FREE TODAY (9/20/2023)

It's hard to tackle a fairy tale retelling when someone else has already done it well. In this case, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale has become a classic. However, Alice Ivinya gave it a new twist and knocked it out of the park. First off, she reversed the roles. Imagine if the servant was forced by the evil princess to switch costumes so that the princess could go off and have fun rather than submit to an undesirable marriage. The worldbuilding was also incredible. Different regions were represented by different spirit animals. This is the first time an author had made Falada, the princess's talking horse, a logical part of the story rather than this odd magical nonsensical being. And Brianna, the lady-in-waiting, suddenly turned princess is a delight. She has her immature moments, but overall, she's such a good person. The same can be said of the prince. This made the twist at the end such a nerve-wracking experience. The false princess is always discovered, but how and by whom and what happens to her afterward, let's just say Brianna doesn't deserve any of those things. I'm happy to be left on a cliffhanger. There are a lot of details that remain unresolved, but I was pleased with the overall story arc and cannot wait for the next book to come out.

I received a free ARC from the author and have reviewed it willingly. ( )