Once More Upon a Time is a fun and adventure filled book that is absolute joy! Roshani Chokshi is a talented writer. You read so easily that you forget how great the writing lures you into the story.

This is a fun romance about a king and a queen who were in love, but were cursed so they forgot they were in love. Now they have to leave their kingdom. They go on an adventure together. There are some fun scenes and funny references to other fairy tales. For example, the queen was one of the twelve dancing princesses. I found some of it really humorous, like the very funny honey badger.

Once More Upon a Time
Roshani Chokshi
Imelda and Ambrose
What a delightful tale- truly full of delight. From the beginning the humor just jumps off the page. It reminded me a little of Princess Bride in it’s humor and love story, not in it’s storyline. Told like a fairytale, it has a lush beautiful world and enchanting characters.
Imelda (who owns several carriages of shoes- what fun) is one of 12 princesses who are looking for a prince. Ambrose is that prince and they fall in love. But on the day of their wedding Imelda is poisoned by heirloom tomatoes- yes, heirloom tomatoes! Luckily there is a witch attending who gives Ambrose the choice to love her and let her die or for both to forget their love so she can live. He chooses the latter.
As a wedding present they were given the kingdom of Love’s Keep- which can only be held if their majesties are in love.Which Ambrose and Imelda are not. After a year and a day on the throne they are tossed out. The witch is there again and she send them on a quest. And that, as the author says, is where the story begins. The quest involves a cloak that thinks it is a horse, a bed that is a cannibal, a trickster honey badger, and a queen with the power to turn people into stone. Can they find, or remember, true love?
I would recommend this book to my patrons.

This book was so interesting! I flew through it in one afternoon and I will be reading more by this author. The plot was fast paced but easy to understand. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends.

A charming, enchanting tale the likes of which only Roshani Chokshi could weave together so beautifully. A story that integrates fairytale tropes into something utterly unique. I could not put it down and finished it in one sitting. It was such a fun, magical, romantic tale that feels like a classic while still brand new. This book is definitely going down as one of my favorite reads this year.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a big fan of Roshani Chokshi (absolutely LOVE The Gilded Wolves, literally cannot wait for The Bronzed Beasts) so of course I downloaded this when I saw it on Edelweiss and requested on Netgalley!

Once More Upon a Time is a short (print says it’s 176 pages) fairytale-inspired romance about a cursed couple who lost their love and will lose their kingdom if they don’t get it back. Sent on a quest to retrieve a potion by a witch in exchange for bearable futures for the both of them, fairytale trials and tribulations ensue, from suspicious inns to suspicious talking animals, magic shells containing shoes, and a talking cloak that thinks it’s a horse.

There were cute moments, it was quaint, it fit all the vibes and aesthetics that fairytales require, but I can’t say I really loved, or liked, this novella. I liked what Roshani was doing, making a fairytale about essentially exes rekindling their love for each other in a fairytale setting, which I haven’t seen done before (since it’s always first loves and soul mates) and she did execute that goal, so it wasn’t bad.

Perhaps I just wasn’t in the right mood for it, but it didn’t seem groundbreaking or meaningful to me. It was a very short read, but halfway through I was sort of bored and put it down and had to kinda talk myself into picking it back up and finishing it.

Overall I would say I felt it was average. Maybe I would’ve liked it more had I been in the mood for a fairytale romance novella, and would definitely recommend people pick it up were THEY in the mood, because I feel like this would be received better as a mood read. Regardless, very middle of the road for me. I don’t really have any other thoughts on it.