Fly: Goose Girl Retold

Romance a Medieval Fairytale #3

by Demelza Carlton

Two princesses. One prince. And the war has just begun.

Once upon a time…

Princess Ava was sent to a neighbouring kingdom as a lady-in-waiting to her sister, their future queen. Until a runaway horse, a case of amnesia and a cold-hearted king conspire to bring her to the prince's attention.

Now the prince believes Ava is his bride, and her sister is just a serving maid. One thing is certain: the prince must marry one of the princesses, or there will be war.

But when all's fair in love and war…who will win the battle for the prince's heart?


Romance a Medieval Fairytale series:
Each book is a standalone, so they can be read in any order:
(#1) Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold
(#2) Dance: Cinderella Retold
(#3) Fly: Goose Girl Retold
(#4) Revel: Twelve Dancing Princesses Retold
(#5) Silence: Little Mermaid Retold
(#6) Awaken: Sleeping Beauty Retold
(#7) Embellish: Brave Little Tailor Retold
(#8) Appease: Princess and the Pea Retold
(#9) Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold
(#10) Return: Hansel and Gretel Retold
(#11) Wish: Aladdin Retold
(#12) Melt: Snow Queen Retold
(#13) Spin: Rumpelstiltskin Retold
(#14) Kiss: Frog Prince Retold
(#15) Hunt: Red Riding Hood Retold
(#16) Reflect: Snow White Retold
(#17) Roar: Goldilocks Retold

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Retellings, Ebooks, Young Adult, Historical Romance

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2017

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

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 & 1/2 stars rounded up
This book was hard for me to read let alone rate. I’ve not read/heard of the Goose Girl fairy tail before so was not familiar with the plot. This is a dark/heavy tale. From the title I was expecting the heroine to be the Goose girl, not the evil half sister. The flow was very stop & go. It started way too slow, I almost put it away. It’s got some weird things going on with the world building that ended up leaving me confused. There were a lot of places that needed more clarification that would have helped the story. The main characters, Princess Ava & Prince Yun, were ok but nothing special or memorable. I felt they were not developed enough to build a likability for a reader. Some of the plot was too horrible to want to read quite so much detail about in a fairy tale (ie -the rapes & killing of the women at the village in the beginning just because the 7 evil brothers can -sort of thing, or the abusive treatment of Yun’s brother’s wives). These scenes make this just barely a N/A book. Unfortunately, the sex scenes between the H & h are so tame after all the previous violence, that it was disappointing. An author needs to commit to either being N/A or adult & not waffle between. At the point where the Goose sister goes all witchy evil, I was like yes, those horrible people- they have it coming to them! But then Yun’s mother dies in the process & he barely seems affected by it though he was very close to her in the rest of the story, that really bugged me. I’ve definitely read better from this author (I liked “Dance”).

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is billed as medieval in tone, it's more Bronze Age in feel. Maybe a Bronze Age type civilisation like the Huns encountering an early medieval fortified city. The ethos is Middle East or Far East as wives are kept in harems by wealthy men.

Two princesses, one from a favoured wife and one from a concubine so very low in the pecking order, are sent out to a neighbouring warlike kingdom to strike a peace by marriage. If they were escorted by soldiers the group would just be killed so they are sent unescorted. This lends itself to mishaps, and as the title would imply, the high status princess swaps places with the low status one along the way.

I'm not giving higher marks because it's quite difficult to read some of the treatment of women by men. The author would in no way be condoning this of course and demonstrates that not all men behave in such ways, the hero figure being a poetic sort. Descriptions and character development are well written.

I would class this as an adult romance read due to violence and sexual violence.
I availed of a free download offer. This is an unbiased review.

[David Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another retelling of a fairy tale of which (to be honest) I was not very familiar. In the original fairy tale, a wicked serving girl replaces a princess while they travel to the betrothed of the princess. The princess had a magical horse which is killed in the tale. Finally, The princess is forced to become the goose girl at the castle while the wicked serving girl marries the prince. Of course, in the end, the wicked serving girl is revealed and the princess has a happy ending (and the serving girl is put to death).

In this retelling, both girls are princesses (half-sisters in fact). The younger sister is to be the older girl's serving girl. But on the way, the older girl's warhorse throws her and she hits her head. Once the girls reach the castle, the younger girl takes her sister's place and yes, the older girl ends up as a goose girl (and her horse is killed). Everthing gets revealed just like the original fairy tale but the younger girl is the nice one and really loves the prince and the older sister is the wicked one. So, sorta like the original fairy tale but pretty different from it as well.

I have enjoyed many of the retold fairy tales in this series but this one didn't work as well for me. While the older sister was still unconscious, the story bogged down with the younger sister and the prince basically feeling helpless and worrying to themselves a lot. The older sister was so obnoxious that you don't really want her to recover. When she finally does recover, the book starts speeding along and seems rushed. So the story is both dragging and rushed.

[Christel · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest i don't have a lot to say about this book. It was short and i don't really know what to think about it. It's a goose girl retelling, but i don't know that story so i can't compare. Besides that there is not a lot happening. I didn't really feel the stories or the characters, there was not enough to really connect with them. The story was still kind of fun to read, but i did miss more action and love.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope. I loved the author's book Dance: Cinderella Retold, and I liked a lot about her book Enchant: Beauty and the Beast retold, but each one gets a little more brutal and rapey and this one just started out with too much. I couldn't finish. I've read some brutal books all the way through and they were never worth it and this time around I just didn't have the energy to wade through all the rape and murder.

[Gerda · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author took main parts of the relatively unknown fairytale " The Goose Princess" by the Grimm brothers - two girls travelling as princess and servant, horse named Falada, roles reversed on arrival at the king's - here emperor's - court, enchanted items, tending a flock of geese....but she twisted everything and turned it into a dark abusive novel. I've got no problem with that if I know in advance.

BUT - I have a problem with books labeled as fairy tales which start with rapes and senseless massacres. The author does not create the enchanting mood of a fairytale but concentrates on the evil natures of the seven princes and the heroine's halfsister always explicitly describing their violent exploits and the victims'sufferings.
Yun, the youngest prince, a softy interested in poetry, marries Ava and treats her really well. Both are too good to be real and once the evil sister recovers violence strikes again and the story rushes towards its ending.
All those wars didn't make sense: there were no soldiers along the borders looking out for potential agressors although Ava's father had just been at war with a neighboring country. The reader is to believe that the emperor, another neighbor, is caught off guard.

This book was not my cup of tea, I hate multiple rapes and murders in a novel.

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

.

This tale was not as mesmerizing as the first two in the series . . However, the narrator, Mary Sarah, did an excellent job. I enjoyed listening to this audible book, accessed through Hoopla (via our Public Library System).

It was a clean read, which I prefer. It was able to stand on its own, which is a positive attribute. Finally, the conclusion delivers an H.E.A. with more details regarding the sexual scene, than I would have liked to have included. I would have rated this book 4.0 without the unnecessary details in such a well-told fairy tale.

[Kerstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Geschichte fängt stark an und ich mochte den Twist in der Rollenverteilung der "Prinzessin" und der "Gänsemagd". Das Grundgerüst der Handlung aus dem Märchen war vorhanden und einzelne Aspekte wurden interessant neu interpretiert. Auch die beiden Protagonisten fand ich recht sympathisch und bis zu ihrer ersten richtigen Interaktion konnte das Buch mich definitiv fesseln. Leider ist danach erst einmal nicht viel passiert und es gab keine richtige Entwicklung in der Beziehung der beiden oder auch im Plot an sich... bis sich dann plötzlich die Ereignisse überschlagen haben. Am Ende ging mir alles viel zu schnell und ich fand dass die Tragweite der Vorkommnisse nicht deutlich genug wurde. "Das Böse ist besiegt und wir haben unser glückliches Ende" ist zwar ein typisches Motiv für Märchen, aber ich fand dies hier nicht überzeugend. Natürlich hatte Yun ein schwieriges, bestenfalls zwiespältiges Verhältnis zu seinen Brüdern, er fand ihre Taten schrecklich und wurde von seinem Vater nicht ernst genommen, aber trotzdem sollte er bestürzt und erschüttert sein, dass seine ganze Familie tot ist, vor allem seine Mutter, seine unschuldigen Schwägerinnen und alle Nichten und Neffen. Das ist tragisch und ich fand, dass dieses Blutbad nicht angemessen behandelt wurde, bevor das Happy End kam. Ich wollte nicht im Detail lesen, wie alle Charaktere sterben, aber für meinen Geschmack wurde das alles viel zu schnell abgefertigt und abgehakt. Ebenso hat die Beziehung zwischen Ava und Yun sich für mich viel zu schnell entwickelt, sodass ich mich tatsächlich gefragt habe, ob ich vielleicht ein, zwei Kapitel mit wichtigen Szenen übersprungen habe. Die beiden passen gut zusammen, aber da der Fokus sehr auf den dunklen Seiten des Lebens am Hof lag, kam mir die Romanze zu kurz. Die Balance ist hier meiner Meinung nach nicht hundertprozentig geglückt, was schade ist. Ebenso muss ich sagen dass ich nicht mit mehreren Vergewaltigungen und Misshandlungen der anderen Frauen gerechnet hatte, weshalb die Geschichte düsterer war, als ich erwartet habe. An sich hätte mich dies nicht gestört, aber dieser Aspekt hat nur noch dazu beigetragen, dass das Happy End mich nicht richtig überzeugen konnte. Aufgrund der vorherigen schrecklichen Ereignisse wirkte es für mich viel zu glatt.
Positiv hervorzuheben ist, dass das Buch sich gut lesen lässt und wie bereits erwähnt fand ich es interessant, wie die Autorin mit den Elementen aus "Die Gänsemagd" umgegangen ist - auch wenn die Rolle von Avas Schwester größer hätte sein können und mir auch bei ihrem Handlungsstrang gegen Ende wieder alles viel zu schnell ging.
Alles in allem vergebe ich 2,5 Sterne.

[The Book Junkie Reads . . . · Rating 3 out of 5]

New fairy tale to me in every sense. I am not sure how it was supposed to go. I was lured in by what I didn't know. The story here was in the way things happened. I will assume this was a unique telling of this particular timeless story. Ava was lost in a world she once knew well. Now the story will show us will it be her or her sister that becomes the future queen of this thriving kingdom. Or will war be the result. There were twist her and tears. I was horrified by the amount of violence in a fairy tale.

Narrator Mary Sarah has a very beautiful voice that transcends the fairytale realm. She has the ethereal quality of fantasy. I do warn those that choose to listen that my views of this audio my be skewed by the fact that I do not listen under normal speed, too slow. I do speed up my audio and find that the speed can match that of the story being told and lend a different light to the immersion in to the story.

CAUTION: violence, blood, rape,

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Demelza Carlton. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

[Coco.V]

💝FREE on Amazon & on iBooks today (7/19/2018)!💝

Blurb:
Two princesses. One prince. And the war has just begun.
Once upon a time…
Princess Ava was sent to a neighbouring kingdom as a lady-in-waiting to her sister, their future queen. Until a runaway horse, a case of amnesia and a cold-hearted king conspire to bring her to the prince's attention.
Now the prince believes Ava is his bride, and her sister is just a serving maid. One thing is certain: the prince must marry one of the princesses, or there will be war.
But when all's fair in love and war…who will win the battle for the prince's heart?

[Selene Kallan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, fast paced read, it took me just a couple hours. I really liked that the romance felt real, and Ava was smart. I would've preferred some dark details to be off page, but I can understand why the author decided to show them. I'm looking forward to more books by Demelza Carlton. I have a couple more on my kindle app.

[Stephanie Villere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting tale!

This is Fly:Goose Girl Retold written by Demelza Carlton. I enjoyed the book and the interesting way that Ms Carlton chose to tell it. I did find it a bit difficult at times to keep up with. All in all, it’s a pleasant read. I received an advance readers copy and chose voluntarily to leave this review.

[Kendra Ardnek · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing take on the Goose Girl with the "servant girl is the protagonist" spin.

Will warn - the description of how Yun's brothers treat women is a bit brutal, and there is a mildly described marriage consumption at the end.

[Sara Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love fairy tale retellings, but this one was a miss for me. Not enough world building and too much story crammed into a short book without really fleshing out the tale.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[minnemoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was annoyed by the repetitive scenes, where basically the same event in one chapter would happen again in the next, only from the h/H's perspective. The dialogue was exactly the same, too. Not sure if I should call this lazy or poor writing, but if I had paid for a book that turned out to be written in this manner, I would feel cheated. Luckily this was borrowed from Hoopla.

Also, I have so many unanswered questions. Is Lagle alive or dead? Who exactly cast the curse on Prince Yun's family, and when did that ever happen? Especially considering Yun's brothers were already garbage people at the start of the novel, did the curse already start then? The timeline makes no sense...

[*❆ Kαɾҽɳ ❆* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet, quick read.
I have read most of the books in this series and even though they're all meant to be stand alones, I've noticed they still have connections, like mentioned of different characters. So, if you are going to read this series, read them in order because that's what I'm going to do once I have them all!

I didn't know what this Goose girl fairytale was about, I thought it would be like Swan lake or the Swan princess, but it was nothing like it. I didn't know what to expect, but the goose girl is not our heroine Ava.

Overall, I did like how the story turned out, little confusing at time, as I felt like the pace was going to fast from one moment to another but it was still a delightful to read.

Received a copy from the author herself, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

[Julie Hillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet re_telling of the goose girl.

Eloquently written story that captures the imagination. The revamping of a childhood tale that enthralled then and still does now. Told without bad language and steamy love scenes but still allows the reader to relate to the characters.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goose girl retold

Shy princess gets forced to serve as her sisters maid. Fun story of a princess forced to be a goose girl and how peace was forged.

[Elizabeth Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I’m not very familiar with the original Goose Girl story, it’s hard for me to know how this may have been changed. Ava, a princess, is sent with her half-sister Lagle (who, for the record, is pretty nasty) as her lady’s maid on a journey to become empress to a kingdom with which their father’s kingdom is at war. During the journey, Lagle is injured and suffers a loss of her memory so Ava pretends to be the one sent to forge a peace. The emperor’s youngest son Yun (who, for the record, is much nicer than his nasty brothers) rescues Ava from a worse fate by marrying her. There are a lot of barbaric, evil people in this story, with the exception of Ava, Yun, and a few notable others. For this reason, I didn’t find this a terribly pleasant read.

There was a scene in which Ava said good-bye to her friend Bianca and her mother. As Ava’s mother died after giving birth to Ava, she made Bianca’s mother Militsa promise to care for her daughter. Here’s what was weird: “Militsa embraced Ava, in the fashion of the northern tribes, for such things were foreign to Ava’s own people. Yet she endured it, because she knew it was Militsa’s way of showing her love.” How is it possible that Ava knew what was foreign to her people when she has been raised in a foreign land? Militsa raised her as her own daughter, so there’s no reason to believe that Ava would be uncomfortable with a hug from her.

Ultimately, this was not my favorite of the fairy tale retellings and I wouldn’t recommend it as a standalone because I never really felt much for any of the characters and their fate was “whatever.” Yes, it’s creative and well told, but personally, I didn’t care for it.

[Angelique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Demelza Carlton. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

MY RATING: 3.5 Stars

So – I am completely unfamiliar with the Goose Girl fairy tale. I does kind of give a swan lake feel – so guessing that is mostly where it hales from.

Throughout this series I have really fallen in love with Ms Carlton’s work. She is a master in weaving a tale in such a way that it draws from history in such a way that you still find it interesting without wanting to fall asleep with the boring details – because there really just aren’t any.

However – this is a little dark. I feel that the books should have come with a bit of a warning as I was not prepared for some of the scenes I came across. That said you are blessed with a HEA and in between the dark scenes, the mishandling and abusing of the female characters there is enough of a great story that I could work my way through the dark and kept going. In big part to the narration.

The author is really excellent at world building, and creating of well rounded characters that you cannot help but have really strong feelings about. I either loved, hated or felt extreme pity for the characters I came across.

I am left a little confused after this book about my feelings, but still looking forward to getting stuck into the next one to see what the author can do.

[Zoe L.]

Wow, this was a dark and gritty retelling! And I’m honestly surprised in such a good way. I mean, fairy tales were originally incredibly dark and I feel like oftentimes these retellings are watered down. So, go into this story expecting some rather dark and twisted themes.

This is the third book in this series that I’ve read and this series just keeps surprising me and getting better with each retelling. They’re all so different and distinct, yet still woven together by the writing. And they’re definitely getting darker the deeper we get into the series, which I am honestly happy for. Give me the dark and twisted and shocking and terrible in so many ways fairy tales! They’re meant to shake you up a bit and this one definitely does.

I really love all of the different ways the author has retold these classic tales. And I really love reading them as audiobooks, AKA the original way to hear a fairy tale. The series seems to just keep getting better and better with each story and I love that we’re getting a mixture of popular and lesser known fairy tales retold.

You can view my full review on my blog! I also post about a lot of different types of books!

Reader | Bookstagrammer | Blogger | Reviewer
@ya.its.lit - https://www.instagram.com/ya.its.lit/
Blog - https://yaitslitblog.wordpress.com/

[Ilona Nurmela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark but unique Goose Girl retelling where there is a good reason for the switch, loved it!

A unique Goose Girl retelling - loved it! While my mind is still trapped in Ivinya’s Goose girl retelling (Feathers of Snow), Carlton’s version turned this rare fairytale abruptly on its head. Take one despised 16yo harem princess and a spoilt one who is the Queen’s favourite, a mishap during travelling and the youngest son of a conquering king who is a kind dreamer - and stir brusquely. What if there was a good reason for the switch of the princesses and the handmaiden didn’t force the princess to be the goose girl? I loved the reference to Genghis Khan & how Yun’s and Ava’s relationship developed - swoonworthy. For a second I thought the fairytale would mutate to the curse pf the 12 swans, but no. Lagle was a fitting name for the Goose Girl as it means “goose” in olden Estonian.

Trigger warnings: parts of the story might be difficult to read for survivors of war & physical abuse as there is a rape scene that ends in death but without details.

Recommended for lovers of rare retold fairytales who don’t mind a bit of dark in their retellings as long as there is a HEA.

[Mary Lou Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

FLY is the third book in the Romance a Medieval Fairytale series. They are best read in the order of release as there are other characters revisited.

I am fortunate enough to say that this was another fairytale that I did not know prior to reading this re-telling. I had forgotten how a fairytale could make a child hold their breath in anticipation, concern, worry, and hope. This was a treat for me!

I loved Ava from start to finish and Prince Yun is a gentleman, through and through!

Just to bring into perspective how these stories are being woven together: their son, is Prince Yi in DANCE, book two in the series and book four, REVEL, is about Ava’s sister, Bianca.

I am absolutely loving this series and looking forward to every release.

Note: while I was given this book as a gifted ARC, my opinions are my own and are given freely.


Title: FLY: GOOSE GIRL RETOLD
Series: Romance a Medieval Fairytale # 3
Category /Genre: Fairytale Retelling; Paranormal Romance
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Grammar/editing: B – a few small errors
Received from: Demelza Carlton (as an ARC gifted copy)

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not very familiar with the story Goose Girl that this was based on but I liked the characters of Ava and Gun as well as the Empress (Guns mother). I didn't like a lot of the other characters as this story had a lot of villains and dark elements in it but I look forward to reading the next book in this series and what happens with Ava's sister Bianca.

Series Character and Story Connections for Fly: Goose Girl Retold (Romance a Medieval Fairytale, #3)
The story of Yun and Ava's son is in Dance: Cinderella Retold (Book 02)
Bianca's story at the Summer Palace is in Revel: Twelve Dancing Princesses Retold (Book 04)

[Katinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed reading fairytale retellings. And though I had not previously read the original version of this story, listening to the audiobook was definitely just as enjoyable as the other retellings that I have read. In this story, two princesses are traveling to a neighboring empire, where one is destined to marry a prince and the other has been sent to be her lady in waiting.

But due to an accident and an injury, there soon follows a case of mistaken identity, through which the wrong princess is wed to the emperor's youngest son, and her sister is assumed to be a lowly serving girl.

This was a well thought out story that held my interest and contained a number of interesting twists along the way. Those who may be familiar with the original tale, as well as those (like me) who are new to it will likely enjoy listening.

The narrator did a wonderful job of keeping each of the character's voices distinct from each other, making it wonderfully easy for the listener to tell who was supposed to be speaking without any confusion.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars This is a nice and quick read. I don't know the original fairy tale, but this one involves two warring kingdoms and two princesses. Ava is considered the bottom of the social scale in the harem. Her mother died in childbirth and one of the other women raised her. Lagle is at the other end of the social ladder as she is the current Queen's daughter. She is not very nice to Ava and gets her into trouble. The Queen sends Ava with Lagle to attend her when she marries.

Yun is the youngest prince, number eight, and thud has no real power in his household. His brothers are crude and love war and the spoils of war. They rape, murder, and mistreat their wives, but Yun prefers do write poetry and dream of better things. He is not really interested in ever having a woman of his own since he doesn't feel worthy, but his mother decrees that he find himself a wife.

Since the story is short I will not spoil it for you.

[Suzanne Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t wait for more!

While it’s title says it’s a re-telling of The Goose Girl, it reminds me of another fairytale I heard as a child, where the king licks his daughter and her maid in a tower for some silly reason, and they lived there until the masonry began to crumble. The maid, angry at being imprisoned so long, forces the princess to trade places with her. The maid is rude, demanding and cruel to everyone but the prince & king. I can’t remember how the rest goes but in the end, the prince marries the right princess.

I love the way Carlton weaves her tales, describing as opposed to telling. Her writing draws you in so deep you feel as if you’re watching a movie. With this book, in addition to the nod back to Enchanted and Dance, I was pleasantly surprised to see nods toward Catholicism, and Marian devotion. I hope she continues this in the rest of the series, and that it’s not treated as a Catholic “myth”.

[Sarah Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a fairytale retelling with a twist and no disney involved, then this series is for you.

I love the authors writing style and the way she chooses to bring the characters to their purpose. These are not sweet and coddled princesses anymore. They’re introduced to a world of men who covet, take and destroy. They rise up to their current challenges and try to make their little corner of the world better.
The author doesn’t shy away from the atrocities that happen at the hands of powerful men. If you are triggered by r@pe or abu$e, read the series with caution because it’s either witnessed or happens to the MC. It’s not fully detailed, just used to tell the story and show the depravity the MC fight against.
If you have a favorite character, you might get to see them again, because the author intertwines all the stories together making it worth reading them in order, but not necessary.
I recommend grabbing the box sets if you want to binge read a few at a time.

[Shawna Sears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing addition to the long list of fairy tale retellings by Mrs Carlton! I read this originally in the Twisted Fairy Tales box set a few months back and really enjoyed it, much like all of the previous tales. I hesitated to pick this up because I'd already read it, but I'm very happy I did! She added in the perspective of the prince and that made the story so much more, well, full and rounded I suppose.

The tale, like all in the series, is about a young girl and the hardships she faces to find her destiny in the ever expanding world Mrs. Carlton is creating. If you like damsels who generally manage to pull themselves out of distress as often as get pulled out (and sometimes pull the princes out to boot), then this series is for you! Fly was definitely a different take on the Goose Girl fairy tale, but it was very good and extremely imaginative.