The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland

By: Joe Cosentino

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Cinder, a poor and beautiful young man who designs clothing, makeup, and hair for his stepmother and stepsisters, offers his clothing and slippers to a naked stranger in the woods, who turns out to be none other than Prince Charming. Follow Cinder and Prince Charming in this twist on the classic Cinderella tale as they discover their inner strengths and find their very own happily ever after.

Enjoy The Naked Prince and three other reimagined tales from Fairyland, each with a unique spin on stories we all know and love, including The Golden Rule, where 18-year-old Gideon Golden, after being thrown out of his home in Fairyland by his homophobic parents, breaks into the cottage of three burly men on Bear Mountain.

In Whatever Happened To...? friction ensues between a celebrity with a growing appendage and a reporter who has a thing for giants.

And in Ice Cold, young Gaelen must save his love, Kieran, after a handsome but evil prince freezes Kieran's heart and bewitches him into being the prince's slave.

©2016 Joe Cosentino (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

Charming, fun, sexy take on favorite fairy tales

I loved this book. Joe came up with some cute takes on old classics. First, we had The Naked Prince a gay take on Cinderella. It was charming and sweet. I loved his Fairy Fathers in this one they added the touch of humor.
Then The Golden Rule
A very funny, sexy take on Goldie Locks Where Gideon finds himself homeless after his parents kick him out and he ends up in the home of three beary men.
“Whatever Happened To…?,” we have a celebrity that has a growing appendage...remind you of another story?

And then, Ice Cold where Gaelen has to save his love Kieren after the evil prince froze Kieran's heart and made him his slave.
All four of these stories are such fun takes on the old classics. Each sex and humorous and lots of fun.

Joel Leslie is such an excellent narrator. He takes this collection of fun stories and breathes magic into them giving them life.

If you like fairy tales, humor, hot sex and just good ole fun, this is for you. I suggest you grab an audio to pick up your spirits on a bad day or to fill in a few hours just for fun.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Good twist on fairy tales

Where does The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love stories that play on fairy tales, so I was excited to get this one. Although the first story was excellent, I wasn't so impressed with the following ones. They were still good, I just thought the first was the best. The writing style was good.

What did you like best about this story?

The first story.

What about Joel Leslie’s performance did you like?

He did an excellent job with his accents, pacing, and differentiating the characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The first story made me laugh a few times.

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth a listen if you like twists on fairy tales.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sweet stories

This was a really sweet and fun listen. There are basically four fairytales adapted to gay characters. The first two are classic fairytales, Cinderella and Goldilocks and the last two are pretty original stories, one with traditional characters and I believe the last story is totally original as I didn't recognize the story or characters. It was an interesting concept and very well written; with humor, romance and fun. However, what really made this book so enjoyable for me was the amazing voices Joel Leslie gave to these characters. I don't think I would have liked this fairytale anthology as much without his performance.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Joel Leslie pulls out all the stops!

Any additional comments?

Are you ready for four short, humorous, sexy tales about Fairyland and all it's occupants?

Unexpected twists abound with each new fairy tale novella based on the classics: Cinderella, The Three Bears, Pinocchio, and The Snow Queen. Funny, sexy and entertaining, Joel Leslie's narration highlights the best about each story.

I love fairy tales, and always love getting a new perspective on old favorites. Joel Leslie pulls out all the stops (and the accents) to give listeners a wonderfully enjoyable experience.

The narration was lovely and entertaining, and I enjoyed two out of the four stories. "The Naked Prince" and "The Golden Rule" were both funny and highlighted brilliantly by Joel's character voices.

If you like fairy tales, you should definitely check out the audio.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Very enjoyable!

What a cute and fun retelling of fairytales! My favorite tale was about Cinder and his Prince Charming, but they were all fun. There was humor and sweetness.

I think the narration by Joel Leslie is what made these stories so enjoyable though. All of his voices and accents were perfect.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Cute fairy tales with a twist with amazing narration

This book was really several stories in one some clearly a twist on existing fairy tales and others all their own fairy tale. They were cute and sweet and perfect for the mood I was in!
The narration is what really made these stories worthwhile! Joel Leslie did a phenomenal job changing the voice of each story to fit the characters and make each tale unique. He is a truly talented narrator.
Overall a really enjoyable experience!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A modern tiwst of tales

My fave two: The Naked Prince and The Golden Rule.

The Naked Prince:
Sweet!! My favorite part is the backstory with Cinder’s parents <3 <3 <3 Loved that HEA also includes the happiness of all villagers.

The Golden Rule:
Hilarious!! The whole freaking fairy kingdom is gay XD I liked how the brothers turned their opinion about Goldilocks.

IMO all stories, like the fairy tales they are, have some elements in common: 1) Parents that claims family is the most important thing yet their actions shows otherwise 2) The importance of appearances in society over and over again 3) How being true to yourself makes you stand out and reach your dreams... AND 4) Good/Love always wins.

I loved Joel Leslie's narration. His performance made the stories real, sexy and funny.

***I received a promotional copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.***

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Fun!

Where does The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Pretty good, especially thanks to Joel Leslie's performances

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably Cinder. He was a male version of Cinderella and just fun.

Which character – as performed by Joel Leslie – was your favorite?

That's so hard. Joel is so wonderful, he can do all kinds of voices and accents. He brings every character to life.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me laugh.

Any additional comments?

A gay take on old fairy tales, this was just a fun, fun listen!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Hysterical!

OMG! This is hysterical. It is 100% silly! No holds barred – just laugh out loud – SILLY!

Joe Cosentino has made an absolute hodge-podge of all the fairy tales – EVER- and mixed and matched them into a collection of fairy tales with an erotic gay slant.

Add to this Joel Leslie’s great and many voice selections and you have a truly hysterical and really fun listening experience.

While I’m sure this was funny as a book, it is absolutely HYSTERICAL to listen to. I absolutely think this is the best way to enjoy this tongue-in-cheek collection of fairy “fairy” tales!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A twist on some classic fairy tales

Any additional comments?

A retelling, updated and gay version of some classic fairly tales. Entertaining, enjoyable, humorous and fun with a bit of romance. Just about every character you can imagine from fairy tales is at least mentioned throughout the book at some point. Finding that perfect someone and living your Happy Ever After is even a rocky road for those in the Fairy Kingdom. Even though these are stories we are all familiar with there are enough little twists to the story line to make each an interesting and engaging listen.

Cinder was a cute retelling of Cinderella. Complete with stepsisters, stepmother and Prince Charming. Love the twist with his Dads.

The Second story The Golden Rule a take on the Goldilocks was my favorite. Gideon Golden finds himself in a bit of a situation when his parents return home early. Jack be Nimble has been getting around in fairyland and wreaks havoc on Gideon's life. His parents don't approve of his choice and throw him out. The different take on classic characters was great. I was walking around laughing at the references made to the characters. The Dwarfs, the Woodsman, the Bakers wife, Alice in Wonderland, Prince Charming, Johnny Appleseed Peter Pan, the Big Bad Wolf, Gretel and more. I won't ruin the experience for anyone by repeating the references or remarks but they are humorous and fun.

The third story is a retelling featuring Pinocchio but it's not his nose that is growing when he tells a lie and he's still having a problem being completely honest.

The last story based on The Snow Queen is a fairy tale that is not as popular or familiar to people as the previous stories which makes it the feel more original than the other stories.

While there is a sex scene in each of the stories it's not drawn out, very sexy or sensual. It's just each couple consummating their relationship.

Joel Leslie did a really good job with the narration. Nice voice. Clearly spoken. Nice even pace. Great character voices and accents. His delivery of the humor and sarcasm was spot on. He made the characters really fun. Very enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author.

Fun Fairytales with Excellent Narration

Joe Cosentino's take on familiar fairy tales certainly brightened my day. Just the book to fill a gap and raise a smile or two. I think his take on Pinocchio was my favourite :) He has made them more interesting with how all the characters in fairyland are intermingled within each tale.

Joel Leslie's narration is superb. Each tale is unique and gives the feel of listening to a play rather than a narration, he is just that great at characterisation. Loved the wicked stepmother, (reminded me Dame Maggie Smith!) the brothers on Bear mountain, Jack (who had a thing for giants) and Italian Pinocchio. Personally I think the quality of narration made it so much more enjoyable.
I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A fun take on the old traditional fairytales

What did you like most about The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland?

I loved the same-sex spin on our childhood's fairytales, and of course Joel Leslie did a great job as always giving distinct voices to each character.

Joe's writing isn't for everyone, and I think you either love his sometimes over-the-top (slapstick-like) humour or you don't. This is so over-the-top that a it's probably a good thing it's not a marathon book to read or listen to.

Have you listened to any of Joel Leslie’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I'm a big fan of Joel's work as a narrator. I am in awe of his range of voices (males, females and children) and "dialects" (US, British, and Australian English).

Any additional comments?

If you want to listen to a few of your childhood fairytales tweaked and "gayified", then this is for you. :)