RELEASE DAY LAUNCH: REVIEW: Once Upon A Time by S.K. Hartley

Title: Once Upon A Time

Author: S.K. Hartley

Genre: Romantic Comedy | Contemporary Romance

Cover Design: S.K. Hartley

I don’t believe in fairy tales.
I don’t believe in glass slippers.
I don’t believe in Prince-Freaking-Charming.

Cinderella can kiss my ass.

I kiss frogs, sometimes even toads.
I’ve given up on meeting Mr. Right, instead it seems all I meet is Mr. Wrong, Mr. Very-Wrong and even, Mr. Lets-Not-Even-Go-There.

Fairy tales are for morons.

Well, that’s what I thought until Gabriel Black barged through my life, turning everything upside down.
He’s hot, sexy and little rough around the edges.
But, he’s hiding something, something deep. I can feel it, taste it and smell it.

Now I’m left wondering if he’s my Prince Charming or my fairy tale villain.
Will I ride away safely into the night, dreaming of happily ever afters?
Or, will I stumble and fall in ridiculously high heels only meant for women with a death wish?

Once Upon A Time…
I met Gabriel Black.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who didn’t believe in happily ever afters. She wasn’t looking for a prince to sweep her off her feet because she knew they didn’t exist; she learned the hard way that all men did was destroy and betray. So, this fair maiden closed herself off from loving, giving her all to her job and her friends. She was done kissing frogs and meeting villains. She was no damsel in distress; she would write her own ending, and it wouldn’t include any prince because, in her mind, he wasn’t out there, and, even if he was, she wasn’t searching for him.

And that’s the viewpoint Payton Miller had ever since her heart was broken; in her mind, fairy tales and once upon a time love could kiss her ass, and she was fine with that outlook. It made everything easier for her – that is until she literally stumbles upon Gabriel Black – a man who could end up being the fairy tale villain and destroy what’s left of her heart or her prince charming, the man who would show her that happily ever afters do happen as long as you’re willing to give in to your feelings and experience them.

I can’t even tell you how much I LOVED this book. It’s a refreshing look at the whole happily ever after idea and what happens when the heroine says enough is enough. There’s only so many “Mr. Wrongs,” Mr. Very Wrongs,” and “Mr Not-So-Charmings” one girl can meet until she gives up on the male species, and Payton is clearly there. And while I can’t say that I liked her playing so hard to get when it came to Gabriel, I understood the motives behind her actions. When someone gets burned as bad as she did from someone that she gave her whole heart to, it’s definitely going to leave a bad taste in her mouth, and then to compound that with a plethora of misfits who don’t know the first thing about being with a girl, I would probably give up too, but Gabriel was different from the start, and Payton realized that; she just didn’t know if she could give herself to someone again and risk the pain that could potentially come with it.

Another aspect of the book that I loved was the secondary characters. Payton’s best friends are amazing, and Kylie definitely deserves her own book. S.K. Hartley clearly illustrates the bond that Payton, Kylie, and Quinn have, and she does a great job of giving all of them their own distinct personalities that only endear them more to readers. They’re definitely a group of friends I would like to be a part of; they mesh so well together and give one another what the others need at all times.

Gabriel Black is the filthiest talking Prince Charming I’ve ever seen, and it so works for me! But the more S.K. shows readers about him, the more we are to understand that he is so much more than the sexy man who wants to sweep Payton off her feet, and we are cheering for him to get his girl despite how stubborn she is at every turn. There’s definitely a mystery about Gabriel that slowly unravels throughout the story and when it all comes together, it makes perfect sense why he seems so illusive at the beginning.

Once Upon A Time embodies all of the reasons that I love to read. It has kickass main and supporting characters and the perfect blend of wit, steam, and drama that will capture readers’ attention from the start and not release them until they’re finished. I laughed out loud on numerous occasions due to Payton’s hijinks with her best friends. I swooned over Gabriel’s attempts to win Payton over and prove to her that he was the real thing, and I cackled when Payton would put the wicked step sisters and wicked witch in their places. It’s a fantastic spin on a modern day fairy tale and it’s one I’ll definitely be re-reading.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

5 poison apples

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S.K. Hartley is a wife and mother to an oil soaked husband and a tomato sauce covered son by day, by night an International Bestselling Author who’s first novel, Finding You, quickly shot up the charts in fall 2013, winning blog awards for the tear inducing writing and breath catching ending.

Since releasing her first novel, she then went on to release two more books in the series, Finding Me & Finding Us, proving that New Adult is vastly popular among readers and writers a like.

Located in the not so sunny North West of England, UK, S.K. Hartley deals with daily battles against Microsoft Office Word translations. Working as a British author who writes in American English is a challenge that’s both frustrating and fulfilling.

When she’s not doing all the above, S.K. Hartley spends the rest of her time interacting with her readers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and also via her newsletter.