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Four Kingdoms Fairy Tale Novellas #1
To Ensnare a Prince: An Entwined Prince and the Pauper Retelling
How hard can it be to catch a prince?
After being punished for her brother's treachery, Natalie knows the only way to secure her future is to become a queen. And that means marrying the only available crown prince. While she’s never met Prince Leo, she doesn’t doubt herself—after all, she’s already helped bring down a despotic ruler. How hard could it be to catch a single prince?
When her royal traveling companion suggests they switch places before meeting Leo, it seems the perfect opportunity to catch the prince’s attention. If she arrives in Lanover as a princess already, it will only be one small step to become one for real.
But the situation soon veers off track. Being a royal isn’t the answer Natalie thought it would be, and Prince Leo’s cousin won’t stop interfering in Natalie’s plans. The troublesome Prince Luca is bad enough, but when someone threatens the real princess, Natalie can’t walk away from her fake role. Trapped in the wrong identity, Natalie is forced to rethink all her plans—including what it really means to find happily ever after.
To Ensnare a Prince is a novella of approximately 35,000 words.
If you enjoy clean romance, adventure, and intrigue, then try the Four Kingdoms Fairy Tale Novellas now! To Ensnare a Prince can be read on its own or as a companion with To Entangle a Heart—which tells the parallel story of the princess who takes on the role of a commoner.
After being punished for her brother's treachery, Natalie knows the only way to secure her future is to become a queen. And that means marrying the only available crown prince. While she’s never met Prince Leo, she doesn’t doubt herself—after all, she’s already helped bring down a despotic ruler. How hard could it be to catch a single prince?
When her royal traveling companion suggests they switch places before meeting Leo, it seems the perfect opportunity to catch the prince’s attention. If she arrives in Lanover as a princess already, it will only be one small step to become one for real.
But the situation soon veers off track. Being a royal isn’t the answer Natalie thought it would be, and Prince Leo’s cousin won’t stop interfering in Natalie’s plans. The troublesome Prince Luca is bad enough, but when someone threatens the real princess, Natalie can’t walk away from her fake role. Trapped in the wrong identity, Natalie is forced to rethink all her plans—including what it really means to find happily ever after.
To Ensnare a Prince is a novella of approximately 35,000 words.
If you enjoy clean romance, adventure, and intrigue, then try the Four Kingdoms Fairy Tale Novellas now! To Ensnare a Prince can be read on its own or as a companion with To Entangle a Heart—which tells the parallel story of the princess who takes on the role of a commoner.
170 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 26, 2025
71 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Cellier
127 books2,790 followersMelanie Cellier grew up on a staple diet of books, books and more books. And although she got older, she never stopped loving children’s and young adult novels.
She always wanted to write one herself, but it took three careers and three different continents before she actually managed it.
She now feels incredibly fortunate to spend her time writing from her home in Adelaide, Australia where she keeps an eye out for koalas in her backyard. Her staple diet hasn’t changed much, although she’s added choc mint Rooibos tea and Chicken Crimpies to the list.
She writes young adult fantasy including her Spoken Mage series, and her Four Kingdoms and Beyond the Four Kingdoms series which are made up of linked stand-alone stories that retell classic fairy tales.
She now feels incredibly fortunate to spend her time writing from her home in Adelaide, Australia where she keeps an eye out for koalas in her backyard. Her staple diet hasn’t changed much, although she’s added choc mint Rooibos tea and Chicken Crimpies to the list.
She writes young adult fantasy including her Spoken Mage series, and her Four Kingdoms and Beyond the Four Kingdoms series which are made up of linked stand-alone stories that retell classic fairy tales.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 27, 2026
3 stars ⭐️ Clean Fiction - Fairytale Retelling
Goodness, I remembered basically nothing about these characters or prior events in the series, which made reading this novella a bit challenging. So for those it’s been a while since you’ve read the original series too, here’s what I gathered:
* Leo is the son of Fredrick and Evangeline/“Evie” from “The Princess Search”.
* Luca is his cousin and the son of Cassian and Tillara/“Tillie” a side couple from the second series (I can’t remember which one).
* Natalie was in the duology series as an important side character.
* Rose is the daughter of Maximilian/“Max” and Alyssa from “The Princess Companion” and also the sister of Henry/Harry from the duology.
I honestly don’t remember by thoughts on Natalie from the prior books, but I found her annoying in this one. Her reasoning for wanting to marry the crown prince were…weak and self-centered to say the least. She was overbearing and even a brat at times.
I never realized how close the main premise of “The Prince(ss) and the Pauper” was to “The Goose Girl” until I read this book. The main difference being that instead one half of the party being forced against their will like in “The Goose Girl”, both parties are willing to swap in this tale. However, Natalie values her own wants and interests above keeping her word to Rose. It took until the very end for me to like her thanks to some much-needed realization on her part, so unfortunately I didn’t like this book as much as I was anticipating. I’m much more interested in the next novella that is taking place at the same time because it sounds better with a princess hiding her princess identity. I’m putting this one at 3 stars, but I do think that’s a little generous for all the scenes that Natalie made me want to bang my head into a wall. However, I’m dealing with a cold/allergies, so I know my grace-giving meter is a little low right now. 🤷🏻♀️
Main Content-
A few mentions of a talking cat from the Palace of Light (from the third series); A mention of an enchanted object.
Being attacked/grabbed and threatened at knife-point (up to a few sentences); Seeing someone held at sword-point.
A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling.
Natalie is upset that her parents have kept her out of court despite her helping save the day in the prior duology; Natalie and Rose switch places/identities & Natalie feels guilty at times for their deception.
Mentions of a possible/near murder, possible assassination, a knife being used to threaten someone, threats, & blackmail; Mentions of crimes & a banishment; Mentions of stealing & thieves; Mentions of deception; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of hatred;
2 hand kisses,
2 kisses lasting a couple sentences,
1 kiss lasting a few sentences,
Remembering a kiss (up to a couple sentences).
Touches, Dancing, Warmth, Goosebumps/Tingles, Nearness, & Noticing (up to a few sentences); Winks & Flirting.
Mentions of a kiss, kissing, & wanting to kiss; A couple mentions of flirting & winks.
Goodness, I remembered basically nothing about these characters or prior events in the series, which made reading this novella a bit challenging. So for those it’s been a while since you’ve read the original series too, here’s what I gathered:
* Leo is the son of Fredrick and Evangeline/“Evie” from “The Princess Search”.
* Luca is his cousin and the son of Cassian and Tillara/“Tillie” a side couple from the second series (I can’t remember which one).
* Natalie was in the duology series as an important side character.
* Rose is the daughter of Maximilian/“Max” and Alyssa from “The Princess Companion” and also the sister of Henry/Harry from the duology.
I honestly don’t remember by thoughts on Natalie from the prior books, but I found her annoying in this one. Her reasoning for wanting to marry the crown prince were…weak and self-centered to say the least. She was overbearing and even a brat at times.
I never realized how close the main premise of “The Prince(ss) and the Pauper” was to “The Goose Girl” until I read this book. The main difference being that instead one half of the party being forced against their will like in “The Goose Girl”, both parties are willing to swap in this tale. However, Natalie values her own wants and interests above keeping her word to Rose. It took until the very end for me to like her thanks to some much-needed realization on her part, so unfortunately I didn’t like this book as much as I was anticipating. I’m much more interested in the next novella that is taking place at the same time because it sounds better with a princess hiding her princess identity. I’m putting this one at 3 stars, but I do think that’s a little generous for all the scenes that Natalie made me want to bang my head into a wall. However, I’m dealing with a cold/allergies, so I know my grace-giving meter is a little low right now. 🤷🏻♀️
Main Content-
A few mentions of a talking cat from the Palace of Light (from the third series); A mention of an enchanted object.
Being attacked/grabbed and threatened at knife-point (up to a few sentences); Seeing someone held at sword-point.
A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling.
Natalie is upset that her parents have kept her out of court despite her helping save the day in the prior duology; Natalie and Rose switch places/identities & Natalie feels guilty at times for their deception.
Mentions of a possible/near murder, possible assassination, a knife being used to threaten someone, threats, & blackmail; Mentions of crimes & a banishment; Mentions of stealing & thieves; Mentions of deception; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of hatred;
2 hand kisses,
2 kisses lasting a couple sentences,
1 kiss lasting a few sentences,
Remembering a kiss (up to a couple sentences).
Touches, Dancing, Warmth, Goosebumps/Tingles, Nearness, & Noticing (up to a few sentences); Winks & Flirting.
Mentions of a kiss, kissing, & wanting to kiss; A couple mentions of flirting & winks.
December 30, 2025
I immediately disliked Natalie. She sounded like a boastful, impulsive teenager... and that was pretty much about right through the whole book.
1: decides she's going to be a queen.. so she won't get left out ever again. So mature.
2: decides she's going to be a queen/princess, but does absolutely zero research on what it's really like. She's constantly being surprised by stupid stuff she should've noticed like that the princess has no privacy or that the princess is too busy to eat during a ball or that the princess can't hang out the window of a carriage.
3: immediately makes a poor impression by treating the other neighboring prince like dirt (despite telling rose there were no other princes), and why can't she go after secondary prince if he's one also?
4: continues to be a total bitch to secondary prince every time they turn around and pursues the first prince in exactly the way the true princess doesn't want to be seen: for title only.
5: the ONE thing rose tells her is to immediately pass along any correspondence she gets so she doesn't scare up and start a war. Guess what natalie DOESN'T DO?!?
6: after nearly causing an international incident, she figures it's time to swap back. Sure sure, just tell the whole country you've already met as the prices that you're actually not. Yet another thing she doesn't think through.
1: decides she's going to be a queen.. so she won't get left out ever again. So mature.
2: decides she's going to be a queen/princess, but does absolutely zero research on what it's really like. She's constantly being surprised by stupid stuff she should've noticed like that the princess has no privacy or that the princess is too busy to eat during a ball or that the princess can't hang out the window of a carriage.
3: immediately makes a poor impression by treating the other neighboring prince like dirt (despite telling rose there were no other princes), and why can't she go after secondary prince if he's one also?
4: continues to be a total bitch to secondary prince every time they turn around and pursues the first prince in exactly the way the true princess doesn't want to be seen: for title only.
5: the ONE thing rose tells her is to immediately pass along any correspondence she gets so she doesn't scare up and start a war. Guess what natalie DOESN'T DO?!?
6: after nearly causing an international incident, she figures it's time to swap back. Sure sure, just tell the whole country you've already met as the prices that you're actually not. Yet another thing she doesn't think through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2026
How thick can you be?
Melanie Cellier is normally one of my absolute favorite authors. This protagonist just fell flat for me, though. In her first appearance, she was still headstrong, stubborn, and impulsive, but most of all, she was SMART. All her intelligence seems to have leaked away in this book. I understand feeling overly constrained by parents who are more cautious than you. (At least in theory, after reading SO many versions, even if it's the opposite of my own upbringing.) But young people are idiots, and those who want to buck the trend, need to be aware of their natural idiocy and fight to do better if they want to be taken seriously. Natalie doesn't seem to have been aware of that at all. So it was just disappointing. That doesn't make me less of a fan, though, and I'm still just as excited for the next part.
Melanie Cellier is normally one of my absolute favorite authors. This protagonist just fell flat for me, though. In her first appearance, she was still headstrong, stubborn, and impulsive, but most of all, she was SMART. All her intelligence seems to have leaked away in this book. I understand feeling overly constrained by parents who are more cautious than you. (At least in theory, after reading SO many versions, even if it's the opposite of my own upbringing.) But young people are idiots, and those who want to buck the trend, need to be aware of their natural idiocy and fight to do better if they want to be taken seriously. Natalie doesn't seem to have been aware of that at all. So it was just disappointing. That doesn't make me less of a fan, though, and I'm still just as excited for the next part.
December 30, 2025
Kisses only
This is part of a retelling of the prince and the pauper. We get the paupers side but it doesn’t resolve all the way. I found Natalie to be quite annoying and very mercenary. She also is a bit foolish and is rude to Luca
This is part of a retelling of the prince and the pauper. We get the paupers side but it doesn’t resolve all the way. I found Natalie to be quite annoying and very mercenary. She also is a bit foolish and is rude to Luca
December 26, 2025
Adorable Novella
That was a fun, quick read. I can’t wait until next month to read Rose’s perspective! It has been a long time since I read about Leo and Luca, but now I’ve got the itch to return and reread earlier Four Kingdoms stories…
That was a fun, quick read. I can’t wait until next month to read Rose’s perspective! It has been a long time since I read about Leo and Luca, but now I’ve got the itch to return and reread earlier Four Kingdoms stories…
January 26, 2026
Been reading these books for years and was really excited to be back in this world
January 23, 2026
Oh I dislike her immensely
January 5, 2026
Reading a Four Kingdoms book feels like coming home. I just cannot accept that there might not be more after Rose’s story. That would mean never coming home again and Ive already read the series all the way through 3 times 🥺 There’s still so much of this world to explore, maybe even more new lands beyond? The best book series/book world in the world. Four kingdoms is peak.
![Profile Image for Jacquelyn 💐 {This Rapunzel Reads} [Jesus Christ, my Living Hope].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1766269624i%2F169222098._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
February 8, 2026
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Buddy Read with Lydia and my first buddy read of the year! I was so excited when Melanie Cellier announced this novella and couldn’t wait to get back into her world! This is a retelling of the Prince and the Pauper. It did not disappoint! Natalie is a character…she is something else…that’s all I’ll say. 😂 I thought it was funny how she was so determined to have it her way and Prince Luca changed everything. He was one of a kind and perfect for her. It’s been a while since I read her other books so it did take me a bit to remember who everyone was. But I enjoyed the journey! I’m excited to read the next one and hopefully connect the missing dots!
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Buddy Read with Lydia and my first buddy read of the year! I was so excited when Melanie Cellier announced this novella and couldn’t wait to get back into her world! This is a retelling of the Prince and the Pauper. It did not disappoint! Natalie is a character…she is something else…that’s all I’ll say. 😂 I thought it was funny how she was so determined to have it her way and Prince Luca changed everything. He was one of a kind and perfect for her. It’s been a while since I read her other books so it did take me a bit to remember who everyone was. But I enjoyed the journey! I’m excited to read the next one and hopefully connect the missing dots!
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
January 31, 2026
I wouldn't take too much stock in the other reviews that the MC is silly. It's great, it's very Cellier, and the MC acts like what she is: a young woman - a teenager, in fact - on her own for the first time. Natalie seems to have mellowed a bit with time, but that makes sense given her story. She learns her lessons along the way.
It also all ties up nicely without giving away details of the concurrent book.
If you love Cellier, you'll love this.
It also all ties up nicely without giving away details of the concurrent book.
If you love Cellier, you'll love this.
February 1, 2026
Ensnare a Prince
Awww how cute was this! I wish it was longer but oh well. I loved how Natalie was a go getter and went after what she wanted. She started off naive but being so young it makes complete sense. She had a great character arc. Luca was so charming and charismatic. I loved the first time they saw each other. That was a fun misunderstanding! This was a cute read!
No Spice (just kisses)
No explicit language
G Rated Violence/Gore
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A cute novella
Awww how cute was this! I wish it was longer but oh well. I loved how Natalie was a go getter and went after what she wanted. She started off naive but being so young it makes complete sense. She had a great character arc. Luca was so charming and charismatic. I loved the first time they saw each other. That was a fun misunderstanding! This was a cute read!
No Spice (just kisses)
No explicit language
G Rated Violence/Gore
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A cute novella
December 26, 2025
I enjoyed this book very much! It is fast-paced and less detailed than some of Melanie Cellier’s other books (since it is a novella). Natalie was an entertaining narrator and it was nice to watch her character develop as she realized that being royal isn’t all she had assumed it to be. I am looking forward to reading ‘To Entangle a Heart!’
January 10, 2026
A jaunty adventure
Well, some parts hit closer to home than I'm comfortable with, but it was a lovely story. I AM Soooooo curious about Rose's story now. Maybe I should have waited until both of them were out. I'm making up stuff as I type this. Can hardly wait for the next in this series!
Well, some parts hit closer to home than I'm comfortable with, but it was a lovely story. I AM Soooooo curious about Rose's story now. Maybe I should have waited until both of them were out. I'm making up stuff as I type this. Can hardly wait for the next in this series!
December 28, 2025
Charming story
It was great to see Natalie again and watch her become a little more humble, and relearn some of her goals. Great twist on this story. Can't wait to see Rose's side of the story!
It was great to see Natalie again and watch her become a little more humble, and relearn some of her goals. Great twist on this story. Can't wait to see Rose's side of the story!
December 28, 2025
I really loved reading this wonderful book! I loved the characters and the plot! I had a hard time putting this wonderful book down! I absolutely loved this retelling of Prince and the Pauper! I am really looking forward to reading the next book in this really wonderful series!
January 2, 2026
So good!
A wonderful retelling that kept me glued to the story. In fact, I read it all in one sitting. I was sad when I realized it was finished. I strongly recommend this HEA, clean, exciting fairytale.
A wonderful retelling that kept me glued to the story. In fact, I read it all in one sitting. I was sad when I realized it was finished. I strongly recommend this HEA, clean, exciting fairytale.
January 24, 2026
Perfect Story
What a joy to read! I loved Luca and Natalie, the background story, and this was perfectly set up for me to be excited about the companion novella. A true success as I don’t usually enjoy side by side stories!
What a joy to read! I loved Luca and Natalie, the background story, and this was perfectly set up for me to be excited about the companion novella. A true success as I don’t usually enjoy side by side stories!
January 28, 2026
This was a fun, short read. I liked going back to the original kingdoms and learning more about where they are now. This was worth the read for sure!
February 10, 2026
Not her best work, The FMC was a train wreck, with main character syndrome until she realizes she doesn't like all the attention after all.
February 23, 2026
okay, but I like her other books.
Books decent like the romance between Lila and Luca but don't like how the mainplot revolves around the blackmailer and espionage.
Books decent like the romance between Lila and Luca but don't like how the mainplot revolves around the blackmailer and espionage.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews