A Bear's Bride

Entwined Tales #3

by Shari L. Tapscott

Don't judge a prince by his fur.

After her father threatens to marry her to a dull farmer, free-spirited Sophie runs away from the only home she’s ever known and sets off into the world, seeking adventure and romance. But instead of excitement, she finds a forlorn castle and the solitary prince who lives there.

For twenty years, Henri has been shrouded in mystery and speculation. He’s a legend, a nightmare, a blight upon his fair kingdom. Though Sophie knows it would be wiser to return home, she’s inexplicably drawn to the man of shadows.

But it doesn’t take Sophie long to realize that falling for the cursed prince might prove to be more of an adventure than she ever bargained for…

A Bear's Bride is a romantic fairy tale novella. It can be read on its own but is more fun when read as a part of the Entwined Tales, a series of interconnected fairy tales by six different authors. Each story follows the adventures of one of seven children from the same family as they seek out their own happily ever afters in spite of their reluctant fairy-godfather.

Recommended Reading Order

A Goose Girl by K M Shea
An Unnatural Beanstalk by Brittany Fichter
A Bear’s Bride by Shari L Tapscott
A Beautiful Curse by Kenley Davidson
A Little Mermaid by Aya Ling
An Inconvenient Princess by Melanie Cellier

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tales, Retellings, Fairy Tale Retellings, Young Adult, Magic

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 19, 2018

About the author

Shari L. Tapscott writes young adult fantasy and humorous contemporary fiction. When she's not writing or reading, she enjoys gardening, making soap, and pretending she can sing.

She loves white chocolate mochas, furry animals, spending time with her family, and characters who refuse to behave.

Tapscott lives in western Colorado with her husband, son, daughter, and two very spoiled Saint Bernards.

Join Shari's newsletter, and be one of the first to learn about new projects, upcoming releases, sales, and specials.

Reviews

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always enjoyed the original fairy tale, East of the Sun West of the Moon, so when I realized this was a retelling of that old classic, I had to give it a try. I ended up really enjoying this fun novella, it’d actually make a great full-length novel. I liked Sophie and Henri, I would have liked to see them together a bit more, really see them fall in love. But since its a novella, it does move along at a quicker pace. You don't have to be familiar with the original fairytale to enjoy this one, great storytelling and characters. It's one I'd want to read again.

Content:
Clean romance, married couple but no intimacies.
No language
Very mild violence

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[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books by Shari Tapscott. She's one of my favorites not only because she knows how to write great characters and fun adventure into her stories but because her books can be read and enjoyed by teenagers and adults alike.

This novella is is part of a collection of stories, each written by a different author. I haven't read any of the other novellas but what a fun idea! Each book is based on a character from the same family.

Fairy tale re-tellings are fun and this is a good one! I read through it quickly and enjoyed it very much.

I really wish this was a full length novel. I would have loved to have seen and felt more of the character's personalities and growing attraction over a longer period of time. I felt like I had a pretty good handle on Sophie, but Henri? I would have liked to have known him better. Shari Tapscott has spoiled me with full length novels and I know how her stories go. I just wanted more! And that is a very good sign. 😊

Content: Clean

- I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Fifi’s Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually don’t read book series out of order but when Shari Tapscott offered arc copies of her novella I just couldn’t say no! I’ve been excited about the Entwined series as soon as I heard about it; all my favorite indie fairytale authors are involved! (And let’s be real, indie authors write the best fairytales).

Shari Tapscott is so good at painting this fairytale world that I would love to live in. Of course, I already knew from Pippa of Lauramore that Shari writes the exact type of fairytale I like to read/mentally live vicarious in but this also didn’t disappoint. East of the sun, west of the moon is admittedly one of my least favorite fairytales so I wasn’t too thrilled about the fact that the retelling was for this one, but I ended up loving this novella. This was retold in a clever and creative way.

[Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuance to this series. It’s been getting better with each book.

I loved Henri and Sophie’s sweet relationship. And I liked Sophie’s arc.
The fairies again were quite the laugh. This time we saw more than just grumpy Old Mortimer.
The trolls were an interesting addition.
The writing style was very suited for this quick whimsical read. I felt like not a lot happens but it’s a sweet endearing story all the same.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this... was DARLING.

The "Entwined Tales" are books taking place in the same fairytale continent, but with different main characters AND written by a different author for each -how clever! The amount of work the lady writers had to put in to make sure their story timelines and characters matched up must have been many, but worth it from a reader perspective.

"A Bear's Bride (Entwined Tales Book 3)" stars Sophie, the third-born daughter, right before two sets of twins stealing the coveted baby-of-the-family spot. She has a fairy blessing (curse) from their family godfather, but she's in an even bigger predicament as she finds herself in an unknown land with a choice to make concerning a mystery, a curse, a bear, and a bunch of directions about east and west.

This tale is a very clever retelling of the Norse fairytale, "East of the Sun, West of the Moon". I'm not familiar with the original (prior to reading, that is), so I simply researched a smidge on Wikipedia to have a vague idea. I was pleasantly surprised to see many connections from the original tale to Shari L. Tapscott's retelling! She added her own characters and names, made it tie in smoothly with the overarching Entwined Tale, and it was FUNNY.

Most books have a few memorable lines or quirky characters, "A Bear's Bride" has Sophie and Henri and Mortimer and more who are all hilarious, witty, sweet, and grow throughout the tale. This was a delightful read -definitely my favorite from Entwined Tales thus far!- and I can't wait to discover more from both this fairy tale ("East of the Sun, West of the Moon") and from Shari L. Tapscott!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute and fun to read. These characters change into better humans:] Always a good thing. Tapscott is just a fun author for me. I enjoy her way of writing romance:}

[Nanzee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was cute. Such a smooth age-appropriate read. About time I stuck to these kinds of books. Sophie was hilarious and Henri was the cutest. For once, I didn't completely hate Mortimer. He was... tolerable.

I loved how it ended and the plot twist about the kiss.

[Joyce T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sophia's a good character in terms of her personality, but this story fell too much in the category of insta-love for me to enjoy it properly. Seriously. Sophia decides to marry the bear within days of meeting him. Perhaps if it weren't a novel? The trolls were pretty interesting, though.

Romance: CLEAN. No explicit scenes, no cursing.

[Coralie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Entwined Tales series. It is a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. And, for once, I don't actually know this fairy tale! (Shocker, I know!) So saying, I had no idea what to expect and cannot comment on how Tapscott handled the original fairy tale in her plot. Though, I did enjoy this plot. I was intrigued and am very interested in further discovering the fairy tale and other retellings of it. At first, it kind of gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes, but then it took on a role all its own. I really liked the MCs. Sophie was a lot of fun and her interactions with Mortimer were actually very touching. Oh, but Henri. I would have loved some Henri pov. I fell hard for this guy. Loved him! I liked the trolls. I liked Peter and his relationship with Sophie. I liked how everything was sorted in the end and I just plain ol' liked this story! Found one glaring grammatical boo boo, but it was well-written otherwise. It was in first person present tense, which I personally find the most difficult way to write a story. Tapscott handled this very well, in my opinion, and I commend her for that. A quick read. On I go to book four!

No foul language. Clean romance. No graphic violence.

[Darque Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Bear's Bride is astoundingly addictive! It's emotional and heart pounding and so hard to resist! For those who love faerie tales with creative twists, this one is for you!

Oh! I loved, loved, loved this one, so much! It may have taken the place of my favorite in the series so far. It was intense and emotional and full of humor and surprise!

I loved that I had never heard of the original tale before, but that Shari made it feel so familiar and inviting. The story picked back up in the familiar world of the Entwined Tales without skipping a beat. It was whimsical and magical and full of fun humor!

Having never read the original tale, I quickly looked it up upon finishing Shari's retelling. It honestly made me love her version even more. She made the tale more fascinating, and gave reason to some of the unexplained aspects of East of the Sun and West of the Moon. She kept a lot of the original aspects to entice those who love the tale, but also added her own spin on things to make it fresh and more entertaining.

This was my first read from Shari, and it certainly won't be my last. I loved her elegant, captivating writing style. I loved her imaginative twists on a classic tale, and I loved the life she brought to her characters and story. 

I enjoyed the sweet, faerie tale romance that grew between Henri and Sophie. I loved Sophie's wit and fierce spirit. I found Henri alluring and chivalrous, and I enjoyed the twists thrown in to the story with the troll princess, and the faeries that Sophie encountered on her journey to save Henri from the troll queen's grasps.

For being a novella, A Bear's Bride really packed a punch! It was romantic, humorous, and magical. It was charming, witty, and a little edgy! If you haven't started reading the Entwined Tales series, I don't know what you are waiting for!

Thank you to the author for providing me with this free e-copy in exchange for my honest review and as part of my Faerie Tale Friday post.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid novella in the "Entwined" series. The third book, it's not entirely necessary that you read the previous ones, but it does help to get a context on the family (it's each siblings story in a family). All of them retell a fairy-tale, with this one being a re-telling of 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon' and potentially a little 'Beauty and the Beast' in there as well.

Sophie really doesn't want to marry the man her father has chosen for her, so she runs away, only to be whisked from her path by her fairy-godfather who dumps her in another country, in an abandoned castle, with a guy that's known to be a monster. Although he's awful nice for being a monster, and maybe more concerned for his people than himself. Not wanting to give up adventure, Sophie goes with it, and finds herself much more involved than she would have ever thought possible.

Sophie is, as her godfather puts it, annoying. And honestly, in some ways I tend to agree with him. I wouldn't call her the most likable of characters, although she seems to have a good heart. But she is forever asking questions and picking at the people around her without much thought before her actions. It is a little tiresome. And let's talk about her parents, who thus far in the books seem pretty reasonable; forcibly marrying off their child, what happened there? Her love interest, Henri, is kind of bland, and while kind, he doesn't really drive the plot forward, that's Sophie's job.

This went pretty quick, which I guess should be expected for a novella, but it seemed like key plot points were just rushed along. While I thought it was a nice re-telling, there were some elements that I felt were played down a bit when really I would have loved more detail there (Henri's curse and subsequent interactions).

Nice quick story, I'll definitely be continuing on with the series.

Review by M. Reynard 2020

[Ellie Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5

Content rating: 4.7/5
Content note: Sophie and her love marry early on in the story, since it's a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. There is one time when she starts taking off his shirt, plus three or four times when they lay in bed together, and she kisses him one of those times.(nothing happens, though.)
Theme Rating: 3.5/5
Age rating: 12-13+ Just because of what I mentioned above;-)

This has been my favorite of the series so far! The way so many things happened was so unique, and it was definitely different from the other retelling of this fairytale I've read. I was a bit frustrated with Sophie for all the decisions she made at the beginning, but she definitely grew by the end. And I loved how far she was willing to go(literally) because of her love. It was a really fun, sweet adventure, that I can certainly recommend!

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book is a twist on a fairytale. Sophia was impulsive but also brave. She chose to marry the cursed prince even though she barely knew him, partly because she knew he was a good person and partly because she craved adventure. We're told that she falls in love with him (though all we see is her feeling lonely and wanting to get physical with him). The characters were not very well-developed, though Sophia and the troll princess were interesting. Henri was an honorable and dependable fellow who liked being the hero. I agree with Sophia in wondering how well their different personalities will mesh in marriage. The focus of the story was mostly on the adventure of her trying to save her husband and new kingdom. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable YA fairytale retelling.

[Jessica Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun story! I love the humor and read it with an almost constant smile throughout. It’s quite short and can easily be read in one sitting, which is actually my only complaint with it. The brevity forced a rushed note to the story, and I would have loved to have seen it fleshed out more like Tapscott’s other writings. Regardless, I really enjoyed this read, and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairy tales colored in humor.

Content:
There’s no foul language, violence, or sex. The romance is clean with only a few kisses. There is magic, along with fairy godmothers and godfathers. There’s no mention of faith or God.

[T.E. Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

That was sweetly satisfying! I'd never heard of East of the Sun West of the Moon, but it's close enough to Beauty and the Beast to satisfy a craving for that sort of story. It is a novella, so don't expect a fully developed story, but it's delightful as a light, quick read. I hate a lot of angst between love interests and this was completely satisfying in that way because there was next to none of that. I wasn't expecting to like Sophie, but I think I like her story best of the series so far!

[Elisabeth Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

very cute

Tbh I’ve never read the original East of the Sun, West of the Moon, but I do think it’s a BIT rotten for the prince to marry the girl with the intention of what, living as roommates forever because he didn’t want to explain the curse to her? Rude

Even so I thought this was the best in this series yet and I greatly enjoyed it.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on BAtB with no Stockholm syndrome!

[Chrysa · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as retellings go, this one was so good! So cute, the heroine is plain adorable, and I loved all of the story. I started with this one but it made me want to go through all of the series.

[Patience · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the first retelling I've read of this tale, and possibly the first of this author's books. She did a great job making the tale fresh while keeping with to the original story.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved our Heroine! Wished her and Henri would of been together more. But she was amazing and sarcastic. My kind of girl! 😉

[Ziah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend recommended this to me. I really loved the story. So cute but also enough fire in the female main character to keep it interesting.
Funnily enough though, it took me forever to realise that the reason I recognised the fairy godfather’s name was because I’d already read another book from this series.

[Gypsy Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I should have given this short tale 4 stars for following the original tale so closely, rather than spinning a new tale over the old one, this has so much personality and humor to it that I really did adore it. I loved Mortimer, the belligerent fairy godfather, who complained constantly about having to do magic for Sophie. I’m totally itching to read more of the books in the series that might feature him. I also loved Sophie. She had a wonderful snarky humor to her and was rather selfish. I loved the letter she wrote to her family where she only managed to work up the nerve to tell her parents about her bear husband at the very end in the PS. I loved that she loved ticking off Mortimer by constantly calling on him for every little thing. And I loved Henri, who was the typical handsome, heroic, perfect book boyfriend type (Now that I’m thinking about it, he did seem a bit bland in the personality department). I loved that he made the whole being a bear during the daytime hours work for him, and it felt almost like a minor inconvenience since he manages to keep the whole being a bear really away from Sophie until she actually pushes to see the bear and just romances her as a rather depressed handsome prince with a scary reputation. The romance was beautiful, though the marriage felt rushed. I also loved the changes to the story that were made, like the troll daughter had a personality and a will that was separate from the troll witch. I was also happy that we got to edit down the journey by cutting to the chase with Sophie being an impatient person (in the original tale it was a tedious and rather pointless journey, so I’m glad it was cut short). It’s a worthy retelling that sticks close to the original (at least in the 2nd half of the book), with a cast of fun characters that made reading this a joy.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typically, I find it hard to connect with characters in a novella but that is not the case with this story. Right from the get go, I liked Sophia’s spunky personality and I also immediately liked Henri...because, let’s be honest, what’s not to like? ;) Shari Tapscott always knows how to get the chemistry between the two main characters just right. I found myself smiling, laughing and was totally entranced in their story.
I liked this fairy tale because it’s not as common as some of the others, even though, it has some similarities to Beauty and the Beast.
It was also fun to have the stories connected through Sophia’s family and Mortimer...can’t wait to read the rest of the Entwined Tales!

P.S. If this is your first book by this author, do yourself a favor and go read all her other books! I promise you won’t regret it! She writes the best swoon worthy, clean, and entertaining stories!

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'm getting tired of fairy tale retellings that stop just before the real challenge begins. Yes I get it, you ended the curse and you now want to live happily ever after. But there are so many things to do now!

First and foremost: how are you going to rule?
Are people going to recognize you? Is the interim ruler ok to let go of the throne? Do you have any experience at ruling? Are you even aware of the current political, social, and economic context of your country and neighboring countries? Will the nobles and military accept you as king/queen? How will the foreign countries react to you taking power? How do you protect yourself from future curses?

[C.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has been my least favorite in the series thus far. It had its moments, but it never really clicked with me.
Sophie is a very forward, impulsive, and irritating pest - for once I found myself ready to agree with Mortimer! - and the Prince is about as bland and generic as they come. Romantic buildup? Blink and you'll miss it! It happens so fast and mostly off page. I doubt I'll bother to re-read this one.

[Ru4repeat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll confess I had to research the underlying story this one was based upon because I wasn't familiar with it. I absolutely love and approve of the author's take on it! I Appreciate that while it was romantic and the characters were married, we weren't forced to endure any passionate bedroom scenes. On a steaminess level this didn't go beyond a warm PG.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

A fun and enchanting read! Sophia is absolutely delightful; she had me chuckling and grinning most of the way through. I enjoyed Tapscott's retelling of the classic and cannot imagine anyone not adoring this tale!

A sweet, adventurous tale!

[Hadassah Buie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophia could be really annoying at times, but she also had the most common sense out of all her sisters so far. This was a great retelling of East of the Sun West of the Moon

[Lisa Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Bear's Bride was a short, choppy, and mostly harmless adaptation of "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," featuring Sophie, the third oldest daughter of the fairy godfather-cursed family. The ending of An Unnatural Beanstalk in which Eva was worried that Sophie would do something rash upon learning that her father wanted to marry her off to a boring farmer led straight into the beginning of this book. In An Unnatural Beanstalk, Sophie was said to have a reputation of calling upon Mortimer, her family's bumbling fairy godfather, far more than any of her siblings. She follows suit by immediately asking him to help her get out of her arranged marriage. He transports her to the castle of a prince named Henri who gets along with her immediately, and they get married. Considering how many problems Mortimer's gifts cause Sophie's siblings in the other books, this one did a pretty sloppy job of incorporating his character. His magic never actually ends up harming Sophie, as the troll queen is the sole cause of all of her and Henri's problems.

The biggest issue I had with A Bear's Bride is its pacing. It's very sloppy. I might have forgiven it if it was one of the longer books in the series and the author wanted to keep it at novella length, but it's actually the shortest next to A Goose Girl, which was paced much better. It is also the only one that ended with a sample chapter of one of the author's other works that was completely unrelated to Entwined Tales, which felt a little self indulgent to me. The worst pacing problem is that Sophie and Henri got married less than halfway through the book, so it felt like there was absolutely no buildup to their relationship. Unlike the fairy tale, she didn't even see him as a polar bear until a decent amount of time after their wedding, which seemed weak because she already knew how handsome he was by then. You wouldn't have Beauty meet the Beast as a prince and then have him tell her "Oh, by the way, I turn into this monster sometimes, but you don't have to look at me when I'm like that because I know you like me better like this." Yet, that's exactly what this book does. Sophie already has her handsome prince and she just looks at him in his bear form later out of sheer curiosity.

I will say that the book's one saving grace is Princess Ambrosia, the daughter of the troll queen who punishes Sophie for the unforgivable crime of kissing her own husband. It hadn't even been established at that point that they had never kissed until it became part of the plot. Ambrosia was Henri's reluctant bride and captor who was all too willing to help Sophie save him from her mother's wrath because she had no desire to marry him. She was a very comedic character, much like Davina from A Goose Girl and Rapunzel from An Inconvenient Princess, causing this book to fit the tone of the series better than An Unnatural Beanstalk, despite not being written as well. It was a lot of fun reading about Ambrosia's antics to get out of her arranged marriage without particularly caring about Sophie's well-being in the process. She was fun and hilarious, and I think the book would have been a lot more interesting if it had been told from her perspective. Her mother, Amara, was a pretty bland villain, but Ambrosia made it all worthwhile.

Even though A Bear's Bride was my least favorite of the Entwined Tales, I wouldn't say it was an unpleasant read. It was just bland and held little substance. It kept up with the tone of the overall series, despite working with an unpopular fairy tale and making little use of Mortimer's bumbling. It could have been more enjoyable if the pacing were better and it had stayed closer to the source material with Sophie not knowing what Henri looked like as a man. I would only recommend this book to hardcore fairy tale fanatics or completionists who want to read every book in the Entwined Tales series. Otherwise, it's safe to skip over this one.

[Shawna Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet short story from a collection released by various authors revolving mostly around the different children of one family. I loved KM Shea’s Goose Girl so I thought I’d try another author and decided on this one because I’m a sucker for a good retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Being in a short novella form, a lot is condensed, altered or dropped entirely, but the premise is still there. A young woman finds herself marrying a man (secretly a prince) only to find he’s cursed to spend his days as a large white bear. Nights are spent with friendship and with the understanding that there can be nothing intimate between her and her husband. Sure she can touch him, and most versions have them sharing the same bed, though this one sees Henri sleeping in another part of the castle). If our heroine falls for her husband she can break the spell cursing him to be a bear, however, breaking the spell leads to something far worse and it’s up to our heroine to rescue her husband against all odds.

Here we find Sophie, bored with life at home and wants to find adventure. When her father promises her hand in marriage to a local farmer Sophie decides she would rather run away from home than live such a dull life. Unfortunately, within a few hours of walking in the cold dark of night Sophie realizes real life isn’t as easy as she thought it would be for the woefully unprepared. Calling upon her bumbling fairy godfather is a desperate step, especially when Mortimer decided to whisk Sophie’s ungrateful and complaining form to a kingdom to the north and dump her at Henri’s feet to deal with.

With as quiet as life is in a castle in the middle of nowhere, Sophie is forced to get over herself and befriend Henri- and here is a departure because she gets to see at least a cursed version of himself, rather than the original tale of never being able to look upon his face. And the change works rather well here.

Sophie, annoying as she starts out, quickly grew on me and Henri has charmed me in pretty much every version I’ve ever read, so no surprises there. If you’ve never read or heard of this fairy tale that’s understandable as it’s more obscure and wasn’t “popular” for awhile, but I am thrilled it’s seeing a resurgence. You won’t go wrong giving this quick read a go. I’ve also loved Tapscott’s Riven series (and written reviews for all 4 books) if you want to try something else by this author.


If you want a longer retelling for EotSWotM you also can’t go wrong with Deborah Grace White’s Song of Winds (though that entire series is fantastic).