Book picks similar to
To Bleed a Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker
fantasy
romance
retellings
fantasy-romance
Wicked Ugly Bad
Cassandra Gannon - 2013
Cinderella is the evil one in the family and Letty is determined to prove it. Unfortunately, that’s kinda hard to do from behind bars. After the debacle at the ball, Letty and her sister Dru were dragged off to the Wicked, Ugly and Bad Mental Health Treatment Center and Maximum Security Prison. While Cindy’s planning her dream wedding, her two stepsisters are being forced to endure life in the dreariest dungeon in the land.Luckily, Letty has a plan to change that unhappy ending. If she can just get to Prince Charming and prove the glass slipper doesn’t fit Cinderella’s foot, she can reclaim her life. In order to do that, though, she needs to convince The Big Bad Wolf to lend a hand in organizing a jailbreak.Marrok Wolf isn’t sure what to make of the idealistic redhead in his group therapy sessions. With fifty counts of Badness on his criminal record, Marrok’s used to being surrounded by crooks and scumbags. Scarlett wants to lecture him about equal rights for trolls! When the little do-gooder comes up with an elaborate plan to break their entire “share circle” out of prison, though, Marrok is certainly willing to go along with the plot. And not just because he wants to see her naked. The woman may not be wicked, ugly, or Bad, but she’s definitely the only one who can save him.Together with a wicked witch, a timid bridge ogre, an evil prince, and other villains straight out of a storybook, Scarlett and Marrok are about to make sure that Baddies finally have a happily ever after.
Roses
G.R. Mannering - 2013
Her silvery appearance is freakish to the numerous inhabitants of Sago, the cosmopolitan capital of Pevorocco in a fantasy realm. With her mother vanishing at the instance of her birth, she is sent to live with the cruel, rich Ma Dane, where she is punished daily for something, though she knows not what. Tauntingly named Beauty, she flees Sago in a violent uprising that sets out to massacre all Magics and journeys to the furthest point of the country. But Beauty cannot hide in the grassy Hillands forever. Before long, the State officials find her and threaten to take her back to war-torn Sago where death surely awaits. In a midnight blizzard she escapes them, running into a deep, enchanted forest to a great and terrible beast who will bargain for her life. But can Beauty accept Beast? Eternity is a long time.
Untainted
Lilian T. James - 2021
Wielding a blade and pretending to be human were two of them. Following the rules and controlling her anger, were not. Raised in the heart of the Matherin Empire, Vera spent most of her life forced to hide what she was and what she could do. Until one day, she foolishly confronts a strange male she spies tailing the Crown Prince. Not only does the altercation not go as planned, but the male claims she possesses a power his people vitally need. He's desperate to return home and refuses to leave without her. Staying would give her a life she never thought she'd have but leaving could provide her with the only chance to learn more about her past. The more answers she uncovers about herself, the more questions arise, and nothing is adding up. Vera must decide what to do, not only with her life, but with the ancient power inside her.
House of Earth and Blood
Sarah J. Maas - 2020
When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.
A Thousand Nights
E.K. Johnston - 2015
When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awakened by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.
Mad as a Hatter
Kendra Moreno - 2018
It’s only natural that when a man with rabbit ears on his head comes to see her, she doesn’t blink an eye… ...until he opens a portal and drags her to Wonderland. But this isn’t the world she’s read about at home. This world has been twisted, poisoned by none other than the Red Queen. There’s a prophecy, the only chance Wonderland has of survival. Clara is foretold to defeat the Knave and claim the Hatter’s heart. But there’s a problem. The Hatter is insane and Wonderland is full of unspeakable horrors. Death waits behind every tree. If the Beezles don’t get you, the Bandersnatch will. Can Clara embrace the madness and her destiny, or will the reign of the Red Queen continue? This isn’t the Wonderland you know… **This is a Horror Romance retelling of Wonderland filled with all the creatures and characters you thought you knew. It contains gore, adult themes, and a sexy Hatter. Each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone, although, it is suggested to be read in order.
Fables & Other Lies
Claire Contreras - 2020
Not until I met River Caliban himself, heir to a fortune of curses. My fated sworn enemy. I knew I should have stayed away from him. I should have run the other way when he called out my name, when he flashed that sinful smile of his, but instead, I walked toward him, leaving the light behind. Instead, I go against all reason, against all warning, and attended the gala of the year at his dark, allegedly haunted home at the top of the hill. The moment I step foot inside I know I’m in trouble, but there’s something about River that magnetizes me, reels me in, and when he asks for the impossible, I find it impossible to turn him away.
Bring Me Their Hearts
Sara Wolf - 2018
Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.Winner takes the loser’s heart.Literally.
The Bird and the Sword
Amy Harmon - 2016
Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them ‘til they’ve time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, ‘til the hour. You won’t speak and you won’t tell, you won’t call on heav’n or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, Daughter. Stay alive. The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky.My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother’s words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free.But freedom will require escape, and I’m a prisoner of my mother’s curse and my father’s greed. I can’t speak or make a sound, and I can’t wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love . . . a bird?
Drown
Esther Dalseno - 2015
Discovering music, a magnificent palace of glass and limestone, and a troubled human prince, she is driven by love to consult the elusive sea-witch who secretly dominates the entire species of merfolk. Upon paying an enormous price for her humanity, the little mermaid begins a new life, uncovering secrets of sexuality and the Immortal Soul. As a deadly virus threatens to contaminate the bloodstreams of the whole merfolk race, the little mermaid must choose between the lives of her people, the man she loves, or herself.A complete reinvention of Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale, this is a magical-realist fable that captures the essence of sacrifice and the price of humanity.
King of the South
Calia Read - 2020
As everyone picks up the pieces of their lives, I have only copious amounts of alcohol and women keeping me together. Most of the men I went to war with didn’t make it home, including my best friend, Miles. I thought I knew everything about him until I discovered he made me the executor to his little sister Rainey’s dowry. Rainey Pleasonton is anything but pleasant. Most men in Charleston found her wild and carefree ways to be terrifying, which explained why she was twenty-eight and still unmarried. I have sixty days to help her find a husband before she loses her inheritance, her family’s legacy, and I lose the last of my sanity. The only problem is, I’ve watched her go from a little girl who chased us around with a bow and arrow to the only woman in the South immune to my charm. And the men who were once scared of Rainey? They now find my le savauge beguiling, and I do not care for it one bit …
Hades
Carly Spade - 2020
As a digital forensics examiner, she fights bad guys from the technical front. When a closed cold case is dug up, she finds herself becoming consumed to set things right. No amount of eighties music or repeated viewings of her favorite movie Dirty Dancing were enough to distract her. She needed a vacation in the worst of ways.When she set foot in the gorgeous tropical resort in Greece, she had no idea she'd meet a man claiming to be Hades, god of the Underworld. And she certainly had no idea that he was telling the truth. Her Greek vacation was about to become very...interactive.A Hades/Persephone re-imagining.**The Contemporary Mythos series will feature a different Greek god in each book re-exploring their myths and combining contemporary romance tropes. Though they will all stand alone, the stories will also intersect for those that read them all.**
Lady of Darkness
Melissa K. Roehrich - 2021
They are the most feared trio on the continent, but they are also wild and unpredictable. A tragic night has Scarlett finding herself locked away in a noble's household, trapped and forgotten, until she's ready to fall into line.A CHOICE.Until the day she is presented with a job. If she completes the assignment, her payment will be something she has coveted for ten years. Revenge against the Fae Fire Prince who brutally killed her mother ten years ago. Is she willing to sacrifice her ideals for retribution?A MYSTERY.But when children begin disappearing from her home, all her plans are put on hold as she races to save the most innocent. With the help of old friends, a jilted lover, and a mysterious newcomer who claims the magic of the Fae is possible in the mortal lands, Scarlett delves into the darkest corners of the world. Forgotten secrets will come to light, and she will discover the darkness extends far beyond her own kingdom.Lady of Darkness is a new adult, fantasy, enemies-to-lovers romance and adventure novel that will appeal to lovers of possessive Fae, wicked Witches, sexy Shifters, and arrogant Vampires. It may have triggers of love-hate themes, sexual scenes (both consensual and non), violence, and jealous/possessive themes.
White Stag
Kara Barbieri - 2016
While her sisters were becoming wives and mothers, she was taught to hunt, track, and fight. On the day her village was burned to the ground, Janneke—as the only survivor—was taken captive by the malicious Lydian and eventually sent to work for his nephew Soren.Janneke’s survival in the court of merciless monsters has come at the cost of her connection to the human world. And when the Goblin King’s death ignites an ancient hunt for the next king, Soren senses an opportunity for her to finally fully accept the ways of the brutal Permafrost. But every action he takes to bring her deeper into his world only shows him that a little humanity isn’t bad—especially when it comes to those you care about.Through every battle they survive, Janneke’s loyalty to Soren deepens. After dangerous truths are revealed, Janneke must choose between holding on or letting go of her last connections to a world she no longer belongs to. She must make the right choice to save the only thing keeping both worlds from crumbling.
The Winter King
C.L. Wilson - 2014
But though peace is finally at hand, Wynter's battle with the Ice Heart, the dread power he embraced to avenge his brother's death, rages on.Khamsin Coruscate, Princess of Summerlea and summoner of Storms, has spent her life exiled to the shadows of her father's palace. Reviled by her father, marriage to Wintercraig's icy king was supposed to be a terrible punishment, but instead offers Kham her first taste of freedom—and her first taste of overwhelming passion.As fierce, indomitable Wynter weathers even Khamsin's wildest storms, surprising her with a tenderness she never expected, Kham wants more than Wynter's passion—she yearns for his love. But the power of the Ice Heart is growing, dangerous forces are gathering, and a devastating betrayal puts Khamsin and Wynter to the ultimate test.