What do you think?
Rate this book
Enspelled: A Retelling of the Goose Girl
What would you do if your reality suddenly shifted, casting you as the villain in a story you know ends in disaster?This bizarre situation is exactly what befalls Sana, a typical Japanese girl. One moment, she's immersed in a manga she's been reading, and the next, she finds herself transported into its fantastical kingdom. However, the twist is that she is not just any character - she's Anne, the notorious maid who coerces the princess into swapping places with her, a transgression that ultimately leads to her execution.
Haunted by the ominous shadow of her impending doom, Sana decides she will not accept the fate that the story has written for her. Instead, she's determined to redefine her destiny. Yet, her attempts are hindered by a magical constraint preventing her from revealing the truth about the body swap. Trust from the princess, the rightful heir to the throne, is hard to come by, unseen foes conspire against her, and to make matters even more complicated, she finds herself irresistibly attracted to the prince's enigmatic bodyguard who doesn't reciprocate her romantic feelings.
Will Sana navigate these perilous obstacles and rewrite her destiny, or will she be unable to escape the tragic demise that has been predestined for her?
Haunted by the ominous shadow of her impending doom, Sana decides she will not accept the fate that the story has written for her. Instead, she's determined to redefine her destiny. Yet, her attempts are hindered by a magical constraint preventing her from revealing the truth about the body swap. Trust from the princess, the rightful heir to the throne, is hard to come by, unseen foes conspire against her, and to make matters even more complicated, she finds herself irresistibly attracted to the prince's enigmatic bodyguard who doesn't reciprocate her romantic feelings.
Will Sana navigate these perilous obstacles and rewrite her destiny, or will she be unable to escape the tragic demise that has been predestined for her?
214 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2021
20 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Arisa May
20 books14 followersArisa writes stories with a touch of magic, and is especially interested in portal fantasies (isekai) and the villainess trope. She has written over fifteen novels; several have been translated into French and Italian. She hails from Taiwan, where she can’t survive without air-conditioning, and when she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys baking desserts and dancing to Kpop.
*formerly published under the name of Aya Ling.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
*formerly published under the name of Aya Ling.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 18, 2021
I have been devouring manga and webcomics lately at a prodigious rate, in particular those of Isekai themes, with the MC becoming the villainess. So when I heard about this book I was immediately sold.
Loved it.
Loved it.
September 12, 2021
This book popped up as a surprise in Aya Ling's latest newsletter. I could not be more pleased to learn that she wrote another book along the same lines as her Unfinished Fairy Tales series, which was a guilty pleasure of mine. Both books feature girls from the real world who are transported into less-than-desirable roles in well-known fairy tales, go on a new adventure in the same setting, and live happily ever after. Enspelled is more overtly inspired by izekai anime and manga than the Unfinished Fairy Tales books because the main character is transported into the story of "The Goose Girl" after getting killed by a truck, which is a classic trope in modern anime. In fact, the story bears an extremely strong resemblance to an anime I watched recently called My Next Life as a Villainess. Both stories feature a girl who wakes up in the body of the villain from a story she is already familiar with after getting hit by a truck and must struggle to block all the "doom flags" that would lead to her character's downfall in the original version of the story.
Enspelled begins with an orphan girl from Japan named Sana who reads a manga version of "The Goose Girl" fairy tale shortly before she is killed by a truck and wakes up in the body of Princess Rosemary, who is trapped in the body of Anne. Still with me? Those who are familiar with the fairy tale would have an easier time wrapping their minds around the double body-switching than those who are not. Anne is the villain of "The Goose Girl" who impersonates the princess in the original fairy tale. In this version, she does so with a magic spell from a witch that causes them to switch bodies, but her consciousness is replaced with Sana's shortly after the switch. Though Sana is aware that she isn't really Princess Rosemary, she must pretend to be until she finds a way for them to switch back so she can avoid being executed for Anne's act of treachery. It seems a bit convoluted to try to summarize, but it makes perfect sense in the context of the book, especially because it's told from Sana's perspective.
"The Goose Girl" is quickly becoming one of my favorite fairy tales after reading so many wonderful adaptations of it. However, this is the first time I've ever seen it told quite like this. Sana must tread carefully when she finds herself in the body of the princess for fear that she will be discovered and punished for Anne's crimes. She rouses suspicion from both Walter, a knight she has a crush on, and Falada, Princess Rosemary's magical talking horse. Even when she is ready to admit who she is, the spell prevents her from telling anyone the truth by putting her in debilitating pain. Sana is able to make an ally of Princess Rosemary by expressing remorse for Anne's foul deeds and defending her from a pervert who was harassing her. She also believes she has an ally in the sharp-witted Princess Aria, the sister of Prince Alistair, Rosemary's betrothed, but Sana struggles to shed the role of the villain when she learns that the witch who cast the body-switching spell expects her to kill Alistair.
This story was filled with twists and turns and made for a quick fun read. The ending went on a little longer than I expected, which was both a good thing and a bad thing. I didn't think it was necessary to come up with a logical explanation for everything that happened to Sana because that made the events of the story feel too forced. I had a similar issue with Aya's other series, Unfinished Fairy Tales. Sometimes it's better to just accept that not everything has a logical explanation. I liked how certain elements of Japanese culture were tacked onto the end of the book, but I would have liked to see them referenced earlier since the epilog didn't seem entirely necessary. However, these are all minor complaints when the rest of the story was so fun and exciting.
If you are looking for a quick escape into a fairy tale world, I can't recommend this book enough. It was a clever twist on the izekai anime genre and a new take on "The Goose Girl." I love stories that combine magic with the modern world, and this one really hit the mark for me. If you've already read Aya Ling's Unfinished Fairy Tales series, Enspelled is a quick read that shares many of the same elements and themes. If you haven't, you should definitely check it out before or after reading this one. I hope to read more izekai-inspired books from Aya Ling in the future.
Enspelled begins with an orphan girl from Japan named Sana who reads a manga version of "The Goose Girl" fairy tale shortly before she is killed by a truck and wakes up in the body of Princess Rosemary, who is trapped in the body of Anne. Still with me? Those who are familiar with the fairy tale would have an easier time wrapping their minds around the double body-switching than those who are not. Anne is the villain of "The Goose Girl" who impersonates the princess in the original fairy tale. In this version, she does so with a magic spell from a witch that causes them to switch bodies, but her consciousness is replaced with Sana's shortly after the switch. Though Sana is aware that she isn't really Princess Rosemary, she must pretend to be until she finds a way for them to switch back so she can avoid being executed for Anne's act of treachery. It seems a bit convoluted to try to summarize, but it makes perfect sense in the context of the book, especially because it's told from Sana's perspective.
"The Goose Girl" is quickly becoming one of my favorite fairy tales after reading so many wonderful adaptations of it. However, this is the first time I've ever seen it told quite like this. Sana must tread carefully when she finds herself in the body of the princess for fear that she will be discovered and punished for Anne's crimes. She rouses suspicion from both Walter, a knight she has a crush on, and Falada, Princess Rosemary's magical talking horse. Even when she is ready to admit who she is, the spell prevents her from telling anyone the truth by putting her in debilitating pain. Sana is able to make an ally of Princess Rosemary by expressing remorse for Anne's foul deeds and defending her from a pervert who was harassing her. She also believes she has an ally in the sharp-witted Princess Aria, the sister of Prince Alistair, Rosemary's betrothed, but Sana struggles to shed the role of the villain when she learns that the witch who cast the body-switching spell expects her to kill Alistair.
This story was filled with twists and turns and made for a quick fun read. The ending went on a little longer than I expected, which was both a good thing and a bad thing. I didn't think it was necessary to come up with a logical explanation for everything that happened to Sana because that made the events of the story feel too forced. I had a similar issue with Aya's other series, Unfinished Fairy Tales. Sometimes it's better to just accept that not everything has a logical explanation. I liked how certain elements of Japanese culture were tacked onto the end of the book, but I would have liked to see them referenced earlier since the epilog didn't seem entirely necessary. However, these are all minor complaints when the rest of the story was so fun and exciting.
If you are looking for a quick escape into a fairy tale world, I can't recommend this book enough. It was a clever twist on the izekai anime genre and a new take on "The Goose Girl." I love stories that combine magic with the modern world, and this one really hit the mark for me. If you've already read Aya Ling's Unfinished Fairy Tales series, Enspelled is a quick read that shares many of the same elements and themes. If you haven't, you should definitely check it out before or after reading this one. I hope to read more izekai-inspired books from Aya Ling in the future.
November 28, 2021
I adored Unfinished Fairy Tales when I first read them years ago, so I was excited to come across another book by Aya Ling with a similar concept. This was a fun read, though it was quite as well-developed as the Unfinished Fairy Tales series.
In the Unfinished Fairy Tales there's an explanation for what happened at the beginning of the first book, so the heroine isn't completely clueless. But Sana doesn't get any explanation until the very end of the book. Nonetheless, she didn't spend too much time questioning why she was suddenly in a manga. She almost immediately jumps into her roles as Anne/Rosemary and tries to follow the Goose Girl's plot without much thought as to why she should do so. She adjusted to her new roles much too quickly to feel realistic to me.
Additionally, because of the lack of explanation at the beginning, I was assuming that this was set in the same universe as the Unfinished Fairy Tales series and kept expecting some type of cameo or connection. By the end, it's pretty clear that the stories are only similar in concept, which seemed like a missed opportunity. (Though it's entirely possible I missed a reference somewhere.)
Still, this was a fun standalone book, and I think other fans of the Unfinished Fairy Tales series would enjoy this.
3.5 stars
In the Unfinished Fairy Tales there's an explanation for what happened at the beginning of the first book, so the heroine isn't completely clueless. But Sana doesn't get any explanation until the very end of the book. Nonetheless, she didn't spend too much time questioning why she was suddenly in a manga. She almost immediately jumps into her roles as Anne/Rosemary and tries to follow the Goose Girl's plot without much thought as to why she should do so. She adjusted to her new roles much too quickly to feel realistic to me.
Additionally, because of the lack of explanation at the beginning, I was assuming that this was set in the same universe as the Unfinished Fairy Tales series and kept expecting some type of cameo or connection. By the end, it's pretty clear that the stories are only similar in concept, which seemed like a missed opportunity. (Though it's entirely possible I missed a reference somewhere.)
Still, this was a fun standalone book, and I think other fans of the Unfinished Fairy Tales series would enjoy this.
3.5 stars
December 29, 2025
/3.5 stars
You know I love a good transmigration fairytale retelling though this one wasn’t as good as the Ugly Stepsister. I expected more build-up with the “expected” love interest Alistair but we didn’t really get much from him.
Sana’s character seemed only partially developed. I would’ve liked to see more emphasis in her endeavors and quality traits. She also never had any issues acclimating to the new customs and language patterns which was interesting.
The villain story and explanation of the body swap also seemed underdeveloped and was kind of hard to understand. I was disappointed that Sana never found a way to go back home and that she resigned herself to look like a stranger for the rest of her life. The amount of times men roughly grabbed her would’ve driven me out of my mind.
You know I love a good transmigration fairytale retelling though this one wasn’t as good as the Ugly Stepsister. I expected more build-up with the “expected” love interest Alistair but we didn’t really get much from him.
Sana’s character seemed only partially developed. I would’ve liked to see more emphasis in her endeavors and quality traits. She also never had any issues acclimating to the new customs and language patterns which was interesting.
The villain story and explanation of the body swap also seemed underdeveloped and was kind of hard to understand. I was disappointed that Sana never found a way to go back home and that she resigned herself to look like a stranger for the rest of her life. The amount of times men roughly grabbed her would’ve driven me out of my mind.
October 3, 2021
Absolutely adored this book!
Sana is an orphan girl that works a full time and part time job to make ends meet. Her friend Naomi gets her to read a manga about the Goosegirl one night then she ends up dieing in an accident. When she wakes up, she’s reincarnated into the story she read. Living as Princess Rosemary, she goes about finding a way to break the curse, using her experience from her previous life to help others, and uses her knowledge from the story to make romance happen.
It’s absolutely adorable! I couldn’t stop reading, I finished it all in a day. I adore the Goosegirl story and couldn’t help but read this retelling! Absolutely worth it!! I love isekai manga and anime and was loving every moment!
Sana is an orphan girl that works a full time and part time job to make ends meet. Her friend Naomi gets her to read a manga about the Goosegirl one night then she ends up dieing in an accident. When she wakes up, she’s reincarnated into the story she read. Living as Princess Rosemary, she goes about finding a way to break the curse, using her experience from her previous life to help others, and uses her knowledge from the story to make romance happen.
It’s absolutely adorable! I couldn’t stop reading, I finished it all in a day. I adore the Goosegirl story and couldn’t help but read this retelling! Absolutely worth it!! I love isekai manga and anime and was loving every moment!
December 15, 2021
A short, adorable read.
The plot is the standard "I somehow woke up in the body of the villainess from that story I read before I died and the villainess is going to be put to death, because she's evil. So I need to prevent her dying, because that would mean me dying."
I found this book especially enjoyable because I usually have to read transmigration stories on random websites on my phone with hella annoying ads breaking up the text. Hail ereader.
Also, this story has an ending, unlike 99% of isekai stories. Incredible.
The plot is the standard "I somehow woke up in the body of the villainess from that story I read before I died and the villainess is going to be put to death, because she's evil. So I need to prevent her dying, because that would mean me dying."
I found this book especially enjoyable because I usually have to read transmigration stories on random websites on my phone with hella annoying ads breaking up the text. Hail ereader.
Also, this story has an ending, unlike 99% of isekai stories. Incredible.
June 6, 2022
An interesting read
Who would have thought a story that crosses a modern-day story with a fantasy retelling would be so engaging? To be honest I only added this book to my library because it is by Aya Ling. I should have known that she would pen a fun and fantastic tale.
Who would have thought a story that crosses a modern-day story with a fantasy retelling would be so engaging? To be honest I only added this book to my library because it is by Aya Ling. I should have known that she would pen a fun and fantastic tale.
October 26, 2021
It's awesome. Has the renowned Aya Ling charm.
A classic, swoon-worthy Asian fairy tale romance.
A classic, swoon-worthy Asian fairy tale romance.
December 18, 2021
Cute
A sweet isekai type fairy tale retelling. The story didn't play out like I thought it would, but I enjoyed it more than I expected as a result.
A sweet isekai type fairy tale retelling. The story didn't play out like I thought it would, but I enjoyed it more than I expected as a result.
January 21, 2022
Body switching isn’t my favorite trope. I guess at least the MC referenced that she’d read the trope before. Kisses only.
January 31, 2022
CW: Fatphobia/dieting, ableism, grief, sexual harassment and attempted sexual assault (mostly off-page)
February 1, 2022
I absolutely loved this book!! I really enjoy the premise of book jumping and becoming the main character. I like the fact that it explains why the character got transported in the first place. The romance between the main character and her guard was cute but I felt that it didn't feel finished.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2025
A very interesting take on "The Goose Girl" story. I do like the angle that this story goes for by having a modern-day girl isekei into the world of the story. I wish there were more stories like that!
March 1, 2022
2.5 stars.
Was not my kind of book, didn’t really like the plot, and the characters weren’t that likeable. But that’s just my opinion anyways.
Was not my kind of book, didn’t really like the plot, and the characters weren’t that likeable. But that’s just my opinion anyways.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews