A beautiful tale of Rumpelstiltskin with a Twist | Straw into gold by Carol Beth Anderson | A Review

"Straw into Gold" is a beautiful retelling written by Carol Beth Anderson that weaves a captivating twist on the classic Rumpelstiltskin tale, with a gender swap. Rumpelstiltskin is a girl from a small village. I heard the audiobooks and fell in love with the story. this book is a short story so I heard it in one sitting.

The story follows Pel, a young woman deceived into servitude by a cunning Fae who promised her eternal love and happiness. After their escape and a passionate night together, Pel regrets her impulsive decision. She thought of going back to her village and saying goodbye to her family but when she goes back, she's met with a world that has changed beyond recognition. People, places, everything is different. The Fae reveals that two centuries have slipped by in her spending one night in Fae's realm, leaving Pel in tears and seething with anger. She's now bound to him for all eternity.

In the present day, she hears of a young man gifted with the ability to spin straw into gold, a talent coveted by the King who's taken him captive. Pel intervenes, offering her assistance in exchange for payments. She works tirelessly alongside the young man, spinning more and more straw into gold to fulfill the king's wishes. With the passage of time, she falls for the boy whose name is Cole. Due to her help the demands of the fae become more and more outrageous and in the end,, he asks for a firstborn child of Cole in exchange for more magic to spin a lot of straw into gold in one night. Cole agrees but he asks if there is a way to save his child and she asks him to find her name if he does that she will be free of the FAe and the bargain he made will be null and void. Cole does exactly that leading to him killing the Fae and freeing Pel. She becomes human and goes with Cole. So a very happy beautiful ending.

My Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️

4 stars.
Spice Level: 🌶
1/5, Mild.

This tale is beautiful, with the heart-wrenching moment of Pel's realization that two centuries have vanished tugged at my heartstrings. The audiobook narration only enhances the experience. It was my first foray into audiobooks, and I was thoroughly impressed. I'm now eager to explore more audiobooks in the future. I discovered this gem on Audiobooks.com, and if you're curious, you can find it here. Happy listening!

P.S. Also take a moment to appreciate the book cover. I absolutely loved it.

You can also read it on Medium!!

❤ 🎧☕️🕯️📖 ❤

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