Book Review: Beholden by Jody Hedlund

Book Title: Beholden
Author: Jody Hedlund
Publisher: Northern Lights Press
Publisher Date: September 22, 2020 (193 Pages, ARC E-book)
Genres: Young Adult, Teens, Fairytales, Fairytale Retelling
Series: The Fairest Maidens #1

In a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . .

A beautiful noblewoman with a terrible secret, and a prince subjected to slavery.

Upon the death of her wealthy father, Lady Gabriella is condemned to work in Warwick’s gem mine. As she struggles to survive the dangerous conditions, her kindness and beauty shine as brightly as the jewels the slaves excavate. While laboring, Gabriella plots how to avenge her father’s death and stop Queen Margery’s cruelty.

Prince Vilmar of Scania enslaves himself in Warwick’s gem mine as part of a royal test to prove himself the most worthy of three brothers to become the king’s successor. Amidst the hardships, he doesn’t anticipate his growing compassion for the other slaves, especially tenderhearted Gabriella.

As the annual summer ball looms nearer, Gabriella sets into motion her plan to end Queen Margery’s evil. When Vilmar learns of Gabriella’s intentions, he resolves to come to her aid and fight against Warwick’s queen. But doing so may require him to give up his chance of becoming Scania’s next king, perhaps even cost him his life.

The real Cinderella story.

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reading Copy from the publisher/author for an honest review and for being on her review crew.
Want to Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble |

Are you looking for a good clean romance for your teens or young adults? Well, Beholden is good for them. It deals with princes and knights. It also has a sweet story about beauty. What a way to have action and adventures. The heroes have to work together.

I enjoyed learning about the gem mines and the slaves. We get a bit of an evil queen and slavery. It seems it is a modern-day fairy tale of Cinderella. Jody does well with the plot and storyline. What a way to pull into the story. It keeps you wanting to turn the pages once the action starts to pick up.

The adventures begin to heighten up once Gabriella is released from the mines. Who will win? The princes are to do testing to see if they are worth the kingship. The princes are given a phrase that is different for each prince.

I wonder what each means and for that prince. Slave for all what can that mean. You will be trying to figure it out along with Vilmar. What is Gabriella's plan? Can Vilmar find the true meaning to Slave to all and find help from the slaves and Gabriella?

My rating for this book is 4.5 stars (Moons) on my rating system. Which make my rating system will have it marked 4 stars (Moons). This book good for teens and young adults. It got romance and fantasy. If your teen or young adult enjoy fairy tales, this book has it and more.

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Book Review: Gertrude an Toby Meet the Wolf

Book Title: Gertrude an Toby Meet the Wolf
Author: Shari Tharp
Genres: Fairy Tale, Adventures, Children
Series: Gertrude and Toby Fairy-Tale Adventure #3
Publisher: Atlas Publishing & Distributing Co Ltd
Publisher Date: December 15, 2016 (40 Pages, Paperback)

Gertrude the goat and Toby the tortoise are going fishing at Trout Lake for their Friday adventure. While at the lake, they see a little boy being dragged off by a hungry wolf! They follow the wolf and rescue the little boy, but the wolf doesn't give up. He goes after them, determined to get his lunch back!

Disclaimer: I received this book though LibraryThing Early Readers Program for an honest review.
Want to Buy: Amazon
Add To: Goodreads

This story is sweet. I reminds me of the story “The Boy who Cried Wolf” when Gertrude and Toby see a little boy. The boy say he see a wolf. If you know that fairy tale story. The moral of the story you think this story is going be somewhat like that.

It also features another story or fairy Tale which is called “The Three Little Pigs”. The author does wonderful with mixing it a bit with the two starting with “The boy who Cried Wolf” scenes and then somewhat changed it to add the “The Three Little Pigs” scenes. The ending is done cute as well.

My favorite is the artwork that is done. The pictures are drawn well. I really like that. They look like some took the time to draw the scene and the the wording was put together after. Who will win their fishing contest?

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Grimms' Fairy Tales

Book Title: Grimms' Fairy Tales
Author: Jacob & Wilhelm GRIMM
Genres: Children's Fiction, Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales
Disclaimer: I downloaded a free copy from +LibriVox
Description:

A classic collection of oral German folklore, brought together for posterity by the scholarly brothers Grimm in the 1800s, this epitome of fairy tales includes many of the world’s best known stories. In these dark foreboding woods, you will find: Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Lily and the Lion (better known as Beauty and the Beast), and Snow White and Rose Red, among other timeless works. These tales were later heavily revised and sanitised, but here are presented closer to their grim and beloved originals. (Summary by Marlo Dianne)

The audio book that I downloaded from Libox is a free download. It got a 62 Chapters or you can call them stories by the Grimm Brothers. It fairy tales and what the originals stories ending really are.

Did you always think that the Disney version was the real one and did not know that they did not really end up Happy ever after. Well I did until I read a book that was called Grimm Woods by D. Melhoff.

It made go looking for the original stories of my favorite fairy tales. Grimm Woods did not tell all the fairy tales ending it was story of itself but it did act out some of the fairy tales. It also is an adult or new adult book. Please be caution to that fact.

This one is not as graphic in the audio book. This is not to bad. It help understand some of the fairy tales. The ending are different then though of Disney's. I know why that is, it is because they remade them to fit better for young children.

You will get some of your classic fairy tales in this audio book. It enjoyed it. Though I say it will take some time to listen to. It a 10 hours and 32 mins long audio book. I would suggest listening this is pieces or couple of hours a day.  

Download the audiobook here

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The Camelot Kids by Ben Zackheim

Book Title: The Camelot Kids
Author: Ben Zackheim
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fairy Tales
Publisher:  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: December 11, 2014 (482 pages, Paperback)
Disclaimer: I received this book from a book tour and for an honesty review
Buy the Book: /
Description: Here it is! The complete collection of The Camelot Kids Parts 1-4, with new illustrations and extra story.

The Camelot Kids is a series that tells the story of Simon Sharp, a 14-year-old orphan. Simon isn’t a normal teenager. He’s a kid on a mission. He's determined to find a place to belong.
If you ask him how his parents died, he'll tell you King Arthur killed them. They died looking for proof that Camelot is real.
An estranged uncle flies Simon to Scotland for room and board. The fourteen year old soon discovers someone wants him dead. But who cares about some outcast teenager from America?
When a grumpy, 3276 year old Merlin shows up to protect him, Simon finds that the answer is an epic adventure away.
Packed with surprises, The Camelot Kids is a fresh take on the beloved myth.

The Camelot kids is packed with adventures and action. It great for all ages of kids. Simon finds out his parents died. Simon want to find a place to belong. He starts to have dreams. A place named Camelot. Is there really a place called New Camelot?

Someone is trying to find him and wants him dead. Who could want him dead? He meets up with several different kids and is thrown from one action to another. He seem to be trying survive. Who could be King Arthur, Lancelot, many others? There seems to be more questions then answers.

What all will Simon be dealt with and understand. He makes friends and loss some as well. Their seems to be a mystery around the corner of each paged turned. I had a little bit of a hard time getting into it at the beginning of the book. Once the action started and the adventures. I was able to read it and understand it. It then seem like King Arthur and Round Table.

Pictures are done well. I really enjoyed looking at pictures. Images or pictures are colorful. I was looking and staring at the pictures for a short period of time. Children would love it. This is good for children ages 12 and up. 

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