisemen have attempted to cure him, some leaving him scarred as they attempted to cut the curse marks from his skin, but to no avail, and with witchcraft being punishable by death, no one wants to attempt to release him from the curse. But this year, his curse is set to culminate. Everyone has assumed that means he will die at midnight on his birthday and the kingdom is throwing a three-day celebration working up to it. Gauthier pities the kingdom since it means his sadistic brother Channing will be the new crown prince and eventually king. It takes a quiet witch at his party to enlighten him that not just any witch can cure him. He needs a forest witch, and forest witches can’t leave their forests, so he specifically needs the forest witch tied to the forest on the edge of the castle, and tied to the curse by blood since it was her mother who cast the curse. But Orabella is just a servant in her own house with no magical powers to speak of other than a yearning to set foot in the forest.
This is a beautiful clean retelling of the classic story. It has enough originality to make it hard to predict, while still having enough elements and framework to recall the original Cinderella tale. Yes, there’s the wicked stepmother, and stepsisters, and we have the prince and the dance held on three nights. Somethings felt a bit forced trying to shoehorn it into fitting the original story, specifically the holding the ball on the three nights and having her attend on each night and then having her return home each time. Because on the second night, I found myself asking the question of why is she returning home? She knows she needs to release the prince from his curse the next evening, why isn’t she staying to work on it since she doesn’t have the confidence but thinks she almost knows how to do it? It isn’t like there was anything she really needed to return home for. I loved the evilness that was Channing. Since he was an original character to this story, what deviltry he cooked up at each turn was unexpected. I did love the idea of weaving witches into this story (though it felt forced that it would have witches of every type represented in this story). And I loved Gauthier’s curse. That was the main reason I picked up this story (and because I love Shona Husk’s books). It was just terrifying how nature was coming for him, and he had to practically wall himself away within his quarters and even with all of that, his time was still doomed to run out. And I loved the nature magic. Orabella’s dresses were spectacularly and imaginatively described.
This is a beautiful clean retelling of the classic story. It has enough originality to make it hard to predict, while still having enough elements and framework to recall the original Cinderella tale. Yes, there’s the wicked stepmother, and stepsisters, and we have the prince and the dance held on three nights. Somethings felt a bit forced trying to shoehorn it into fitting the original story, specifically the holding the ball on the three nights and having her attend on each night and then having her return home each time. Because on the second night, I found myself asking the question of why is she returning home? She knows she needs to release the prince from his curse the next evening, why isn’t she staying to work on it since she doesn’t have the confidence but thinks she almost knows how to do it? It isn’t like there was anything she really needed to return home for. I loved the evilness that was Channing. Since he was an original character to this story, what deviltry he cooked up at each turn was unexpected. I did love the idea of weaving witches into this story (though it felt forced that it would have witches of every type represented in this story). And I loved Gauthier’s curse. That was the main reason I picked up this story (and because I love Shona Husk’s books). It was just terrifying how nature was coming for him, and he had to practically wall himself away within his quarters and even with all of that, his time was still doomed to run out. And I loved the nature magic. Orabella’s dresses were spectacularly and imaginatively described.
November 25, 2018
Quite a few typos and some thin writing.
September 1, 2017
4.5
I received a free early copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
"She was as wild as her magic"
What a delightful magical read that was! Cinderella was my favorite fairytale as a little girl and I grew up watching so many retellings of it. You could say I've kind of already saw most of the originality that could be add to the original tale. Well, I guess not. This book has totally surprised me with its originality, magical twist and the abundance of mythology and world building. I'm in awe.
Servant of the forest is a very imaginative retelling of one amazing story. It's the story of Orabella, an orphan girl that lives with her step mother and her two step sisters - and Gauthier, the heir to the throne who had been cursed by a witch as a young boy and he's soon to lose his life when the forest will claim him . Sounds good? Did I catch your interest? Hope so!
The characters are simply lovely. I loved the depths that was added to the original. I love to see reason in the actions of her step mother. I loved to see the step sisters gaining depth. It totally surprised me as it added amazingly to the story.
The writing style was very well done and quite engaging. With many catching eye phrases that helped build tension,the story just flowed, and you just couldn't wait to see what's coming next. I simply flew through it.
I was quite dissapointed with the ending as I found it to be a bit rushed and not satisfying enough. But that's more a matter of preference.
I am very happy I got to read this amazing book, and I'm eagerly waiting to discover more of this amazing writer's books.
I received a free early copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
"She was as wild as her magic"
What a delightful magical read that was! Cinderella was my favorite fairytale as a little girl and I grew up watching so many retellings of it. You could say I've kind of already saw most of the originality that could be add to the original tale. Well, I guess not. This book has totally surprised me with its originality, magical twist and the abundance of mythology and world building. I'm in awe.
Servant of the forest is a very imaginative retelling of one amazing story. It's the story of Orabella, an orphan girl that lives with her step mother and her two step sisters - and Gauthier, the heir to the throne who had been cursed by a witch as a young boy and he's soon to lose his life when the forest will claim him . Sounds good? Did I catch your interest? Hope so!
The characters are simply lovely. I loved the depths that was added to the original. I love to see reason in the actions of her step mother. I loved to see the step sisters gaining depth. It totally surprised me as it added amazingly to the story.
The writing style was very well done and quite engaging. With many catching eye phrases that helped build tension,the story just flowed, and you just couldn't wait to see what's coming next. I simply flew through it.
I was quite dissapointed with the ending as I found it to be a bit rushed and not satisfying enough. But that's more a matter of preference.
I am very happy I got to read this amazing book, and I'm eagerly waiting to discover more of this amazing writer's books.
April 27, 2018
Yes... a five star... for a re-telling, from me...
Well, well, I am pleasantly surprised! The author has managed to give a new dimension to the saying "wicked stepmother/sisters, and in a retelling none the less. Very well done.
I avoid retellings like the plague. It used to bother me that authors were taking classics written by amazing individuals and changing them to suit their own desires/needs, for a best seller... Now, after picking and chosing my way through some, since I'm asked to read and review so many, I have to say that I've stumbled across probably the best one I've read to date in "Servant of the Forest..."
What can I say, it's incredibly well-written, the pace moves along smoothly, transitioning from one plot element to another with an ease known to belong to a more seasoned author. The character arcs are spun expertly, with growth developing at a steady pace, the MC achieving her goals through the help of the secondary characters. The villains, wow! Love to hate them.
Fantastic writing! Fantastic premise! Love this fantasy tale! Will read more from this author!
Well, well, I am pleasantly surprised! The author has managed to give a new dimension to the saying "wicked stepmother/sisters, and in a retelling none the less. Very well done.
I avoid retellings like the plague. It used to bother me that authors were taking classics written by amazing individuals and changing them to suit their own desires/needs, for a best seller... Now, after picking and chosing my way through some, since I'm asked to read and review so many, I have to say that I've stumbled across probably the best one I've read to date in "Servant of the Forest..."
What can I say, it's incredibly well-written, the pace moves along smoothly, transitioning from one plot element to another with an ease known to belong to a more seasoned author. The character arcs are spun expertly, with growth developing at a steady pace, the MC achieving her goals through the help of the secondary characters. The villains, wow! Love to hate them.
Fantastic writing! Fantastic premise! Love this fantasy tale! Will read more from this author!
August 24, 2017
If you follow my reviews, you know the drill! First, comes the grades, then any thoughts, gushing or notes I have, and then a ruling for clean-readers.
World-building: A+
Mythology: A
Plot-Twists: A
Suspense: A (particularly in the second half of the book!)
Girl Power: A+
Guy Hero: A-
Villains: A++
Love Interests: A
Feels: A++
This book had me hooked in the first few pages... I ended up finishing it in one sitting. I could not put it down! "Servant of the Forest" is an excellent coming-of-age story filled with magic, mystery, and powerful messages of nature, balance, justice, and love (romantic and otherwise).
For you clean-readers: this book does NOT have mature content.
I would like to thank the author Shona Husk for the ARC I received via email for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.
World-building: A+
Mythology: A
Plot-Twists: A
Suspense: A (particularly in the second half of the book!)
Girl Power: A+
Guy Hero: A-
Villains: A++
Love Interests: A
Feels: A++
This book had me hooked in the first few pages... I ended up finishing it in one sitting. I could not put it down! "Servant of the Forest" is an excellent coming-of-age story filled with magic, mystery, and powerful messages of nature, balance, justice, and love (romantic and otherwise).
For you clean-readers: this book does NOT have mature content.
I would like to thank the author Shona Husk for the ARC I received via email for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.
August 12, 2017
I would like to thank the author for sharing this magical book.. I completely enjoyed it. The way Cinderella's story was recreated was spellbinding, very thrilling, and absolutely romantic..
Here's wishing Shona good luck for all her future works, and lots of love :)
Here's wishing Shona good luck for all her future works, and lots of love :)
January 13, 2019
I enjoyed this retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. It was just different enough to be interesting and still be the basic story. It was self-published and the lack of a real editor showed but I would still recommend it.
August 16, 2017
I would like to thank the author Shona Husk for the ARC I received via email.
I know what I'm about to say is really cliche but I do mean it. This is no ordinary Cinderella retelling. The events are guided by the original fairy tale but this book has its own world. I can even almost favor this over the original. Well written and well thought out, there were no loose ends.
It's got witches, curses, potions and lots of pretty dresses, it's a three day party what do you expect. It has the right amount of thrill, mystery, and romance. I was hooked by this book from the very first chapter. Written in both Orabella and Gauthier's POV I was determined to be beside them both in their journey and see it through the end. By the end of the book it made me appreciate the forest and all living animals and insects around. It not only satisfies our reading needs but it also carries an important message.
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because it didn't play with my feelings too much like the way I'm used to but it did keep my interest going. I'm always curious, I'm always searching for the solution and the reason.
It's so hard to give a review of this book without spoiling anything. All I can say is, take a chance and visit the world Shona Husk has created. Servant of the Forest comes out September 1st, be sure to grab a copy.
I know what I'm about to say is really cliche but I do mean it. This is no ordinary Cinderella retelling. The events are guided by the original fairy tale but this book has its own world. I can even almost favor this over the original. Well written and well thought out, there were no loose ends.
It's got witches, curses, potions and lots of pretty dresses, it's a three day party what do you expect. It has the right amount of thrill, mystery, and romance. I was hooked by this book from the very first chapter. Written in both Orabella and Gauthier's POV I was determined to be beside them both in their journey and see it through the end. By the end of the book it made me appreciate the forest and all living animals and insects around. It not only satisfies our reading needs but it also carries an important message.
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because it didn't play with my feelings too much like the way I'm used to but it did keep my interest going. I'm always curious, I'm always searching for the solution and the reason.
It's so hard to give a review of this book without spoiling anything. All I can say is, take a chance and visit the world Shona Husk has created. Servant of the Forest comes out September 1st, be sure to grab a copy.
February 16, 2018
Captivating!
As charming as any fairy tale I've ever read; faithful to the story's basic premise but soaring beyond it with brilliant narrative, masterful characterizations and glorious prose. I couldn't put it down. I could see the story with mind's eye as I read; always my sign of excellent writing. A Classic story of good vs. evil with ensuing lessons hard won, love winning along with Right and lovely to see nature drawn as a force for Right. I will read anything this author writes.
As charming as any fairy tale I've ever read; faithful to the story's basic premise but soaring beyond it with brilliant narrative, masterful characterizations and glorious prose. I couldn't put it down. I could see the story with mind's eye as I read; always my sign of excellent writing. A Classic story of good vs. evil with ensuing lessons hard won, love winning along with Right and lovely to see nature drawn as a force for Right. I will read anything this author writes.
August 17, 2017
Brilliant! Shona Husk has created another fantastic fantasy tale putting an enchanting twist on a Classic fairytale! I fell in love with Orabella and Gauthier as well with the magic of the re-make of the story. Cinderella has nothing on this story and you thought her step-sisters and step-mom were villainous, the step family here are spellbindingly wicked!
February 16, 2019
Clean, cute, simple, and well-imagined. Perfect for a bed-timd read. I enjoyed the characters and the simplicity of the plot. I also enjoyed trying to figure out the various characters' motivations.
August 28, 2020
It was ok. I don't think they ever said they were in love which I like bc they didn't really know each other. I've read better Cinderella retellings, I've read worse.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews