Spun of Gold

by Jen Geigle Johnson

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Spinning, spinning, straw to gold.

An unthinkable offer. A courageous miss. A determined Lord, and an evil duke.

Never. She vowed to never marry.

But Lord Harcourt was determined to unravel her secrets.

She'd never heard of a debutante in her first season trying to marry the least desirable man she could find, and yet, here she was. With the Duke after her to make a choice and her family's happiness weighing in the balance, she pushed forward until the unthinkable happened: she fell in love.

When faced with a tempting but unthinkable offer, how can she accept, when a union with Lord Harcourt would steal from him what he most desired?

The power of a determined goodness and love conquer all in this Regency Fairytale. Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer fans alike will want to read a version of Rumpelstiltskin the likes of which they’ve never seen. Grab your copy today.

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Book Details

Genre

Historical Romance

Subgenre

Fairytale, Georgian (1714–1837)

Series

Once Upon a Regency

Audience

Adult

Bell Peppers

🫑

Profanity

1 None

Violence

1 None

Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco

1 None

Publication Date

April 15, 2019

Language Versions

English

Fiction Form

Novella

Editorial Reviews

"What a delightful twist on the old tale! Lord Harcourt is the most appealing leading man I've read in a while, the heroine is brave with a deep emotional strength. A very enjoyable quick read." Callie

"A really good retelling of an old tale. It is really well done, the tension, the angst, the choices to be made, the falling in love, the whole story is well crafted. Had to keep reading to the end, it was so good." Kindle reviewer AU

Well done

A really good retelling of an old tale. It is really well done, the tension, the angst, the choices to be made, the falling in love, the whole story is well crafted. Had to keep reading to the end, it was so good.

Different

An excellent story in the characters and retelling of the fairy tale. I can foresee a lot of questions for the children in the future since they are the same age in society functions. But then I have to remember that it is just a story and nothing is really going to happen anyway! The characters are very much alive in this story, I feel for them.

Plot was awful

I’ve read other stuff from this author. She’s an excellent author, and this book has plenty of twists and turns. I was grateful that the story line didn’t have the typical “abduction” scene as the climax to the story. But truthfully, I hated the overall plot. SPOILER ALERT: the whole set up of extorting the heroine for a baby born of noble lineage was awful. It’s not that the plot is implausible - it’s just hard to sift through. Perhaps if the hero had been brought into her difficulties sooner and they worked together to right the injustice, it might have worked for me. I get that the story is a take off on Rumplestiltskin, but it was really hard to like this book. It took me several days to finally slog through it. As much as I enjoy this author, I would have a hard time recommending this book.

Clever twist on the tale

Beginning this novel, I couldn't imagine how one could tell the story of Rumplestiltskin without magic.What a delightful twist on the old tale! Lord Harcourt is the most appealing leading man I've read in a while, the heroine is brave with a deep emotional strength. A very enjoyable quick read.

3.5 stars

I find this book a bit hard to rate. This is a difficult fairy tale to translate to a Regency period story and kudos to the author for tackling it. I think that her plot is generally a good interpretation. And I liked the resolution. I also enjoyed the build up of the relationship, although it was very rushed later on. I started out very intrigued by the story, but gradually began to feel like it was more of a missed opportunity. The author missed so many opportunities to bring the reader into the story, and just kept leaving the reader behind, watching from far away. I recognize the need for summaries sometimes...no reader wants to drag out every single mundane detail...but this story sometimes felt as if reaching the end was prioritized over experiencing the story. It also felt as if reader engagement was sacrificed in the effort to drag out some suspense in the details of the bargain. There was too much left unexplained. ***SPOILER*** For instance, while I can infer why the Duke & Duchess were so intent on this course of action, it could have been addressed more clearly...they could easily have found a foundling to pass off as their child instead of all the difficulty, expense, and threat of scandal from stealing the legitimate child of an Earl.