Ellie and the Prince - J.M. Stengl

Ellie and the Prince

J.M. Stengl

Faraway Castle, #1

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb:

 She should resist him . . . but to rescue the unicorn, Ellie needs the prince's help.

Serving as Controller of Magical Creatures at the illustrious Faraway Castle resort, Ellie Calmer knows her place. She is a servant, and she has no business thinking about handsome Prince Omar, a regular visitor at the resort, much less talking to him!

But then a unicorn on the resort grounds attacks a party of riders, frightening the guests, and a band of young and adventurous nobles decide to hunt it down. Suddenly Ellie needs Omar's help. She knows something must be wrong to have driven the unicorn to such desperate extremes. Can she and Omar find the unicorn before it's too late? And will she somehow protect her heart against the irresistible attraction she feels for the kind and gentle prince?

As a Retelling:

This retelling is set at a luxury resort for royalty, and Cinderella is a servant with a talent for calming and understanding animals. The prince is a regular visitor who she's had a crush on for years. Though there's a lot of build-up and meander to get there, the story does eventually arrive at a traditional ball, provided by a Fairy Godmother figure, and there are two girls who fill a step-sister role, though, having no direct relation to Cinderella, have less of an impact on the story. Ultimately, the story does have a different twist to the end, but deepens the outcome rather than chances it.

Arista's Thoughts:
A definite favorite from the moment I read it. There is a small element of convenience to the romance, resulting in a small bit of frustration at the lack of communication it lead to. Also, the unicorn plotline in the blurb seemed more of a side-plot, especially since it was resolved quite a ways before the ending. Not really a complaint, but the blub did have me expecting it to be more of a focus. I did love the story we got, and even though I guessed the ending's plot twist ahead of time, it was really well done and I rather enjoyed it.

True Retelling - Cinderella

Magical

Indie

Medieval Contemporary

Cameo - The Little Mermaid

Alternate Covers: 

Have you read Ellie and the Prince? If so, leave a comment below with your own short review to help future readers!