Their Royal Ash

Once Upon a Harem #4

by Lia Davis

Life as a princess isn’t as glamorous as it seems. For Tia Ashley, it’s a well-hidden secret. One she’s willing to take to her grave.

Her step-father, King Balsatra, isn’t a caring ruler or father. He killed her mother and turned Tia into a servant. Her stepbrothers couldn’t help her out of fear of their father’s wrath. The day Tia turned eighteen, she fled the palace and far away from the Kregon Kingdom to a small village where no one knows her.

Her new life is short lived when her three stepbrothers and their two guards arrive asking questions about the missing princess. There was no way she was going back to the palace to endure any more of the King’s abuse.

Conell, Ayen, Elion, Kieran, and Jonah had other plans. The kind that involved taking the throne and ending the Kings rein of terror.

Genres: Reverse Harem, Fantasy, Vampires, Romance, Royalty, Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters

132 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2018

About the author

In 2008, Lia Davis ventured into the world of writing and publishing and never looked back. She has published more than twenty books, including the bestselling A Tiger’s Claim, book one in her fan favorite Ashwood Falls series. Her novels feature compassionate yet strong alpha heroes who know how to please their women and her leading ladies are each strong in their own way. No matter what obstacle she throws at them, they come out better in the end.

While writing was initially a way escape from real world drama, Lia now makes her living creating worlds filled with magic, mystery, romance, and adventure so that others can leave real life behind for a few hours at a time.

Lia’s favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers, but it’s her home and she loves it! Sign up for her newsletter, become a member of her fan club, and follow her on Twitter @NovelsByLia.

Reviews

[Stacey Conrad · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not want to finish this one. I did, but it's just not that good. I'd skip it if I were you.

Cons/questions:
*What fairy tale is this supposed to be? I'm pretty well versed, but I have no idea.
*So much telling rather than showing.
*I felt the need to go all English teacher on this one.
-I like the start, nice dramatic intro. But she keeps telling us how close to the guys (her step brothers) she has been. Really? A few flashbacks would have shown that to us, much more convincingly. The timeline needs to be redone; transitions are lacking. What is the timeframe, modern or sometime in the fairytale past? There is no tech allowed in the kingdom, but they sure do have a lot of modern conveniences, and vocabulary. Oh, and magic is known, (outlawed, used by the evil step-dad king, of course,) but NO ONE else; except the vampires, and shifters. Is she treated as a princess or prisoner? She has a cell that she is returned to after beating beaten, but one of the brothers would bring her mint hot chocolate and place it on her bedside table.
*The guys sure don't think she needs to be let in on any plans, or consulted about how she can help. They will just take care of things and let her know, as needed. So much for a strong heroine.

So, this one has writing issues.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always hard to judge short stories, because very often there is so much more I'd love to read about and so much more I'd like to explore. This story was no different on that department. Since the story is only about a 120 small pages, there is not that much time to really get to know the different characters or to form some sort of connection with them. Just like I never really got a clear image of the world and what the kingdom actually looked like.

But maybe that's not the goal of those short stories. We have those long novels for that. If it comes to amusement and entertainment, this book does deliver. There are quite a few tender and cute moments between Ash and her guys. I love how we got to spend a little time with each of them and how we could see their interaction for a bit. Of course, most of the build up has already taken place before the story even starts, so we don't see their love actually growing. But I did quite enjoy the tender moments in the bath or outside in the garden with the tea or in the inn.

I have to admit that the story of Cinderella wasn't really recognisable. It seems the only elements present were the evil stepfather (in this case), the prince(s), the ball and the running away part, but personally that didn't really bother me too much. Just like I personally find Ash being a damsel in distress of the truest form not so bad after reading about so many bad ass ladies lately.

Is it an amazing and breathtaking book? No, of course not. But the hour I spent with it was nice and calm and made me smile. Sometimes that's all a book needs to do, right?

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a super quick read, less than a hundred pages. It surprisingly didn't feel altogether rushed, but there wasn't exactly a lot of character development, world building, or plot. I didn't mind it: nothing spectacular, but it was sweet and to the point. Some of it was a little confusing, (like what was the character's name? It didn't really come up for a while, and then some people called her something different) but I guess with the length there just wasn't space to hash things out. There were more typos than I would have liked, and the bit about the zip annoyed me, since this went the historical/castle fantasy route, and zippers weren't invented yet.
I couldn't tell you which fairytale this was meant to represent in the series, maybe Cinderella? They talk about a ball, she's a servant, and there are stepbrothers... That's the closest I've got. Either way, it was a bit of fun, nothing heavy and we get a HEA.

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this title on my kindle unlimited subscription

A beautiful and romantic story, well written and very enjoyable to read. I was hooked from the first page and fell instantly in love with Tia and the guys.

[Serenity · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a horrible book. Normally I LOVE retellings of classic fairy tales, and add in a reverse harem and the fun begins. Not so here. The story was weak, the characters were annoying and no I could not finish this book because after the main heroine runs away to hide and is pushed into the water in what she thinks was a planned assassination attempt a while later the character she hates as well as a few others show up and TELL HER that she is theirs and they have decided to share her. No asking, no mutual respect or boundaries, and she just goes along with it like an idiot stereotypical blundering blonde. I returned this book and was only thankful I had it on rental not buy as this is not one I would pay money for. Or even be paid to read.

[Beth C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story, terrible editing

It's sad when a book has so much potential, but the editing is so bad that it becomes a huge distraction and a detractor from the story itself. I am guessing that the story was just rushed too much when it was written? Maybe the author just didn't have enough time to do what she needed to make this a good book? There were words left out in so many places and words in the wrong order and extra wordss that didn't make sense.

And then the issue that sometimes the brothers called the heroine Ash and sometimes they called her Tia. It was confusing. There were already so many mistakes that I initially thought that the author ha just mixed up the name for a character in another book or something...but then a few chapters later, we finally see that her name is actually Tia Ashley. That might have been good information to have at the beginning of the book.

This could have easily been a four star book if there had just been more time and attention paid to it.

[Abi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book. It moved rather quickly in a lot of places, and I was confused. I didn't get a real sense of caring from any of the characters, and I didn't get to know any of them, even the main character. Although I admire the concept of an RH Cinderella story, this one was executed poorly. 2.5 stars.

[Topsues · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read in this Once Upon A Harem series. However it can be read as a stand alone book, so don’t worry about needing to catch up before you read this. The author has given you a really good storyline, and I found it really well defined. You feel as if you are lifted up and dropped Into a world of fantasy that this author has developed and bought to life. The main female character seems to be the one telling the story and the one who seems to weave magic around any man she comes into contact with, as each and every one in this story seems to lust after her on sight. Tia is able to switch between each one as easy as changing her socks! You are also given a tale of betrayal, grief, loss, and suspense, that runs alongside an innocent love, that develops throughout the book. I don’t like leaving spoilers as I believe you should enjoy the mystery of a story yourself. The only reason I have given this 3 stars instead of the 4 it could have easily achieved is because there was no indication on the cover this was a short story or novella. I felt a bit frustrated, as I felt the story was rushed. It had so much more potential to be longer, I would have liked to have known More about the characters individually, Tia’s life and how she survived and battled until they found her again, then the plan to achieve what they all strived for. This shows that I did enjoy the book, because I was left wanting more.. As this is the first one I have read, perhaps they are all supposed to be like this and I am the one who has misunderstood, if that is the case then imagine the stars turning into 4.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tia is technically a princess. Her stepfather is King but he's never been a real father figure to Tia. He's a cruel and conniving man. When she finally has a chance to escape, she runs as fast and far as she can. Although she misses her step brothers, she fears what will happen if they ever find her and try to take her back to the castle. Her fears come true when Kieran, a King's Guard, tracks her down. She's soon reunited with her loves but that comes with a price. Will the good guys win in the end? Can they really get their happily ever after?

This is the fourth book in the Once Upon a Harem series. Like I've said before, they are all stand alone but they are all great so you should read them all. This time we have a twist on Cinderella. We have the step daughter being mistreated by the stepfather who just happens to be king. Lia takes an interesting twist with this though. We have a magical element. There is also a lot of deceit and secrecy. Definitely a lot of action.

I enjoyed the story and was interested throughout but I felt like we needed a little more. It was a shorter story which is fine but I wanted a little more. Especially when it came to Jonah. Also the ending. I wanted a little more of what happened after. We accomplished the goal they set out on but there could have been a little more story there.

Overall I did enjoy the book. I recommend reading it, especially if you are looking for something you can read quickly that will keep your attention.

[Jen, Queen of RH · Rating 1 out of 5]

𝟏.𝟓 ⭐️

This standalone serves as a good example as to why I'm not really fond of extremely short novellas. There was little to no substance because of how short it was.
-----------------

I couldn't get a good feel of the characters besides very basic characterizations (ex. Elion being the young and flirty brother, Connell being the smart and serious eldest brother, etc..). And because Ash (or Tia) is already in love with 4/5 of the male leads by the beginning of the book, it was hard to get a feel of the relationships.

The overall pacing was a mess, too. It felt like events were just happening one after another. Because of this, there was a lot of telling and not showing (ex. Jonah (a ml) who had no previous history with Ash, suddenly liking her).

The cherry on top were all the inconsistencies and lack of elaboration. Ex. Elion (one of the mls) says he's also the mate to Kieran (another ml). But they had little to no interactions between each other outside of when they're with Ash and they didn't act like mates. Things like this had me very confused.

[Roseanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first I have read in the Once Upon A Harem series, its book four, so I will assume they can be read as a standalone. The book starts off with a bang, we are thrown into lots of action and adventure. Some of the other characters don't show until a few chapters in, but I think the book did a great job of telling a vivid backstory. I felt that Tia connected more to some of the men, than others. I would have liked to see more development in the independent relationship she has with each man, especially Ayen and Jonah. And maybe dial up the heat a few notches for all of them. It did leave me a few questions, like what happens after they arrested the King. Did he get executed? Did he escaped and is plotting revenge? Totally needs a epilogue with more details. Overall a excellent short read. I will have to check out the others in the series. Grab this one up, you wont be dissapointed.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this it was quite the page turner for me, kind of a retelling of Cinderella with a twist. Tia Ashley is a princess however due to her nasty step-father the King she is just another servant to punish frequently for whatever ails him. She has three step-brothers she has grown quite fond of Ayen, Conell and his name escapes me at the moment because i had to wait till I could access my own computer to write this. Another young man she has gotten attached to is Kieran and he is something more. It opens with another young wolf shifter who's name escapes me other than a J has pushed her off the cliff into the river when she tried to flee the castle.

Here we have five striving to keep the princess safe and that is all I am saying other than this kept me captivated and riveted to those pages as I discovered the secret of this story. Grab a copy you will be glad you did.

I voluntarily read an advance copy and have not been compensated for this opinion.

[Tracy Hoyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fairytale princess, a desperate foe, and her wicked band of men!

Oh Tia! What a refreshing take on a princess!!! She is no wilting flower, but has a back bone and a will to survive! And she needs it! The story flows fast, the action is immediate, and Tia is thrust into surviving throughout the book. She is an ingenious MC, though, as she is rescued, so, too, does she rescue the ones she loves! The guys in this story do not suffocate the MC, but they allow her to breathe, to stand beside them, to fight for the justice she so richly deserves. A poor and abused beginning, a sad tale of loss, to start, but this take finishes on a high! The romance, the loyalty from her men, it is all so inspiring! This is a quick and, at times, naughty eead, but no less satisfying for it! The author has a way of weaving fantasy into reality, and who doesn't love a reverse harem fairytale! Pick this book up! You will enjoy it!

[Olatomiwa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t bother

I could not even get through a quarter of this book. When I started reading this book, I felt like I landed in the middle of a story. I kept expecting some detailed flashback scenes to tell me the backstory. How did the main character, Ash, end up a slave of the king? How did she fall in love with all those guys? How did the plan to escape come about? What’s the whole deal the king prohibiting modern technology in the kingdom? If modern technology is not allowed, how was Ash able to take a “shower” (a decidedly modern terminology used to infer the availability of a modern concept - plumbing)? It felt like this book was a hodgepodge of the author’s ideas for what could have been a great book, if the author took the time to fill in the blanks to give us a full picture of the story. Instead, we, the readers got what was no more than finger painting done by a child with no artistic talents whatsoever. Don’t bother reading this book.

[Missy Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but sweet quick read that lovers of Happy Ever Afters will love. If you are looking for a good fairy tale quick read than Their Royal Ash is one for you.

Tia's stepfather is the King, but he is a cruel man. Tia has a secret, she loves her step brothers. But when she has a chance to flee, she takes it. What happens when she is found? Will she be able to find her happy ever after?

I gave Their Royal Ash a solid four, for a great story but felt a little rushed. Which i know this is supposed to be a short story, but. However the characters are good, storyline was catchy and the writing style i enjoyed. Overall if you are looking for a quick fairy tale read. Their Royal Ash is perfect.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really loving this series by all the different authors. They are all fun and quick reads. I really liked this story. I like how the guys all came together in an enexpected way to the princess. I like how the story came together for the ending and all of the supporting characters, I have to say, it was a bit bummed when it was over. I would have like more! The only thing I would have wanted different was maybe a little more sexy times with the guys. But, I think you will like this book. A great addition.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I would like to but have not been able to catch all in this series, really have been enjoying the ones I have so opened this one I had too. I also happened to be by a author who has given me pleasure in past books to this one which was just as good with a twist. Tia is the one that will take us faraway with her story that right away gets us on edge. The kind of mix that comes in next will be the stuff that makes you sweat just from the thought of the yummies. Anyways the way this one will go will be quite the adventure that will me you keep your nose to the pages.

[CI · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing

I read 'Ruffled Feathers' first, and very much enjoyed the story, characters ans sexual scenes. However, this story reminded me why having three different writers being involved in a series is no guarantee of 'like one, like all'.

The story was disjointed, you learnt nothing about the characters, the promise of a menage is simple that with only a few kisses shared.

I fell asleep trying to read this in the middle of the day and only ended up finishing because it was so short.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

*WARNING* contains minimal adult content
Ash has lost her mother and endures physical abuse from her step father, the king, regularly. Ash has feelings for her 3 step brothers as well as one of the kings guard, but she knows if she doesn't run away, the king will kill her as he did her mother.
This has some parallels to Cinderella. I like that Ash's men are a mix of human, vamp, and werewolf. I think this was a good story that had minimal sexual content and focused more on the story itself, that makes it worth reading for me. I would recommend this to any PNR fan.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall rating: 3.8 (advance copy)

A quick and easy read, these characters sprang to life smoothly. I found this to be the perfect novella to read in between chores. The plot had just the right amount of suspense to keep me reading without becoming too heavy or deep. My first read through I missed a few details but it was not hard to skim through again quickly. Totally a good read for that quick fix. This review has been voluntarily written.

[Cali Jewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart pounding, action packed, can't turn the pages fast enough adventure filled with danger, dark secrets, betrayal and a highly entertaining paranormal twist on a classic Cinderella tail.

Tia Ashley is a princess on the run from a evil step-father that took over the thrown by force ... The charters are intriguing, sexy and engaging. Really enjoyed reading this quick yet riveting adventure that kept me reading to the very end and left me wanting more....

[Lory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first I have read in the Once Upon a Harem series. It's ok if you haven't read the other books in the series this can be read as a standalone. This was definitely a interesting read it was kinda of a retelling of Cinderella but with a twist. My only issue was that it was too short. Overall enjoyable and entertaining read. I voluntarily read and review this ARC no monetary compensation was received the opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3 1/2 stars

First, the characters are likeable, they are just want you want in alpha males from a Cinderella type story (if Cinderella was in love with 5 men). I understand that it's a short story but there seems to be something missing to me, maybe it's the lack of interaction with Kiernan, her mate and the youngest brother who is also Keirnan's mate. With more details it would be a better story.

[Nallie❄️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but didn’t love it.
It is a short romantic fantasy story with a good storyline.

The Princes (Tias stepbrothers) all love Tia and will do anything to keep her safe from the King her step father. The story carries some betrayal, suspense and action. My only con was that the book could have been longer, so you could get to know the characters a bit more and their personalities but even still it was a fun short read.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars overall, 2 for a decent plot and 1 because I do love Cinderella. It was just tooooo fast. I would love if the authors that joined together to do the OUAH series would each write another book or 2 to go along with their chosen fairy tale. It's always fun to read a twist on things we grew up with and it would be awesome to be able to delve further into these stories. My issue...it took less than 3 hours to read lol.

[Maria M · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 35%

Writing is choppy, doesnt flow very well. The story has lots of holes, like it contradicts itself on things that are supposed to have happened before.
Its just a bit boring too tbh. I was prepared to finish it despite reading some of the bad reviews but cant get into it. And then the change from calling the heroine Ash throughout the beginning to Tia as other characters came along was just plain confusing.

[Dmcl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Their Royal Ash, part of the Once Upon A Harem series, is a variation on the Cinderella story with three Prince Charmings, a werewolf and a vampire…five men devoted to Princess Tia Ashley or Ash. In spite of her ill fortune this is one lucky girl who gets her HEA in this novel by Lia Davis. A quick, easy read with some steam, great for the beach or backyard.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Their Royal Ash. The story was a great twist of a classic fairy tale. I kind of felt like the book was short and that there should have been more, but that is probably because I loved it so much! I couldn't get enough of Ash and her guys and I love the dynamic of the group! If you love harems of sexy men and fairy tales, you have to read Their Royal Ash!

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The other books in the series have been pretty good so far. This one felt like the author was trying to hurry up and throw something together so she could fulfill her obligation to this project. Some parts are well written while others are so rushed they don’t even make sense. Too bad, because I think it could have been a interesting story.

[Hsu Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest
The characters + storytelling were very captivating
This is a very different take on Cinderella
Will Tia + her stepbrothers really get ther HEA ?
The storytelling + the character's build were awesome!
It has all the ingredients that you need for a great book!