Emmazel: Emma is trapped as Rapunzel

The Austen Fairy Tale #3

by Kendra E. Ardnek

Emmazel shouldn't meddle with love potions. At least, that's what her father says. But one more shouldn't hurt - after all, her newest companion, Heather, and the mysterious Mr. E. are perfect for each other.

A high fantasy mashup of Emma and Rapunzel.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Retellings, Fairy Tale Retellings

245 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 28, 2022

About the author

Kendra E. Ardnek is the self-proclaimed Arista of Fairy Tales. She makes her home in the hills of central Texas with her fellow author husband, who she found at a writer’s conference. When not writing, you can usually find her crocheting her own cloaks, valiantly attempting to read every retelling ever written, and pretending that owning toy dragons makes her a dragon trainer.

Reviews

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

****Actual Rating 4.5****

Though I’ve never read a Jane Austen book or seen an adaptation I do know the basic plot of Emma and it surprisingly fits with Rapunzel (which is my favorite fairy tale) really, really well!

I’ll admit Emmazel really annoyed me at the beginning but as the story went she became a more caring person I grew to like even if I didn’t agree with or like all her choices and by the end I truly loved her and how much she had grown. And though I ended up liking Emmazel a lot my favorite character is definitely Night—I mean, who doesn’t want a talking, snarky cat? (Well, on second thought I wouldn’t want to own one, but you get what I mean) His and Emmazel’s banter is just the best and I am totally here for it!

The plot is very basic and straightforward for the most part even though several things still happened that I wasn’t expecting. And there is more romance in this book than the first one, Rose Petals and Snowflakes, (I haven’t yet read book two as of this review) which I was very happy about as I like a good romance on my books, haha.

I really enjoyed this sweet mashup retelling and look forward to continuing the series!


‼️Content‼️

Violence: a girl jumps from a tower; a girl sprains her ankle; a character is blinded

Sexual: kissing (not detailed); women take fertility potions

Other: magic; a magical forest, tower, and abilities; a girl makes and sells potions; death and grief


***Note: I received a free copy of the book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are most assuredly my own, and I wasn’t required to write a positive review. If I was, I wouldn’t have read it. 😜***

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED Emmazel. That surprised me, because Emma is one of my least-favorite Jane Austen books, and even though Rapunzel is one of my more-favorite fairy tales, I thought the Emma connection would possibly hold me away from this a bit. But, instead, Ardnek adressed the things that bug me about Austen's story (Emma's incorrigible meddling, in particular) and tweaked them in ways that made the characters work much better for me. Throw in a flirty prince, a sarcastic cat, and a father who can turn himself into the wind, and you've got a very magical story here indeed.

My favorite aspect of this book is that Mr. Knightley here is a talking cat named Night. Somehow, that is just absolutely perfect, and... I don't want to spoil this book too much, but pretty much all my favorite parts involved Night. And, yes, there's still some romance, even though Night is a cat and Emmazel is not. Trust me, it works, and it's not weird. You'll just have to read it.

I also loved that Emmazel is in her forties. No teenage princess here, which was really interesting and refreshing!

[Kendra Ardnek]

Emmazel is currently 9 away from 50 preorders on amazon! Have you grabbed your copy yet?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...

Coming this Wednesday, September 28th, and you can read the first chapter here! https://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.co...

The world doesn't have enough grumpy, cat-shaped Knightleys in it, and this needs to be rectified.

[Cat T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my word. This series just gets better and better.

I knew enough about Austen's Emma when starting this book to be interested and excited, and Rapunzel is also just a really fun character. I had high hopes going into this book and it fulfilled them all and then some. Not only was the storyline an excellent retelling and merging of the two stories in a creative way, the end of the book felt very sweet, cozy, and satisfying-- just like the best fairytales do.

Emmazel is such a well developed heroine, and you can't decide at first f you love her or are angry with her. She brings the energy and spunkiness of Rapunzel and the goals and aspirations of Emma. As her world shifts and grows, she must grow along with it. And that's really one of the key messages of Emmazel, learning to think beyond yourself and what's familiar, and stepping into the grand adventure that life outside the tower presents.

The romance is so touching, and how the author wraps up all the loose ends of the Emma plot and also her beautiful worldbuilding and overall plot with the Gardener and the Forest is simply stunning. Emmazel is one of the most deeply developed characters I've seen in a while, and that's why the plot is so special, because it takes her on this journey of discovery, forgiveness, and growth. Highly recommended for all lovers of fantasy, fairy tales, or retellings.

*I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the author, but I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.*

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first time I've been able to finish any version of Emma, so this book would get five stars just for that feat alone. But it's not the only reason I rate this five stars. It's a very clever twist on the story of Rapunzel, and I liked how Kendra distributed the roles of the fairy tale among the characters — and how who has which role shifts over the course of the story. It also works very well as an Emma retelling; turning Mr. Knightly into a sarcastic talking cat was a particular stroke of genius, as was how Kendra handled the Mr. Elton situation. The Mr. Elton situation, by the way, is where I normally end up rage-quitting, but in this case, not only did Kendra do a much better job of showing how her Emmazel learns from and regrets the experience (the factor that most often frustrates me), but she also set up the situation in such a way that I wanted to see the fallout. That said, you can definitely enjoy this without knowing the story of Emma as well. And, of course, it was fun to see some of the past Austen Fairytale characters back again. All in all, another excellent installment in the series.

[BG Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stellar addition to a great series!

I’ve been loving this author’s mashups of classic fairy tales and Jane Austen’s books, and this is no exception! First of all, there is incredible world-building, with each book adding another layer and more territory. Secondly, she manages to incorporate the major plot points and personalities of the main characters of both the Jane Austen books and the classic fairy tales, all while making something brand new.

Two things I found particularly interesting in Emmazel: 1) The reason for and nature of the tower; and 2) How all the major plot points of Rapunzel were incorporated, even though they didn’t all pertain to Emmazel herself. I also really appreciated the underlying themes of overcoming fears, finding your “place”, and extending forgiveness.

While this story could be read as a stand-alone, the reader’s enjoyment and appreciation would be greatly heightened by reading the previous two books in the series.

I received an advance reader copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this voluntary review are my own.

[Amber Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful twist on a familiar tale

This creative take on Austen's Emma kept me entertained with both expected and totally surprising plot elements. I especially enjoyed the cat, Night. The magic system and world-building fed perfectly into the story. Though there were a couple spots where I was confused, perhaps because I have not read the preceeding books, and there were a few typos, the tense relationship with Emmazel and the Gardener and the ensuing conflict kept me reading late into the night. I actually enjoyed the resolution to this story more than the original, especially with Heather. There were a couple of chapters I reread because I loved them so much. If you like clean, lighthearted fairytales, this is for you! Good for all ages.

[Pucktricks6802 · Rating 5 out of 5]

better and better

I was unsure how well Emma and Rapunzel would work as a mix, but it did in ways I did not expect. The series continues to get better with each book. Pick it up and read it.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Knightley as a cat works so well! I love this Emma retelling so much! 💕

[April May · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!!

The best book I've read by Ms. Ardnek so far 💖

I totally started crying with Emmazel when Night left 😭

[Gypsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This blend of Rapunzel and Austen's Emma was truly enjoyable. Emmazel's lack of confidence keeps her from perfectly matching the classic character, but I still found both the tale and the mash-up of plots delightful. I loved how the romance worked out; it was so sweet that I teared up. Ardnek's original world, history, characters, and magic system are continued from the previous books, and it's important to have read them to understand motivations and incidents. I am extremely invested in this world and excited to start the next in the series.

[MissFaerieKaiti · Rating 4 out of 5]

It kinda hurts, how perfectly Emma's character fits with Rapunzel's circumstances. When one's entire world experience is confined to a tower, even if she has visitors, she's GOING to have skewed views of the larger world outside - and this is the only Rapunzel retelling that I've felt has believably delivered that mindset.

[Rosalyn Nightshade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read any of Jane Austen's books, so I don't know the original story of Emma. What I do know is that this story was so incredibly original and different from what I expected. It was a great combination that worked out really well. The characters were great and well-rounded, although I would have liked to see the romance between Emmazel and Night a bit more (I mean, she spent her whole life thinking he was a cat). Anyway, it was a really great book and definitely worth reading!

[Mary Ann Bulloch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rapunzel plus Emma plus magic? Yes, please! This was a fun mixed retelling that blended the two stories really well. While I love Emma, it's not my very favorite of Jane Austen's because Emma is both the protagonist and the antagonist of her own story and parts of her story always make me cringe, but I thought that was handled well in this book. Also I can't imagine being locked in a tower for 40 years and what I would do when I came out! The author expressed the overwhelm pretty well. I definitely want to try the others in this series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever, but...

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mash up between Rapunzel and Emma by Jane Austin wasn't too bad with a reasonable setting and sympathetic characters.