O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Hamlet
Are you wondering why I’m quoting Hamlet in a fairytale retelling?
I’m assuming yes, if you decided to read further! It’s because The Rogue and the Peasant by Amberly Martin is a fairytale retelling combined with Hamlet.
Review:
While I wasn’t sure what that would mean in a book, I finished it really quickly and found it to be a solid, sweet book that a lot of people will like!
The story starts off with Esme, our main, going off to finishing school where she’ll learn how to become a queen. Now you’d imagine this would be a boarding school thing, but its really not. Somewhere along the way she gets kidnapped, by Rory, and gets taken off to see the most sinister fairy godmother I’ve ever met and become the queen.
“Why can’t she just enjoy the kidnapping, like a normal person?” he groused.
Rory, saying something completely normal and reasonable
While Amberly Marin combines elements from Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, the elements from Hamlet were also really interesting. Rory can’t forgive himself for the wish he made, and he’s also being abused by the fairy godmother, even though she claims that she’s toughening him up. Honestly, Rory and the Godmother were the most interesting characters in the story.
It’s at 3.5 stars for me at the moment, but I feel like a lot of people will put this at 4 stars. It wasn’t perfect, even though it was well edited. I felt like things between Esme and her mother were brushed over; like how do you never question it when your mother says you’ll be queen one day. I also feel like she didn’t really react like any normal person to the situation she was going through.
Housekeeping and Disclaimer
I did get this book for free from StoryOrigin ( I think I’ve managed to find every E-ARC site out there), but my opinions on this are my own. I get enough arcs from enough sites to really be honest in my reviews.
The book comes out on the 1st of Feb and is available for pre-order at Barnes and Noble and Amazon (affiliate link below).
Blurb:
Everyone knows a girl locked in a tower is supposed to wait for a prince-but that isn’t the destiny this girl has in mind.
Esme’s life has been filled with secrets. Her mother says she’s destined to be a queen, but she won’t say when. Or how. Or who Esme’s father is.
When Esme’s imprisoned by the evil fairy godmother, she only has more questions. Who is the young man guarding her? Why is he so interested in her father’s identity? And can she convince him to help her escape before she’s forced to marry whichever self-absorbed prince with a hero complex turns up to rescue her?
Since his father’s murder, Rory’s life has depended on keeping his identity secret. Working for the fairy godmother seems like a fair trade for his safety, until he’s sent to kidnap a girl who wears his family ring, a girl his father’s ghost is suspiciously quiet about.
Unraveling their connection might do more than save them both from the fairy godmother. It might save the fate of an entire queendom.
But can Esme achieve her destiny when Rory’s trying to avoid his own?
The Rogue and the Peasant is a fun, fairytale adventure that blends Hamlet with Rapunzel to make something completely new.
The Girl Who Reads 
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