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Once Upon a Ren Faire
A day at the ren-faire becomes more of an adventure than Keltia ever imagined . . .
Keltia has a normal seventeen-year-old life. Except that she was found on the steps of a police station when she was a baby. And she was born with green hair. And no one knows why.
A fun day takes a fateful twist after a group of ren-faire barbarians who actually seem dangerous start chasing her across the grounds. When she follows a handsome jouster, Emerson, into a hollow tree to hide, she finds herself in a fantasy land of giants, killer unicorns, powerful faeries . . . and dryads.
Can Emerson help her find the key to return home? Or will Keltia be swallowed up by this impossible land?
Keltia has a normal seventeen-year-old life. Except that she was found on the steps of a police station when she was a baby. And she was born with green hair. And no one knows why.
A fun day takes a fateful twist after a group of ren-faire barbarians who actually seem dangerous start chasing her across the grounds. When she follows a handsome jouster, Emerson, into a hollow tree to hide, she finds herself in a fantasy land of giants, killer unicorns, powerful faeries . . . and dryads.
Can Emerson help her find the key to return home? Or will Keltia be swallowed up by this impossible land?
249 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2022
57 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Did not finish
May 30, 2023DNF at 12%
Read a positive review and decided to give it a try. So far, there’s been lots of cliches, and some editing issues as well. It may get better as the book goes on, but I’m going to skip for now.
Read a positive review and decided to give it a try. So far, there’s been lots of cliches, and some editing issues as well. It may get better as the book goes on, but I’m going to skip for now.
December 10, 2022
As if being a teenager is not hard enough, let's add in these extras - Keltia was found on the steps of a police station, and born with green hair.
Keltia, Marianne, Blaire and her sister Sasha all are set to go to the local Ren faire in the great state of Texas. The first stop is the jousting arena. Her friend Blair is so captivated with the jouster Emerson. When it came time for the jousters to pick a lady, Emerson headed toward Keltia and her friends. He smiled at Blair, but passed her by and went straight to Keltia. He asked for the ribbon from her hair, for luck while jousting. When the exchanged happened there was tingles felt between them.
Keltia's whole reason for coming to the fair today was to get her dagger that Chadwick the blacksmith had made for her 18th birthday. The hilt of the dagger matched the brooch she always wore. The broach was fastened to the blanket she was wrapped in when found on the steps of the police station. When she pulled the dagger from it's sheath a tingle went up her arm. Then to add to the unbelievable she comes upon a willow tree in a large meadow. This is where it's should not be. The trunk of the tree had the same carving as her brooch. She touched the tree and went through it's invisible door. To her surprise the barbarians had followed her inside the tree.
Emerson shows up and puts his hand on over her mouth. He needs her to be quiet or they are going to kill them. When they reach a safe place he begins to tell her she's in the world of Artentia and they all entered through the tree named Sakenforth. In this world she encounters giants, killer unicorns, powerful fairies, elves, dryads just to name a few.
This read will have Keltia meeting her dream-person Hearth. He just happens to be her very best friend. Will Keltia find out about her past? Will she return to Earth? One must read the book to get the answer to these questions.
I received an ARC of this book and read it on my Kindle app. I voluntarily reviewed this book and all opinions are my own.
Keltia, Marianne, Blaire and her sister Sasha all are set to go to the local Ren faire in the great state of Texas. The first stop is the jousting arena. Her friend Blair is so captivated with the jouster Emerson. When it came time for the jousters to pick a lady, Emerson headed toward Keltia and her friends. He smiled at Blair, but passed her by and went straight to Keltia. He asked for the ribbon from her hair, for luck while jousting. When the exchanged happened there was tingles felt between them.
Keltia's whole reason for coming to the fair today was to get her dagger that Chadwick the blacksmith had made for her 18th birthday. The hilt of the dagger matched the brooch she always wore. The broach was fastened to the blanket she was wrapped in when found on the steps of the police station. When she pulled the dagger from it's sheath a tingle went up her arm. Then to add to the unbelievable she comes upon a willow tree in a large meadow. This is where it's should not be. The trunk of the tree had the same carving as her brooch. She touched the tree and went through it's invisible door. To her surprise the barbarians had followed her inside the tree.
Emerson shows up and puts his hand on over her mouth. He needs her to be quiet or they are going to kill them. When they reach a safe place he begins to tell her she's in the world of Artentia and they all entered through the tree named Sakenforth. In this world she encounters giants, killer unicorns, powerful fairies, elves, dryads just to name a few.
This read will have Keltia meeting her dream-person Hearth. He just happens to be her very best friend. Will Keltia find out about her past? Will she return to Earth? One must read the book to get the answer to these questions.
I received an ARC of this book and read it on my Kindle app. I voluntarily reviewed this book and all opinions are my own.
December 31, 2022
Once Upon a Ren Faire by Angela Castillo is a teen and young adult fantasy novel. The main character, green-haired Keltia, was abandoned at birth and raised by human parents in Texas. A few days before her 18th birthday, she attends a ren-faire with a few friends. When the handsome jouster, Emerson, is chased by a group of barbarians, Keltia tries to rescue him and is thrown into a wild adventure that takes her to a magical land. Will Keltia finally find out where she came from and why she's different from other humans?
I really enjoyed this novel. The world building and descriptive details are excellent, so it wasn't difficult to imagine the scenes. The primary characters were vivid and realistic, and there's so much to explore in the fantastical land of Artentia. I look forward to future installments of this series.
I really enjoyed this novel. The world building and descriptive details are excellent, so it wasn't difficult to imagine the scenes. The primary characters were vivid and realistic, and there's so much to explore in the fantastical land of Artentia. I look forward to future installments of this series.
December 9, 2022
I truly enjoyed this book. Most of the characters were lovely, although admittedly the main character, Keltia, was not my favorite. She really frustrated me at times. Still, I think she has some growth potential and I did appreciate that she wanted to save all her new friends, even if she was having trouble wrapping her mind around everything going on and didn't know who to really trust. I loved the other characters but I think Briary and Swiftfellow were my favorites. Renti was also kind, brave, and strong. The story line and world building were well done. It is a world full of adventure, magic, fun creatures both good and bad. I can't wait to learn more about Hawth and see where the story goes next.
December 28, 2022
When Keltia accidentally passes through a portal into a strange land it is the start of a magical adventure of discovery that will mean that her life will never be the same again.
A cast of great characters, exotic locations and a few twists and turns along the way made this a really fun read. It's billed as childrens/teen fantasy but I'm in my fifties and loved every word.
Giants, Faeries, Dryads and some less than friendly Unicorns add a fantastical element that kept this middle-aged reader awake well past his bedtime in order to finish the book.
This brings back memories of the kind of books I read as a child, particularly the Xanth series by Piers Anthony and a little bit of The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.
Did I mention that I loved it?
A cast of great characters, exotic locations and a few twists and turns along the way made this a really fun read. It's billed as childrens/teen fantasy but I'm in my fifties and loved every word.
Giants, Faeries, Dryads and some less than friendly Unicorns add a fantastical element that kept this middle-aged reader awake well past his bedtime in order to finish the book.
This brings back memories of the kind of books I read as a child, particularly the Xanth series by Piers Anthony and a little bit of The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.
Did I mention that I loved it?
March 13, 2023
I have to wait until next fall for the sequel? not fair
I read it almost all in one night, so be prepared to lose sleep.
The setup is all there in the blurb, so I won’t explain that. Instead, I’ll say I really enjoyed Keltia’s slow discovery of the fantasy world and the explanation of how she got there and the world build.
Clear threads are laid for a sequel with some unresolved storylines, and a possible love triangle in future books.
One star knocked off because I can’t do half stars, occasionally (like less than 5 times) a typo would throw me out of the story, or the particular phrasing of a sentence. I also sometimes struggled with Emerson’s character choices/ build.
Overall a highly enjoyable book that I highly recommend.
I read it almost all in one night, so be prepared to lose sleep.
The setup is all there in the blurb, so I won’t explain that. Instead, I’ll say I really enjoyed Keltia’s slow discovery of the fantasy world and the explanation of how she got there and the world build.
Clear threads are laid for a sequel with some unresolved storylines, and a possible love triangle in future books.
One star knocked off because I can’t do half stars, occasionally (like less than 5 times) a typo would throw me out of the story, or the particular phrasing of a sentence. I also sometimes struggled with Emerson’s character choices/ build.
Overall a highly enjoyable book that I highly recommend.
December 10, 2022
I really enjoyed this story. Keltia's journey is filled with lots of action and adventure. She meets many interesting character/creatures along the way. This authors writing style is detailed enough that it was easy to visualize the story taking place and the world created for the story is fascinating. Keltia is a frustrating lead with her trust issues and refusal to accept the truth but that just adds to the story and I look forward to her growth in future books.
December 9, 2022
Absolutely lovely read! Enjoyable characters and dialogue filled with adventure and intrigue. Very fast paced with wonderful world building.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 20, 2025
I tried very hard to like this book but the dialogue was so stilted it just didn’t flow for me. This read more like a rough draft than a finished book. Storyline was decent, but dragged. Finally left unfinished at 60% after several attempts to read.
December 26, 2022
An intriguing and different style of story. The characters were definitely different and interesting. Hoping to read about them in another book to see how they develop.
Did not finish
February 22, 2026DNF at 53%. I could not get into this book. The dialogue was stilted and off putting, and the story felt superficial and disjointed.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews