The Pumpkin Bride by Fiona ButtercupMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was provided an ARC and ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
This was adorable! It has the same vibes of Legends and Lattes with regards to cozy fantasy but also reminded me of Shrek with a grumpy orc main character and a princess on the romance side of things. In going back and reading the synopsis prior to writing my review, it is says "Shrek meets The Princess Bride in this cozy, low-stakes romantic fantasy." which is spot on. This is a perfect read for fall or when you just need something sweet and cozy.
Bram is a knight who is trying to gain rank and status to become worthy to marry his true love Princess Marigold. During his last quest, he is cursed and turned into an orc and tethered to a farm. He can't tell anyone of his true identity and is forced to live as Jask Bone-Cracker and with all of the rumors that surround orcs. Several years later after grieving her lost love, Marigold is being forced to marry the same double crossing prince who cause Bram/Jask to become cursed. She doesn't know the truth, but she does know that Prince Crispin is despicable and she can't stand to marry him, so she runs away only to end up on Jask's farm. While Jask is delighted to see his lady love, it is painful not to be able to tell her the truth and he tries to get her to leave. Marigold being a strong personality, overwhelms Jask and does what she wants and stays with him while she is on the run and continues to stay on the farm. While he feels safe and familiar, Marigold gets to know Jask the Orc and a beautiful relationship develops between them.
I loved this cozy fantasy romance. It was filled with farming and baking and felt like a warm fall drink or a cozy blanket. It was a bit spicier than some of the other cozy books I've read, but still mild compared to most romance books. I really liked that Marigold couldn't care less whether Bram was a man or Jask the Orc, she loved both sides of him and while he had his doubts about that she constantly reminded him of that. I also appreciated the small hints that she picked up on throughout her time with Jask that maybe he was Bram but she just couldn't put her finger on why he was so familiar in such a short time. This also had good moments of banter and humor between the characters as well as good conversations that any couple would have be it mundane, a quarrel, or something important.
The narrators of the audiobook were fantastic. They brought not only Bram/Jask and Marigold to life but they brought all of the side characters to life as well. They did such a good job bringing emotion and humor into the audiobook where appropriate which really added to the experience.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment