Customer Reviews

Once upon a Rose

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Okay, I admit it. I'm a sucker for a good fairy tale. We all grew up hearing the stories of the prince who comes and rescues the beautiful princess from the evil queen. Now that I'm older, I'm not afraid to admit that I'm still attracted to those kind of stories. And that's why I absolutely loved Nora Roberts' "Once Upon A Rose". She, along with authors Jill Gregory, Ruth Ryan Langan and Marianne Willman weave four enchanting tales of wicked queens, handsome princes and magical creatures.

The first story, "Winter Rose" is written by Nora Roberts. It's the tale of Prince Kylar of Myrdon who wonders into a mythical land cursed with eternal winter. The prince has been injured in battle and is on the brink of death when he is rescued by Deidre, Queen of the Isle of Winter, who because of the curse cannot love. Kylar falls in love with Deidre and vows to find a way to break the curse.

The second story, "The Rose and the Sword" by Jill Gregory revolves around Brittany, the long lost princess of Palladrin, thought to have been murdered along with her family by Darius, the evil wizard. Hidden by a kind wizard and by Queen Elysia, Brittany has grown up knowing nothing of her family and that she is the rightful heir to Palladrin. Two days before her 20th birthday, Queen Elysia tells Brittany, really Britta, that a spell was cast when she was a child to protect her from Darius. The spell though, only lasts until her 20th birthday and that after then Darius will be able to see her and will try to kill her. To prevent this, Brittany must seek out and marry her betrothed Prince Lucius of Marric, who holds the Jeweled Sword. She also has to find the Rose Scepter. Together, the Jeweled Sword and the Rose Scepter can defeat Darius and reunite the kingdom of Palladrin.

The third story, "The Rose of Glenross" is by Ruth Ryan Langan It's set in war-torn Ballycrue, Scotland. Duncan McKay, a warrior has just saved Alexa MacCallum from the same fate as her family when he is wounded. When he wakes, he's in the care of kind nuns of the Abbey of Glenross. Also there Alexa, the young woman he saved. She speaks to no-one and tends to the rose gardens day in and day out. The only "person" she ever speaks to is Lady Anne, the ghost who haunts the Abbey waiting for her true love to return to her. Can Duncan heal Alexa's wounds as well as his own. And will Lady Anne's love ever return? I'm not telling. :)

The fourth and final story in the book is my favorite. "The Fairest Rose" by Marianne Willman begins with the fair Deidre, nine months pregnant awaiting the arrival of her love, Prince Gilmore of Airan, recently victorious in battle and appointed new King of Airan. Deidre knows that when he returns her and Gilmore will marry and will become a family. On his return though, Deidre discovers that a spell's been cast on him to forget her by his new wife, Queen Bryn. Deidre has been cursed by Bryn as well and gives birth to a girl, Rosaleen, before she dies. To protect the child from Queen Bryn, Deidre asks Elva, the village wisewoman, to cast a spell on Rosaleen so that those who would do her harm forget her. The spell can only be broken by her true love. As it so happens, years later, Tor,a warrior of royal blood, travels to Airan in hopes of winning the hand of the King's daughter, Prince Camaris as well as half of the King's land. The only way he can do this is to bring back the egg of the legendary Phoenix. And the only person who can help him is young Rosaleen, who is madly in love with him.

I thouroughly enjoyed this novel and would suggest it to anyone who loves a good fairy tale or love story in general.

Gennie Bailey-Rogers

I love a great fairy tale! I absolutely love Nora Roberts and her "Once Upon a Rose " is no exception. Herself along with Jill Gregory, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Marianne
Willman give us enchanting tales of magic! Filled with handsome princes and of course wicked queens. I truly enjoyed all the stories in this anthology as all of the stories are well written with intriguing characters. I absolutely recommend this anthology, it is enjoyable, fun and truly enchanting!

I enjoyed this story very much. I am a huge fan so of course, I like all Ms.Roberts books-- I have to admit however that I liked
Heaven and Earth a little better than Once Upon A Rose.

As I was sitting at home recovering from the flu, I thought I could use a good fairy tale to make me forget all my aches and pains, so I grabbed this book off the shelf. Although pleasant enough little tales, there were rather annoying flaws in every story.

"Winter Rose" by Nora Roberts has some eerie parallels to the story of "Beauty and the Beast," what with the symbolism of the rose and the curse and all.

"The Rose and the Sword" by Jill Gregory was probably the best of the lot; however, the hero's initial nastiness was somewhat overdone, which made it difficult to believe his miraculous transformation on their wedding night.

"The Roses of Glenross" was easily the weakest story, although the love story was very evocative and sweet. The plot seemed a bit contrived, and it was with a raised eyebrow that I read about the two lovers consummating their love without benefit of marriage on the grounds of a convent with the holy sisters' full approval.

"The Fairest Rose" by Marianne Willman is plagued with a hero who is infatuated with the heroine's half-sister until the very end, at which time we are expected to believe that he is REALLY in love with the heroine herself and has been for some time. Frankly, I thought Rosaleen deserved much better.

In fact, one of my complaints about these novellas is the absolute perfection of the heroines, especially in contrast to the heroes (at least in the case of "The Rose and the Sword" and "The Fairest Rose"). These women are too beautiful and good to be believed. How could anyone stand to be around them? The men, on the other hand, range from normal men with the usual faults to a man who paws serving women in the presence of his betrothed. I guess it's the usual double standard that you find in most fairy stories. And I did forget my aches and pains for awhile, so it was definitely time well-spent.

I loved this anthology so much, I purchased a used copy of the first anthology by these 4 authors "Once Upon a Castle". I am now hooked on the quick read convenience and gratification of anthology romances.

... I thought it was great. "Once Upon a Rose" contains four lovely tales of mythical lands and happily ever afters.

The first tale, "Winter Rose" by Nora Roberts, is fantastic. Prince Kylar of Myrdon has been injured in battle, and wanders into a land cursed with eternal winter. He is saved and nursed back to health by Deirdre, Queen of the Isle of Winter. Deirdre is a healer and a hard-working queen, but the curse that has frozen her land has also frozen her heart, so she cannot love. Kylar is fascinated by this dedicated and selfless queen, and vows to find a way to break the spell and win her heart. This tale will delight readers!

"The Rose and the Sword" by Jill Gregory introduces Brittany, the long lost princess of Palladrin, who has been protected from the evil wizard Darius, who murdered her family many years ago, by a spell that will end on her 20th birthday. Now, only a few days before that fateful day, Brittany's only chance is to seek out and marry her betrothed, Prince Lucius of Marric. Lucius has a special jewelled sword, which raised with the hidden Rose Sceptre, can defeat Darius. Lucius and Brittany must journey to find the Rose Sceptre together, or all will be lost. When Brittany finds Lucius, he is in a sorry state of self-pity, and seems incapable of heroism. But after only a short time in Brittany's company, love blooms in Lucius' heart and changes everything!

Ruth Ryan Langan's "The Roses of Glenross" is the weakest story in this anthology, although it is still an enjoyable read. It is set in a war-torn Scotland, and begins with the courageous Jamie Morgan rescuing Alexa MacCallum from the barbarians who have just murdered her family. Jamie and Alexa end up recuperating at the same abbey, but they both have huge emotional scars that will be hard to overcome. Alexa speaks to no one at the abbey except for Lady Anne, the beautiful ghost who haunts the garden. Alexa spends her days working tirelessly restoring the rose garden to its former splendour, and Jamie finds himself fascinated by her. Jamie is determined to get Alexa to befriend him, and these two soon find that the power of love heals all wounds.

"The Fairest Rose" by Marianne Willman is fabulous. It is by far the longest of these four tales and is tied with "Winter Rose" as my favourite. The evil sorceress Lady Bryn has captured the heart of newly appointed King Gilmore of Airan with a spell. As a result, Gilmore forgets his true love, Deirdre, and years later has no idea that he has an 18 year old daughter, Rosaleen. Rosaleen, called Mouse by all who know her, has been protected since birth by a spell cast by the village wisewoman, Elva, that all who would do her harm shall forget her. Mouse works as a weaver in the castle, and has no idea of her royal heritage. Tor, a great warrior, travels to Airan castle in hopes of winning the hand of the King's other daughter, Princess Camaris. To do this, Tor must bring the egg of the legendary phoenix to the King, and only Mouse, who is madly in love with him, can help him on this quest. But Tor can't stop thinking about Mouse, and his heart and his head are pulling him in opposite directions, which will he choose? This is a wonderful tale that I guarantee all readers will love.

I truly enjoyed all the stories in this anthology, especially "Winter Rose" and "The Fairest Rose." However, with a book such as this, certain stories will appeal to different individuals more than others. I do not believe that this book deserves a one or two star review, as all of the stories are well written with intriguing characters. I absolutely recommend this anthology - it is fun, fanciful, and utterly enchanting!

Sorry to say so but this one is far beyond worth the time to read or the money. It's really boring.
I have to say that I really like fairy tales and fantasy books. But this one is not and really not what I thought it would be.
All of the stories are almost the same and they all fell in love at once and it didn't seem real. Maybe short stories are very difficult to put up a good story line. because like the second story, I felt that is was rushing to the end but it really began quit intersting. If I have to choose, I think the second one was the only one worth reading.
(...)

I have to admit to being a huge fan of Nora Roberts, and it is difficult for me not to like one of her books. The Once Upon A... anthology has on average been excellant with short fairy-tale type stories. This one just didn't quite go over as well as the other ones. The stories were all well written and interesting, but they were too similar to each other and they didn't quite entrance the reader as most of the other stories in the anthologies did.

-Winter Rose by Nora Roberts: On a remote island cursed with eternal winter, a young queen heals a wounded sodier-and warms her heart with the joys of true love...-The Rose and the Sword by Jill Gregory: An exiled princess's last hope for recovering her lost kingdom lies with the embittered prince she is pledged to marry- a man as impossible as he is irresistible...-The Roses of Glenross by Ruth Ryan Langan: Sheltered in an abbey in war-torn Scotland, a lonely lass tends a haunted rose garden-while a heroic soldier basks in the pure glow of her love...-The Fairest Rose by Marianne WIllman Embarking on a dangerous quest to win the hand of a princess, a bold warrior falls for the one woman who has the power to save his life-and hold his heart...

I loved this book. It was in superb condition, it came quickly, and was exactly what I wanted! Thank you!