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Entwined Tales #1
A Goose Girl
As a royal lady's maid, Rynn has one task: Escort the princess of Astoria to her intended's kingdom and return home. Unfortunately for the former goose girl, the princess has other plans.
When her charge flees, Rynn's not only forced to take the princess's place, but she must also contend with a spiteful fairy horse, a good dose of political intrigue, and Conrad...the mysterious and all-too observant lord who consumes more of her thoughts than he should.
But with war looming on the horizon, Rynn stands to lose more than her heart. Can she convince the princess to return, end the charade, and make peace between the kingdoms?
More importantly, can she possibly avoid a death sentence when the truth is revealed?
A Goose Girl 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.
When her charge flees, Rynn's not only forced to take the princess's place, but she must also contend with a spiteful fairy horse, a good dose of political intrigue, and Conrad...the mysterious and all-too observant lord who consumes more of her thoughts than he should.
But with war looming on the horizon, Rynn stands to lose more than her heart. Can she convince the princess to return, end the charade, and make peace between the kingdoms?
More importantly, can she possibly avoid a death sentence when the truth is revealed?
A Goose Girl 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.
118 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 5, 2018
730 people are currently reading
1959 people want to read
About the author
K.M. Shea
121 books4,815 followersMy pen name is K. M. Shea, but my readers—I prefer to call them Champions—call me Kitty.
I love to write funny, clean stories with strong characters. Books like that are among my favorite to read so naturally I love writing stories like that as well. My philosophy is that life is tough, so books should be something that makes you relax and laugh!
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VISIT MY AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
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I love to write funny, clean stories with strong characters. Books like that are among my favorite to read so naturally I love writing stories like that as well. My philosophy is that life is tough, so books should be something that makes you relax and laugh!
VISIT MY FACEBOOK GROUP
https://www.facebook.com/groups/27090...
VISIT MY AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
https://www.amazon.com/K-M-Shea/e/B00...
VISIT MY WEBSITE
https://kmshea.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
February 19, 2024
3 stars, personally. Clean Fairytale Retelling with no major content to note.
The audacity of this princess. What a piece of work. I have to admit that I agreed with Rynn about a certain event serving her right.
I wasn’t expecting the twists at the end and it all works out. I would like to shake some sense into the princess, but Rynn was nice enough not to do that (though she wanted to at times). This was very short (which is what I wanted so that’s why I decided to read this book) but because of the length, it’s almost on the speed run because everything happens so fast. I definitely saw the ending pairings, but that was fine. I liked the ending for Rynn despite it being quick and very much a quickly fell in love angle. It’s a fairytale story, what do you expect? The love story part came all of a sudden and there was no reason why he fell for her? It was an obvious pairing, but that said, I did like them together. It did bother me that everything worked out for the annoying princess, but I guess that can be realistic. Hmmp.
Regardless, I read my first K.M. Shea book! I've been hearing about her books for a long time from book friends, and I'll definitely be checking out her other books because despite my complaints, I did like this book and the writing style. I'm curious about the rest of these books in this series (written by different authors), so I think I'll be trying out some of them here and there. :)
Main Content-
The normal fairytale magic stuff: fairy godfathers, curses, magical blessings (that can also be seen as magical curses for some because they're unwanted), a talking horse, etc.; A couple mentions of fate controlling people and things; A couple mentions of luck.
Rynn, our main character, is forced to impersonate the princess against her will after a magical item makes her (it's described as feeling like her voice on the topic has been locked); Rynn is given the gift of controlling the wind for a time.
No main language, but the phrase "bells of hades" is used once & other minor words like "blast", "stupid", and "idiot" are used; There's a horse that often curses & just has a bad attitude in general (he also tries to pummel some children in his way); Mentions of said curses and oaths (not written out); Eye rolling & Sarcasm;
Being held at sword-point, being choked, being threatened (with harm and death), fighting back, & pain (up to semi-detailed); Wine is had with dinner at a party; Mentions of thieves, stealing, & being robbed; Mentions of rumors, gossip, lies, & lying; A mention of a cannibal witch; A mention of a kidnapping.
A few kisses (nothing lasting more than about three sentences); Touches, Hand holding, & Embraces (again, not detailed, but about 2-4 sentences in length); Blushes; A horse tells a kissing couple that he doesn't want to see them groping the other; A young man stares at Rynn's lips with his "gaze heated" & low-key jokes about spending the evening tonight (not really kidding though); A couple mentions of a horse's butt; A mention of a princess wanting to be fed by handsome male attendants; A mention of some highway men stealing kisses from young women they came across.
The audacity of this princess. What a piece of work. I have to admit that I agreed with Rynn about a certain event serving her right.
I wasn’t expecting the twists at the end and it all works out. I would like to shake some sense into the princess, but Rynn was nice enough not to do that (though she wanted to at times). This was very short (which is what I wanted so that’s why I decided to read this book) but because of the length, it’s almost on the speed run because everything happens so fast. I definitely saw the ending pairings, but that was fine. I liked the ending for Rynn despite it being quick and very much a quickly fell in love angle. It’s a fairytale story, what do you expect? The love story part came all of a sudden and there was no reason why he fell for her? It was an obvious pairing, but that said, I did like them together. It did bother me that everything worked out for the annoying princess, but I guess that can be realistic. Hmmp.
Regardless, I read my first K.M. Shea book! I've been hearing about her books for a long time from book friends, and I'll definitely be checking out her other books because despite my complaints, I did like this book and the writing style. I'm curious about the rest of these books in this series (written by different authors), so I think I'll be trying out some of them here and there. :)
Main Content-
The normal fairytale magic stuff: fairy godfathers, curses, magical blessings (that can also be seen as magical curses for some because they're unwanted), a talking horse, etc.; A couple mentions of fate controlling people and things; A couple mentions of luck.
Rynn, our main character, is forced to impersonate the princess against her will after a magical item makes her (it's described as feeling like her voice on the topic has been locked); Rynn is given the gift of controlling the wind for a time.
No main language, but the phrase "bells of hades" is used once & other minor words like "blast", "stupid", and "idiot" are used; There's a horse that often curses & just has a bad attitude in general (he also tries to pummel some children in his way); Mentions of said curses and oaths (not written out); Eye rolling & Sarcasm;
Being held at sword-point, being choked, being threatened (with harm and death), fighting back, & pain (up to semi-detailed); Wine is had with dinner at a party; Mentions of thieves, stealing, & being robbed; Mentions of rumors, gossip, lies, & lying; A mention of a cannibal witch; A mention of a kidnapping.
A few kisses (nothing lasting more than about three sentences); Touches, Hand holding, & Embraces (again, not detailed, but about 2-4 sentences in length); Blushes; A horse tells a kissing couple that he doesn't want to see them groping the other; A young man stares at Rynn's lips with his "gaze heated" & low-key jokes about spending the evening tonight (not really kidding though); A couple mentions of a horse's butt; A mention of a princess wanting to be fed by handsome male attendants; A mention of some highway men stealing kisses from young women they came across.
February 14, 2018
After a really hard day, I knew exactly the sort of pick-me-up I needed. A new K.M. Shea novella! I read it in one night in nearly one sitting.
This is an absolutely adorable retelling of the Goose Girl! As usual, K.M. Shea takes the lighter approach to this story (which I appreciate). It is witty and funny. Falada is absolutely hilarious. I love that the author takes the POV on this retelling that usually isn't told (the maid who took the princess's place).
About my only disappoint was that this novella was short. I could've easily read an entire novel about these characters!
Still even though it was short and moved somewhat quickly in some spots, it still felt complete and wrapped up really nicely and sweetly with all the hilarity we as readers have come to expect from K.M. Shea.
This is an absolutely adorable retelling of the Goose Girl! As usual, K.M. Shea takes the lighter approach to this story (which I appreciate). It is witty and funny. Falada is absolutely hilarious. I love that the author takes the POV on this retelling that usually isn't told (the maid who took the princess's place).
About my only disappoint was that this novella was short. I could've easily read an entire novel about these characters!
Still even though it was short and moved somewhat quickly in some spots, it still felt complete and wrapped up really nicely and sweetly with all the hilarity we as readers have come to expect from K.M. Shea.
January 13, 2023
A sweet story.
The characters were all either amusing or irritating but I didn’t find myself liking any of them aside from Conrad. Falada the fairy horse is what really made the book. His humor is fantastic I’ll think of ponies as mushrooms for the next while I’m afraid.
The writing and plot were okay but didn’t have me sucked or in suspense in at any given point.
Though that being said, I will continue the series it as it’s the sort of book to read where you don’t have to pay too much attention to and can read 5-10 minute chunks and not feel deprived being called away to do something else.
The characters were all either amusing or irritating but I didn’t find myself liking any of them aside from Conrad. Falada the fairy horse is what really made the book. His humor is fantastic I’ll think of ponies as mushrooms for the next while I’m afraid.
The writing and plot were okay but didn’t have me sucked or in suspense in at any given point.
Though that being said, I will continue the series it as it’s the sort of book to read where you don’t have to pay too much attention to and can read 5-10 minute chunks and not feel deprived being called away to do something else.
December 9, 2025
2019 Review - 3.5 stars
These novellas are great but frustrating at the same time because they leave me with the outline of a fabulous story and yet lack full development so it feels perpetually like it falls just short of the mark.
But I did like this one. It does a really good job incorporating the stranger aspects of the original fairy tale into a meaningful story. I also particularly liked telling the story of the Goose Girl from the lady in waiting's perspective.
Worth the money I spent on it and probably a re-read or two, but I do wish it came with more.
These novellas are great but frustrating at the same time because they leave me with the outline of a fabulous story and yet lack full development so it feels perpetually like it falls just short of the mark.
But I did like this one. It does a really good job incorporating the stranger aspects of the original fairy tale into a meaningful story. I also particularly liked telling the story of the Goose Girl from the lady in waiting's perspective.
Worth the money I spent on it and probably a re-read or two, but I do wish it came with more.
February 8, 2018
3.5 stars. I’m not a fan of novellas for the simple fact that most of the time there is too much crammed into the story with no room to flush everything out. I’m happy to say that while I wished for some parts to be a little more in depth it didn’t bother me as much as it usually does. However, what did annoy me was the romance. I felt like it all came out of nowhere. And I seriously went back in the book to see if I somehow missed some pages or a chapter with something important but nope. Boom and it was there. This really was a good first book in this series and I can’t wait to read the next.
February 2, 2024
Eh, it was okay. I hate saying this but even though I read this in a day and it kept my interest enough to finish it, I don’t think it will stick with me in the long run.
I wasn’t connected to any of the characters in any way, the romance just came out of nowhere, and why give a character a magical power that really does nothing to the plot or character’s arc overall? It felt like this was just a story full of checkboxes to make sure all the elements of the original Goose Girl tale were here without it meaning anything to the plot or characters.
Not the best book by this author, and I don’t see myself ever reading it again.
‼️Content‼️
Violence: a girl is held at sword and dagger point multiple times; crossbows are aimed at a girl and horse; a man grabs a girl by the neck and shoulder and threatens her more then once
Sexual: kissing (not detailed)
Drug/Alcohol: characters drink wine
Other: magic; magical abilities and creatures; fairies and fairy godfathers/mothers; a girl is forced to impersonate another against her will
I wasn’t connected to any of the characters in any way, the romance just came out of nowhere, and why give a character a magical power that really does nothing to the plot or character’s arc overall? It felt like this was just a story full of checkboxes to make sure all the elements of the original Goose Girl tale were here without it meaning anything to the plot or characters.
Not the best book by this author, and I don’t see myself ever reading it again.
‼️Content‼️
Violence: a girl is held at sword and dagger point multiple times; crossbows are aimed at a girl and horse; a man grabs a girl by the neck and shoulder and threatens her more then once
Sexual: kissing (not detailed)
Drug/Alcohol: characters drink wine
Other: magic; magical abilities and creatures; fairies and fairy godfathers/mothers; a girl is forced to impersonate another against her will
December 29, 2021
This was a nice take on the story!
I liked how it was twisted around so that the maid, Rynn, was forced to be the princess, rather than the standard maid wants to be princess. That made this retelling unique from the others I have read in the past.
Characters:
Rynn was a good main character. From the beginning her personality was vibrant. Davina was incredibly annoying, I thought. But still entertaining to read about.
The Prince and Conrad were a bit...I dunno, stale? Not much depth.
Conrad especially. Why did he 'love' Rynn? There was no real reason for him to. All of a sudden he's just up and declaring his love. Rynn was totally taken aback by it, but after the initial shock wore off she was fine with it. I do not comprendo.
I liked the horse, Falada. I am always game for a sarcastic animal character. :D
Plot:
Good pacing. A few Easter eggs/foreshadowing moments that played well in the story. Little Conrad. Hehe it was so obvious but I didn't see it right away until his comment:
Writing:
I think it was a bit more on the middle-grade side than YA. Once again, I think the 'romance' could have been done better. It was like instalove but not really. Just did not make sense to me.
Can you tell it annoyed me? Mentioned it three times...
Anyway. This was good. I just had issues with some *cough* part(s).
3 stars
I liked how it was twisted around so that the maid, Rynn, was forced to be the princess, rather than the standard maid wants to be princess. That made this retelling unique from the others I have read in the past.
Characters:
Rynn was a good main character. From the beginning her personality was vibrant. Davina was incredibly annoying, I thought. But still entertaining to read about.
The Prince and Conrad were a bit...I dunno, stale? Not much depth.
Conrad especially. Why did he 'love' Rynn? There was no real reason for him to. All of a sudden he's just up and declaring his love. Rynn was totally taken aback by it, but after the initial shock wore off she was fine with it. I do not comprendo.
I liked the horse, Falada. I am always game for a sarcastic animal character. :D
Plot:
Good pacing. A few Easter eggs/foreshadowing moments that played well in the story. Little Conrad. Hehe it was so obvious but I didn't see it right away until his comment:
Writing:
I think it was a bit more on the middle-grade side than YA. Once again, I think the 'romance' could have been done better. It was like instalove but not really. Just did not make sense to me.
Can you tell it annoyed me? Mentioned it three times...
Anyway. This was good. I just had issues with some *cough* part(s).
3 stars
May 7, 2018
This is a really solid twist on the fairy tale.
I wish it had been longer, to explore the love story, explore what rynn must be feeling about being trapped in another identity. To actually get into a change in Davina's character. And a million other things.
It's a little annoying because there is a lot of interesting drama and potential to mine here with the setup. It was just underserved.
I wish it had been longer, to explore the love story, explore what rynn must be feeling about being trapped in another identity. To actually get into a change in Davina's character. And a million other things.
It's a little annoying because there is a lot of interesting drama and potential to mine here with the setup. It was just underserved.
January 26, 2023
A Goose Girl is the first book in Entwined Tales series by a group of several authors. This one is a novella written by K.M. Shea and is a retelling of the classic fairytale The Goose Girl.
As someone not remotely familiar with the fairy tale, I judged this purely based upon the experience of reading this story as something new and I honestly ended up enjoying this a great deal.
Both Rynn and Davina had my attention in their own ways and the magical talking horse Falada was such a delightful addition. The whole cast worked well together and the eventual mystery surprised me - again since I was unsuspecting of it all not knowledgeable of how the book is supposed to go.
I won't know if it deviated from the original tale but whatever this book held, I ended up liking and enjoying it a whole lot.
4 stars.
As someone not remotely familiar with the fairy tale, I judged this purely based upon the experience of reading this story as something new and I honestly ended up enjoying this a great deal.
Both Rynn and Davina had my attention in their own ways and the magical talking horse Falada was such a delightful addition. The whole cast worked well together and the eventual mystery surprised me - again since I was unsuspecting of it all not knowledgeable of how the book is supposed to go.
I won't know if it deviated from the original tale but whatever this book held, I ended up liking and enjoying it a whole lot.
4 stars.
December 27, 2024
A very intriguing book. This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed her writing style. I actually guessed the plot twist before it was revealed. The only complaint I have was the love story seemed to come very quickly. But it was only a 100 page book, so that should have been expected 😉 All in all, this was a fun little book and I’ll read her starter pack before I decide to read any more of her books. Thanks and happy reading!
November 5, 2018
The Goose Girl has long been a favorite fairytale of mine. I was excited to read this retelling. KM Shea put a great twist on the story by having the princess end up as the goose girl and her maid act as princess and I enjoyed how Falada was written.
That being said this story really needed some editing (for example holster was repeatedly used in place of hostler and it drove me crazy) and the characters lacked depth. I realize this was a novella and meant to be part of a short story series, but I still think it could have been better written. I would have loved to have seen more interactions between the main character and her love interest. In fact I would have loved to have seen more of Conrad in general. He was such an interesting character.
Unfortunately the whole story seemed rushed and I didn’t see what the point of giving Rynn wind magic was. She never really did anything with it and it faded so quickly. The final conflict and resolution was too rushed. This could have been amazing as a full length more fleshed out novel, and though its a sweet short story it just fell a little flat.
That being said this story really needed some editing (for example holster was repeatedly used in place of hostler and it drove me crazy) and the characters lacked depth. I realize this was a novella and meant to be part of a short story series, but I still think it could have been better written. I would have loved to have seen more interactions between the main character and her love interest. In fact I would have loved to have seen more of Conrad in general. He was such an interesting character.
Unfortunately the whole story seemed rushed and I didn’t see what the point of giving Rynn wind magic was. She never really did anything with it and it faded so quickly. The final conflict and resolution was too rushed. This could have been amazing as a full length more fleshed out novel, and though its a sweet short story it just fell a little flat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2019
Interesting take on The Goose Girl Story. Great set up. My issues mostly stem from the fact that this was novella and not a full length novel. The author didn't have enough time to develope every aspect thoroughly. As result there were things like "insta love". Like literally randomly being all "I Love you, let me pick you up and carrying you indoors" Plot holes. And characters lacking development. Idk it was just a struggle. I would be interested in reading a full length novel by the author to see if the writing improves.
April 24, 2021
This is a wonderful retelling of Goose Girl and just a fun read. The cover really sold me since I love horses and this one has a talking horse. I really enjoy books that give us an inside look at an animal's thoughts. There was a twist on the characters and that was quite refreshing for me. I was really enjoying reading it, I liked a different ending from the original, and my only issue was that I wanted even more pages of it to read.
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April 20, 2020
I dunno, but that wasn’t what I was expecting. I felt like this book was quickly thrown together & maybe that’s due to its length? Or maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for this kind of story? Either way - I can’t say I fully enjoyed it.
January 11, 2021
Love K.M.Shea's stuff. This short story was the first of her stuff that I read and although it isnt her best work, it got me reading all her fantastic stuff. Very clean, light read, solid storyline. Perfect escape book.
March 6, 2023
Fun and short read. Interesting twist on The Goose Girl, making the maid the main character.
Here for the love story? May not be for you because you don't really get any development of that until you get to the happily ever after.
Here for the love story? May not be for you because you don't really get any development of that until you get to the happily ever after.
December 29, 2023
I thought that this book was actually pretty good for a novella (which, if you've read my other reviews of novellas, I really dislike). The plot was well-developed, and the romance was fine, though it ended more on a HFN than HEA.
Romance: CLEAN, though there's not a lot that happens in terms of romance. In my opinion, however, that's better than insta-love. No explicit scenes, no curses.
Romance: CLEAN, though there's not a lot that happens in terms of romance. In my opinion, however, that's better than insta-love. No explicit scenes, no curses.
August 6, 2020
Hands down my favorite character in this was the talking horse. And I nearly put this book aside because I got so upset at the thought that the horse might end with the same fate from the original tale. I know I shouldn’t be spoilery, but thankfully he was spared from that fate. I am quite liking this series with Mortimer, though I nearly forgot that this was part of that series since he doesn’t make an appearance until quite late into the story. I loved him in The Bear’s Bride, and I loved the grumbling mention of Sophie when he appeared (connects the two books nicely). Faced with an impossible problem that could quite likely result in her death or war with her beloved home country, I loved that even though Rynn was trapped, she still had a lot of freedom to get to know the other players in this story, though it didn’t feel like she bothered to get to know anyone beyond just the surface. And though I haven’t liked the princess in other versions of this story, she came off as being flighty, immature, and idealistic in wanting to pursue frivolous dreams, rather than mean, evil, and a nasty piece of work. For being betrothed to him, we really didn’t see much of the prince, though I did like the brief, though rather rushed and out of the blue romance. As I said earlier, my favorite character was the horse, and I loved all of the moments spent with him and his colorful attitude (I almost wished he had been a prince cursed into life as a horse since he was so much more interesting than any of the other male characters in the story). In all, this was a fun, fairy tale re-telling, and would definitely recommend to others.
December 29, 2024
Content Rating: 5/5
Content note: There are fairies who are magic(very fairy tale magic) and different spells and curses and stuff from them.
Theme Rating: 3.5/5(There wasn't a whole lot of a theme is the main reason the rating is low. Good morals and such.)
Age rating: 11/12+(simply because there is some romance)
This was a pretty fun little novella! The author had a fun voice that was very different and felt a little weird, but it worked pretty well and if it were a little longer I could've gotten used to it more. The plotline and characters were intriguing, the plot twist was surprising, and I did not like the princess. XD I definitely felt like the romance could've had a lot more build-up; it felt really sudden, but it was a fun story nevertheless. Definitely a great recommendation for a quick read!
Content note: There are fairies who are magic(very fairy tale magic) and different spells and curses and stuff from them.
Theme Rating: 3.5/5(There wasn't a whole lot of a theme is the main reason the rating is low. Good morals and such.)
Age rating: 11/12+(simply because there is some romance)
This was a pretty fun little novella! The author had a fun voice that was very different and felt a little weird, but it worked pretty well and if it were a little longer I could've gotten used to it more. The plotline and characters were intriguing, the plot twist was surprising, and I did not like the princess. XD I definitely felt like the romance could've had a lot more build-up; it felt really sudden, but it was a fun story nevertheless. Definitely a great recommendation for a quick read!
November 4, 2019
This was way too hurried. I realize it's a novella, but I've read 60 page novellas that have excellent development of relationships by virtue of having time pass while the characters spend time with each other.
The hero and heroine barely spent any time together here, but somehow fell in love despite that. The plot was a bit unbelievable, too -- But plot loopholes are a lot easier to forgive than instalove. Oh, well.
The hero and heroine barely spent any time together here, but somehow fell in love despite that. The plot was a bit unbelievable, too -- But plot loopholes are a lot easier to forgive than instalove. Oh, well.
August 20, 2021
This was great for a series beginner. Rynn was nice. Lovable. Of course, the romance with Conrad didn't really make sense but then I realised his proposal was less for romantic reasons and more because he simply liked her as a person and thought they'd be good together. That was an easy concept to accept because theirs was certainly not a full-blown romance.
Davina spent the whole story pissing me off. I think I was more annoyed that she was a tiny bit funny too. Falada was an absolute darling and the best character of this very short story.
Mortimer was, as usual, not much help.
Davina spent the whole story pissing me off. I think I was more annoyed that she was a tiny bit funny too. Falada was an absolute darling and the best character of this very short story.
Mortimer was, as usual, not much help.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2018
A Goose Girl is fun, fabulous, and frivolous! It has magic, sweetness, and humor. For those who love a story that is short, but packs a punch, this one is for you!
I loved this one so much. Shea has once again written in some strong female characters who overcome crazy obstacles. The story had whimsy and intrigue and plenty of good humor!
I loved the predictability of the retelling, and the little unpredictable bits that came from Shea's imagination. What I loved the most was how she gave rhyme and reason to some of the unexplained aspects of the original tale. There was a purpose and reason behind the handkerchief with the drops of blood, the switching of the princess and lady's maid, and the talking horse. I even loved the nods to the original aspects of the tale that were changed to fit this story.
I really loved Rynn and her spirit and conscience, and Davina and her hilarious frivolity, but Falada was the best part. Man, he was sassy! That horse had me laughing every time he opened his mouth!
If you were on the hunt for a quick read with a pleasant mood, I'd suggest getting the entire Entwined Tales series! This one was charming and whimsical, and full of hilarity! I also found it wildly entertaining and refreshing to have a snarky, male god faerie. A Goose Girl made me incredibly excited to read the rest of the series and find out what shenanigans ensue from our sarcastic faerie godfather!!
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.
I loved this one so much. Shea has once again written in some strong female characters who overcome crazy obstacles. The story had whimsy and intrigue and plenty of good humor!
I loved the predictability of the retelling, and the little unpredictable bits that came from Shea's imagination. What I loved the most was how she gave rhyme and reason to some of the unexplained aspects of the original tale. There was a purpose and reason behind the handkerchief with the drops of blood, the switching of the princess and lady's maid, and the talking horse. I even loved the nods to the original aspects of the tale that were changed to fit this story.
I really loved Rynn and her spirit and conscience, and Davina and her hilarious frivolity, but Falada was the best part. Man, he was sassy! That horse had me laughing every time he opened his mouth!
If you were on the hunt for a quick read with a pleasant mood, I'd suggest getting the entire Entwined Tales series! This one was charming and whimsical, and full of hilarity! I also found it wildly entertaining and refreshing to have a snarky, male god faerie. A Goose Girl made me incredibly excited to read the rest of the series and find out what shenanigans ensue from our sarcastic faerie godfather!!
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.
August 30, 2020
'A Goose Girl' is the first novella in a series known as "Entwined Tales" that recreates fairy-tales. As such, this one as you undoubtedly have guessed, is a retelling of the goose girl, a classic fairy-tale in which the servant switches with the princess when headed to distant lands.
This goose girl is the same, only its not so much the servant's idea as it is the princess, who desires her freedom. But others are part of the plot and they both get caught up in intrigue they are not ready for. Even Falada, the extremely regal horse, can't help too much, even if he was inclined to do so.
Falada is the best character, to be fair. He's sassy, cranky, and all around the least cheery of everyone. Which makes him a pretty authentic character for a fairy tale. People can't be too happy ALL the time. I found the two girls characterization a bit weak and rushed. Being that this was a novella I know that there wasn't a lot of time to flesh everyone out, but it feels like we just got the surface of them to help drive the plot along.
And the romance, well, the troubled me a bit because of the pace as well. There wasn't really an understanding of how they developed the feelings that they did. It just seemed thrown together. Don't get me wrong, it's a quick, sweet read and perfectly good if you're looking for some brain candy. But I think there was some more development that could have happened in favor of some of the intrigue.
It definitely was good enough to make me head to the next book, and since they're so short, I'm sure I'll work my way through the entire series.
Review by M. Reynard 2020
This goose girl is the same, only its not so much the servant's idea as it is the princess, who desires her freedom. But others are part of the plot and they both get caught up in intrigue they are not ready for. Even Falada, the extremely regal horse, can't help too much, even if he was inclined to do so.
Falada is the best character, to be fair. He's sassy, cranky, and all around the least cheery of everyone. Which makes him a pretty authentic character for a fairy tale. People can't be too happy ALL the time. I found the two girls characterization a bit weak and rushed. Being that this was a novella I know that there wasn't a lot of time to flesh everyone out, but it feels like we just got the surface of them to help drive the plot along.
And the romance, well, the troubled me a bit because of the pace as well. There wasn't really an understanding of how they developed the feelings that they did. It just seemed thrown together. Don't get me wrong, it's a quick, sweet read and perfectly good if you're looking for some brain candy. But I think there was some more development that could have happened in favor of some of the intrigue.
It definitely was good enough to make me head to the next book, and since they're so short, I'm sure I'll work my way through the entire series.
Review by M. Reynard 2020
May 22, 2022
I've been reading quite a lot of Goose Girl retellings already and yet I still can't get enough of them. And that's mostly because it feels like this tale is made to be retold, reshaped and remixed. There are so many details you can twist and change. There are so many angles you can use to tell this story. And after reading Shea's Snow Queen retelling I was quite curious about her take on it!
From the very start the novella did not disappoint. I really loved that in this case it isn't the servant girl taking the princess' place just because she's jealous and wants a life of luxury and being pampered. In this case it's simply the princess wanting to be free to follow her dreams. And of course she has no idea what she's actually doing and therefore everything goes wrong.
I have to admit that the romance in this novel goes incredibly fast. As a reader it's hard to form a connection with the love interest, for reasons I can not explain in this reviews, and therefore the heartfelt declarations of love feel a little instant and sudden. However, since the romance is not a big part of the story it also didn't bother me too much.
I simply enjoyed how Shea managed to keep the core of the story and also included as many elements of the original tale as possible, while it still feels like she tells a new and original story. There are quite a few surprises waiting for the reader and even though the story is only short it still has surprisingly much politics and scheming in it!
From the very start the novella did not disappoint. I really loved that in this case it isn't the servant girl taking the princess' place just because she's jealous and wants a life of luxury and being pampered. In this case it's simply the princess wanting to be free to follow her dreams. And of course she has no idea what she's actually doing and therefore everything goes wrong.
I have to admit that the romance in this novel goes incredibly fast. As a reader it's hard to form a connection with the love interest, for reasons I can not explain in this reviews, and therefore the heartfelt declarations of love feel a little instant and sudden. However, since the romance is not a big part of the story it also didn't bother me too much.
I simply enjoyed how Shea managed to keep the core of the story and also included as many elements of the original tale as possible, while it still feels like she tells a new and original story. There are quite a few surprises waiting for the reader and even though the story is only short it still has surprisingly much politics and scheming in it!
dnf
December 27, 2022Let the record show, I have never DNFed a KM Shea book. I can't remember if I read the synopsis or not. I think the main reason I went away with this is that I have loved all of the other KM Shea books so I thought this one would follow suit. I know there is one book I wasn't fully impressed with but I still liked it. This well... I didn't like what went down in chapter 1. I really didn't. and for that I am DNFing.
I somewhat know the premises for Goose Girl but I have never actually read the fairy-tale. The few retellings that I have read of the tale, I haven't been exactly happy with, so it maybe a good chance that I should just stay away from retellings of this particular fairy-tale.
I somewhat know the premises for Goose Girl but I have never actually read the fairy-tale. The few retellings that I have read of the tale, I haven't been exactly happy with, so it maybe a good chance that I should just stay away from retellings of this particular fairy-tale.
January 27, 2025
This book… really felt like it was written by a child.
I know that sounds bad, but some of the wording, and the basic way that it was written was just extremely immature, and I could not get into it.
It was very insta love, but also, not on the page?
Davina was absolutely terrible and the fact that Rynn just accepts her as her best friend, before and after everything that happens in this book is ridiculous and unbelievable.
The talking horse was really the only good thing because he was just as angry at the characters in this book as I was…probably for different reasons.
I know that sounds bad, but some of the wording, and the basic way that it was written was just extremely immature, and I could not get into it.
It was very insta love, but also, not on the page?
Davina was absolutely terrible and the fact that Rynn just accepts her as her best friend, before and after everything that happens in this book is ridiculous and unbelievable.
The talking horse was really the only good thing because he was just as angry at the characters in this book as I was…probably for different reasons.
January 4, 2021
This short fantasy/romance novella is a twist on The Goose Girl fairy tale. The maid is the heroine. She's selfless, kind, and considerate. She's trying to save relations between two kingdoms while surviving the repercussions of her forced traitorous actions. The romance was very subtle (holding hands briefly) and rushed at the end. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I enjoyed the story, and I'd recommend it to fans of fairy tale re-telling.
February 7, 2021
If you are familiar with the fairy tale of the Goose Girl, you'll know that there is betrayal and death in the story. Actually, ALL of the Brothers Grimm tales are full of death and darkness. This retelling is SO much lighter! A very different story than the original, even if some plot points remain the same, but I liked this so much! Very enjoyable, it serves as a beckoning introduction to the Entwined Tales.
January 2, 2019
Fairytale retelling generally result in characters quickly falling in love. Insta is almost certain when you further constrain it by being a novella. Still, cute and well developed for the short length and constraints. I enjoyed it. One of the better stories in this multi author Entwined Tales..
February 28, 2023
who doesn’t love an unhelpful godfather?
A very fun little story! I’m a fan of the “look out or the fairy might try to help you and we KNOW how that will turn out” trope and this handled that nicely. I think it could have ended better as a friendship story, to be honest; the romance felt tacked on and underdeveloped. But overall fun.
A very fun little story! I’m a fan of the “look out or the fairy might try to help you and we KNOW how that will turn out” trope and this handled that nicely. I think it could have ended better as a friendship story, to be honest; the romance felt tacked on and underdeveloped. But overall fun.
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