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The Once Upon A Princess Saga: A Historical Fantasy Fairy Tale Retelling of Sleeping Beauty: Full Box Set
THE ONCE UPON A PRINCESS COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Beauty's Curse
Beauty's Quest
Beauty's Kiss
Beauty's Gift
A curse haunts the Kingdom of Rhone and the young Princess Aurora. Magdalina, the wicked ruler of the fairies at war with Rhone, decreed the princess upon turning eighteen would die from pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. Aurora, or Rose to her friends, has never known a moment apart from this prophecy.
Now as her eighteenth birthday approaches, Rose defiantly sets out to find a way to break the curse, yet with the help of her friends—Theo, a priest on a quest for his own revenge; Mary, a young and talented fairy; Ethan and Sophia, siblings with a troubled past; and Prince Philip, an attractive newcomer. In this last venture, Rose will risk everything to fight the battle of her life, the battle for her freedom, her kingdom, and her heart.
- GenresFairy Tales
836 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 31, 2020
44 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Johnson
113 books631 followersC. S. Johnson is the award-winning, genre-hopping author of several novels, including sci-fi and fantasy adventures such as the Starlight Chronicles series, the Once Upon a Princess saga, the Divine Space Pirates trilogy, and more. With a gift for sarcasm and an apologetic heart, she currently lives in Atlanta with her family. Find out more at http://www.csjohnson.me.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 10, 2020
Once Upon a Princess is a Historical Fantasy, fairy tale retelling with a very slow slow-burn romance appropriate for Young Adults. The box set of Books 1 - 4 is a completed series. This review is for Books 1 and 2.
Beauty's Curse (Book 1) is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. This is a coming of age, 4-book series with plenty of adventure and romance. The characters are well developed and likable with plenty of interesting dialogue. The challenges they face are exciting.
In Book 1, we meet Rose, the princess cursed by a fairy. She spends her teenage years pursuing a way to break the curse. In her pursuit, she faces many dangerous situations. She doesn't fear death, but eternal sleep. And, she is a fully trained knight with a devoted team.
Rose's most loyal team member is Theo. He is able to read her moods and always knows what to say at the right time. Rose wants revenge on the fairy that cursed her and Theo wants revenge for the fairy responsible for his parents' deaths. Stronger than his need for revenge is his secret love for Rose. However, she doesn't allow herself to think of her future like falling in love until the curse is broken.
In Beauty's Quest (Book 2), Rose has to face her biggest fear. She thinks that it's failure, but she discovers something that she fears even more. Her team is right there beside her. Prince Phillip is a new addition to the team. Theo sees Phillip's devotion toward Rose and struggles with feelings of jealousy. He reminds himself that Phillip would be the better candidate to marry Rose, should they break the curse in time. Phillip would like to be excepted by the others and for them to consider him as a close friend too. When they are shipwrecked on an island, everyone is put to the test. I'll have to read the rest of the saga to find out the end!
Beauty's Curse (Book 1) is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. This is a coming of age, 4-book series with plenty of adventure and romance. The characters are well developed and likable with plenty of interesting dialogue. The challenges they face are exciting.
In Book 1, we meet Rose, the princess cursed by a fairy. She spends her teenage years pursuing a way to break the curse. In her pursuit, she faces many dangerous situations. She doesn't fear death, but eternal sleep. And, she is a fully trained knight with a devoted team.
Rose's most loyal team member is Theo. He is able to read her moods and always knows what to say at the right time. Rose wants revenge on the fairy that cursed her and Theo wants revenge for the fairy responsible for his parents' deaths. Stronger than his need for revenge is his secret love for Rose. However, she doesn't allow herself to think of her future like falling in love until the curse is broken.
In Beauty's Quest (Book 2), Rose has to face her biggest fear. She thinks that it's failure, but she discovers something that she fears even more. Her team is right there beside her. Prince Phillip is a new addition to the team. Theo sees Phillip's devotion toward Rose and struggles with feelings of jealousy. He reminds himself that Phillip would be the better candidate to marry Rose, should they break the curse in time. Phillip would like to be excepted by the others and for them to consider him as a close friend too. When they are shipwrecked on an island, everyone is put to the test. I'll have to read the rest of the saga to find out the end!
May 10, 2020
I have read several books in this box set and loved them. C.S. Johnson knows how to write books that keep readers entertained and these are no different. I love fairy tale retelling but some are horrible. I love these and you will, too! Since I've not read them all, I will be back to finish my review of the complete boxset and after I've read the ones I've not read yet. Do yourself a favor, buy this box set, Read it cover to cover. Don't forget to post your review after you read it. Then, let me know if your life changed after reading the set. I'm not promising your life will change. Just saying!!!
May 9, 2020
A sweet retelling of Sleeping Beauty, only this time she knows of her curse!
Includes lovely artwork by Julia Mae Busko!
Includes lovely artwork by Julia Mae Busko!
May 9, 2020
I have not read to many alternate versions of Sleeping Beauty. This one I do like. The Author has a different take on this story.
Rose is not the typical princess that wants to be saved. She has been trying with the help of her friends a way to break the curse. She left home to learn how to defend for herself and to search how the curse can be broken.
It's amusing short piece that I really enjoyed. I'm even reading the second one at the moment. It's just as much as the first.
The rest of the books are just as fun amazing, scary in the edge of your seat adventures. If you want to read a sleeping beauty story with a twist this is it!!
Rose is not the typical princess that wants to be saved. She has been trying with the help of her friends a way to break the curse. She left home to learn how to defend for herself and to search how the curse can be broken.
It's amusing short piece that I really enjoyed. I'm even reading the second one at the moment. It's just as much as the first.
The rest of the books are just as fun amazing, scary in the edge of your seat adventures. If you want to read a sleeping beauty story with a twist this is it!!
May 12, 2020
I absolutely love this saga! From fairy tales reimagined to finding daring adventures of heroes and heroines. I couldn't put them down until the very end! Absolutely a must read set!
August 29, 2020
Pretty good
Was not sure about it when read the first book. However, found the story to get better and better as read on. I loved "Quest" the best. Had a lot of really good wisdom. There is plenty of action, secrets, mystery, and " issues" to keep you reading right until the end. Still have a question for the author! Apart from that, really enjoyed the story and the author's notes. Worth the time to read it all👍
Was not sure about it when read the first book. However, found the story to get better and better as read on. I loved "Quest" the best. Had a lot of really good wisdom. There is plenty of action, secrets, mystery, and " issues" to keep you reading right until the end. Still have a question for the author! Apart from that, really enjoyed the story and the author's notes. Worth the time to read it all👍
August 4, 2025
You must begin this book and the series by forgetting everything you know about Disney, Grimm Brothers, Charles Perrault, Perceforest, and Giambattista Basile's version of Sleeping Beauty. The only remnants of these versions of the story are a princess, a sleeping curse, a spinning wheel, and true love's kiss. All other plot lines are gone and forgotten.
One of the elements retained from the Disney version are the names of several of the characters, because the Perceforest and Basile's version names would be unfamiliar and too confusing. Princess Rose now has a multitude of names, but Briar Rose is not one of them. Sorry, Flora and Fauna your good fairy characters (pared down from the original seven fairies) were not important enough to reuse in this story. This version of the story reminded me that many of the Disney characters have Greek names and do not reflect the French and German origins of the fairy tale. And apparently, the name Maleficent cannot be reused for the evil witch. Perhaps there is a copyright on that name.
The story arc adds a large additional cast to fill in the wandering backstory that makes up the first three books of this series. This backstory as a feminist hero is all invention by C.S. Johnson and is not a part of any of the historic origins of the sleeping beauty tale. This Princess Rose travels with her childhood friend and novitiate priest Theodore, as Theo. Spoiler adjacent: not all Disney version character names are given to good people.
Now on to the review of the audiobook version of this series. I understand that C.S. Johnson self-published this series and therefore had little to no budget for the audiobook version. This is quite a shame! The hiring of one of her Instagram followers, Alexa Crema, as a narrator was an epic fail. This became very evident in the first volume of the series. The glaring evidence was no voice characterization for ANY of the cast. Alexa just read the book. The second fail was that the narrator could not correctly pronounce the Aegean Sea surrounding the country of Greece - indicating that she was not well read and had no coaching. The third was the change in volume and vocal pace when Alexa started a new recording session.
The voice acting talents employed in other recent audiobooks is a goal to strive toward. Just reading the book for the first time out loud is reserved for LibriVox and not for those books that are purchased. To her credit, by the time Alexa got to reading the fourth book of the series she had somewhat vocally defined each of the main characters.
Note to C.S. Johnson: as a writer of Christian young adult novels you are competing with the likes of Harry Potter and your readers should strive to be more like Jim Dale.
One of the elements retained from the Disney version are the names of several of the characters, because the Perceforest and Basile's version names would be unfamiliar and too confusing. Princess Rose now has a multitude of names, but Briar Rose is not one of them. Sorry, Flora and Fauna your good fairy characters (pared down from the original seven fairies) were not important enough to reuse in this story. This version of the story reminded me that many of the Disney characters have Greek names and do not reflect the French and German origins of the fairy tale. And apparently, the name Maleficent cannot be reused for the evil witch. Perhaps there is a copyright on that name.
The story arc adds a large additional cast to fill in the wandering backstory that makes up the first three books of this series. This backstory as a feminist hero is all invention by C.S. Johnson and is not a part of any of the historic origins of the sleeping beauty tale. This Princess Rose travels with her childhood friend and novitiate priest Theodore, as Theo. Spoiler adjacent: not all Disney version character names are given to good people.
Now on to the review of the audiobook version of this series. I understand that C.S. Johnson self-published this series and therefore had little to no budget for the audiobook version. This is quite a shame! The hiring of one of her Instagram followers, Alexa Crema, as a narrator was an epic fail. This became very evident in the first volume of the series. The glaring evidence was no voice characterization for ANY of the cast. Alexa just read the book. The second fail was that the narrator could not correctly pronounce the Aegean Sea surrounding the country of Greece - indicating that she was not well read and had no coaching. The third was the change in volume and vocal pace when Alexa started a new recording session.
The voice acting talents employed in other recent audiobooks is a goal to strive toward. Just reading the book for the first time out loud is reserved for LibriVox and not for those books that are purchased. To her credit, by the time Alexa got to reading the fourth book of the series she had somewhat vocally defined each of the main characters.
Note to C.S. Johnson: as a writer of Christian young adult novels you are competing with the likes of Harry Potter and your readers should strive to be more like Jim Dale.
September 2, 2021
I enjoy the story and the characters, but I did not love it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews