Free: A Fairy Tale Retelling of Rapunzel

The Crown and the Sceptre #0.5

by Kristina J. Jordan

Sparks fly when a troubled young firestarter meets her troublemaker grandmother.
Avella’s cold, distant mother does not appreciate her gift, and her spiteful sister is desperate to drive the wedge between Avella and her family even deeper. Avella fears she’ll never measure up, but everything changes when Avella’s grandmother appears.
At first, Avella is delighted her firestarting is considered a gift rather than a curse, until she discovers her grandmother’s evil plans to use Avella’s gift in her insatiable quest for revenge.
Locked in a tower with no prospect of escape, Avella is forced to depend on the kindness of a handsome stranger for help; but when things take a turn for the worse, she knows her only hope of survival is to dig deep and find the strength to control the fire within and the courage to face her evil grandmother.

This novella is clean fantasy fiction and a prequel to the Crown and the Sceptre Series.

Genres: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Retellings

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2021

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one interested to see what the next book will be like.


Happy Reading 📘📗📙📚📓📒📘📗📚📕📚📙📚📗📓📗📒📓📚📕📘📙📖

[Eliza Svihra · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, just no. I love Rapunzel and have read many retellings. This was the worst. There were many grammatical errors in this. I highlighted the ones that bothered me most. Missing “ marks, commas used instead of periods, and missing words in sentences. Information wasn’t given to the reader, it was just there. For example, names were mentioned without introductions. Sorchia was used before her name was given after her quote. She also mentioned having the FMC call her by her name and not grandmother. That did not happen. She called her “grandmother” unless speaking of her to someone else. Pierre’s name was never introduced. It was just used. The FMC also mentions magical gifts using herself and finding out about her sister… but then was confused when the word “gift” was used by her grandmother. She also magically knew what her sisters was without the reader being clued in.

I see where the original story is tied in, but it wasn’t done well at all. Chapters were blocked off weird, it was short and definitely forced, and the epilogue came out of nowhere. I definitely will not be continuing this series so I guess I won’t “find out” what happens next.

[Becks! · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐'s

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very loose adaptation of Rapunzel with that portion only being a very short portion of the book and not even really the most interesting part of the book also. Instead it feels like the book would be more honest as a mashup of Cinderella and Rapunzel although the bare bones of each story.

Unfortunately Free is more focused on setting the author's following series that little care is given to the actual story. As a result the reader will find lots of grammatical errors throughout with extra words interfering in the flow of sentences and making the thought disjointed like using county when clearly county was the wrong term.

At the same time the reader will find that the main character is also called Lucie and Katherine, which later become her kids. And as if that isn't confusing enough the kingdom appears with three different spellings - Iasia Iaisis and Iaisa.

The book specializes in abstract plot holes to get its story across whether it is naming or introducing a character who hasn't appeared before, pulling gold magically from a destroyed house or even other random events that needed a deeper insight but were avoided I am guessing since of the supposed briefness of the book. And there is the mention of the magic as being a gift then a surprised response later on it was actually called that.

At the same time the characters were rather flat and didn't have much personality except the stereotypical tropes you see in fairytales. As a result our main character is such a timid mouse who never improves like other literary characters that her last response in the Epilogue isn't surprising for her character although rather abhorrently used as a cliffhanger.

Although the book did keep my attention just to see how it turned out, the ending as well as the various editorial issues don't really encourage me to seek out the rest of this particular series for a follow-up.

[Brienne Leclaire · Rating 1 out of 5]

It switches between names at times during the book and all of the good parts like them getting together etc are not even in the book. It’s boring and dry. The mistakes in it really make it hard to read. Disappointed because the idea was great.

[Goth Gone Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting version of a familiar tale

This short tale is a unique version of Rapunzel's story. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next in the series, though it could use a heavy round of editing - typos and choppy sentences distracted from the different spin on this version, as shown here:

"Avella squeaked, spilling her tea over her lap. The rat peaked is head out from behind a bolt of yellow muslin, then darted forward, using scrabbly claws to scurry up the edge of her dress.

Avella shrieked, standing up and shaking out her dress. The dressmaker spun around, mouth full of pins. Just in time to see a large bolt of fabric explode into in a ball of fire."

[Ree · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this retelling of Rapunzel, we meet Avella, a young woman who is now learning of her gift - she's a firestarter. Her immediate family is less than pleased with her inability to control her gift, and arrange to banish her to her grandmother's estate. As she discovers who her real enemies are, she also finds herself fighting to stay alive.

I'm not a big fan of fantasy novels, but this one was interesting enough. Told with a coming-of-age/teenage POV, it gives a glimpse into the series, as well as a fairly satisfactory HFN ending.

[Renee Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan. Lots of proofreading and editing issues - Avella is called both Lucie and Katherine at some point, and then those names are used for their daughters. We get no real sense of the characters' personalities and the magic, which could have been a great plot point, was dull and nowhere near exciting enough. I love fairytale retellings and I had a lot of hope for this book, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good But...

This was a cute fairytale retelling that was clean and sweet. There were several technical issues, but nothing so bad it kept me from reading. The plot was fun and I appreciated that some of the original story elements remained in this book. If technical issues don't bother you, and you love a clean fairytale retelling, then I recommend you try it.

[Karis Zumwalt]

Not a bad story but definitely needs some editing

I liked you story idea because it is a unique idea but there is definitely some flaws with the editing. The main character Avelia is called Katherine a few times and Lucie once but those obviously aren't her name. There is a few redundant lines in there as well. I would love to have seen more details as well.

[Shannon King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free by Kristine J. Jordan explores themes of healing, growth, and finding your way forward. I enjoyed the emotional moments and the overall message, even if the story didn’t fully click for me. The pacing felt a bit slow in places, and I wanted a little more depth from the characters, but it was still a thoughtful and heartfelt read.

[VANESSA BARRITT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not too bad

This wasn't a bad retelling of a Disney fairytale.
Love how it was all dark and evil grandmother.
Love the karma effect for the evil bratty sister aswell.
Now into the next retelling

[Words of Hope and Optimism · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got a thing for fairy tales and happy endings. This one got the ingredients that satiated my momentary craving. I loved the concoction of unique additions and the endearingly familiar. All is well that ends well. This is it.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something fun and lighthearted when I was looking for a Rapunzel retelling which seem to be less common. There were some editing mistakes and it was nothing to write home about but all in all nit bad for a free kindle book.

[MGB · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable retelling of Rapunzel. We find a young woman troubled by her magic which she doesn't know how to control. That leads to a wicked grandmother, and the tale of the tower with magic. The author has told it in a way to lead into her Crown and Sceptre series. So hang on and read on.

[Ana Ibarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this version, it was a fun variation. 3/4 in and I was really scrambling! I wasnt sure how it was going to end, if the good side was gonna win or not, amazing, how, I was kept at the edge of my seat for a familiar story, and with a short version as well.

[Michele Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the story but…

Free was an engaging story. The story was an overall 4/5. The 3 star review was due to an issue that toward the end of the story the main characters name changed and it was confusing. Hopefully this isn’t continued throughout the series.

[Regina Hutch · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story itself was a different retelling of the Rapunzel fairytale but it was too unfinished. Spelling and grammar mistakes are the thing but there were plot lines missing that made this difficult to read.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Personally, I loved this book. It gives an teenaged point of view to the Rapunzel story. I loved it, as it is an action packed book!

[Eunice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kristina makes fairy tales believable

Almost conventional, Kristina mixes logic and magic to make sense of how this could be and oh, how I wish it were.

[ELAINE · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love fairy tales and enjoyed this light and fun re telling of Rapunzel. Read this book in one sitting and was captivated till the end

[Becky Hedge · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Fairy Tale Retelling of Rapunzel

This was an ok book. Kind of disappointing and not as good as I thought it would be. Don't think I'll read the others in this series.

[Susan May · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very different version of what I remember. It was a great quick read and I enjoyed it.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.
This retelling of the story of Rapunzel is very good. Enjoy reading it.

[Margaret Peroutka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick retelling/twist on Rapunzel. Could use a heavy editing through. Names and locations aren't consistent throughout.

[Carrie Elwart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typos!

Typos absolutely drive me nuts. On one page alone the wrong name was used for the main character TWICE. The story was good, but the typos got me

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shot and interesting, willing to read the next book to see what happens next

[Yesilovesreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute

A cute retelling but it was missing something. Like what happened when they arrived at Lovan. I'm missing details! But overall it was good.

[Janet Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick but enjoyable read. A girl who doesn't get along with her mother is sent to live with her grandmother. The girl has developed her gift of being able to throw fireballs. But she can't control it. Her grandmother locks her in a tower because she won't help her go after someone for her. A young man comes across the tower and tries to help her. Find out how things end up by reading the story for yourself. Enjoy.

[Sophie Bowns · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that it was a pleasant little read and the author had a fluent and interesting writing style.