Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Yellow Belly
SERIES: Romance Fairytale Retellings
AUTHOR: Kim Fielding
PUBLISHER: Tin Box Press
LENGTH: 158 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2026
BLURB:
Stefano, the youngest prince of Thanytsia, wants nothing more than to quietly study the natural world and cherish Henry—his servant, his only friend, his beloved. But Henry is also the whipping boy, destined to be beaten whenever Stefano defies the king. When the king orders Stefano to wed the princess of a neighboring kingdom, Stefano wavers, too fearful to act. He knows that obeying this particular edict is impossible, but disobedience could cost Henry’s life.
And then a curse changes everything. Although it constrains Henry’s emotions, it doesn’t dim his loyalty to Stefano, and they set out to lift the curse. But even if they succeed, a future together looks unattainable, and they may need to face the fact that not all heroes get a happy ending.
This book is part of the Romance Fairytale Retellings multi-author series.
REVIEW:
Stefano is the spare to the spare – the third son of the tyrannical king of Thanytsia. He has ZERO interest in politics or frankly his family. His oldest brother, Philip is as idiot who just follows along with anything the king says. Louis, the spare, has powerful magic, so he is not expected to do anything except use his magic to help the king. Stefano has been ignored and neglected his entire life really since his mother died when he was a toddler. Raised by tutors and then given Henry, an orphan from the workhouse who becomes his servant and also the whipping boy who is punished in Stefano’s stead. While initially they become friends, then best friends, their relationship becomes something entirely other than master/servant to lovers.
When Cyrus the king decides that Stefano should be married off to the daughter of a neighboring country so that Cyrus can take them over, Stefano refuses. This could mean both his and Henry’s death. When his brother Louis intervenes in a last ditch attempt to save them, well the curse might be worse than any other fate that awaits them. But Henry and Stefano are determined. Their quest is not an easy one and there are several times things are looking pretty hopeless. However, there are surprises that await them and in the end help comes from the most unexpected places 🙂
This was a delightful story 🙂 Stefano and Henry are truly devoted to each other. Their lives have been so very different, but they are so entwined with each other. Cyrus was such an ogre! I really hope he met a terrible end! Louis was very intriguing and not at all what I expected. Henry’s inner conflict and dialog does much to explain things. I loved getting both his and Stefano’s POVs here. There are interesting twists here on the Princess and the Frog story which I thoroughly enjoyed. My only wish was that we could have seen the bad guys get what’s coming to them 😉 Recommended!
RATING: 
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