A Taste of Reality

By: Marla J. Hayes, Angela Falkowska

Narrated by: Karen Krause

Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

When fairy tales do come true...To young Terri Fortier, life in a castle in the south of France seems like a fairytale - until she learns the awful truth. On her eighteenth birthday, she flees from the marriage her parents have arranged for her in hopes of saving their vineyard from an age-old curse. Terri makes her way to the Napa Valley and a forgotten, magical vineyard where she puts down new roots. But can Terri totally escape her destiny when reality proves to be more powerful than any fairy tale?

©2013 Marla J. Hayes and Angela Falkowska (P)2013 Marla J. Hayes and Angela Falkowska

Perfect Blend of Ancient Curse and Modern Times

Any additional comments?

A Taste of Reality is an old fashioned fairy tale, with the twinkle of magic throughout. Being a big fan of fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started listening to this story written by Marla J. Hayes and Angela Falkowska, and narrated by Karen Krause. It was much better than expected!

The story starts off with a French little princess named Terri who is told about the curse that has plagued the family vineyard for centuries. Like in true fairy tale fashion, the only way to free the vineyard from the ancient spell is true love. Because the neighboring vineyard suffers from the same curse, the families arrange a marriage between the two families. Teri will have nothing to do with the arranged marriage and runs away to the Napa Valley. Terri finds her way to a magical vineyard where she discovers not only the secret to making a good burgundy, but the secret to unlocking her heart as well, which in turn saves the family vineyards.

Karen Krause’s narration is simply fantastic. She really brings the characters to life, using a variety of accents and giving each character their own distinct voice. She is also able to switch genders and generations with ease.

Simply put, A Taste of Reality is a wonderful fairy tale with modern day independence.

Fantastical

A fantastical YA about a girl that comes of age, runs away from an arranged marriage, loses her father and moves to Napa Valley, CA (Wine Country). A cute magical short that is a bit far fetched but a nice story for tweens to YA.

Sweet Fairy Tale

I enjoyed listening to this short fairy tale and loved the narration, especially Terri's French accent. Magical story about a Princess who runs away from an arranged marriage in France to find true love in the Napa Valley (with surprising plot twists). Beautiful ending. Audiobook given in exchange for an honest review.

Fairytale or Not?

This story was a true masterpiece.
Sometimes life can really feel like a fairytale but when things happen, like learning about something you thought differently about can change everything. Living in a castle in the south of France means everything. Terri Fortier grows up there and she loves to listen to her dad tell fairytales to her. On her eighteenth birthday Terri runs from her home and the marriage her parents arranged for her when she was a child. They did this to save their family vineyard from an age old curse. Terri makes it to Napa Valley and puts down roots there, and much to her luck she discovers a magical vineyard. Terri also learns so much while living there, secrets to making great burgundy, and how to unlock the heart, and by discovering these secrets it will save the family vineyards.

I absolutely loved the story. The narrator Karen Krause did a super job with capturing the characters accents and pulling the listener in. She was very enjoyable to listen to. She did a great job at changing her voice for each character, even the men. There's so many times that I felt as if I was watching the story as it unfolded. Karen Krause's narration is simply fantastic.

Authors Marla J. Hayes and Angela Falkowska have written a lovely fairytale. I find that this story shows a variety of things we can learn from or even use ourselves about life, such as tragedy and independence. They created a story that I found easy to envision myself living in. I won't lie to you and say I jumped right in from the very beginning and loved it. NO, instead I tried several times to listen to it and I wasn't getting it. I finally tried one more time, I went in with a clear mind, I just deleted all my troubles and worries from my mind, and I went in with an open mind and I started it over. It captivated me and I couldn't stop. I finished it within a few hours.

This story took me on some adventures, twist, and turns that I'm sure you'll love. This story is fascinating and unique. The authors unfold this story in a way that you can't help but be drawn in. I highly recommend this story. It's not your everyday fairytale and I'm thankful for that. I would love to listen to another fairytale story like this again. I really think anyone who gets this audio will be very happy that they did and it doesn't disappoint. I think it's a great audio book for all ages.