A vain woman becomes the victim of a vindictive curse in this original fairy tale novella.
Colleeda is a beautiful but wickedly vain young woman. Of all her assets, the one she prizes most is the sound of her voice. Her favorite game is to attract young men and then leave them heartbroken. It's all fun until she chooses to lure one man away from his fiancée—and that woman is rumored to be a witch bent on revenge. Colleeda is cursed to never speak or sing again, except for a couple minutes in the wee hours of the morning when no one can possibly hear her.For years, Colleeda mourns the loss of her voice, believing she is no longer beautiful or desirable. She lives in solitude as her house falls into disrepair around her. Is there any way to break the curse? Does she deserve to have it broken?
Professional Reviews
5-star Review from Reader's Favorite:
"D. G. Driver’s classic fairy tale, The Silent Beauty, is the third book in the Chasing the Romantics, A Series of Original Fairy Tales. Like the first two books in the series, The Royal Deal and The Tomato Quest, this author follows the classic formula of a fairy tale to create a compelling story with valuable lessons. With a well-structured plot and well-developed characters, this story is rather sad. In spite of disliking the vain, selfish woman Colleeda has become, a character the author thoroughly describes and develops, the reader wants to like her, wants to find some redeeming quality deep within. As the plot thickens, the author creates some subtle changes to Colleeda's character, first making her pure evil, then creating a character that redefines herself and overcomes the tragedies that robbed her of what she loved the most. The message or theme? That self-centered vanity and selfishness really isn’t a beautiful trait. True beauty lies deep within, as the well-known line from another classic fairy tale suggests: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” A well-told classic fairy tale with a solid plot, realistic characters and lots of action."
Rosie's Book Review
After reading several D.G. Driver books, I know to expect an entertaining read with meticulously developed characters.
Colleeda is despicable, narcissistic, rude - I could go on, but no doubt you get the picture. She believes the world and everyone in it exist for her pleasure. Kudos to the author for making her so unlikable. You'll spend most of the book yearning for her to get knocked off the pedestal she's placed herself on. From the book description, rest assured, it's a pretty rough fall. And then, you'll miraculously find yourself feeling a bit sorry for her.
Although fairly sure I knew how this tale would end, it came as a surprise to me. The author's unpredictable path added just a little more oomph to an already compelling read. If you're a fan of fairy tales or retellings, D.G. Driver's delightful, and occasionally dark series checks those boxes quite well, and can be easily read in one sitting.
Ally.is.Reading bookstagram review
I have had the privilege of reading all of Ms. Driver's fairy tales thus far, The Royal Deal, The Tomato Quest, and now this one. I have really loved all three, but this is by far my favorite thus far. The main character Colleeda is perfectly drawn as an enticing but altogether pompous character, who is perhaps a woman we would all love to hate, but when circumstances catch up with her ill deeds, we come to wonder if, both, she will be saved and if she deserves it? This brings to light lots of questions about redemption and what punishments fit these ill deeds, which is a theme I enjoy exploring and is somewhat uncommon for a classic fairytale. especially when dealing with the female heroine. But this is what Ms Driver does so well, takes the classic aesthetic of a fairy tale but gives it delightfully amusing and thought-provoking modern twists. I won't say too much more or spoil the ending because the journey is definitely awesome and worth taking.
Deemed One of the Top 10 indie Fantasy releases of 2010 by Fantasy Book Critic, and listed in the first ever Publishers Weekly Indie Select issue, the original 235k word epic title was written in longhand in a Texas prison cell by M. R. Mathias.
The Didaniyisgi is the second book in the fifteen book series, The Adventures of Lord Belmundus, a remarkable tale of others worlds, strange customs, beauty and warfare; and, in its grips, lands a young celebrity, who has the chaps to play the many p
