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A review by jessicareadsit
Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi
3.0
I am a sucker for fairytales narrated from a sassy opinionated witches' POV so I enjoyed this one. Once More Upon A Time is a fairytale within a fairytale featuring:
-A hilarious lovers-enemies-lovers trope
-One bed/two bodies scenario
-A comical cloak that thinks he's a horse
-A Kingdom sustained by love
-Tons of flirting via insults
-A Princess afraid of shoes
-Feral mattress (don't even ask)
-Playful spins on classic fairytale favorites
Once More Upon a time starts, as all fairytales do, with a lovely princess, Imelda, who is fed up with being confined in her father's palace and yearns for freedom. She falls in love with Ambrose, the youngest of three sons in his kingdom and honestly just a spare to the heir desperate to prove he can rule.
What’s a girl to do when the love of her life sacrifices his love to save her?
In true fairytale style, their love must face trials and tribulations and this was no different as Ambrose traded his love for Imelda to save her from death by poison. As if this weren't bad enough, they were gifted a Kingdom that is sustained by the love of its king and queen (cue the sad violin music). As Ambrose and Imelda are quite literally loveless, it's a classic square peg in a round hole situation, and after one year they are asked to leave the Kingdom.
Here is where things get interesting as they are given a proposal by the same witch who cursed them, to fulfill their desire in exchange for completing a quest at her behest. To Ambrose and Imelda, giving up the kingdom isn't just losing a chance to rule, but saying goodbye to the freedom to be themselves.
I enjoyed that Ambrose and Imelda didn't "fall" in love but rather incrementally learned each other and rekindled the flame between them. The story also touches on different iterations of love, from an overprotective father to a selfish queen more in love with herself.
The ending may have been a discovery of the freedom of love, but it wasn't a definite happily ever after, but more a continuation of life and love with an earnest attempt at the happy.
Thank you Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
-A hilarious lovers-enemies-lovers trope
-One bed/two bodies scenario
-A comical cloak that thinks he's a horse
-A Kingdom sustained by love
-Tons of flirting via insults
-A Princess afraid of shoes
-Feral mattress (don't even ask)
-Playful spins on classic fairytale favorites
Once More Upon a time starts, as all fairytales do, with a lovely princess, Imelda, who is fed up with being confined in her father's palace and yearns for freedom. She falls in love with Ambrose, the youngest of three sons in his kingdom and honestly just a spare to the heir desperate to prove he can rule.
What’s a girl to do when the love of her life sacrifices his love to save her?
In true fairytale style, their love must face trials and tribulations and this was no different as Ambrose traded his love for Imelda to save her from death by poison. As if this weren't bad enough, they were gifted a Kingdom that is sustained by the love of its king and queen (cue the sad violin music). As Ambrose and Imelda are quite literally loveless, it's a classic square peg in a round hole situation, and after one year they are asked to leave the Kingdom.
Here is where things get interesting as they are given a proposal by the same witch who cursed them, to fulfill their desire in exchange for completing a quest at her behest. To Ambrose and Imelda, giving up the kingdom isn't just losing a chance to rule, but saying goodbye to the freedom to be themselves.
I enjoyed that Ambrose and Imelda didn't "fall" in love but rather incrementally learned each other and rekindled the flame between them. The story also touches on different iterations of love, from an overprotective father to a selfish queen more in love with herself.
The ending may have been a discovery of the freedom of love, but it wasn't a definite happily ever after, but more a continuation of life and love with an earnest attempt at the happy.
Thank you Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.