Book picks similar to
Beyond the Rose by Samantha Talarico
hugely-disappointing
anthologies
contemporary-fiction
fairy-tale-retellings
The Classic Fairy Tales
Iona Opie - 1974
Including Sleeping Beauty, Bluebeard, Cinderella, Thumbelina, and Hansel and Gretel, as well as many others, this collection provides a historical introduction for each tale and a general Introduction which traces the history of fairy tales collected in Asia and Europe long before they appeared in English.
Cinderella
C.S. Evans - 1993
Evans adapted and then expanded in order to give his brilliant illustrator, Arthur Rackham, maximum opportunity to exercise his gifts. The product of their collaboration is one of the most wonderful editions we have of this, or any other, fairy tale.
The Rose and the Wand
E.J. Kitchens - 2017
When prim and proper enchantress Lady Alexandria attempts to bewitch a magic mirror, she ends up cursed—powerless, penniless, dumped in a strange land, and stuck in the body of an old hag. As if that weren’t bad enough, the mirror gives her two tasks: curse the prince whose arrogant cruelty she once ignored and find her way home—before the Magic Collectors find her and strip her of her powers forever and before the mysterious woodsman who finds her lost in the forest discovers who she really is. The prince she cursed must learn to love before an enchanted rose dies or he will remain a beast forever. Will her fate also be sealed when the last petal falls? Note: This book was originally published as The Beast's Enchantress.
Shifter Secrets: Shifter Romance Collection
Juniper Hart - 2019
Fated Mate She’s being held captive against her will. He will stop at nothing to find her. Dragon Desire A forbidden wish. A dragon prince. A fairy who could change everything. Mate’s Baby The first dragon baby born in 500 years, and Asher is tasked with destroying the threat. However, everything changes when he finds out the baby is his. Shifter Scandal She’s the center of an international scandal and needs to hide. He must choose between her and his loyalty to his pack. Mate’s Call When Quinn Perkins and her mother moved to the sleepy mountain town of Jackson, Wyoming, she never thought that anything interesting would happen. Ever. Fire Dragon A dragon shifter romance and a powerful dragon prince in pursuit of his lifelong mate. Werewolf Spell A werewolf needs Cara’s help to break a spell, but will he stay to protect her when both of their lives are in danger? If you love shifter romances, bad boys, and super sexy alphas who know how to take charge, then you will love Shifter Secrets. Content Warning: Explicit love scenes, danger, intrigue, and hot shifters galore! Intended for 18+ audiences.
The Box Under The Bed
Dan AlatorreHeather Hackett - 2017
And that’s just a quarter of the thrills. Edited and compiled by Amazon bestselling author Dan Alatorre, this anthology of scary tales brings together the minds and pens of twenty authors, including bestseller Allison Maruska (The Fourth Descendant), bestselling author Jenifer Ruff (Everett), Lucy Brazier (PorterGirl), J. A. Allen, Juliet Nubel, TA Henry, Ann Marie Andrus, Heather Hackett, Barbara Anne Helberg, Scott Skipper, Joanne R. Larner, Christine Valentor, Adele Marie Park, Curtis Bausse, Annette Robinson, Frank Parker, Eric Daniel Clarke, and Maribel C. Pagan. Perfect for Halloween or any time, these stories will make you think twice before walking alone on the beach at night, reading a diary, or innocently watching a train from your car. Consider yourselves warned. NOTE: Warning! American and British spelling ahead. A few stories words are olde English, too. The story The Death Of Mrs. Billen by Mr. Alatorre is from his novel An Angel On Her Shoulder, used with permission.
The Two Crosses
Ernie Lindsey - 2010
David Kreutzer just wants his wife's vision to stop failing before she goes blind. And then one day, their lives are changed forever when they suddenly find out that they have the ability to heal the sick with a single touch. With gifts so amazing, why does the mysterious stranger lurking in the shadows want to destroy them both, by whatever means necessary?
From the Shadows (The Light Book 3)
Jacqueline Brown - 2018
When their comfort comes to an end, each member of the group must decide their path. Some will stay behind. Some will journey on. But all will learn that even the most hoped for moments can be filled with unimaginable sorrow.
Stranger
Satyajit Ray - 2001
* New Edition. * Includes a new translation of 'Fotikchand'.
The Sheriff's Catch
James Vella-Bardon - 2021
Once a famous sniper, Abel finds himself a survivor of the Spanish Armada shipwrecks in 16th C Ireland. Following his capture by a brutal sheriff, Abel flees torture and death with a priceless emerald ring. Dozens of English troopers hunt the Spaniard across the Irish wilds, beating every last bush in a desperate attempt to find him.Muireann is a revered Irish poetess enjoying the hospitality of a neighbouring tribe. Tragedy strikes when the sheriff’s men kill her husband during a violent night raid, with her life barely saved by the fugitive Abel. Newly widowed and shocked by her loss, Muireann must somehow reach the distant lands of her tribe, where she can be reunited with her only son.Both runaways form an unlikely bond as they flee across a strange and stunning land, pushed to the edge of their wits and endurance. Yet unknown to Muireann, the ring Abel carries bears far-reaching consequences beyond Irish shores. Can the unlikely, desperate pair escape a ruthless sheriff who will never give up the chase?Accolades for 'The Sheriff's Catch'Winner in the 'Best Novel' category - The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, 2019Winner in the 'Best Historical Fiction' category - The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, 2019Winner in the 'Best Cover Design' category - The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, 2019Finalist in the 'Book Trailer' category - The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2019Finalist - The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards, 2019Finalist - The Eric Hoffer Awards, 2019Finalist in the 'Outstanding Historical' category - The Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards, 2019Winner in the 'Best Cover Design' category - The e-book Cover Design Awards, November 2018Nominee in the 'Best Trailer for a Book or Novel' category - Golden Trailer Awards, 2018
Kingdom Series Collection: Books 1-3
Marie Hall - 2012
INCLUDED DELETED BONUS SCENES AND ALICE HU'S RED QUEEN'S REVENGE CUPCAKE RECIPE!Her Mad Hatter: Alice is all grown up. Running the Mad Hatter's Cupcakery and Tea Shoppe is a delicious job, until fate--and a fairy godmother with a weakness for bad boys--throws her a curveball. Now, Alice is the newest resident of Wonderland, where the Mad Hatter fuels her fantasies and thrills her body with his dark touch. The Mad Hatter may have a voice and a body made for sex, but he takes no lovers. Ever. But a determined fairy godmother has forced Alice into Wonderland--and his arms. Now, as desire and madness converge, the Hatter must decide if he will fight the fairy godmother's mating--or fight for Alice. Gerard's Beauty: A not so classic retelling of Beauty and the Beast, as seen through the eyes of the villain... Betty Hart has had it with men. Jilted in love, her life now consists of shelving books by day, watching too much Anime by night, and occasionally dressing up like a superhero on the weekends with her fellow ?Bleeding Heart? nerds. Men are not welcome and very much unwanted. Especially the sexy Frenchman who saunters into her library reeking of alcohol and looking like he went one too many rounds in the ring. Gerard Caron is in trouble. Again. Caught with his pants down (literally) he?s forced to seek asylum on Earth while his fairy godmother tries to keep Prince Charming from going all ?Off with his head?. Maybe, messing around with the King?s daughter hadn?t been such a great idea after all, not that Gerard knew the silly redhead was a princess. But his fairy godmother knows the only way to save his life is to finally pair Gerard with his perfect mate, whether he?s willing or not. From the moment Gerard lays eyes on the nerdy librarian he knows he must have her, but Betty is unlike any woman he?s ever known. He thought Betty would come as willingly to his bed as every other woman before her, but she is a woman who demands respect and even? horror of all horrors? love. Is it possible for a self-proclaimed Casanova to change his ways? Red and Her Wolf: Long ago there lived a beautiful child. Her name was Violet. Fair of skin, with blonde hair and large blue eyes. Born of wild magic, she was a woman with a child?s heart. Innocent and lovely, but not at all what she seemed--you see Violet went by another name: The Heartsong. She was the child of fairy magic, the physical manifestation of all fae kinds unbridled power. Cosseted and pampered, she grew up in isolation, never knowing who she really was, or why there were those who?d seek to harm her. Ewan of the Blackfoot Clan is a wolf with a problem. He?s been sent to kill the Heartsong, but the moment he lays eyes on the blonde beauty he knows he?ll defy the evil fae he works for to claim Violet as his own. This is the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, as it really happened...
The Austrian: A War Criminal's Story
Ellie Midwood - 2016
All this is only the tip of the iceberg in the myriad of emotions for Ernst, former leader of the Austrian SS incarcerated in Nuremberg prison, who already knows what fate awaits him. Day after day he recollects his life, trying to understand where he made that wrong turn that changed his whole life and brought him into service of his new masters, who soon dragged his whole country into the most blood-shedding war in history. With agonizing sincerity he analyzes his past, which made him, a former promising lawyer, into a weapon of mass murder in the hands of his new leaders. Self-loathing and torturous doubts are plaguing Ernst’s mind, which together with unwanted hopes for salvation, terrifying visions of the nearing end, and ghosts from the past turn his incarceration into a never-ending nightmare. And yet, at the very edge of the abyss, he’s still clinging to life, because a woman is waiting for him, a woman, whose secret he’s still carefully guarding, and the one who he still hopes to see… Reviewed By Sarah Stuart for Readers’ Favorite The Austrian: A War Criminal’s Story by Ellie Midwood opens with a short prologue entitled “Nuremberg prison, October 1946.” Ernst Kaltenbrunner, a former leader of the Austrian SS, has been tried by the International Military Tribunal and sentenced to hang. He is preparing to meet his death, ten minutes ahead, with dignity. The chapters that follow recount the events that led to his trial and the verdict. The author has based this novel not only on actual historical events, but has fictionalized many of the main characters who lived and fought for the Third Reich, such as Ernst Kaltenbrunner himself, Martin Bormann, Adolph Hitler’s private secretary, and Heinrich Muller, the Chief of the Gestapo. Ellie Midwood’s historical novel, The Austrian: A War Criminal’s Story, has a prologue that features the last ten minutes of Ernst Kaltenbrunner's life. It seemed an unlikely start to the story, but the drama had me gripped instantly. The secret lies in the sixteen chapters being sub-divided into sections, each with the place and date stated. This makes it incredibly easy to follow a book written almost entirely in flashbacks. Some of them are set in the years immediately prior to WW2; others recount Ernst’s earliest childhood memories, including the departure of his father to fight in WW1. Still more show him growing to adulthood and his love life, his first interest being a girl with golden hair who is actually a Jewess. Well-written and researched, the whole book is vivid and intriguing. I recommend it to anyone, whether or not they have a special interest in war stories.
The Wanderer Awakens: Nine Realms Saga
Ken Lange - 2016
Then he returned home to New Orleans to try and forget it ever happened.Sadly, that’s easier said than done when you’re the head of a global security firm specializing in paranormal threats. Still, it’s not every day that Armageddon rears its ugly head, and soon enough it was business as usual.Fate, however, can only be ignored for so long.Now, the ancient cult he vanquished has reawakened stronger than ever and they’re dead set on revenge. Viktor will need to face his past if he’s to have any hope of stopping them and saving us all from total annihilation.
The Water Of Life: A Tale From The Brothers Grimm
Jacob Grimm - 1812
A young man overcomes treachery and adversity to save his father.
Imaginary Lands
Robin McKinleyJoan D. Vinge - 1985
Nine writers, including James P. Blaylock, Peter Dickinson, Patricia A. McKillip, P C Hodgell and the editor, Robin McKinley, have written stories where the land is crucial to the tale: the armchair traveller will find the best of fantasy on this grand tour of imaginary lands.1 • Paper Dragons • [Land of Dreams] • novelette by James P. Blaylock23 • The Old Woman and the Storm • short story by Patricia A. McKillip35 • The Big Rock Candy Mountain • novelette by Robert Westall59 • Flight • novelette by Peter Dickinson91 • Evian Steel • [Merlin's Booke] • novelette by Jane Yolen125 • Stranger Blood • novelette by P. C. Hodgell155 • The Curse of Igamor • short story by Michael de Larrabeiti169 • Tam Lin • novelette by Joan D. Vinge199 • The Stone Fey • novelette by Robin McKinley
Dreamhouse
Alison Habens - 1996
When she finally met her fiance, it was less a romantic event than a satisfying check mark next to the last item on a long list of tasks. Now Celia's big night has arrived, and nothing can stop her from fulfilling a lifetime's worth of dreams. Nothing, that is, except her hated housemates, each planning a party for this same evening. Suddenly careening between future in-laws, radical feminists, and an Alice in Wonderland costume party, Celia veers off the path to married bliss, and along a path of suspicious raspberry tarts that lead her into very strange places.