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The Chancellor Fairy Tales Boxed Set: Books 1-3
On the shores of Lake Erie sits the enchanted little town of Chancellor where happily ever after always reign supreme. From mermaids to faeries, the residents of Chancellor are far from ordinary. Enjoy these re-envisioned fairy tales loosely based on The Little Mermaid , Cinderella , and classic witch tales. Included in this boxed The Glass Mermaid The Cupcake Witch The Fairy Godfather. Bonus The Short and Sweet Collection! Dive into these sweet, modern fairy tales from New York Times best-selling author Melanie Karsak.
- GenresFantasy
316 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 18, 2016
102 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Karsak
92 books1,683 followersNew York Times and USA Today best-selling historical fantasy author Melanie Karsak is the author of the Celtic Blood series, Steampunk Red Riding Hood, Steampunk Fairy Tales, the Road to Valhalla Series, and other works of fantasy and fiction. The author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children.
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Webpage: http://www.melaniekarsak.com
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 15, 2019
3.5 enchanted STARS ★★★✬✩
⤐ Overall.
The title of this collection says it all: Fairytales.
Fairytales indeed but not over the top. All of the short novels were sweet and enchanting, with just the right amount of sappy. You will meet a mermaid, a kitchen witch and a bee-whisperer, all of them finally meeting their HEA. I loved the author's attention to details that added to the overall dreamy atmosphere of the book. Well rounded.
Characters. This aspect is the one that let me down the most and tempered with my reading experience a lot. Usually, fairytales have a bunch of diverse characters with multi-faceted, interesting motives. During book two, I had the suspicion substituting the names of the hero and heroine of each story with any of the other stories would feel like reading the same thing all over again with a different plot. They were so similar and indistinguishable.
World(-building). Surprisingly, I fell into step with the story quite quickly. It took close to no time to see the town of Chancellor with its many old houses, the lake, the grove and the water mill in my mind.
The arch of suspense. What you would expect from fairytales: rushed by normal standards, but just right for fairytales.
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writing quality + easy of reading = 4*
pace = 4*
plot/story in general = 4*
plot development = 4*
characters =2.5 *
enjoyability = 4*
insightfulness = 2*
_____________________
Many thanks to Melanie Karsak, who provided me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.
This book is for you if… modern fairytales appeal to you in their slow burn and steamy flirting character. Not overly sappy, this audiobook is a lovely companion for daily tasks and errands.
⤐ Overall.
The title of this collection says it all: Fairytales.
Fairytales indeed but not over the top. All of the short novels were sweet and enchanting, with just the right amount of sappy. You will meet a mermaid, a kitchen witch and a bee-whisperer, all of them finally meeting their HEA. I loved the author's attention to details that added to the overall dreamy atmosphere of the book. Well rounded.
Characters. This aspect is the one that let me down the most and tempered with my reading experience a lot. Usually, fairytales have a bunch of diverse characters with multi-faceted, interesting motives. During book two, I had the suspicion substituting the names of the hero and heroine of each story with any of the other stories would feel like reading the same thing all over again with a different plot. They were so similar and indistinguishable.
World(-building). Surprisingly, I fell into step with the story quite quickly. It took close to no time to see the town of Chancellor with its many old houses, the lake, the grove and the water mill in my mind.
The arch of suspense. What you would expect from fairytales: rushed by normal standards, but just right for fairytales.
_____________________
writing quality + easy of reading = 4*
pace = 4*
plot/story in general = 4*
plot development = 4*
characters =2.5 *
enjoyability = 4*
insightfulness = 2*
_____________________
Many thanks to Melanie Karsak, who provided me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.
October 26, 2019
I got to listen to this at the courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review. The short and sweet of it: if you like Nicholas Sparks, and fairy tales, I think this will be a pretty solid win for you. There is a lot of drama and near tragedy in this set of stories, but they end happily. Even better, they’re pretty short, which is awesome if you don’t like to make a lot of time for reading/listening to books.
I think that the world Karsak created with her retelling is great. I really enjoyed the extra history she put into her mermaid in particular, which really sets up everything for the series. I especially liked that the characters from previous books made little cameo appearances in the subsequent stories. It just tied them all together nicely, and she clearly put a lot of thought into the stories she created.
The narration was ok. I really enjoyed the narration of the female point of view, but the male point of views really fell flat. I mean that literally, she just kind of assumed a very flat tone and those sections became really lifeless, and sounded like the narrator was bored. That doesn’t float so well when the guy is supposed to be admiring a full bust… I mean most men aren’t particularly bored with those kinds of details.
That brings me to what really did this set in for me on a personal level. To be clear, I think there are plenty of people who will love this series, but it ultimately was not for me. What killed it for me was when the male point of view was admiring his female counterpart, her full breasts and (I believe the quote was) “her secret feminine parts”... or it may have been “her feminine secret parts”, but one is not better than the other. I just can’t get past that terminology. It’s so, so, so poor. I understand wanting to be somewhat modest, but I dare you to ask any man ever if he has considered a woman’s vagina her “secret feminine parts”. I just can’t. It’s too terrible. I literally laughed out loud when I heard it.
As I said, I think that it is over all a sweet series, well thought out and generally well presented. If you like a sweet romance, and enjoy fairytale reimaginings, I think you’ll really enjoy this. It just wasn’t for me.
I think that the world Karsak created with her retelling is great. I really enjoyed the extra history she put into her mermaid in particular, which really sets up everything for the series. I especially liked that the characters from previous books made little cameo appearances in the subsequent stories. It just tied them all together nicely, and she clearly put a lot of thought into the stories she created.
The narration was ok. I really enjoyed the narration of the female point of view, but the male point of views really fell flat. I mean that literally, she just kind of assumed a very flat tone and those sections became really lifeless, and sounded like the narrator was bored. That doesn’t float so well when the guy is supposed to be admiring a full bust… I mean most men aren’t particularly bored with those kinds of details.
That brings me to what really did this set in for me on a personal level. To be clear, I think there are plenty of people who will love this series, but it ultimately was not for me. What killed it for me was when the male point of view was admiring his female counterpart, her full breasts and (I believe the quote was) “her secret feminine parts”... or it may have been “her feminine secret parts”, but one is not better than the other. I just can’t get past that terminology. It’s so, so, so poor. I understand wanting to be somewhat modest, but I dare you to ask any man ever if he has considered a woman’s vagina her “secret feminine parts”. I just can’t. It’s too terrible. I literally laughed out loud when I heard it.
As I said, I think that it is over all a sweet series, well thought out and generally well presented. If you like a sweet romance, and enjoy fairytale reimaginings, I think you’ll really enjoy this. It just wasn’t for me.
December 9, 2019
Title: The Chancellor Fairy Tales Boxed Set 1-3
Author: Melanie Karsak, Narrated by Hollie Jackson
Publisher: Love Potion Books
ISBN: B01FYL52EI
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...
Reviewer: Teresa Fallen Angel
Blurb:
A splash of sweet romance.
A sprinkle of magic.
A hearty dose of happily ever after.
Welcome to Chancellor.
On the shores of Lake Erie sits the enchanted little town of Chancellor where fairy tales live, dreams come true, and happily-ever-after always reign supreme. Meet Julie, Kate, Viola, and Rayne in this heart-warming collection of sweet, modern fairy tales by New York Times bestselling author Melanie Karsak.
Included in this boxed set: The Glass Mermaid, The Cupcake Witch, and The Fairy Godfather.
Total Score: 5/5
Summary:
This was wondrous trip to the town of Chancellor where nothing is quite what it appears.
For those who love any of the myths about mermaids, The Glass Mermaid brings a new twist to the Tale. I loved how Julie lived in the town and no one had a clue about what she was. She was alone in the world without anyone to ground her until she met a man who could change everything.
In The Cupcake Witch, it was fascinating how the town had a history of having witches, but no one knew the truth until Kate arrived to see the home that was left to her family. There is more to the gift than meets the eye, but you will have to read this to find out.
The last story, The Fairy Godfather, brought many of the earlier characters together as he worked to fulfill his obligations to his person. Along the way he may find what he didn’t even know he was looking for, his future.
This was a wonderful book willing with mysterious characters who were brought to life as the audio-book unfolded.
Author: Melanie Karsak, Narrated by Hollie Jackson
Publisher: Love Potion Books
ISBN: B01FYL52EI
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...
Reviewer: Teresa Fallen Angel
Blurb:
A splash of sweet romance.
A sprinkle of magic.
A hearty dose of happily ever after.
Welcome to Chancellor.
On the shores of Lake Erie sits the enchanted little town of Chancellor where fairy tales live, dreams come true, and happily-ever-after always reign supreme. Meet Julie, Kate, Viola, and Rayne in this heart-warming collection of sweet, modern fairy tales by New York Times bestselling author Melanie Karsak.
Included in this boxed set: The Glass Mermaid, The Cupcake Witch, and The Fairy Godfather.
Total Score: 5/5
Summary:
This was wondrous trip to the town of Chancellor where nothing is quite what it appears.
For those who love any of the myths about mermaids, The Glass Mermaid brings a new twist to the Tale. I loved how Julie lived in the town and no one had a clue about what she was. She was alone in the world without anyone to ground her until she met a man who could change everything.
In The Cupcake Witch, it was fascinating how the town had a history of having witches, but no one knew the truth until Kate arrived to see the home that was left to her family. There is more to the gift than meets the eye, but you will have to read this to find out.
The last story, The Fairy Godfather, brought many of the earlier characters together as he worked to fulfill his obligations to his person. Along the way he may find what he didn’t even know he was looking for, his future.
This was a wonderful book willing with mysterious characters who were brought to life as the audio-book unfolded.
November 1, 2019
My review is actually for the audiobook of this collection, published under the name of Melanie Karsak.
The narration is excellent. Easy to listen to, very different voices for each character. I found the children’s voices slightly weird (in The Glass Mermaid), but other than that it was spot on.
The Glass Mermaid:
This was a beautiful story, which I thought was going to be horribly, horribly sad, but luckily turned out not to be. It’s about two people who have lost everything finding one another.
The Cupcake Witch:
This one was good fun, though slightly saddened by both main characters having recently lost their mothers to cancer. But lots to like, discovery of magical powers, falling in love, overcoming difficulties, bringing a family together.
The Bee Charmer:
This story luckily has no one dying or recently dead of cancer in it, or only peripherally. For this reason alone, it has a more cheerful, settled tone than the previous two. I loved the idea of a “fairy godfather” who communicates with bees. A lovely, charming little romance.
Overall, this is a fun set of magical, romantic short stories, beautifully narrated, and rather whimsical.
I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
The narration is excellent. Easy to listen to, very different voices for each character. I found the children’s voices slightly weird (in The Glass Mermaid), but other than that it was spot on.
The Glass Mermaid:
This was a beautiful story, which I thought was going to be horribly, horribly sad, but luckily turned out not to be. It’s about two people who have lost everything finding one another.
The Cupcake Witch:
This one was good fun, though slightly saddened by both main characters having recently lost their mothers to cancer. But lots to like, discovery of magical powers, falling in love, overcoming difficulties, bringing a family together.
The Bee Charmer:
This story luckily has no one dying or recently dead of cancer in it, or only peripherally. For this reason alone, it has a more cheerful, settled tone than the previous two. I loved the idea of a “fairy godfather” who communicates with bees. A lovely, charming little romance.
Overall, this is a fun set of magical, romantic short stories, beautifully narrated, and rather whimsical.
I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
September 28, 2020
Melanie Karsak is my go-to author. I love the diversity of her writing, settings, characters and style. This collection of stories based on a single town but told from the perspective of several characters was an easy, but entertaining read. It was just what I needed in a moment when I didn't want to get into anything too heavy. Fun, magical characters without a complicated plot is sometimes just the ticket. These were interesting in that the magic was sort of sprinkled throughout the story, not the main flavor. I liked that. Don't be daunted by ordering the three story set. They're shorter than most of her novels and easy to read. The three stars only denotes a less complicated story, not a concern with the writing. As always, Melanie writes a great story.
December 8, 2024
Nice quick read of calming fairy tales. Three books in one .... first book about a mermaid who falls for a human (nothing like The Little Mermaid but sweet) whose people have all died out. Second book about a witch living out her dream as a baker . And the last about a Fairy God Father... a cozy romance. Sweet but not sappy palate cleanse after reading horror - smile.
March 17, 2021
The Chancellor Fairy Tales Boxed Set: Books 1-3 --Melanie Karsak – This was a really neat series of modern fairytales! Love the heritage meets technological age meshing in this quirky little town! Happy Reading!
October 15, 2017
Sweet and charming.
December 13, 2018
Beautiful amazing shorts stories, with all the right magic and romance set in a beautiful setting. Well worth the read
October 9, 2020
Short but adorable
I wish there was more to these. The characters and settings are so lovely that I hate how quickly I finished them.
I wish there was more to these. The characters and settings are so lovely that I hate how quickly I finished them.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews