Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale by Kristen Niedfeldt

Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale Reviews

• 
  Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽

  3.5 stars. Kindle freebie for readers who like MG/YA fairy tale retellings. This is a cute retelling of
  King Thrushbeard (note: if you're not already familiar with it, reading this folktale will be a spoiler).
  
  Liesl is a lovely princess with a stubborn streak and a bit of a temper, and she's decided not to marry anyone, especially a prince, because of Reasons. To chase away her suitors, she resorts to dressing in peasant clothing at formal dinners and dishing out insults, even though deep down she's aware she's probably making a mistake being so snotty. After her latest escapade insulting the kingdom's royal neighbors--the handsome Prince Cornelius, as well as the king of Brenhausen and his sons and entourage, all of the latter with 6 inch long beards, who Liesl privately nicknames the Thrushbeards)--her exasperated father, the king, tells her she'll be forced to marry the next man who asks for her hand in marriage.
  
  That man happens to be a young minstrel, who sings a romantic song to the court a few days later containing the words "Will you marry me?" Score!! Daddy packs her off with the hapless minstrel to go to Brenhausen, where the minstrel, Roderick, lives. Roderick drops her off to live with his sister Maria in a hut (who promptly takes a strong dislike to Liesl), and puts her to work to help earn their living, saying that they'll marry when a clay jar is filled with money. But every chore and job they try creates issues for a princess who's never worked in her life. And even when Liesl begins to become attracted to Roderick, how can a princess marry a poor commoner?
  
  This is a fairly enjoyable retelling of the folk tale, with more emphasis on the romance and a few twists to the original story that make it a little easier for readers with modern sensibilities to swallow. Liesl's initially bratty attitude irritated me a little, though I can see that it's a necessary part of the story.
  
  The story is told in a straightforward manner with fairly simple language, at the middle grade to young adult level. It's a self-published work, but I didn't catch too many punctuation or grammar errors. Recommended for those who like very sweet and light romantic fairy tale retellings. This would be a good one to give to a young teen girl.
• 
  Sabina

  A clean, engaging story of overcoming a great trial brought about by the protagonist's actions. A wonderful story of redemption.
• 
  Allison Tebo

  One of the best and sweetest fairy tale retelling that I have ever read. This is a really tough story to pull off but the author did a wonderful job, making the characters much more likeable then they were in the original tale. So cute!
  
  Content: Some kissing but not excessive description.
  
  Spoilers: It almost felt like there should have been a sequel to bring closure to Maria. I also would have preferred that Roderick hadn't been royal, or that his family disowned him that way he and Leslie could go back to their cottage. :) <3
  
  So happy to have a paperback copy to read this time - highly recommended!
• 
  Hollie

  This was my first time to read this writer's work but it certainly won't be my last. This was a really sweet and charming fairytale retelling. It was a clean romance to easily be enjoyed by various readers of all.ages. I liked it quite a bit.
• 
  Ella J.

  My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
  
  Last year I read "Mystery at the Midnight Ball," by Kristen Niedfeldt and loved it. When I saw that she had another fairytale retelling, I knew I had to read it.
  Though interesting, "Princess without a Palace," is not as charming as "Mystery at the Midnight Ball," is.
  
  Let's start off with what I didn't like about it and end with what I did.
  
  The main issue I had with this book is that I didn't like the romance. I just didn't feel much chemistry between Liesel and Roderick, though I wanted to. They felt more like really good friends than they ever felt like romantic partners.
  This made me sad because I know this author can do friends-too-lovers well.
  I think the reason why the romance fell flat is because Liesel and Roderick spent little time together. There were only 3 romantic moments between them and they were all towards the very end of the book. I think there romance would have been sweeter if they had had more interactions and more romantic moments early on, so that their romance felt timely and organic, instead of instantaneous and forced.
  
  Another thing I didn't like about this book was that some of the characters felt very two dimensional. Roderick, especially didn't feel like a deep, fleshed out character. I actually found Prince Cornelius, a secondary character, to be a more intriguing love interest than him. I know that the author wanted to keep Roderick and his identity mysterious, but in doing so I struggled to understand him and his motives well enough to like him.
  
  Onto what I did like about this book.
  I liked the main character, Liesel, as well as some of the side characters, like Adelaide. Liesel was a good protagonist. I related to her stubbornness and the motivations behind her regrettable decisions. By the end of the book she has gone through a lot of character growth. I like that she learned from her mistakes, while not losing who she was, a strong, determined person.
  Adelaide, Liesel's sister, was another character I liked. I loved how close their bond was. I'm glad that it seems Adelaide got her own happy ending :)
  
  I also liked that this book is based on a lesser known fairytale. It's rare to find a retelling that isn't based on a super popular fairytale, like Cinderella or The 12 Dancing Princesses. I had never heard of the King Thrushbeard fairytale before picking up this book. Not knowing about it made this book all the more intriguing and original. I now need to go research the King Thrushbeard fairytale for myself!
• 
  Teya Teya

  Honestly I loved it! It was charming with a great twist. I loved that she has to be a pauper and work to find herself. However, hearing her reasoning i actually liked her more. In fact I loved all the characters except the mintrals sister.
• 
  Kim Gregory

  This was a very good re-telling of the King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale. I had read one by Nina Clare and it was the first time I'd heard of the fairy tale. I liked this version very much, quite different from Nina's.
  
  Liesel is a rather difficult princess, stubborn to the core. She has made up her mind that she will never marry and she has no problem letting suitors or their fathers know what she thinks of them. This happens one time too many and her father declares that he will marry her off to the next man who offers - a few days later a minstrel is singing his song and is rudely interrupted - the last verses in his song are "Will you marry me? Will you marry me?" And there begins our story.
  
  Roderick, the minstrel, takes Liesel to his sister's house to give her time to prepare for their marriage; but things aren't all that they seem!
  
  This is a clean read.
• 
  Emily

  I was familiar with the original fairytale this story was based off of going into it, so I kind of knew ahead of time where the story was going to go. That being the case, as I was familiar with the tale, I was hesitant to start the book right away. (I do like the fairytale it's based on, but the princess character can be kind of cringe-inducing and not likeable at first.) I was very pleasantly surprised with Princess Without a Palace when I was presented with a princess that was not a completely unsympathetic spoiled brat. Liesel wasn't perfect, and she did make mistakes that got her into trouble, but she was far from the original heartless heiress that you have to warm up to just to get behind her getting a happy ending. In fact, the personality of Maria, the sister of Roderick the minstrel, was closer to how the typical princess of King Thrushbeard is written. I definitely was rooting for Liesel to succeed.
  
  I greatly enjoyed this retelling of King Thrushbeard. It had several little changes from the original/other retellings I have read that I really liked. I liked Liesel's relationship with her family. It added an extra bit of depth to the story that I've not come across in other retellings. I also liked Liesel's determination to learn and thrive in her new life. She didn't spend a lot of time feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she channeled her energy into making something of the life she was thrown into. I also liked the relationship between Roderick and Liesel. While it was a tad bit fast how quickly the romance progressed, it wasn't unbelievable or based off of superficial things. They come to care for each other because they see the others' goodness of heart and integrity, not just looks or titles.
  
  Princess Without a Palace is not a heavy or deep read, but I found myself staying up all night reading because I got so enthralled in the story. If you enjoy fairytale retellings and gentle romances, I highly recommend this book. It's clean, sweet, and has a satisfying conclusion.
• 
  Diane

  Quick cute read that concludes all neat and tidy. I'm giving it a 3 because I flew through it and liked the characters. But it was a bit predictable and didn't captivate me. I found myself continuing to read in order to finish it, not necessarily to discover how it ends. Kudos to the author for creating a sweet and clean romance as well as a clever climax and aggravating antagonist.
  
  
• 
  Katarina

  I am a sucker for fairytale retellings and it's nice to find one that's not the over-done trifecta: Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty. I was drawn in by the prologue and was looking forward to the story. Plus I also like stories in which the heroine isn't a saintly perfect little lady with not a fault in sight and maybe goes through some actual character development, which I expected from a retelling of King Thrushbeard. Unfortunately, I didn't finish a third of the way in. I found the characters sorely lacking in depth, they inspired nothing in me, I was not moved to care about what they did or why. For example, the princess doesn't want to get married and leave home and is quite obtuse about it. But why? It doesn't go into or hint at anything deeper. Is she spoiled? Overindulged? Neglectful parents? The only reason is she likes to hold her baby brother. So when she suddenly is forced to be married, I don't feel anything, whether it's "oh, poor thing" or "ha! you deserve to be ruffled up." Then she seemingly adjusts pretty well to her new life of poverty, in like two days. It's ridiculous. Then she starts having "feelings" for Roderick for no other perceivable reason than he was nice to her. Again, very little depth.
• 
  Kerstin

  First of all, beautiful cover! I loved this story! I could hardly put it down. It was sweet, clean and interesting. The various family relationships were really well written and beautiful (even if there was a journey to be made). The romance was so sweet. I really loved it. I felt like the character arcs were believable and interesting. The plot details were interesting in connection to the traditional tale, but still had some nice variations. Highly recommend! I also loved Niedfeldt's Cinderella retelling. I hope there are more to come from this author!
  
  Clean!
  Language/profanity: none
  Sex/innuendo: only sweet kisses
  Gore/Violence: one peril moment but very minor/mild
  Dark/Creepy: none
• 
  Anniebelle

  Loved it, kept me guessing
  
  I haven't read the actual tale of Thrushbeard before but have read a few retellings so I am familiar with the tale, even so I was still guessing what was happening for the first third of the book. I love when an author can really make a retelling their own and Kristen did that! The twists worked really well with the few perspective shifts. The only thing i wasn't thrilled with was the start out at a climatic moment and then back up a week. When I started reading it I wasn't super fond of it, but it did work well for the tale! Highly recommended!
• 
  LemonadeBear

  Disappointed.
  
  The idea behind it was cute. I was prepared to accept what the plot was. But then all the emotional manipulation and gaslighting from the parents and the behavior of the sister... Like of course women hating women. I disliked it. I didn't enjoy the book. I finished it out of spite. It gets 2 stars because I liked the first half where she's stubborn and motivated to succeed on her own and because the main couple is cute. The end.
• 
  Catherine

  I mostly enjoyed this retelling. I appreciated the effort to explain why Liesel was being so horrible at the beginning of the story, but things with Maria really didn't make sense. I wish there'd been more effort/details within that part of the story. I liked the way they grew the relationship between Liesel & the minstrel. The ending was different than I had anticipated & seemed to fit well.
• 
  Karijean31

  I had never heard of this book and found it as I was browsing at the library. I really liked the cover and I thought it sounded interested. I couldn't put it down after I started reading. I loved the changes that Liesl made in her life and loved the story and the plot twist at the end. I highly recommend this book!
• 
  Elizabeth

  Princess Without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale by Kristen Niedfeldt – I loved this retelling! I think this was a Bookbub freebie, but I will be going back for more from this author! Happy Reading!
• 
  Amy

  Good book
  
  I enjoyed this book very much. There were many times I caught myself smiling. I enjoyed the story and the lessons that were learned. I wish there was more kissing but it still was a very enjoyable book.
• 
  Unicorn

  Well.. there is a good plot settings with lots of different characters they all have their drawbacks but still gives us fun reading this book ! Have an happy ending
• 
  Racheal

  Overall, I'm giving this a solid 4.5 stars. It was a very well done retelling of King Thrushbeard. It was a very light and fluffy read with romance and a happily ever after.
• 
  Karen

  I really enjoyed this story.
  
  Content: clean
• 
  bookbreaks_n_hottakes

  LOVED IT.
  An easy heart warming read. Great for younger audiences.
• 
  Jessica

  King Thrushbeard!
  
  King Thrushbeard is a favorite retelling of mine. The second half picked up the plot pave and I enjoyed the main couple
• 
  Erykah

  It was cute. I had never heard of the original story so I looked it up, and I think this honors it well.
• 
  Rose Williams

  Not your typical princess story!
  
  I was so excited to read this! After reading a ton of the same stories (Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, etc.) it was awesome to find a new story.
  
  It was a light read. There's not a ton of depth, but it has a lot of heart.
  
  The protagonist undergoes some great character development and she was very relatable. I loved the surprise twist at 75%!
  
  No sexual content, recommended for all ages! I think parents would enjoy reading this to their children.