To start, let me say that I didn’t realize this was only 144 pages. It read more like a novella or quick, short story than the novel I was expecting.

That said, I thought it was really cute. Imelda and Ambrose both want different things. Ambrose wants to feel like he belongs somewhere and like he can trust someone. Imelda wants to be free to make her own decisions. She doesn’t want anyone or anything holding her down.

These two set out on a question a witch tasked them with in order to be rewarded everything they both dream of. In the end, they discover that they can have all the things they thought they couldn’t. Neither wants to compromise the deepest desires of their hearts for love, and their quest helps them both realize they don’t have to.

This was an adorable story with magical, fairytale vibes. I recommend if you’re looking for something quick and light-hearted.

Once More Upon a Time was a very quick and fun retelling of fairytales told in a unique way. I especially liked the narration, which was both witty and entertaining. However, as much as I liked the characters and setting, it was very predictable. There were no surprises and nothing blew me away. I was waiting for the shoe to drop (no pun intended) the entire time, but was disappointed. It was a fun read nonetheless.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and Netgalley for an eARC!

𝒪𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝒰𝓅𝑜𝓃 𝒜 𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒…

There once was a prince named Ambrose and a princess named Imelda and they fell madly in 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮, and get married of course. Then a witch came and screwed it all up. After a year and a day they’ve forgotten the impetus of their vows and things aren’t so happy ever after for Ambrose and Imelda. The fairy tale unfolds as they embark on a journey to find what their true heart seeks…once they figure out what that is.

Drawing inspiration from a multitude of childhood fairytales, Roshani Chokshi, infuses her novella with satire. Originally only available as a full cast audio from Audible, Chokshi has rereleased her tale in print.

It’s quick, light, and fun. The perfect antidote to a stress-filled day, paired with a delicious cuppa. Like most fairy tales, I would guess it makes for a better story read aloud to you by some professional narrators, but it was still fun to try and pick out bits of recognizable childhood favorites.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi.

Disclaimer: I was granted an early copy of the book by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fairly short and you guys know I love Roshani! If you need a quick read, this is the perfect book for you! This book is out now, so please make sure to grab your copy!

Once More Upon a Time is a completely captivating, charming and comedic fairy tale novella about what happens after you find what is supposed to be your happily ever after.

Imelda is one of the twelve dancing princesses. Contrary to popular belief, she and her sisters had good cause to wear their slippers out every night and no, that reason wasn’t a curse. Now that the gardener’s assistant has ‘saved’ them all and ruined her life, she is wondering what to do with herself. Then she, in the manner of all good fairy tale princesses, falls in love.

Ambrose is a prince and a disappointment to his father. He constantly fails at fulfilling his princely duties and instead, always winds up doing something completely unexpected. For example, when Ambrose is sent to kill the dragon harming the family’s patch of heirloom tomatoes, rather than just slaughtering the beast, he talks to him. Ambrose learns the poor dragon is incinerating the delicious delicacies because they had been grown from the poisoned waters of a nearby pool and would kill the population if eaten. In exchange for his charitable endeavors, Ambrose gives the dragon a medal and a job, and now the beast happily incinerates with the full blessing of the kingdom. Ambrose’s older brother had, of course, killed his own dragon and thus laid claim to the throne.

Fortunately, Ambrose attends the wedding of the dancing princess and the gardener, meets her sister Imelda, falls in love, and is offered the throne of the small kingdom of Love’s Keep. As the narrator informs us:

“It is an unoriginal yet instructive name because to protect it and for the land to grow and all the denizens within to be hale and happy, the king and queen must always be in love.”

Ambrose and Imelda are delighted. They are young, in love, royal and have an enchanted kingdom to rule over. Then Imelda makes the near fatal mistake of having a salad and one of the poisoned tomatoes from Ambrose’s kingdom winds up on her plate. She’s dying when a witch offers to take their love in exchange for a spell to save Imelda’s life. Ambrose agrees to the bargain. They no longer love each other but they are allowed to stay at Love’s Keep for a year and a day till the kingdom kicks them out for lacking amore.

Ambrose and Imelda live separate lives in the palace, rarely speaking or crossing paths, with each of them wondering what they had ever seen in each other. Then when their time is up and they are getting ready to leave, the witch reappears and offers them another bargain. And that’s where the tale really begins – but I won’t tell you anything about it because this story is less than 150 pages long and I don’t want to spoil any of it.

Ms. Chokshi does an incredible job of packing a lot into a little. Her short tale covers the realities of marital love, difficult family relationships and how our childhood informs our adulthood. If you are a fan of Disney’s Tangled or the classic film The Princess Bride, (guilty on both counts) I think you will absolutely adore it. There’s a comedic horse, the princess rescues the prince over and over, there’s plenty of adventure and the characters are whimsical, endearing, relatable, intelligent, funny, kind and really add depth to what could have been a very cheesy, breezy narrative.

That said, I strongly recommend Once More Upon a Time to any lover of fairytale romance. It’s subtly sexy, delightful and loads of fun.

This was a quick and fun fairy tale retelling. Not much going on but is an easy and cute book to get lost in. This was a novella and I thought it could have been longer. The second chance romance was fun and heartwarming. This book is just overall short and sweet.

This was more like a novella, and it was pretty ridiculous. It was fairytale-esque - meaning it read like a fairytale, but it wasn’t a fairytale I’d ever heard of. It just wasn’t great, so I’d probably skip this if I were you.

Thanks to @NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for my ARC!

after the gilded wolves series i was pretty excited to read something new from roshani and she did not disappoint this was a pretty cute story i enjoyed it it was fast paced

I love a fairy tale turned on its head, and this delivered. Having the main characters be secondary characters in well-known fairy tales was a great choice because it gave us insight into the characters' past traumas without telling us too much about their personalities. It got a bit preachy at the end about how live is grown, but the narrator fun. Since I read this digitally, I wonder how many pages this is printed; it felt very short.

This book was received as an ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

There is nothing Roshani Chokshi has written that has not been fantastic. Our patrons so far have responded very well to her books and Once More Upon a Time certainly did not disappoint. I appreciated the direction and story Chokshi took in not only the happily ever after role in this story but, the antagonistical side of sacrificing their relationship and choosing what really matters to them and that was saving their kingdom as well as trying to save each other. I know books that have both fantasy and adventure do very well at our library and this book sure has plenty of both which really made me happy.

We will consider adding this title to our Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Roshani Chokshi is back again with a fun and fantastical fairytale for the modern world. Readers will fall in love with Chokshi's new world and find themselves wishing to be whisked away into the love story forever.

I love this elaboration on a well-known fairy tale. We rarely get past the happily ever after, which is why this tale of unhappy married life and the joys of being independent is so interesting and fun. Short and sweet and worth a read.

A very interesting take on second-chance marriage by giving it fairytale background, and it works!
I enjoy this quirky little read!

<< Review copy received via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you! >>

Title & Author: Once More Upon A Time by Roshani Chokshi
Age Range & Genre: YA Fantasy Romance Publication Date: October 5th
Rating: 3/5

Once more upon a time is cute novella. When I first requested it on Netgalley, I was hoping for a big book. Maybe 300 pages long? But this is so short you can definitely read it in 2 hours. So beginners can definitely give this one a try.

I loved both the characters and their wit and sarcasm. The most enjoyable 2 hours of yesterday.

I don't like reading fairytales but fairytale retellings are something I adore because they add a lot of modern day problems and more representation.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebookscasa for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately I just didn't like this book. I found the male POV to be weak in comparison to the female POV. I think the concept was interesting but the delivery just didn't grip me.

I really enjoyed that this novella/book was a fairytale retelling! It was a nice quick read which was perfect for my busy schedule. This was a second chance romance with magical elements which was so fun and I absolutely loved all of the characters. I can struggle with novellas because I usually want more but the story was wrapped up nicely with a HEA! I think that this novella/book was really well done and a refreshing take on fantasy romance.

3.5/5

This is a cute little novella that uses the story of the 12 dancing princesses as a jumping off point. One of the princesses and her new husband are cursed to forget the love they share, but then they're forced to go on a quest together.... is their love really lost?

There were some really nice themes in this story - about love and freedom and the freedom to be found in allowing love into your life. It's told like a fairytale and I couldn't help but feel it felt like someone's novel outline that they hadn't finished fleshing out. It's VERY short, and some parts of the story are told immersively, while others are glossed over. It felt like dipping in and out of a story that hadn't finished being written yet.

It was cute but I couldn't help feeling like I couldn't see the point. A great concept that could have been worked into a larger, more satisfying story.

This book was shallow, quick, and ultimately disappointing. I love a fairytale, and was very excited for this one, but it was very difficult to get through, despite being a fast and (as I said) shallow read, because I just couldn't stay interested. It was very formulaic, and everything ended exactly how I thought it would. I know from experience that this author is capable of much more.

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for giving me access.

I will read anything by Roshani Chokshi. ANYTHING. So when I saw the opportunity to request Once More Upon a Time, I requested it as quickly as I could! This was such a cute story that needed to be told. It's quick and takes you on an adventure of finding love where it was once lost.

A must for all fairytale lovers out there!

4.5*

"Much more than a year and a day has passed, but that does not stop them from remembering how to fall in love. Sometimes it takes coaxing and listening. Sometimes it takes laughter and tears. But the thread is there if you wish to lift it up to the light and follow it down whatever corridors of time it crosses through.”

This is one of the most enchanting and charming books I have ever read. I stopped and read so many sections aloud. This little novella strikes the perfect balance between modern-day snark and classic fairy tale whimsy. Once Upon a Time is a wonderful celebration of all things fairy tales.

Once Upon a Time is about the cursed love between an overlooked prince who keeps losing everything he has and a trapped princess who is desperate to carve her own path, not one directed by a man. Imelda is one of the other dancing princesses who do not get their own happily ever after. At her sister wedding, Imelda finds her true love, Ambrose. Ambrose is a prince who loses his quest for the crown, beaten by his eldest brother’s wit and his younger brother’s charm. The pair are given Love’s Keep as a wedding gift. A kingdom that only thrives if the royal couple is in love. The pair jump at the chance: what could go wrong? When Imelda is dying from poison, Ambrose will give anything to save his love’s life. He strikes up a deal with a witch. The witch will save Imelda, and all she asks in return is the pair give up their love for one another.

Roshani Chokshi’s writing is lyrical and lush like always. I adore that this story is told in a familiar fairy tale tradition. We have an omniscient narrator who knows everything that had been and everything that will be. Sprinkled throughout Chokshi’s beautiful prose is the narrator’s sassy and, at times, cynical commentary. These comments on the traditional fairy tale tropes had me laughing at loud.

There is a surprisingly insightful and emotional exploration of what it means to fall in love. We investigate those anxious, meddling thoughts that bubble underneath those warm fuzzy feelings of being in a new relationship. Chokshi explores the fear of what it means to take a chance and put yourself out there even if there is a chance of getting hurt. And through Imelda, we explore whether choosing to be in a relationship means you need to stop chasing your dreams.

Imelda and Ambrose are engaging and enjoyable to read. We get a surprising amount of depth to pair to these characters considering this novella is under 200 pages. I loved that we had a grumpy hero and a sunshiny heroine. As we all know, this is one of my all-time favourite character tropes.

I completely adored this story. This will be one I pick up if I need a magical pick me up to get me through the day. If you love Ella Enchanted or The Princess Bride, then this is the story for you! I would love to see Roshani Chokshi write more stories in this style.