Best of
Retellings

2022

Daughter of the Moon Goddess


Sue Lynn Tan - 2022
    But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea


Axie Oh - 2022
    Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Beautiful Little Fools


Jillian Cantor - 2022
    To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby.Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire. Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby—before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan.Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well.Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women’s freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who’s trapped in a terrible marriage.Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby’s romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them.Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women’s perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled.

The Rose and the Thorn


Katherine Macdonald - 2022
     There is a pale, penetrating loneliness etched into the walls of this forgotten place. A kind of loneliness made living... is this what it feels like to be a ghost, alone in some kind of half world? Taking shelter from a storm, Rose accidentally strays into a deserted fairy realm, and finds herself trapped there with only a mysterious talking beast for company. Although initially reluctant to befriend her strange companion, Rose quickly finds herself growing closer to him. She names him Thorn, and as the castle blossoms into a place of beauty, so too does their friendship. But something else lurks within the walls, a dark force that will stop at nothing to be free once more... If Rose is to survive and lift the curse placed upon the castle, she will have to face her fears and conquer the nightmares that have haunted her since childhood, as well as confront the terrifying creature that stalks the shadows in the night. A passionate retelling of a classic tale, fairy tale fantasy meets Gothic. Will have you sobbing and laughing, and truly believing in the power of true love.

One for All


Lillie Lainoff - 2022
    Everyone in town thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl”; even her mother is desperate to marry her off for security. But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion.Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for a new kind of Musketeer: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a swordfight.With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels for the first time like she has a purpose, like she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her first target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming, and breathlessly attractive—and he might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to lean on her friends, listen to her own body, and decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.This debut novel is a fierce, whirlwind adventure about the depth of found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the determination it takes to fight for what you love.

Second Star to the Left


Megan Van Dyke - 2022
    That is, until he recovers from her pixie dust laced kiss with a curse that turns the seas against him. With his ship and reputation at the mercy of raging storms, he tracks down the little minx and demands she remove the curse. Too bad she can’t.However, the mermaid queen has a solution to both of their problems, if Tink and Hook will work together to retrieve a magical item for her.As they venture to the mysterious Shrouded Isles to find the priceless treasure, their shared nemesis closes in. However, his wrath is nothing compared to the realization that achieving their goal may mean losing something they never expected to find—each other.

Queen of Madness


Lee Jacquot - 2022
    The inherent need to protect them can become overwhelming and all consuming. It makes us think irrationally and do stupid things. In my case, falling down a rabbit hole.My sister made a mistake. One that put us in debt with the Italian mob who owns half the state, and as payment they’ve enlisted me to work for them. Only it isn’t them I’ll be working for. It’s for her. Onyx Embros. She’s a ghost, a legend, the head of their rival mafia family, and the queen of Wonderland. In order to save my family, I have to act as her guard so they can find a way to kill her. But the longer I stay, the more I realize Onyx isn’t who I thought she was, and neither am I.Turns out, I’m just as mad.A Bodyguard Mafia Romance

Cinderella Must Die


W.R. Gingell - 2022
    It’s Happily Ever After.Or is it?Jane and Charlie have been imprisoned for two years now, serving a sentence especially chosen by their stepsister as justice for her sufferings. It seems that they’re the only two people in the world besides Ellen who know that Ellen’s “sufferings” were a carefully manipulative campaign to win a prince and a crown; the two stepsisters merely collateral damage.But now, trouble is brewing at the castle: death threats, torn gowns, ruined books.Is Ellen up to her old tricks, or is someone really trying to kill her? And when even their closest friends didn’t believe them innocent the first time, can Jane and Charlie escape the blame a second time if Ellen does die?

Kore (The Taking of Persephone)


Ambrosia R. Harris - 2022
    One that involved Kore’s future and would rip away her freedom. One she could not stay to be a part of.Kore finds herself fleeing to the underworld in hopes of finding sanctuary with the King. What seemed like a simple journey at first, quickly turns into a fight for her immortal life. Facing cyclopes, monstrous shades, and vengeful Gods of the realm, Kore soon realizes the journey through the Underworld is not the safest for one such as the Goddess of spring.OR IS IT?

Waking Romeo


Kathryn Barker - 2022
    Location: London. Mission: Wake Romeo.It’s the end of the world. Literally. Time travel is possible, but only forward. And only a handful of families choose to remain in the “now,” living off of the scraps left behind.Among them are eighteen-year-old Juliet and the love of her life, Romeo. But things are far from rosy for Jules. Romeo lies in a coma and Jules is estranged from her friends and family, dealing with the very real fallout of their wild romance.Then a mysterious time traveler, Ellis, impossibly arrives from the future with a mission that makes Juliet question everything she knows about life and love.Can Jules wake Romeo—and rewrite her future?

Daughters of a Dead Empire


Carolyn Tara O'Neil - 2022
    Anna, a bourgeois girl, narrowly escaped the massacre of her entire family in Yekaterinburg. Desperate to get away from the Bolsheviks, she offers a peasant girl a diamond to take her as far south as possible—not realizing that the girl is a communist herself. With her brother in desperate need of a doctor, Evgenia accepts Anna's offer and suddenly finds herself on the wrong side of the war.Anna is being hunted by the Bolsheviks, and now—regardless of her loyalties—Evgenia is too.

Being Mary Bennet


J.C. Peterson - 2022
    And between new friends, a very cute boy, and a rescue pup named Sir Pat, Marnie realizes that being the main character doesn’t mean rewriting your life entirely. It’s about finding the right cast of characters, the love interest of your dreams, and, most important, embracing your story, flaws and all.With a hilariously sharp voice, a sweet and fulfilling romance that features a meet-cute in an animal shelter, and a big family that revels in causing big problems, this charming comedy of errors will have readers cheering for Marnie during every step of her obstacle-ridden journey toward embracing who she truly is.

Songs of the Wicked


C.A. Farran - 2022
    I will never submit. A grave threat looms over the mortal world. The veil that separates the realms has weakened over time, and monsters-Undesirables-claw their way out of the Netherworld to torment the living. What once dwelled in whispered stories now stalks the shadows. The only guard against chaos is balance.Reapers are duty bound to uphold that balance, tasked with guiding mortal souls to the afterlife. Lark secretly dreams of shedding her immortal chains and forging her own path. She's captivated by the humans and envies their freedom, their passion, their anguish. Her master, Thanar, god of death, forbids this fascination and demands her utmost loyalty.When Lark encounters a mortal whose fire and suffering awakens something in her, she denies fate and saves him, refusing to guide him to his death.To escape Thanar's wrath, Lark makes a deal with the witch-queen of the Netherworld and is remade as human-trading her power for mortality. She flees through the veil and enters the land of the living, unaware she isn't the only one freed from the clutches of the Netherworld.Songs of the Wicked is a New Adult dark reimagining of the Little Mermaid.

The Never King


Nikki St. Crowe - 2022
    Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken.Now, on the afternoon of my 18th birthday, my mother is running around the house making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked.But it’s pointless.Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go.* Release Date is not final and will likely be much sooner. Target release date is March 2022 *The Never King is a dark retelling of Peter and Wendy. If you like your enemies to lovers romance with hot, ruthless, morally gray love interests, you’ll enjoy The Never King and the Lost Boys. You can expect hate kissing, fighting, bickering, and ‘touch her and I’ll unalive you’ vibes.

Anne of West Philly: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables


Ivy Noelle Weir - 2022
    Their redheaded foster daughter, Anne Shirley, is in search of an exciting life and has decided that West Philly is where she's going to find it. Armed with a big personality and unstoppable creativity, Anne takes her new home by storm as she joins the robotics club, makes new friends in Diana and Gilbert, experiences first love, and turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. But as Anne starts to get comfortable, she discovers one thing she wasn't looking for: a family.This title will be simultaneously available in hardcover.

Pink Guitars and Falling Stars (Rockin' Fairy Tales #1)


Leslie O'Sullivan - 2022
    Her fame comes with hidden costs, a curse that could ruin her voice forever.Aspiring indie musician, Justin MacKenzie, is determined to kick it to the top of the Rampion Records’ Summer Number One professional vs. amateur singing competition. The favorite to beat in the annual televised contest is none other than the label’s smoking hot superstar, Zeli, whose crazy extensions flow the length of a football field. Those ridiculous extensions, coupled with her bubblegum brand of pop are an affront to everything Justin loves about music, until a stolen kiss blazes into a romantic encounter.Once inside Zeli’s world, Justin discovers things are not as they seem. In their quest to allow the real Zeli to step into the spotlight, the pair must confront the mysterious force behind the dazzle of Rampion’s success. If these star-crossed lovers can’t rally their own magic to defeat the darkness, they will lose everything—including each other.

Pandora


Susan Stokes-Chapman - 2022
    London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents' famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle's suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. Edward sees the ancient vase as key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as a chance to restore the shop to its former glory, and to escape her nefarious uncle. But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason. Gorgeously atmospheric and deliciously page-turning, Pandora is a story of secrets and deception, love and fulfilment, fate and hope.

The Promise of Lightning


Jenna Weatherwax - 2022
    At least, when the Goddess Aphrodite is involved — but Vanessa Reyes’ life seems more Greek Tragedy than Happily Ever After.When a supposed clerical error turns the moment Vanessa has spent all her life waiting for into a nightmare instead of a dream-come-true, she finds herself in an unprecedented situation.With two soulmates instead of one; Alexander, Vanessa and Theo are forced to question everything they ever wanted and where they truly belong. After all, can you really be whole with only half of your soul?

The Leaping Laddoo


Harshita Jerath - 2022
    Can anyone end this crazy chase?Featuring vibrant illustrations and sprinkled with Hindi words, this fun read-aloud also includes a laddoo recipe.

Vault of Glass


Candace Robinson - 2022
    It's much, much darker."A determined girl without answers. A hot guy who would do anything for her. A mysterious museum that some see and some don't...Perrie Madeline lives a simple life. Her only concern is deciding whether or not to let herself fall for her hot friend, August Hartley. That is, until a strange museum known as Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault appears overnight and people around her begin to go missing.Determined to uncover the Glass Vault's hidden secrets, Perrie and August conspire to break inside. But soon, Perrie realizes she has more to worry about than her feelings for August—something sinister is on their heels. Together they must find their way out of the museum before they discover something truly not for the faint of heart.Vault of Glass is the start of a thrilling duology full of magic, danger, and sizzling romance. Perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Penny Dreadful, A.G. Howard, and Kerri Maniscalco. New Adult Edition.

The Witch, the Sword, and the Cursed Knights


Alexandria Rogers - 2022
    Determined to prove her worth and eschew her heritage, Ellie applies to the Fairy Godmother Academy—her golden ticket to societal acceptance. But Ellie’s dreams are squashed when she receives the dreaded draft letter to serve as a knight of King Arthur’s legendary Round Table. She can get out of the draft—but only if she saves a lost cause. Enter Caedmon, a boy from Wisconsin struggling with the death of his best friend. He first dismisses the draft as ridiculous; magic can’t possibly exist. But when Merlin’s ancient magic foretells his family’s death if he doesn’t follow through, he travels to the knights’ castle, where he learns of a wicked curse leeching the knights of their power. To break the curse, Ellie and Caedmon must pass a series of deathly trials and reforge the lost, shattered sword of Excalibur. And unless Ellie accepts her witch magic and Caedmon rises to become the knight he’s meant to be, they will both fail—and the world will fall to the same darkness that brought King Arthur and Camelot to ruin.

Princess of Thorns


Amberlyn Holland - 2022
    Five years later, the Dark Kingdom is struggling to survive.Princess Islyne's body sleeps undisturbed behind a wall of thorns. But her mind is awake and able to explore the kingdom unseen. And, within the bramble forest that's become her home, her spirit takes on a form that is almost real. For the first time in her sheltered, restricted life, Izzy knows what it's like to feel free.Duke Conall will do whatever is necessary to protect his kingdom from the damage and chaos left in the curse's wake. Even if it means rescuing the bride he never wanted.But Islyne's not the meek princess he remembers, and she has no intention of living her life as nothing more than a political pawn. So when Conall mistakes her for a servant, Izzy hatches a plan to keep him far from the Palace where her body sleeps.As the danger grows, however, she realizes maybe there's more to Conall too. She's just not sure if the gentle kindness lurking beneath the arrogant mask is enough to risk spending the her life as nothing more than a political pawn.It's going to take more than a simple kiss for Islyne and Conall to find their Happily-Ever-After.This fairy tale inspired fantasy romance novella features a cursed princess, an arrogant duke, mistaken identity, and a mysterious magical cat.

The Gardener Kings


Monica Boothe - 2022
    But now she must return to the very kingdom she’s always feared. Iníon is the daughter of the last Gardener King, or so she thought. When the king reveals to her that she is not his blood daughter but that he found her in a tree the night that he fled Gàrradh, she begins to wonder what other secrets he’s been hiding. She falls for Rían, the king’s wild son with Gardener blood in his veins who not only lives in the trees but speaks to them. But Rían is forbidden to marry any woman without kings’ blood. Together Rían and Iníon concoct a plan to return to Gàrradh and solve the mystery of Iníon’s birth. But what they find when they arrive in the land of their birth turns everything upside down. After what she’s learned about the Gardener Kings, will Iníon still want to be a part of this family? This young adult fantasy novel inspired by Celtic myth and fairylore is the first in The Gardener Kings trilogy.

Red's Revenge


Ava Hall - 2022
    Literally and Figuratively.With blades on my hips and my wolf at my side, I'm no longer that same little girl, scared and alone in the woods. Now, I'm just as big and bad as he is, and I'm out for blood.But as much as I'd like to be a lone wolf, the men of Grimm City keep luring me in. There's Peter, my first love, a boy who became Neverland's fiercest crime boss. Then there's Robin Hood, the scarred, ruthless rogue with a boyish grin.And finally him, the stranger at my doorstep who wants revenge as much as I do.As they battle over a heart that can't allow itself to love, I have my own war to win.And I'll kill anyone who stands in my way.

Pecan Pie


Katelyn Brawn - 2022
    A homeschooled, early high school graduate, she's not into parties and never had a boyfriend. Besides, boys in books are better. This is a truth that Bella knows universally. She'd rather lose herself in the pages of classic than in the terrifying universe of teenage dating. With a waistline that leaves much to be desired, she's never considered herself the object of anyone's affections.When an unexpected opportunity arises, Bella is forced away from her comfort zone, family, and friends. Isolated in a mysterious world where not everyone is as they seem, she must forge onward to find confidence, acceptance, and unconditional love. Most of all, Bella must summon a courageous heart and become the heroine of her own story.

Blind Alpine: Wicked Warriors MC Alaska Charter: Bleeding Souls Saved by Love (Wicked Bad Boys Motorcycle Club Romance)


Cerise Rose - 2022
    The antiquated rule amused her, but she respected it just the same and it never stopped her from taking a ride around the peninsula on her Ducati, her pride and joy and admiring the men from afar; which was her father’s rule. It was a small town and the men were slim pickings.When her father, Tyler, is laid up from a hunting injury, he’s left the Vice President, Dallas Marquez, in charge to hold down the fort. Dallas is young, most thought much too young to run a motorcycle club and the inner workings of a skirmish with the Black Aklark club, led by former Marine, Kennedy Townshend, was proof of Dallas’s inexperience.When Kennedy challenges Tyler to come out of hiding, her father is up for the challenge, but Charlene begs to differ and alters her appearance to step in for him as Charlie Dixon, her cousin and only male close-living relative. However, she never took into consideration the lies, treachery and violence that happens within the clubs.Will Charlene learn she made a huge mistake in taking her father’s place?Will her fondness of Dallas foil her plans to overthrow Kennedy for her father’s honor?

Madness in Wonderland


Tabitha Bouldin - 2022
    In fear for her throne, children are taken into the queen’s army and only the strongest survive.Alice is nothing but a pirate, but with the help of Hatter, they hatch a plan to sneak into the Red Queen’s palace to free Hatter’s sister. After all, Alice has always wanted to fly an airship.Dr. Frank N. Stein has created an army of automatons to serve their queen. Of particular note: a prototype soldier. Part man. Part machine. The best of both worlds.Doc’s monster is a threat to everything they know, but Alice sees something in the man that begs she look beyond what he’s done and search out the heart of the beast for the better of the realm.He’s their only hope of survival, but how can a monster learn to love when all he’s known is hate?

Untitled


Talia Hibbert - 2022
    

Great or Nothing


Joy McCullough - 2022
    While the US starts sending troops to the front, the March family of Concord, Massachusetts grieves their own enormous loss: the death of their daughter, Beth.Under the strain of their grief, Beth's remaining sisters fracture, each going their own way with Jo nursing her wounds and building planes in Boston, Meg holding down the home front with Marmee, and Amy living a secret life as a Red Cross volunteer in London--the same city where one Mr. Theodore Laurence is stationed as an army pilot.Each March sister's point of view is written by a separate author, three in prose and Beth's in verse, still holding the family together from beyond the grave. Woven together, these threads tell a story of finding one's way in a world undergoing catastrophic change.

Prince of Song & Sea (Princes YA #1)


Linsey Miller - 2022
    

Shadows in the Deep


Helena V. Paris - 2022
    As the most lethal of the Nereids, she’s determined to return her father to the throne of Atlantis, even if it means marrying her greatest enemy.Atlantis’ monstrous depths have always been rife with treachery, but since Poseidon seized the throne, tensions between the underwater factions have the kingdom on the brink of war. Knowing that trying to kill a god is futile, to protect her sisters and her people, Amphitrite weds the usurper king with the intent of returning her family to their rightful place.Yet nothing is what Amphitrite expects when she becomes Poseidon’s queen, least of all her alluring new husband. Her duty is to her family, but she can’t resist the feelings of desire stirring within her. Faced with an impossible choice, Amphitrite must pick a side. Will she be the saviour or the ruin of Atlantis?Greek mythology infused with captivating romance and spellbinding magic, this addictive fantasy is perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and From Blood and Ash. Shadows in the Deep is the first book in the Realms of Lore series.