Chelsea K avatar

RISINGSHADOW BOOKSHELF

Chelsea K

Librarian

Legendary· Level 83

I enjoy reading Fairy Tale Retellings, Jane Austen Retellings, Alien Romances, Paranormal / Supernatural Romance as well as a few other genres occasionally. 

THE READER’S VOICE

Book Reviews

Chelsea K’s own thoughts on books they have read. These are reader-written book reviews, separate from Risingshadow’s editorial reviews.

559 book reviews
Sort book reviewsSort: Date written · Newest first
The Princess and the Orc

BOOK REVIEW

The Princess and the Orc

Sabrina Silvers

10/10Written Feb 17, 2025

This was a really interesting and enjoyable Retelling of The Frog Prince with an Orc instead of a character turned into a frog. I thought this story did a good job of capturing this fairy tale and all the characters were well written. I enjoyed getting to know both Princess Amalia & Drogath and seeing how their relationship developed. I look forward to reading more from this author and this series.

I received a free advanced reader copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A Wishful Hope: An Aladdin Retelling

BOOK REVIEW

A Wishful Hope: An Aladdin Retelling

Sarah Beran

10/10Written Feb 16, 2025

This was a really enjoyable Retelling of Aladdin with great world building and I loved the characters. I loved the relationship between Dan (Aladdin) and his brother Jasper as well as seeing how the two of them interacted with Aida (the genie). The sultan was also a nice side character. The epilogue at the end was really cute and I am glad with how things worked out for everyone. I look forward to reading more books by Sarah Beran in the future as well as more books from this multi author series.

The Caring and the Cursed: Puss in Boots and Snow White & Rose Red Retelling

I really enjoyed this story and how it combined elements of Snow White & Rose Red with the story of Puss in Boots. This book had several great characters and I loved getting to know Rowan & her sister Eirwen as well as Prince Alexander / James / Puss. It was fun seeing how Eirwen and him interacted throughout the story as they grew closer. This book is a standalone but I liked how it was vaguely mentioned in passing as town gossip in Amphibians and Admiration: A Frog Prince Retelling tying the two stories together as part of the same world. I look forward to reading more fairy tale retellings by this author in the future.

Princess Of Peas

BOOK REVIEW

Princess Of Peas

Laura Greenwood

10/10Written Feb 11, 2025

This was a really fun Retelling Of The Princess And The Pea and I loved getting to read Cordelia & Efron's story. It was fun to have Efron come to Grimm Academy and paired with Cordelia after having briefly met him in the previous book Princess of Feathers and him and Cordelia made a really good couple. I enjoyed the conclusion of the Bellpoint Castle competition and the introduction of Audrey for the next story. I look forward to reading more books from this fun and lighthearted fairy tale series.

Series Character and Story Connections
Matilda & her fiancé Lewis's story are in Song Of Seas: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of The Little Mermaid (Book 13)
Astrid's story is in Princess Of Petals: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of Beauty & the Beast (Book 15)
Elisa & her brother Efron are featured in Princess of Feathers: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of The Wild Swans (Book 16)
Audrey's story is in The Winter Ball: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Book 18)

Amphibians and Admiration

BOOK REVIEW

Amphibians and Admiration

Amanda Thompson

10/10Written Feb 11, 2025

This was my first book by Amanda Thompson and I thought it was a very enjoyable Retelling of The Frog Prince. This story took a slightly different twist than some of the other variations I have read and I thought it was very well written with wonderful characters and good world building. I look forward to reading more of this authors fairy tale retellings in the future.

I received a free copy of this book from the author via newsletter sign up and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Princess Of Feathers

BOOK REVIEW

Princess Of Feathers

Laura Greenwood

9/10Written Feb 10, 2025Edited Feb 10, 2025

This was a good Retelling of the Wild Swans and I enjoyed getting to know both Elisa & Alaric in this story and thought they made a nice couple. While I did really enjoy the story overall I had just finished reading the previous story and the two happened at the same time so some of the story did repeat a bit since the characters were friends and together and this is meant to be able to be read as a standalone as well as part of a series of interconnected stories. I am looking forward to continuing this series and seeing what happens with the other characters in this fun and lighthearted fairy tale series.

Series Character and Story Connections
Astrid's story is in Princess Of Petals: The Princess Competition (Book 15)
Cordelia's story will be in Princess Of Peas: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of The Princess And The Pea (Book 17)

I received a free eBook copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Princess Of Petals

BOOK REVIEW

Princess Of Petals

Laura Greenwood

10/10Written Feb 10, 2025

I really enjoyed this Retelling of Beauty and the Beast and thought it was an interesting twist on the story. Both Astrid and Conan were fun characters to get to know and I also enjoyed the friendship between Astrid, Elisa, & Cordelia. I look forward to reading more books in this fun and lighthearted series of fairy tale retellings.

Series Character and Story Connections
Elisa's story will be in Princess of Feathers (Book 16)
Matilda/Mati's story is in Song Of Seas: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of The Little Mermaid (Book 13)
Cordelia's story will be in Princess Of Peas: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of The Princess And The Pea (Book 17)

Song Of Seas

BOOK REVIEW

Song Of Seas

Laura Greenwood

10/10Written Feb 9, 2025

This was another fun addition to the Grimm Academy series and I thought it was a good Retelling Of The Little Mermaid. I enjoyed getting to know both Matilda & Lewis in this story as well as briefly getting to know Matilda's sister Cordelia. I look forward to reading more books in this series of sweet and lighthearted fairy tale retellings.

Series Character and Story Connections
Gerda and Kai's story is in Frosts And Fears: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of The Snow Queen
Cordelia's story will be in Princess Of Peas: A Fairy Tale Retelling Of The Princess And The Pea

A Charming Dance - A Cinderella Short Story

BOOK REVIEW

A Charming Dance - A Cinderella Short Story

Ashley Evercott

10/10Written Feb 8, 2025

This was a really enjoyable Retelling of Cinderella with great world building and some interesting twists. It is a short story so was a fairly quick read and I really enjoyed it. This is also the prequel for A Charming Hope were Prince Devon gets his story told. 

I received a free copy of this book via the authors newsletter and am voluntarily leaving a review.

My Fated Bigfoot Hero

BOOK REVIEW

My Fated Bigfoot Hero

Leela Ash

10/10Written Feb 6, 2025

This was another really fun addition to the Fablewood Monster Mates Series and I loved getting to know Mia & Koda in this story as well as Koda's son and all the other younglings in this story. This story had a lot of fun moments as well as a few hiccups as Mia & Koda got to know one another but I was happy with how everything worked out for them. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Fablewood Monster Mates Series
My Fated Orc Hero: Zoe & Thokk
My Fated Minotaur Hero: Olivia & Kalen
My Fated Bigfoot Hero - Single Dad Monster Romance: Mia & Koda
Book #4: Amanda & ?.

I received a free advanced reader copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Storybook Bride

BOOK REVIEW

The Storybook Bride

Jacque Stevens

10/10Written Feb 5, 2025

This is the first real Retelling of Red Shoes that I have read and I thought it was a very enjoyable story. I loved the character Jarl and enjoyed seeing him and Nora together. This story takes place during the same timeframe as The Swan Bride: A Swan Lake Retelling and is more enjoyable when they are read together however they can each be read as standalone stories since they focus on different characters. I look forward to reading more of this series and other Fairy Tale Retellings by this author in the future.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Swan Bride

BOOK REVIEW

The Swan Bride

Jacque Stevens

10/10Written Feb 5, 2025

This was a really fun Retelling of A Swan Lake and did a great job of tying it in with the authors other Fairy tale retellings while still working as a standalone story. It was fun getting peaks of The Shoeless Prince: A Puss in Boots Retelling as well as the upcoming book The Soulless Prince: A Tam'lin Retelling. I loved getting to know both Leda and Freddie in this story as well as Freddie's brother Theo and friend Prince Briar who I hope to read more about in future stories. I am also looking forward to reading more about Nora from the Selection Ball in her story The Storybook Bride: A Red Shoes Retelling.

I received a free advanced reader copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.