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Beyond the Four Kingdoms #1-3
Beyond the Four Kingdoms Box Set One
A Dance of Silver and Shadow : In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses , there's a lot more at stake than worn out dancing slippers. A Tale of Beauty and Beast : In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast , Beauty will have to use all of her strength and intelligence if she is to outwit her enemies, break a curse, and find true love. A Crown of Snow and Ice : In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale The Snow Queen , one princess is ready to burn down everything in her path to save those she loves and their kingdom with them.
1 pages, Audio CD
Published March 2, 2021
About the author
Melanie Cellier
116 books2,932 followersMelanie Cellier grew up on a staple diet of books, books and more books. And although she got older, she never stopped loving children’s and young adult novels.
She always wanted to write one herself, but it took three careers and three different continents before she actually managed it.
She now feels incredibly fortunate to spend her time writing from her home in Adelaide, Australia where she keeps an eye out for koalas in her backyard. Her staple diet hasn’t changed much, although she’s added choc mint Rooibos tea and Chicken Crimpies to the list.
She writes young adult fantasy including her Spoken Mage series, and her Four Kingdoms and Beyond the Four Kingdoms series which are made up of linked stand-alone stories that retell classic fairy tales.
She now feels incredibly fortunate to spend her time writing from her home in Adelaide, Australia where she keeps an eye out for koalas in her backyard. Her staple diet hasn’t changed much, although she’s added choc mint Rooibos tea and Chicken Crimpies to the list.
She writes young adult fantasy including her Spoken Mage series, and her Four Kingdoms and Beyond the Four Kingdoms series which are made up of linked stand-alone stories that retell classic fairy tales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 29, 2019
Beyond the Kingdom Boxset 1
Beyond the Four Kingdoms Boxset:
A Dance of Silver and Shadow
A daring story full of dangerous trails, forbidden love and ancient traditions. I really enjoyed the story and the suspense I couldn’t put it down!
A Tale if Beauty and Beast
Fantastic! I really enjoyed this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I loved the characters and how the story played out. I really enjoyed the interactions and watching the love develop between them.
A Crown of Snow and Ice
Enjoyable. A great retelling of Snow White filled with chilling twists and turns that kept me reading. The characters were fun to read and I loved their fierce fearlessness.
Beyond the Four Kingdoms Boxset:
A Dance of Silver and Shadow
A daring story full of dangerous trails, forbidden love and ancient traditions. I really enjoyed the story and the suspense I couldn’t put it down!
A Tale if Beauty and Beast
Fantastic! I really enjoyed this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I loved the characters and how the story played out. I really enjoyed the interactions and watching the love develop between them.
A Crown of Snow and Ice
Enjoyable. A great retelling of Snow White filled with chilling twists and turns that kept me reading. The characters were fun to read and I loved their fierce fearlessness.
March 26, 2024
It seems I am woefully ignorant of fairy tales. I wasn’t familiar with any of the original stories included in this series, so didn’t have expectations on how they should play out. I’m not sure how far off the original Cellier led me, but I love how she connected and wove together the different tales.
1 - The Twelve Dancing Princesses
5 stars. I loved this book! I quickly became caught up in the thrill and danger of the tournament, and I love the overall focus on honor, courage, and sacrifice. There was political intrigue, action, and (of course) a super sweet romance. The ending was great and flowed seamlessly into the next book.
2 - Beauty and The Beast
4 stars. While I enjoyed it, this one is slower and the ending a bit cornier. It’s more focused on relationship building, which cuts down on the action overall… but it’s still good and I like how it tied into book 1.
3 - The Snow Queen
5 stars. This is another excellent book! It has a great balance between love story, adventure, and mystery. I liked how book 1 opened for it, introducing the strange characters that receive the focus here. I actually thought I might have had some knowledge of the Snow Queen story after having read KM Shea’s telling of it last month, but the two were nothing alike and I have no idea which (if either) is aligned with the original.
Content:
There’s no foul language or sex. The romance is clean and there was no real violence to speak of. There is mention of a High King (lands that have turned from Him are cursed) and the godmothers appear to act as gift-bestowing guardian angels… but I wouldn’t call it Christian.
Note, I didn’t realize there is an earlier Four Kingdoms series until I was already well into this one. I don’t feel like I missed too much context having started here, but if considering the series yourself, you may try starting at the beginning ☺️
1 - The Twelve Dancing Princesses
5 stars. I loved this book! I quickly became caught up in the thrill and danger of the tournament, and I love the overall focus on honor, courage, and sacrifice. There was political intrigue, action, and (of course) a super sweet romance. The ending was great and flowed seamlessly into the next book.
2 - Beauty and The Beast
4 stars. While I enjoyed it, this one is slower and the ending a bit cornier. It’s more focused on relationship building, which cuts down on the action overall… but it’s still good and I like how it tied into book 1.
3 - The Snow Queen
5 stars. This is another excellent book! It has a great balance between love story, adventure, and mystery. I liked how book 1 opened for it, introducing the strange characters that receive the focus here. I actually thought I might have had some knowledge of the Snow Queen story after having read KM Shea’s telling of it last month, but the two were nothing alike and I have no idea which (if either) is aligned with the original.
Content:
There’s no foul language or sex. The romance is clean and there was no real violence to speak of. There is mention of a High King (lands that have turned from Him are cursed) and the godmothers appear to act as gift-bestowing guardian angels… but I wouldn’t call it Christian.
Note, I didn’t realize there is an earlier Four Kingdoms series until I was already well into this one. I don’t feel like I missed too much context having started here, but if considering the series yourself, you may try starting at the beginning ☺️
February 23, 2024
It's hard to write a review on a box set, tbh.
A Dance of Silver and Shadow was kind of mind-blowing, if only because it raised so many questions and made me anticipate the rest of the series.
A Tale of Beauty and Beast was so frustrating. I just wanted to stick them in a room together and tell them they could come out after they'd had a long talk, lol. But this is honestly a tough story to tell, if only because it's already set in stone. (I do have a favorite version, but you'll have to check my shelf to find it, lol.)
A Crown of Snow and Ice was pretty exhilarating. I was dying for her to finally have her very, very own story. The romantic aspect didn't work out quite as expected, but they seem happy enough.
A Dance of Silver and Shadow was kind of mind-blowing, if only because it raised so many questions and made me anticipate the rest of the series.
A Tale of Beauty and Beast was so frustrating. I just wanted to stick them in a room together and tell them they could come out after they'd had a long talk, lol. But this is honestly a tough story to tell, if only because it's already set in stone. (I do have a favorite version, but you'll have to check my shelf to find it, lol.)
A Crown of Snow and Ice was pretty exhilarating. I was dying for her to finally have her very, very own story. The romantic aspect didn't work out quite as expected, but they seem happy enough.
August 15, 2026
3.5/5
Im writing the review for the boxset! But I hated the dancing princesses book, beauty and the beast retelling was boring and frustrating, and loved crown of ice and snow! So rating this one is hard! If I were to average out the ratings, the last book would be harmed so I settled for an in-between. I adore crown of ice and snow. The plot, the characters, everything was perfect. If I could give more than 5 stars I would because thats how good it was. Tale of beauty irritated me because both Sophia and Dominic couldnt communicate and ugh!!!! Still how good crown was saved this omnibus for me.
Im writing the review for the boxset! But I hated the dancing princesses book, beauty and the beast retelling was boring and frustrating, and loved crown of ice and snow! So rating this one is hard! If I were to average out the ratings, the last book would be harmed so I settled for an in-between. I adore crown of ice and snow. The plot, the characters, everything was perfect. If I could give more than 5 stars I would because thats how good it was. Tale of beauty irritated me because both Sophia and Dominic couldnt communicate and ugh!!!! Still how good crown was saved this omnibus for me.
June 11, 2026
I liked how every story gave little teasers of the next story's fairy tale. It got me excited to keep reading and follow along as each story unfolded.
I think this whole series is very safe, so to speak. It's enjoyable, and I really like fairy tale retellings, so I like them, but I could see some people finding them a bit bland.
I listened to the audiobook, and I think that that perception might be due in part to the British accent and tone of the narrator. If you were reading it in a physical copy you could add as much emotion into the words as you could imagine.
I think this whole series is very safe, so to speak. It's enjoyable, and I really like fairy tale retellings, so I like them, but I could see some people finding them a bit bland.
I listened to the audiobook, and I think that that perception might be due in part to the British accent and tone of the narrator. If you were reading it in a physical copy you could add as much emotion into the words as you could imagine.
July 22, 2024
Love these stories
I love the world created by this author, the four king6y0⁰0doms and now beyond into new lands. Though these are the first books in a spin off series, they were the first I read by Melanie Cellier, and they definitely can be read as stand-alones. However don't be surprised if you find you MUST read the earlier series, not to mention the remaining ones in this series. After that I highly recommend all her other books like the Voice of Power.
I love the world created by this author, the four king6y0⁰0doms and now beyond into new lands. Though these are the first books in a spin off series, they were the first I read by Melanie Cellier, and they definitely can be read as stand-alones. However don't be surprised if you find you MUST read the earlier series, not to mention the remaining ones in this series. After that I highly recommend all her other books like the Voice of Power.
November 21, 2023
Superb series, very enjoyable and entertaining!!!!!
Congratulations to Melanie Cellier for another amazing series. It’s hard to find such an interesting and exciting author who not only writes intelligently but also provides top rated plots, characters and excitement in the stories.
Congratulations to Melanie Cellier for another amazing series. It’s hard to find such an interesting and exciting author who not only writes intelligently but also provides top rated plots, characters and excitement in the stories.
March 10, 2024
Always an enjoyable escape from reality!
A wonderful fairytale from our youth remade for current times. The author keeps it always interesting and very difficult to stop reading! A book to return to whenever a free moment presents itself. Leaves you always eager to start the next story.
A wonderful fairytale from our youth remade for current times. The author keeps it always interesting and very difficult to stop reading! A book to return to whenever a free moment presents itself. Leaves you always eager to start the next story.
August 22, 2024
Nice fairy tale retellings
I enjoyed the second book the most, the first was also nice but Celine's story was a bit tedious at times. What I wasn't such a big fan of was how much the main male characters were made more like side characters rather than sharing the spotlight with the main females ones.
I enjoyed the second book the most, the first was also nice but Celine's story was a bit tedious at times. What I wasn't such a big fan of was how much the main male characters were made more like side characters rather than sharing the spotlight with the main females ones.
February 17, 2025
Absolutely Beautiful Writing
My daughter loves these books - she adores this authors writing. If she listening to the audio I’ll hear her start giggling or she’ll run to where I am and read a small piece and then tell me why she loves that bit so much.
Highly recommend this author and all of her books.
My daughter loves these books - she adores this authors writing. If she listening to the audio I’ll hear her start giggling or she’ll run to where I am and read a small piece and then tell me why she loves that bit so much.
Highly recommend this author and all of her books.
April 29, 2019
Incredibly clever
Very clever reimaginings of some classic tales. I particularly love Beauty and the Beast and this tale makes so much more sense than the classic and/or Disney one does.
Very clever reimaginings of some classic tales. I particularly love Beauty and the Beast and this tale makes so much more sense than the classic and/or Disney one does.
August 15, 2020
All the books by Melanie are lovely retellings. Enjoyable and easy to follow but not so predictable that it is boring. Romance but believable/not sickening romance. Good lessons too about making your own way in life. A very nice light read.
April 3, 2021
Fun
Imagine a world where God mother's bestow magical gifts at christenings. A revisiting of fairy tales where princesses are pitched at great evil, which they must overcome before they can find love . Wonderful stories, loved these stories
Imagine a world where God mother's bestow magical gifts at christenings. A revisiting of fairy tales where princesses are pitched at great evil, which they must overcome before they can find love . Wonderful stories, loved these stories
January 12, 2024
I have submitted reviews for each of the titles contained within this series set box. If you wish to read those reviews refer to the individual titles.
I have listened to this set box via audiobooks under Audible Membership.
I have listened to this set box via audiobooks under Audible Membership.
August 2, 2020
Delightful
These are lovely as stand alone books but more wonderful when you read them together. Happy they are mine to reread over and over again.
These are lovely as stand alone books but more wonderful when you read them together. Happy they are mine to reread over and over again.
February 9, 2021
LOVE this series! Clean! My favorite!
April 18, 2021
Nice, fluffy but not too saccharine.
A perfect blend of sweet and bitter as she retells these classic tales.
A perfect blend of sweet and bitter as she retells these classic tales.
June 26, 2021
I recommend it if you love retelling of Disney stories.
February 13, 2022
Very well written
The story was very efficient and well written. All of the details were there and the only loose ends that she left she left for the next couple books.
The story was very efficient and well written. All of the details were there and the only loose ends that she left she left for the next couple books.
December 30, 2023
Loved these stories. Totally fine for my teens to read.
February 29, 2024
I love this series! The heroins are all amazing and have growth and the heroes are swoon worthy!
October 6, 2024
THAT is how you rewrite fairytales!
April 28, 2025
The first book was nice.
Book 2 - what happened to Sophie's personality? I could barely stomach her.
Book 3 - way too boring for a book about spirited Celine.
Book 2 - what happened to Sophie's personality? I could barely stomach her.
Book 3 - way too boring for a book about spirited Celine.
May 13, 2025
3.5 stars. I loved the second story, "A Tale of Beauty and Beast" but the first and third stories were just OK.
June 6, 2025
The little mermaid retelling was my favorite by far! It was hard to get through the swan princess retelling though..
June 23, 2025
These really are my favorites out of all of Melanie Cellier’s books, and I was glad to get the chance to listen to the audio.
July 17, 2026
This is a wonderful retelling of old fairytales. can not wait to read the next set of books in the series.
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August 20, 2026I love all of these books!! So sweet, clean, and wholesome!
October 26, 2022
If you like a well written book that is a sweet romance with lot of adventure and clever characters read this set of storys.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews