A princess with a magic handkerchief. A flirtatious baron’s son. The maid who turned their world upside down.

As the possessor of her family’s handkerchief, Princess Daphne should be uncovering the truth behind her father’s murder. But she lacks confidence as a spy, and her mother is sending her off to a neighboring kingdom to look for a husband. It means months lost from her mission, but at least her faithful dog and best friend will be with her.

Raoul has been Daphne’s best friend since they were children. But she always laughs off his attempts to confess deeper feelings, and now his father has given him an ultimatum. She’s always been out of his reach, but if Raoul can’t change her mind in the next six months, he’ll lose what little chance he had.

When a kitchen maid catches Daphne alone, she steals the handkerchief and uses it to swap their appearances. The only way to undo it is for Daphne to tell someone who she is, but the curse prevents Daphne from both speaking and writing.

Will Daphne find a way to free herself from the curse? Or will the maid win, leaving Daphne a mute shepherdess forever?

Curse of Silence is a clean, no-spice retelling of The Goose Girl. It is part of The Roumaterra Chronicles, a series of interconnected, standalone fairy tale retellings perfect for readers of Brittany Fichter, Celeste Baxendell, and Annette K. Larsen.

Published
September 30, 2024
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The Roumaterra Chronicles

The series

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Familiar fairy tales take unexpected paths in The Roumaterra Chronicles, a collection of interconnected fantasy romance stories set across the kingdoms of Roumaterra. Cinderella crosses paths with Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin shares a story with The Phantom of the Opera, and Robin Hood becomes entwined with Snow White and Rose Red, reshaping well-known tales into something distinctly their own.

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Erin Halbmaier's retellings focus as much on relationships as magic and adventure. Princes and princesses are allowed to make mistakes, marriages can be tested after the expected happy ending, and secrets, difficult choices, and old promises have consequences. Each story explores a different corner of Roumaterra while connections between characters and kingdoms gradually give the series a wider sense of place.

Written as clean, no-spice fantasy romance, the series combines fairy-tale magic with flawed characters, emotional conflicts, adventure, and hard-earned happy endings. Most of the books can be enjoyed as standalone stories, while reading them together reveals the threads connecting their reimagined fairy tales.

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10/10

This is the first book by Erin Halbmaier that I have read and I thought this was a really fun Retelling of The Goose Girl full of interesting characters that worked well as a standalone but is probably even better when you know the world better. I loved getting to know Raoul & Daphne in this story and their relationship while Daphne was River- Bug and unable to tell Raoul who she really was was entertaining. I look forward to exploring this series more and hope to discover the truth about what happened with Daphne's brother.

Steam Rating: Glimpses and Kisses 

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