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Demelza Carlton

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Fly: Goose Girl Retold (Romance a Medieval Fairytale) Kindle Edition

by Demelza Carlton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 814 ratings

Part of: Romance a Medieval Fairytale (27 books)

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Two princesses. One prince. And the war has just begun.
Once upon a time…
Princess Ava was sent to a neighbouring kingdom as a lady-in-waiting to her sister, their future queen. Until a runaway horse, a case of amnesia and a cold-hearted king conspire to bring her to the prince's attention.
Now the prince believes Ava is his bride, and her sister is just a serving maid. One thing is certain: the prince must marry one of the princesses, or there will be war.
But when all's fair in love and war…who will win the battle for the prince's heart?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A dark, magical, heartwarming fairytale." - Texas

"Phenomenal. I'm addicted to Demelza's fairy take retellings" - Jill

"A delightful fairy tale for adults. You'll love it too." - Glass River

"A great medieval romance" - Frae

"Great retelling of a Grimm classic!" - Patti Hayes

"So fresh, well-crafted and engaging, with great characters" - Nella M

"Impossible to stop reading. I just love it" - Carla Peneloza

"This author is awesome! Each fairytale has its own unique spin, with great characters and a captivating storyline." - Book Reader

"I just love reading these fairy tales!" - Pamela Bloink

"I like the way this author retells stories I have heard all my life. They are brought to life in an entirely new and entertaining way." - Cecelia Sutton

"Delightful story of love, the only true magic in the world. Kept me up reading all night" - Amazon Customer

"I love everything Demelza writes !! If it has her name on it, get it and you will be thrilled that you did." - Kindle Customer

"Amazing author - talented beyond belief" - Dawn

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.
She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Sensationalist spin? No - Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
To get an email whenever Demelza releases a new title AND get NINE free books, sign up for her VIP Readers Group at demelzacarlton.com (just copy and paste into your browser).
The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.
The suggested reading order for each series is as follows:

Turbulence and Triumph series:
Ocean's Justice
Ocean's Trial
(How To Catch Crabs)
Ocean's Triumph
Ocean's Ride
Ocean's Cage
Ocean's Birth

Ocean's Gift series:
Ocean's Gift
Ocean's Infiltrator
Water and Fire

Nightmares Trilogy:
Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer
Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller
Afterlife of Alanna Miller

Romance Island Resort series:
Maid for the Rock Star
The Rock Star's Email Order Bride
The Rock Star's Virginity
The Rock Star and the Billionaire
The Rock Star Wants A Wife
The Rock Star's Wedding
Maid for the South Pole

Mel Goes to Hell series:
Welcome to Hell
See You in Hell
Mel Goes to Hell
To Hell and Back
The Holiday From Hell

The Complex series:
Halcyon
Fishtail

Romance a Medieval Fairytale series:
Enchant
Dance
Fly
Revel
Silence
Awaken
Embellish
Appease
Blow

If you'd like to get free books, visit her website at: demelzacarlton.com

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B075ZYHTR8
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lost Plot Press (October 4, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 4, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3900 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 231 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #367,995 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #676 in Norse & Viking Myth & Legend
- #920 in Asian Myth & Legend
- #1,825 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 814 ratings

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Demelza Carlton

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USA Today bestselling author Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.

She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.

Sensationalist spin? No - Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.

Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.

To get an email whenever Demelza releases a new title AND get NINE free books, sign up for her VIP Readers Group at demelzacarlton.com (just copy and paste into your browser).

The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn't leave her alone.

The suggested reading order for each series is as follows:

Turbulence and Triumph series:

Ocean's Justice

Ocean's Trial

(How To Catch Crabs)

Ocean's Triumph

Ocean's Ride

Ocean's Cage

Ocean's Birth

Ocean's Gift series:

Ocean's Gift

Ocean's Infiltrator

Water and Fire

Nightmares Trilogy:

Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer

Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller

Afterlife of Alanna Miller

Romance Island Resort series:

Maid for the Rock Star

The Rock Star's Email Order Bride

The Rock Star's Virginity

The Rock Star and the Billionaire

The Rock Star Wants A Wife

The Rock Star's Wedding

Maid for the South Pole

Mel Goes to Hell series:

Welcome to Hell

See You in Hell

Mel Goes to Hell

To Hell and Back

The Holiday From Hell

The Complex series:

Halcyon

Fishtail

Romance a Medieval Fairytale series:

Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold

Dance: Cinderella Retold

Fly: Goose Girl Retold

Revel: Twelve Dancing Princesses Retold

Silence: Little Mermaid Retold

Awaken: Sleeping Beauty Retold

Embellish: Brave Little Tailor Retold

Appease: Princess and the Pea Retold

Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold

Return: Hansel and Gretel Retold

Wish: Aladdin Retold

Melt: Snow Queen Retold

Spin: Rumpelstiltskin Retold

Kiss: Frog Prince Retold

Hunt: Red Riding Hood Retold

If you'd like more information about the background behind her books, you can visit her website at: demelzacarlton.com

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

814 global ratings

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The Mysterious Amazon Customer

A very enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2017

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I’ve loved all of the stories in Demelza Carlton’s Romance a Medieval Fairytale series so far and Fly: Goose Girl Retold, book 3 in the series, is certainly an enjoyable tale as well. The characters are well crafted and layered, the plot is well thought out and the writing strong. It is more loosely based on the underlying fairy tale (the Brothers Grimm’s The Goose Girl) than the prior retellings in the series but that doesn’t hurt this retelling at all. Overall a very enjoyable read. I’d personally rate the prior tales of the series higher but would still rate this one about 4.75 stars, which I’ve rounded up.

Strongly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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Krissy

Has some dark themes in it. I enjoyed this story!

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2022

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This book has a few triggers, rape, death, and torture.
On that note, I enjoyed how Ava was able to rise up from her lowly position and find her courage and her love. Yun is an interesting character that you can't help but feel sorry for with the type of family he has.
Is an intense read!

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is an interesting retelling of the Goose Girl. It alternates between graphic sadism and a love story. Although the heroine, Ava, is married to Yun, the eighth son of an emperor, their story is interspersed with stories of his brothers' sadism and what it has done to their wives and other victims. As with any fairytale, the prince and princess reach their love match and all is well in their world. A very unsettling tale.

2 people found this helpful

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AC_1098610

'Leaping Fish'

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2017

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Fly is a quick and enjoyable read. It has vivid imagery that grabbed and held my attention throughout. It offers action, drama, intrigue, and romance that kept me thoroughly entertained. Ava is one of many princesses, and felt invisible among they. Yin is the youngest of eight princes, and treated like a fool. When their paths cross, their fates change. I appreciated the growth of these characters, as well as the dynamic between. I adored ups and downs of the story that made it interesting, as well as the ending that left me smiling. Overall, great read.

One person found this helpful

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Aurora Dawn

Of Princesses and Silly Geese

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018

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Two of the king's daughters are sent to a neighbouring kingdom, the queen's daughter to marry the emperor in an effort to secure a peace between the two kingdoms and the daughter of a concubine as a lady in waiting. Things go very wrong when the prospective bride is knocked unconscious after falling from her horse.
Maidens, handsome princes, magic and, of course, geese figure in this retelling of the tale of the Goose Girl.
This sweet, romantic tale, complete with a HEA is well worth the relatively short reading time.

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

While it’s title says it’s a re-telling of The Goose Girl, it reminds me of another fairytale I heard as a child, where the king licks his daughter and her maid in a tower for some silly reason, and they lived there until the masonry began to crumble. The maid, angry at being imprisoned so long, forces the princess to trade places with her. The maid is rude, demanding and cruel to everyone but the prince & king. I can’t remember how the rest goes but in the end, the prince marries the right princess.

I love the way Carlton weaves her tales, describing as opposed to telling. Her writing draws you in so deep you feel as if you’re watching a movie. With this book, in addition to the nod back to Enchanted and Dance, I was pleasantly surprised to see nods toward Catholicism, and Marian devotion. I hope she continues this in the rest of the series, and that it’s not treated as a Catholic “myth”.

4 people found this helpful

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Ilona Nurmela

A dark but unique Goose Girl retelling where there is a good reason for the switch, loved it!

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2022

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A unique Goose Girl retelling - loved it! While my mind is still trapped in Ivinya’s Goose girl retelling (Feathers of Snow), Carlton’s version turned this rare fairytale abruptly on its head. Take one despised 16yo harem princess and a spoilt one who is the Queen’s favourite, a mishap during travelling and the youngest son of a conquering king who is a kind dreamer - and stir brusquely. What if there was a good reason for the switch of the princesses and the handmaiden didn’t force the princess to be the goose girl? I loved the reference to Genghis Khan & how Yun’s and Ava’s relationship developed - swoonworthy. For a second I thought the fairytale would mutate to the curse pf the 12 swans, but no. Lagle was a fitting name for the Goose Girl as it means “goose” in olden Estonian.

Trigger warnings: parts of the story might be difficult to read for survivors of war & physical abuse as there is a rape scene that ends in death but without details.

Recommended for lovers of rare retold fairytales who don’t mind a bit of dark in their retellings as long as there is a HEA.

2 people found this helpful

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Michelle Louise

Slow with hints of Orientalism

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2018

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I wanted to like this book more than I did. I've always been a fan of fairy tale retellings since I first picked up Robin McKinleys Beauty. This is not that book.

While there are strings leading back to the old folk tale... This felt more like a fantasy mish-mash with some unintended Orientalism. All so the "bad" characters were very clearly Asian... From thief names to their descriptions. While the "good" characters featured European names like Ava and Bianca. Based on the rest of the book, I'm fairly certain this was not intended... But it bugged me a lot. I would have rathered all of the characters have Asian inspired names... other than Falada which is a clear call back to the myth.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with this book was the pacing. It was slow. Really slow. Like opening to the long hot summer slow. I forced myself through 120 pages before I gave up and started skimming.

There was some pretty turns of phrases but ultimately it wasn't enough.

Two stars.

2 people found this helpful

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Lucy L

Love the book

Reviewed in Canada on October 16, 2017

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A wonderful take on a fairytale that had me reading for hours to find out who the Prince. It was bad of Ava not to tell the Prince the truth but did she really need to?

li cran

Fascinating rewrite of fairy tale(s)

Reviewed in Italy on October 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

À fascinating and well blended mixture of Oriental, Occidental and mid-eastern myths and legends, where the princess seems weak but has the inner strength worthy of a knight.
Some dark, almost mediaeval, elements suggest a mature audience.
Interesting interplay with other characters that appear in other books of the series.

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Lolah

An excellent story, kept me hooked from beginning to end in both book and audiobook format

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have now both read the book and listened to the audiobook of this story (excellently narrated by Mary Sarah), and both were excellent. I've recently reread the original story, so it was interesting to hear the parts of that tale that the author had chosen to use, those she had chosen to change, and the wholly new parts of her own. I also liked seeing characters from other stories by the author (I haven't read them in order, so I recognised some that I might not otherwise), such as Princess Bianca from Revel (the 12 Dancing Princesses tale) - it's become almost like a game for me now, with all the stories I've read and listened to!
Overall then, an excellent story if you like adult fairytale retellings, whether in book or audiobook format, and kept me hooked from beginning to end, reading and listening in one sitting! With just the right amount of romance, magic and storytelling, it's the perfect book to read or listen to, and whilst it's a great standalone story, you'll really enjoy it as part of the series - and they're all brilliant, so it's no hardship to read or listen to them! I'd definitely recommend them all to any adults who like fairytale retellings, or stories with a twist of romance, magic and a "happy ever after".
NB I received a complimentary copy of this book, but I always give an HONEST review based wholly on my own opinions

reader

No Fairytale but a novel with rape and manslaughter

Reviewed in Germany on July 20, 2018

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The author took main parts of the relatively unknown fairytale " The Goose Princess" by the Grimm brothers - two girls travelling as princess and servant, horse named Falada, roles reversed on arrival at the king's - here emperor's - court, enchanted items, tending a flock of geese....but she twisted everything and turned it into a dark abusive novel. I've got no problem with that if I know it in advance.

BUT - I have a problem with books labeled as fairytales which start with rapes and senseless massacres. The author does not create the enchanting mood of a fairytale but concentrates on the evil nature of the seven princes and the heroine's halfsister always explicitly describing their violent exploits and the victims'sufferings.
Yun, the youngest prince, a softy interested in poetry, marries Ava and treats her really well. Both are too good to be real and once the evil sister recovers violence strikes again and the story rushes towards its ending.
All those wars didn't make sense: there were no soldiers along the borders looking out for potential agressors although Ava's father had just been at war with a neighboring country. The reader is to believe that the emperor, another neighbor, is caught off guard.

This book was not my cup of tea, I hate multiple rapes and murders in a novel.

One person found this helpful

Lynall

Not at all what I was expecting

Reviewed in Australia on October 16, 2017

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This is a lovely tale of Ava, her sister is supposed to wed a prince, ostensibly to arrange a peace between them, they are sent to a neighbouring country, but her sister falls off her horse and hits her head, so Ava is mistaken for the bride. Her sister becomes the goose girl, but there is far more to this story, deceit and treachery, and a wicked witch. SO GOOD

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Fly: Goose Girl Retold (Romance a Medieval Fairytale) Kindle Edition

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