The Captain’s Log – goose chase (Patrice Kindl)

Ahoy there me mateys!  I found out about this author when I read her book keeping the castle: a tale of romance, riches, and real estate.  It was a silly and wonderful take on pride and prejudice and had a beautiful cover.  I wanted the second book in the series and was checking at a local library to get it.  They didn’t have that but they did have this tale which is a spoof mixing many fairy tales.

The story follows Alexandria who used to be an ordinary goose girl when she fed a crone a piece of bread and was granted gifts.   The problem is that these “gifts” including beauty, her tears turning into diamonds, and gold dust falling from her hair whenever she combs it, have led to her being locked in a tower and being fought over by the rulers of two kingdoms.  Alexandria longs to be regular goose girl again and is determined to escape from  her tower and be in control of her own destiny.

I thought this was a quick, silly, light, and fun read.  Some of the fairy tales I recognized were the goose girl, Rapunzel, Cinderella, wild swans, and diamonds and toads.  This is both an ode to fairy tales and a commentary on them at the same time.  It’s nothing ground-breaking but it was a very enjoyable tale that I be glad I read.  Arrr!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

It starts when Alexandria, a poor, plain goose girl, offers her own bread and water to a hungry old woman — who just happens to be a witch in disguise. Poof! Alexandria is suddenly heartstoppingly beautiful. Her hair rains down gold dust, and the tears she sheds turn to diamonds. Soon a prince and a king are fighting for her hand, and they’ve locked her in a tower to keep her “safe.” How Alexandria wishes she was a goose girl again! Clearly the only thing to do is escape — which is when her problems really begin!

Patrice Kindl’s inimitable voice and craft make this take on the classic fairy tale extraordinary-and extraordinarily hilarious.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Patrice Kindl – Author

To buy the novel please visit:

goose chase – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

keeping the castle – book 1 (Off the Charts – Historical Fiction)