Book picks similar to
Beastie Tales by Megan ShepherdSalysa Kiatkwankul


imo-underrated
reading-and-writing
short-story-compilations
short-story-or-novella

Five Glass Slippers


Anne Elisabeth Stengl - 2014
    . . but on the wrong girl? What happens when Cinderella is determined to oust an imposter prince from her rightful throne? Or when she is a cendrillon miner working from a space station orbiting a cthonian planet? What happens when Cinderella, a humble housemaid, is sent with a message for a prisoner trapped in a frightening fairy circus?Here is Cinderella as you have never met her before, wearing glass slippers and off on unforgettable adventures!WHAT EYES CAN SEE ~ BROKEN GLASS ~ THE WINDY SIDE OF CARE ~ A CINDER’S TALE ~ THE MOON MASTER’S BALL

See You In The Morning


Mairead Case - 2015
    Rosie is a mystic romantic whose dad earned so much money writing screenplays that she doesn’t need an after-school job. John, Rosie’s ex, works at the roller rink in a rabbit costume and takes care of his mom when she's tired after a day cutting hair. The narrator works at a bookstore and sometimes focuses so hard on their reading that they see polka dots take over the room. John is the narrator's best and oldest friend, so now the two of them must be in love, right? Because if they aren't, why stay in town? But if they aren't, who else will ever understand? What is love and how does it work? See You In the Morning happens at diners and house shows, in paragraph-shaped poems, and the narrator's angry, tender, colorful voice.

Forbidden Fruit


Joelle Charbonneau - 2018
    Disguised as northern nobles, they quickly find themselves caught up in the mysterious politics of Eden’s royal family—and infatuated by its newest member, the beautiful seeress Imogen.A member of Eden’s guard offers Graylem the chance to prove his worth, but his brutal trial for entry into the guard is waylaid by the appearance of Prince Andreus and Princess Carys. Graylem may be a simple man, but when he sees the royal siblings conferring in secret, he knows that all is not well in the Palace of the Winds—and before long, he learns that whatever darkness is lurking in the city’s walls could mean devastation for his family… and for Eden.

What Once We Feared


Carrie Ryan - 2013
    When the zombie apocalypse hits and the dead begin to rise, Jonah and his friends are on a class field trip downtown.  Panicked, they make a split-second decision to seek shelter in the Overlook, an apartment complex built like a fortress on the edge of town.  But as they begin to face the realities of what it will take to survive, they realize that while making the decision of where to run was easy, living out the consequences of that decision may be impossible.  From Carrie Ryan, the New York Times bestselling author of the Forest of Hands and Teeth books, What Once We Feared is an original digital short story about facing a world that is forever changed and in which survival means more than merely escaping the undead.

Stain


A.G. Howard - 2019
    To win back her kingdom of perpetual day, save her night prince, and reunite the sun with the moon, a princess incapable of speech or sound must prove herself everything a traditional princess is not: tough enough to sleep on a bed of nails, and loud enough to be heard without a voice.

Ice Mermaid


M.C. Frank - 2019
    Darius. Thank you.”Of all the humans drowning around her, she had to be stuck with the one who bothered to mind his manners as he was dying. She bit back a laugh. “Well, good to know. Stay alive, Darius.”“Death feels so warm,” he whispered, those brown eyes hooded as they looked into hers. “Didn’t know there were mermaids in heaven. Ice mermaids…So beautiful. Jewels for eyes, pearls for hair.”Behind them, the great ship that had the words "Titanic" painted on its bow was cracking as it tilted into the freezing waters of the ocean.Lorelei gave a frustrated sigh and tightened her hold on him. ...Ice Mermaid is a Salt for Air novella about a mermaid who witnesses the sinking of the Titanic. It's not necessary to read it before Salt for Air in order to understand the series, but it definitely adds to it.

The Magykal Papers


Angie Sage - 2009
    Enter the world of Septimus Heap with this collection of previously unpublished papers.This rich compendium includes:The private journals of Septimus, Jenna, and Marcia Overstrand.The best--and worst--places to eat as described in The Egg-on-Toast Restaurant Guide.Sirius Weazal's Speedy Guides to the Palace, the Wizard Tower, and Wizard Way.Excerpts from the Pigeon Post Biography series and the Heaps of History series.Alther Mella's Guide to Being Dead: Ten Handy Rules for New Ghosts.Beautiful maps, quirky flyers, funny letters, and much more!

Let All the Children Boogie


Sam J. Miller - 2021
    Miller's sci-fi time traveling tale, "Let All the Chlidren Boogie," a Tor.com OriginalAs the Cold War stalls and the threat of nuclear warfare dominates the news, small-town misfits Laurie and Fell bond over a shared love of music and the mystery of the erratic radio messages that hint at the existence of a future worth reaching out for.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Blue-Haired Boy


Courtney C. Stevens - 2014
    Stevens's debut novel, Faking Normal, this digital short story focuses on Bodee Lennox, otherwise known as the Kool-Aid Kid.Bodee Lennox has secrets. About where he got the four-inch scar on his leg. About the bruises on his back. About what it's really like to live in the Lennox household. These are things he doesn't share with anyone . . . until he meets Gerry, a girl with bright-green hair and a smile the size of Alaska. When Gerry falls out of a bus in Rickman, Tennessee, and lands at Bodee's feet, she gives Bodee two things he desperately needs: a friend and a chance to leave Rickman behind, even if it's just for a few hours.He joins Gerry on her epic bus trip for as far as his money will take him. And by the end of the day, more of Bodee has changed than just the color of his hair.

The Legend of the Golden Raven


K. Ancrum - 2017
    Ancrum's The Legend of the Golden Raven novella, part fairy tale and part gritty reality, follows a boy as he descends into madness. August and Jack weren’t meant to be friends. One is a misfit with a pyro streak and the other a golden boy on the rugby team. But as their relationship intensifies, Jack slowly begins to lose his mind—taking readers on an intimate journey into the fantasy kingdom creeping into the edges of his world.As the novella moves back and forth between a medieval legend and our own, contemporary world, nothing is as it seems. The boys alienate everyone around them as they struggle with their sanity and as Jack’s quest to fulfill a dark prophecy begins to consume them both . . . Devour this companion novella to The Wicker King. An ImprintBook

The Jewel and Her Lapidary


Fran Wilde - 2016
    That power has kept the peace and tranquility, and the kingdom has flourished.Jewel Lin and her Lapidary Sima may be the last to enjoy that peace.The Jeweled Court has been betrayed. As screaming raiders sweep down from the mountains, and Lapidary servants shatter under the pressure, the last princess of the Valley will have to summon up a strength she’s never known. If she can assume her royal dignity, and if Sima can master the most dangerous gemstone in the land, they may be able to survive.“The central fantastical idea is pretty cool… nicely written… I suspect the world it’s set in might yield more fine stories.” – Locus

Ever Cursed


Corey Ann Haydu - 2020
    They are cherished, admired. Cursed. Jane, Alice, Nora, Grace, and Eden carry the burden of being punished for a crime they did not commit, or even know about. They are each cursed to be Without one essential thing—the ability to eat, sleep, love, remember, or hope. And their mother, the Queen, is imprisoned, frozen in time in an unbreakable glass box. But when Eden’s curse sets in on her thirteenth birthday, the princesses are given the opportunity to break the curse, preventing it from becoming a True Spell and dooming the princesses for life. To do this, they must confront the one who cast the spell—Reagan, a young witch who might not be the villain they thought—as well as the wickedness plaguing their own kingdom…and family. Told through the eyes of Reagan and Jane—the witch and the bewitched—this insightful twist of a fairy tale explores power in a patriarchal kingdom not unlike our own.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn


Melissa Bashardoust - 2020
    But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming...human or demon. Princess or monster.

Unbound Enchantment


Kara Jaynes - 2014
    Not many stories got back to the nomad people about those who were captured, but from the few stories we heard, a collar meant being enslaved to the Oppressors. I was a slave. I felt numb inside. It was a fate said to be worse than death, to lose one's freedom, to live under the rule and control of someone else. The stories were horrible. Slaves were worked hard and mercilessly. They were required to obey without question, and any dissension was met with swift punishment." Adaryn has been captured and enslaved by an Oppressor. Her captor is handsome, agreeable and intelligent, if a little absent-minded and completely unlike the cruel master she had expected, but Adaryn is ready to do whatever it takes to gain her freedom. A 25,000 word novella.

Shock


Kathy Reichs - 2015
    Reeling from the recent death of her mother, and nervous about meeting her dad for the first time, she could hardly be less excited at the prospect of starting this new chapter of her life. With its balmy weather and relaxed Southern atmosphere, South Carolina feels like a foreign country compared to Tory’s native New England. But her worries begin to fade once she lays eyes on rugged, mysterious Morris Island, and three quirky boys who are as lively and curious as Tory herself. Maybe—just maybe—this new home has something wonderful in store for her after all.In this glimpse into the world of the Virals before they became Virals, sometimes what seems like an ending is only the start.