A Bear’s Bride by Shari L. Tapscott
Fantasy. 110 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
Don’t judge a prince by his fur.
After her father threatens to marry her to a dull farmer, free-spirited Sophie runs away from the only home she’s ever known and sets off into the world, seeking adventure and romance. But instead of excitement, she finds a forlorn castle and the solitary prince who lives there.
For twenty years, Henri has been shrouded in mystery and speculation. He’s a legend, a nightmare, a blight upon his fair kingdom. Though Sophie knows it would be wiser to return home, she’s inexplicably drawn to the man of shadows.
But it doesn’t take Sophie long to realize that falling for the cursed prince might prove to be more of an adventure than she ever bargained for…
A Bear’s Bride is a romantic fairy tale novella. It can be read on its own but is more fun when read as a part of the Entwined Tales, a series of interconnected fairy tales by six different authors. Each story follows the adventures of one of seven children from the same family as they seek out their own happily ever afters in spite of their reluctant fairy-godfather.
Recommended Reading Order
A Goose Girl by K M Shea
An Unnatural Beanstalk by Brittany Fichter
A Bear’s Bride by Shari L Tapscott
A Beautiful Curse by Kenley Davidson
A Little Mermaid by Aya Ling
An Inconvenient Princess by Melanie Cellier
My Review:
This is the third book in the Entwined Tales series. It is a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. And, for once, I don’t actually know this fairy tale! (Shocker, I know!) So saying, I had no idea what to expect and cannot comment on how Tapscott handled the original fairy tale in her plot. Though, I did enjoy this plot. I was intrigued and am very interested in further discovering the fairy tale and other retellings of it. At first, it kind of gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes, but then it took on a role all its own. I really liked the MCs. Sophie was a lot of fun and her interactions with Mortimer were actually very touching. Oh, but Henri. I would have loved some Henri pov. I fell hard for this guy. Loved him! I liked the trolls. I liked Peter and his relationship with Sophie. I liked how everything was sorted in the end and I just plain ol’ liked this story! Found one glaring grammatical boo boo, but it was well-written otherwise. It was in first person present tense, which I personally find the most difficult way to write a story. Tapscott handled this very well, in my opinion, and I commend her for that. A quick read. On I go to book four!
No foul language. Clean romance. No graphic violence.
More:
Book 1 in the Entwined Tales is A Goose Girl: A Retelling of The Goose Girl by K. M. Shea (4 Stars)
Book 2 in the Entwined Tales is An Unnatural Beanstalk: A Retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk by Brittany Fichter (4 Stars)
Book 4 is A Beautiful Curse: A Retelling of The Frog Bride by Kenley Davidson (5 Stars)
Book 5 is A Little Mermaid: A Retelling of the Little Mermaid by Aya Ling (4 Stars)
Book 6 is An Inconvenient Princess: A Retelling of Rapunzel by Melanie Cellier (5 Stars)
I have rated and reviewed each of the above on Goodreads. Check out the links for more information.
The books are best read in order, though I guess technically they can each stand on their own.
On GraceBought:
Be sure to check out the reviews for the previous books in the series here on GraceBought! And stay tuned for the reviews to come in the next few weeks!