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The Once Upon A Princess Duet - Two Paranormal Fairy Tales
The Once Upon A Princess Duet In these two sexy paranormal romance "fairy tales," two princesses find that love with a shifter hero is not without complications - but there is always a happily-ever-after. Includes two complete short novellas. No cliffhangers. Mature readers only. "Heart of Stone" In the ruins of a country destroyed by a curse. Princess Leesa goes looking for a way to help her people. Desperate to find an item of value to trade for supplies, she trespasses into an abandoned palace. There, she finds more than she bargained for when she encounters Willem, a lonely Gargoyle who offers to provide her with everything she needs, for a price. If she's willing to pay it, she may find the love she's been looking for. Or she may lose it, forever. "Beauty & the Faun" Kayla, a poor young woman runs away when her rich uncle and aunt arrange her marriage to a shifter prince from another land. Her uncle needs gold to settle his debts and the king is offering a great reward if he can obtain a willing bride for his son. But Kayla's plans to hide in the Great Forest hit a snag when two mischievous fauns find her and deliver her to a very sexy faun shifter who is ready to teach Kayla a thing or two about life and love.
249 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 25, 2017
3 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Deborah A. Bailey
19 books345 followersDeborah A Bailey's Science Fiction & Paranormal Romances include suspense, a bit of mystery and a lot of romantic heat.
Deborah's short stories have won awards from the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference and have been published in US1 Magazine and the Sun. They're included in her short story collection, "Electric Dreams: Seven Futuristic Tales."
In addition to her fiction work, she's published three non-fiction books and articles for various publications.
Deborah's short stories have won awards from the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference and have been published in US1 Magazine and the Sun. They're included in her short story collection, "Electric Dreams: Seven Futuristic Tales."
In addition to her fiction work, she's published three non-fiction books and articles for various publications.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 20, 2017
Fairytales were my first favorite childhood genre, and in my later years, I haven’t strayed too far from them. The list continues to grow of fairytale mash-ups, retellings, dark, and inspired versions. A few missed the mark, but most get it right. Once Upon a Princess Duet nails it!
In Heart of Stone, we have Leesa, princess leader of a kingdom in ruins. Those who killed her family and destroyed the land are gone too. Leesa ekes out a living for her grandmother and the people of her village the best way she can.
This leads Leesa to search for treasures at Silver Palace, also in ruins and once home to her betrothed who never returned from the war.
Leesa is caught by Willem, a gargoyle and self-proclaimed guardian of the castle ruins. He makes Leesa an offer—stay in the castle for three weeks and he will give her all she needs to care for her village.
This grownup version of Beauty & the Beast doesn’t deliver a wide-eyed, naïve ingenue and a loathsome beast, but a thirty-year-old woman who’s left her days of royalty and privilege behind and a snarky, supernatural creature who may or may not be just a bit pervy. *HA! *
The bargain is not an easy one even as a guarded trust grows between the mismatched couple.
Trouble arrives in the forms of Lester and Sir Kyle, who’s determined to take the castle’s hidden riches… and Leesa as his wife.
With problems temporarily abated, Willem releases Leesa from their agreement, insisting she leaves before the nefarious Kyle returns with backup. Leesa is reluctant to leave—she has come to care for the gargoyle—and wants to fulfill her part of the agreement… and perhaps even help free Willem from the enchantment which binds him to the castle.
Trouble returns, and it is chaotic. Leesa’s resolve weakens as she believes she’s lost someone else important to her. It builds to an excellent ending, which for me, could have gone on and on.
While she only appears in a few pages near story’s end, Polly, a no-nonsense barmaid from town, leaps to the top of my favorite characters list. Polly wasn’t up for any foolishness and did not suffer fools lightly.
In Beauty and the Faun, Kayla and her mother are taken in by her uncle after Kayla’s father dies.
Although they are equals, Kayla and Julia, her mother, are treated as servants…like Cinderella. The good-natured women don’t mind… much, as they both miss their life living in the woods with Christopher, Kayla’s late father.
When Julia fell in love with Christopher, a woodsman, her family didn’t consider him good enough for Julia and she had to choose—her wealthy family and easy life or poverty with Christopher. Of course, Julia chose love with no regrets. But illness took Christopher all too soon.
Now Kayla learns Sir Frederick, her uncle, and a habitual gambler is ready to marry her off to help settle his gambling debts.
The plan is to marry Kayla off to the son of a king. Usually a coveted betrothal, King Reynard has been unable to find a bride for his son because Reynard is a wolf-shapeshifter and his son… changes into things. The young prince is also said to be wild and disappears for weeks at a time.
Despite Kayla and Julia’s objections, the wedding plans proceed, so Kayla decides to solve her own problem.
Striking a deal with fellow servant, Jackon, Kayla plans to go into the village and find a job so she can take care of her mother and be away from Frederick’s control. Jackon tricks Kayla and leads her into an attempted kidnapping. Kayla escapes and eventually ends up with Del, a woodland faun.
Loved the twists and turns of this quick read which included a wedding ball, a fairy godmother and… pomegranate.
Leesa and Kayla are two great characters—women just trying to figure it all out. They’re not sitting around waiting to be rescued, but Prince Charming does arrive… in his own way! You’ll enjoy rooting for their happily-ever-afters.
I highly recommend these two engaging fairytale sendups. But, don’t buy them for your twelve-year-old. Yes, there’s sex, (but it’s not over-the-top). We grow up, why can’t our fairytales?
Enjoy!
In Heart of Stone, we have Leesa, princess leader of a kingdom in ruins. Those who killed her family and destroyed the land are gone too. Leesa ekes out a living for her grandmother and the people of her village the best way she can.
This leads Leesa to search for treasures at Silver Palace, also in ruins and once home to her betrothed who never returned from the war.
Leesa is caught by Willem, a gargoyle and self-proclaimed guardian of the castle ruins. He makes Leesa an offer—stay in the castle for three weeks and he will give her all she needs to care for her village.
This grownup version of Beauty & the Beast doesn’t deliver a wide-eyed, naïve ingenue and a loathsome beast, but a thirty-year-old woman who’s left her days of royalty and privilege behind and a snarky, supernatural creature who may or may not be just a bit pervy. *HA! *
The bargain is not an easy one even as a guarded trust grows between the mismatched couple.
Trouble arrives in the forms of Lester and Sir Kyle, who’s determined to take the castle’s hidden riches… and Leesa as his wife.
With problems temporarily abated, Willem releases Leesa from their agreement, insisting she leaves before the nefarious Kyle returns with backup. Leesa is reluctant to leave—she has come to care for the gargoyle—and wants to fulfill her part of the agreement… and perhaps even help free Willem from the enchantment which binds him to the castle.
Trouble returns, and it is chaotic. Leesa’s resolve weakens as she believes she’s lost someone else important to her. It builds to an excellent ending, which for me, could have gone on and on.
While she only appears in a few pages near story’s end, Polly, a no-nonsense barmaid from town, leaps to the top of my favorite characters list. Polly wasn’t up for any foolishness and did not suffer fools lightly.
In Beauty and the Faun, Kayla and her mother are taken in by her uncle after Kayla’s father dies.
Although they are equals, Kayla and Julia, her mother, are treated as servants…like Cinderella. The good-natured women don’t mind… much, as they both miss their life living in the woods with Christopher, Kayla’s late father.
When Julia fell in love with Christopher, a woodsman, her family didn’t consider him good enough for Julia and she had to choose—her wealthy family and easy life or poverty with Christopher. Of course, Julia chose love with no regrets. But illness took Christopher all too soon.
Now Kayla learns Sir Frederick, her uncle, and a habitual gambler is ready to marry her off to help settle his gambling debts.
The plan is to marry Kayla off to the son of a king. Usually a coveted betrothal, King Reynard has been unable to find a bride for his son because Reynard is a wolf-shapeshifter and his son… changes into things. The young prince is also said to be wild and disappears for weeks at a time.
Despite Kayla and Julia’s objections, the wedding plans proceed, so Kayla decides to solve her own problem.
Striking a deal with fellow servant, Jackon, Kayla plans to go into the village and find a job so she can take care of her mother and be away from Frederick’s control. Jackon tricks Kayla and leads her into an attempted kidnapping. Kayla escapes and eventually ends up with Del, a woodland faun.
Loved the twists and turns of this quick read which included a wedding ball, a fairy godmother and… pomegranate.
Leesa and Kayla are two great characters—women just trying to figure it all out. They’re not sitting around waiting to be rescued, but Prince Charming does arrive… in his own way! You’ll enjoy rooting for their happily-ever-afters.
I highly recommend these two engaging fairytale sendups. But, don’t buy them for your twelve-year-old. Yes, there’s sex, (but it’s not over-the-top). We grow up, why can’t our fairytales?
Enjoy!
November 10, 2017
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/book-tou...
Once Upon A Princess Duet is actually a collection of two books: “Heart of Stone” and “Beauty & The Faun”. Both of the books are fairytale romances, meaning they’re paranormal romance but read like fairytales.
In “Heart of Stone,” Princess Leesa is desperate to find a way to help her people, and on her quest to find a valuable item she can trade for supplies, she comes across an abandoned palace. There, she finds a gargoyle, Willem, who is willing to give her everything she needs, for a price. Is Leesa willing to take this risk? I really liked this novella, in particular the gargoyle, who has a quirky, funny personality. I also liked Leesa and how she was willing to sacrifice everything for her people.
The second novella, “Beauty & The Faun” was my favorite of the two. Kayla is a young woman who is, against her will, pushed into an arranged marriage by her aunt and uncle. Desperate to escape, Kayla hides in the Great Forest, where two mischievous fauns find her and deliver her to a faun shifter, who has some plans of his own with her. I really liked Del’s personality, how caring he was and how charming.
Both paranormal romance novellas are excellent, but the second one was my favorite. The writing is excellent overall, and I would recommend this duology to fans of fairy tale romances.
Once Upon A Princess Duet is actually a collection of two books: “Heart of Stone” and “Beauty & The Faun”. Both of the books are fairytale romances, meaning they’re paranormal romance but read like fairytales.
In “Heart of Stone,” Princess Leesa is desperate to find a way to help her people, and on her quest to find a valuable item she can trade for supplies, she comes across an abandoned palace. There, she finds a gargoyle, Willem, who is willing to give her everything she needs, for a price. Is Leesa willing to take this risk? I really liked this novella, in particular the gargoyle, who has a quirky, funny personality. I also liked Leesa and how she was willing to sacrifice everything for her people.
The second novella, “Beauty & The Faun” was my favorite of the two. Kayla is a young woman who is, against her will, pushed into an arranged marriage by her aunt and uncle. Desperate to escape, Kayla hides in the Great Forest, where two mischievous fauns find her and deliver her to a faun shifter, who has some plans of his own with her. I really liked Del’s personality, how caring he was and how charming.
Both paranormal romance novellas are excellent, but the second one was my favorite. The writing is excellent overall, and I would recommend this duology to fans of fairy tale romances.
April 7, 2020
A really good paranormal romance duet. Two completely different story lines on each and both provide a heartwarming HEA. Narration was really well done on both. Good flow and good characters. A little predictable in the story lines but still good. I especially liked the first "Heart of Stone" storyline with the enchantments, rather a spin on beauty and the beast. Definite character chemistry and heat to be found but it's not over the top. Overall I think these two were definitely a sweet treat for my afternoon!
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
*this review is based on the audio version of this read
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
*this review is based on the audio version of this read
April 30, 2020
Fairy Tale Romance
This book contains two short stories based on well known fairy tales. The stories have been expanded from the original tales and rewritten for an adult audience.
As the framework both stories are common knowledge being based on a fairly tales, it is the details and interplay between the two main characters that makes up the meat of the story. The author does a good job of fleshing this out.
A nice, quick read. The stories both contain sexually explicit material and are not recommended for children.
This book contains two short stories based on well known fairy tales. The stories have been expanded from the original tales and rewritten for an adult audience.
As the framework both stories are common knowledge being based on a fairly tales, it is the details and interplay between the two main characters that makes up the meat of the story. The author does a good job of fleshing this out.
A nice, quick read. The stories both contain sexually explicit material and are not recommended for children.
June 28, 2021
The Once Upon A Princess Duet by Deborah A Bailey (fantasy romance) broke my reading funk and gave me a warm and tingly feeling as I read the stories. These are pure romance and the brilliance is in the simplicity of the storylines. The reader immediately falls into the fantasy setting and cheers for the characters happy endings. Both stories delivered what I needed, but the first one, Heart of Stone, has to be my favourite. If you're looking for low angst, heart-warming books with a touch of heat, you won't go wrong with this collection.
Enjoyment: 💖💖💖💖💖
Angst level: 😩
Heat level: 🔥🔥🔥
Enjoyment: 💖💖💖💖💖
Angst level: 😩
Heat level: 🔥🔥🔥
February 14, 2019
So I read the second story before the first. I thought the first story was gonna enchant me more than the second but I think I like both the same amount. No. I like the second one more. The Faun fairytale was charming. The Gargoyle fairytale was tender. Gosh I didn’t prefer the ending of the first story. I felt too attached to the hero for the ending to be fulfilling for me...
These were super cute and clear stories with a dash of sexy. Very cute.
These were super cute and clear stories with a dash of sexy. Very cute.
June 22, 2020
I loved Once Upon a Princess Duet. They are fairy tale retellings, paranormal romances with HEA. The stories were good. The romance and/or sex scenes were erotic and steamy. I wanted to keep listening. The narration was good. If you like fairy tales, paranormal romance, erotic scenes, HEA, you might like this book.
April 24, 2020
2 Stories in one book, This Audible book was a nice light and airy Fairy Tales with a lighthearted vibe to it. Perfect during this LONG Coronavirus Stay at Home time. The Narrator did a good job on this book and I really enjoyed the Various Characters in both of the Stories!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews