Tales of Tessagonia

Tales of Tessagonia #1-6

by Mary W. Jensen

Bentos and Delwyn were alone in the sky, only the silent stars to keep Them company. They created an earth and creatures to fill it, for Their entertainment. Their seven daughters, the muses of Lesenti, watch over the continent of Tessagonia. This land has four kingdoms—Vernissia, Arania, Kether, and Senatin—surrounding an inland sea. Tessagonia is ringed by the Outer Isles, where the old gods have been banished.

You may hear the echo of familiar stories from our own lands. Curses, romance, magical gifts, and gods both light and dark.

These standalone fairytale retellings all take place within the world of Tessagonia.

Tales of Books 1-6 is a compilation of the first six titles in the Tales of Tessagonia series.

Book 1: The Blazing Princess
Book 2: Mirror
Book 3: The Princess Test
Book 4: Venom and Shadow
Book 5: The Gloaming Realm
Book 6: The Moon Prince

Same stories, but new content! Read my Author's Notes on each tale with my inspiration and behind the scene info.

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2025

About the author

Mary W. Jensen lives in Utah with her husband and son. Mary is the middle of nine children, and escaped the loudness of reality by immersing herself in books and poetry. From chaos comes creation.

Her poetry has been published in the webzines Moon Drenched Fables and Abyss & Apex. She is also co-author of the poetry book Lifelines published by InkSpotter Publishing. Follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MaryWJensenF...

Reviews

[Brooklyn L. Wolves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary W. Jensen's Tales of Tessagonia is not just a book, it's an immersive journey into a world so richly imagined, it feels like stepping into a legend. From the breathtaking creation myth, where Bentos and Delwyn fashion an earth and its inhabitants from the celestial void, to the shimmering presence of their seven daughters, the muses who guard the continent of Tessagonia, Jensen establishes a captivating foundation. This is a world built on the echoes of familiar tales, yet uniquely its own.

Tessagonia itself is a vibrant canvas, with four distinct kingdoms Vernissia, Arania, Kether, and Senatin each brimming with its own cultures, customs, and secrets. I was immediately drawn to the intricate political landscape and the promise of interconnected histories across these varied regions. The looming presence of the Outer Isles, where banished gods dwell, adds a tantalizing layer of darkness and potential conflict, hinting at a deeper, more complex mythology than initially meets the eye.

Jensen masterfully weaves together classic fantasy tropes curses, romance, magical gifts, and the eternal struggle between light and dark – with a fresh perspective. I could feel the weight of tradition alongside the spark of originality in every page. The promise of familiar stories echoing from our own world creates a welcoming familiarity, yet the author’s unique vision ensures a completely engrossing experience. I am particularly intrigued by the muses, the seven daughters, and their active role in shaping the fate of Tessagonia.

More than just a fun read, Tales of Tessagonia feels like the start of something epic. It's clear that Jensen has crafted a world with so much potential, I'm already eager to see where the story leads. This book is a perfect blend of familiar fantasy elements with fresh, compelling characters and a world that begs to be explored further. Highly recommended for fans of epic fantasy and anyone looking for their next literary obsession! This is a five-star read through and through. I can't wait for more!

[Kayleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is placed in a fantasy world where there are 4 kingdoms surrounding an inland sea. This land is guarded by 2 benevolent gods and there 7 daughters. They book follows the stories of 6 people. Ranging across the lands, varying in class, background and race. Our hero’s take us on exquisite journeys in the land of Tessagonia. Each hero faces there own trials and over comes it with the help of the 7 muses. There are 6 stories in this book, all of them interlink beautifully. These 6 stories take us on adventures across the land and through the history of it. These stories are sometimes prequels to another and other times they are tales based on ones we know very well. The author has created a rich and beautiful land, for the readers to experience the trials of love, duty, honour and life. The stories are very original and have just as much story telling in them as a normal sized novel would. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every story. I give this a 5 out of 5 stars.

[Chandaly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ended up reading the Tales of Tessagonia after reviewing by chance one of its tales on Booksirens. So when it proposed the complete set of tales, I couldn't resist and picked it up as well.

I don't regret it at all. The tale of Tessagonia is a set of 6 fairy tales set in the land of Tessagonia where the fates are ruled by 7 muses (the daughters of the two main gods of this world). The tales are very good fairy tales and very well-written. Some of them are re-writings of classic fairy tales that everyone knows and others are on the contrary completely original and inspired by various tales that exist.

I liked them all. They were both familiar and novel and I think that the author did a really great job with them. While they are fairy tales set in the same world and related, there are some differences in the genre itself that makes it a really varied collection.

I strongly recommend this book and I can't wait to find out what the author is preparing next.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[jordine de guzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice light read! Because each book is relatively short, you can easily read one each night before bed.
I don't know if the stories were presented in chronological order as they were written, but I feel like you can definitely see Jensen's writing style evolve with each one. Or maybe it's that the stories start weaving more and more into each other as you learn more about the world of Tessagonia. I very much enjoyed 4-6 more than 1-3, mainly because it felt like there was more to chew on in the latter half. There's a lot of fun to be had in recognizing names and events from previous stories, as well as guessing which source fairytales Jensen was pulling from! More stories were hinted at towards the end so I'm curious where this will go next.
Honorable mention to Venom and Shadow. Definitely a departure from the rest of the stories but I think it was my favorite. I think Jensen mentions it was their first time writing something like that but I feel like there's definitely more where that came from!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[PAR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tales of Tessagonia is a series of fairytale novellas set in the world of Tessagonia. Each tale is fairly standalone. This series consists of 7 novels

While the novels may seem short they are filled with fable that will grab you and will not let you go. These fables may ring you and bring you close to the lands of your own back ground, When I first picked up this novel it seemed to hold a lot of new words and description. As you read along you will find your self captivated and wanting to want more. The author rings true in his description of the lands and people. I received this novel from StoryOrigin and welcomed to read the stories. While I was gifted to read the stories, I was not asked to write a review. This is written all because I wanted to share this novel with you.

[LaWanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed these stories far more than I expected. Though they are short, they have the depth and richness of a full-length novel—it's pure magic. As someone who loves fairy tale retellings, I picked this up as a way to pass the time, but the author exceeded all my expectations. Her writing is beautiful, and each story feels fresh and unique—a rare find these days!
I received this as an ARC from Booksirens, but these opinions are my own.

[Elizabeth Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this compilation of Jensen's Tessagonia tales. In addition to the stories themselves (which I have read and loved), there's some nice added author's notes. If you enjoyed the Tessagonia tales individually, you'll enjoy this compilation (I got a beautiful physical copy of the book via Jensen's website shop and highly recommend it). If you're new to the series and are a fan of fairy-tale retellings, this is a wonderful way to dive in to a great series!

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great to have the six books in the Tales of Tessagonia and thought the element of this fairy tale element worked overall. Each one had that element that I was looking for and was glad each worked overall and had that fantasy element that I was looking for. Mary W. Jensen wrote this perfectly and was glad I got to read this.

I received a free copy of this book for review and am voluntarily leaving a review

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short interconnected stories that can stand on their own feet. It was interesting to see the world that the author was building as well as have some of her own notes about what inspired each tale and what could have been with a couple of them.

I will be looking for more stories set in Tessagonia and the further development of the lore and history that surrounds it.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked many of the short fable style stories. Several of them were a little too quick. Would have liked to see Mirror/The Gloaming Realm story finished.

great way to get out of a book slump or have your mind reeling for theories about the ending of the short stories and extra details.

#giveaway #goodreadsgiveaway

[Tami Willard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of the first 6 books in the series. All of them are loosely interconnected in some way but can be read as a standalone. All are clean quick reads based off of fairytale with some twists.

[Lacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the fairytales, don't get me wrong. I was under the impression that they were all original ideas; some of them were retellings.

It's a quick read and the author did very well spinning the tales.

Not something I would necessarily recommend to others.

[Lalita R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable twists and combinations of fairy tales. Each story isn't very long,so can fit in between other activities like work, family, and sleep. Highly recommend!

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love retellings and wanted to give this a try. The stories are unique, and so rich in story. The world is carefully thought out while still being understandable even though each story was very short. It was fun to see if I could guess which fairytale of myth the stories were based off of and I really hope Mary will write a bigger more elaborate story (or stories) in this world again!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.