Damsel Distressed


Kelsey Macke - 2014
    No one cares about the stepsisters’ story. Those girls don’t get a sweet little ending; they get a lifetime of longing.Imogen Keegen has never had a happily ever after–in fact, she doesn’t think they are possible. Ever since her mother’s death seven years ago, Imogen has pulled herself in and out of therapy, struggled with an “emotionally disturbed” special ed. label, and loathed her perma-plus-sized status.When Imogen’s new stepsister, the evil and gorgeous Ella Cinder, moves in down the hall, Imogen begins losing grip on the pieces she’s been trying to hold together. The only things that gave her solace–the theatre, cheese fries, and her best friend, Grant–aren’t enough to save her from her pain this time.While Imogen is enjoying her moment in the spotlight after the high school musical, the journal pages containing her darkest thoughts get put on display. Now, Imogen must resign herself to be crushed under the ever-increasing weight of her pain, or finally accept the starring role in her own life story.And maybe even find herself a happily ever after.

Once Upon A Curse


Yasmine GalenornC. Gockel - 2016
    More Grimm than Disney, in this collection you’ll find twists on Snow White, Hansel & Gretel, Rumplestilstskin, The Snow Queen, Cinderella, The Pied Piper, Alice in Wonderland, and Red Riding Hood, plus new tales paying homage to the old traditions. Shadows cannot exist without light, however, and you’ll find enough happily-ever-afters to lift your spirits in this anthology full of adventure, dark powers, and ultimately the enduring power of true love.   YARROW, STURDY AND BRIGHT by Devon Monk – Sweet music cannot hide a wicked heart… FAE HORSE by Anthea Sharp – Faerie bargains can grant any desire, but be careful what you wish for. THE QUEEN OF FROST AND DARKNESS by Christine Pope - Her heart is the only thing colder than a Russian winter…. BONES by Yasmine Galenorn - Sometimes, your most cherished dream can turn out to be a nightmare. MAGIC AFTER MIDNIGHT by C. Gockel – The Wicked Stepmother is about to meet her match… DANCE WITH THE DEVIL by Donna Augustine - When the devil makes a deal with a dancer, he gets more than he bargained for. NO GIFT OF WORDS by Annie Bellet - Never steal from a witch... THE GRIM BROTHER by Audrey Faye – Not all walks in the wood end well… BEAUTY INSIDE BEAST by Danielle Monsch - Happily Ever After ain't guaranteed when Once Upon a Time is here. FAESCORNED by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson - The Morrigan, Celtic goddess of war and strife, must relive a painful memory that reminds her of what she can never have. DRAWN TO THE BRINK by Tara Maya - Sajiana's job is to hunt down monsters brought alive from paintings. She never expected to meet one so handsome... or to need his help. THE VARIANCE COURT by Alexia Purdy - Anna, a struggling college student, discovers a mysterious ring that turns her quiet life chaotic when the ring's magic doesn't do what it's told. THE MORRIGAN by Phaedra Weldon – A young man discovers he has leprechaun blood – and is wanted by dark faerie forces. ALICE by Julia Crane - A twisted tale of Alice and Wonderland. Facing madness and an ominous prophecy, Alice chooses to follow her heart despite knowing her world is about to change forever. STILL RED by Sabrina Locke – When the Hunters come, can there be any escape? THE FINAL STRAW by Jennifer Blackstream - To banish a gold-spinning demon, first you must guess his name... THE UNICORN HUNTER by Alethea Kontis – Only Snow White knows what really happened in the forest…

Slumber


Samantha Young - 2011
    Now Haydyn, her best friend and the one person she does trust, is dying and only Rogan can save her.Setting off on a journey to retrieve the plant that will cure Haydyn and subsequently the ills that will befall them all if she dies, Rogan is stuck in close quarters with a protector she distrusts above all others.Wolfe Stovia.The son of the man who destroyed Rogan’s family.At a constant battle of wills with the handsome Captain of the Guard, Rogan just knows this adventure together will be fraught with tension. She never imagined, however, that the quest would be so dangerous… not least of all when she finds herself falling for a man she could have sworn was her no.1 enemy…

Robin: Lady of Legend (The Classic Adventures of the Girl Who Became Robin Hood)


R.M. ArceJaeger - 2012
    Still struggling to define herself in a society that believes women are fit for little more than governing a household and bearing children, she balks at her father's plans for her future, but the consequences of her rebellion prove deadly. Hunted by both her father and the Sheriff, Robin is forced to hide her identity and seek refuge as an outlaw in Sherwood Forest.Disguised as a lad for protection, Robin maintains a careful isolation from the world around her...until she chances upon a young boy being beaten to death by the Sheriff's soldiers. Her rescue of the youth marks the beginning of her leadership in Sherwood forest and of the unfortunates who seek refuge therein. Robin's endeavors to provide a life of honor and purpose for her people while aiding the land's downtrodden win her high esteem, but enrage the Sheriff of Nottingham, who plots a deadly fate for her and her band.As the Sheriff's traps close in around her and assassins seek to bring her down, Robin must risk losing love, leadership, and life if she is to save her people and fulfill her destiny as one of history's greatest heroes.Alive with adventure and danger, sword fights and heists, hatred and love, Robin: Lady of Legend is the never-before-told tale of the girl who became Robin Hood.

Princess of Thorns


Stacey Jay - 2014
    Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

The Coronation Ball


Melanie Cellier - 2020
    For years she’s labored to complete her apprenticeship and become a pastry chef. Driven from her home once before, she’s willing to endure whatever it takes to keep her position in the palace kitchens of Northhelm. But when she finally has a chance for all her dreams to come true, everything goes wrong. In danger of losing both her future as a pastry chef, and the man she’s loved for years, Hanna will have to decide if she’s ready to fight for herself, as well as for Stefan. The Coronation Ball is a novelette of approximately 15,000 words that follows Hans’s sister after she flees Rangmere to build a life in Northhelm. It is an expanded version of a short story previously titled The Pastry Chef's Apprentice, published in the anthology Happily Ever Afters.If you enjoy clean romance, adventure and intrigue, then try the books in The Four Kingdoms series now! Each of these young adult fairy tale retellings can be read as a standalone story. However, for greatest enjoyment, they should be read in order.The Four Kingdoms Reading Order: The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea (Book One) The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood (Book Two) The Coronation Ball: A Four Kingdoms Cinderella Novelette Happily Every Afters: A Reimagining of Snow White and Rose Red (Novella) The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin (Book Three) A Midwinter's Wedding: A Retelling of The Frog Prince (Novella) The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty (Book Four) The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling (Book Five)

Spelled


Betsy Schow - 2015
    32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks—like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the charming brooding prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.Talk about unhappily ever after.Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called “Kansas.” Now it’s up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse…before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story.

The Spinner and the Slipper


Camryn Lockhart - 2016
    Now her stepmother’s thoughtless lie has placed her in danger, for if Eliana cannot spin a roomful of straw into gold by dawn, the greedy king will order her execution.One glimmer of hope lights this dire situation when a mysterious stranger magically appears in Eliana’s prison cell. A series of bargains might be enough to secure Eliana’s freedom.But unfriendly powers observe the doings of faeries and mortals alike. Can Eliana and her nameless champion surmount the odds piling up against them . . . even the wrath of mighty King Oberon himself?

Vampire Lies (Blood and Snow, #23)


RaShelle Workman - 2014
    Wings of smoldering fire. Consume your true love's blood. Become the Eternal Vampire. ***Once upon a time there lived a vampire with wings and the genie who loved her...Born of the seven magics, Jasmine is different in every way, including the obnoxious wings on her back courtesy of the original Vampires. She wants to be normal, to be a regular teenaged girl.When a gorgeous dark-haired boy named Laeddin shows up and promises to sneak her away from all her problems and hide her in the human world, she agrees. But an evil lurks in her nightmares, a man with red eyes. It doesn’t take long for Jasmine to realize that no matter how far she tries to run from who she is, he’s only a dream away. He wants her. He needs her. He acts as though he loves her. It’s becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between the path that’ll lead to her happily ever after, and the path that’ll lead to her destruction as well as all magic.

Mechanica


Betsy Cornwell - 2015
    Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home. But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

A Dream Not Imagined


Shantelle Mary - 2015
    A Gardener, a Stepmother, and a secret... Ellie Abbington, a beautiful yet unassuming young woman, quietly longs for her life to change. Too privileged to associate with the servants—too underprivileged to associate with her own family; she dreams a dream of a prince and a happily ever after. But it could be that her own stepsisters, conniving Dezmarie and easily-influenced Adelaide, are dreaming the same dream...of the same prince. In the end, are dreams even all they're made out to be? Especially with deep and long-hidden secrets about to be unearthed? A Dream Not Imagined is a non-magical fairytale novella based loosely on the classic tale of Cinderella.

Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold


Demelza Carlton - 2017
    An enchanting beauty. Only love can break the spell.Once upon a time...The wicked King Thorn forced the enchantress Zuleika to cast a terrible curse. She fled his court to travel the world, helping those who need her magic most. Until a search for her merchant father's lost ships leads her to an enchanted island, where Prince Vardan, the island's ruler, is afflicted by the most powerful curse Zuleika has ever encountered. She's not sure she can reverse the spell, but she's determined to try. After all, a prince who fights pirates can't be all bad...no matter how beastly his appearance.Together, can the enchanting beauty and the beastly prince break the spell?Romance a Medieval Fairytale series:Each book is a standalone, so they can be read in any order:(#1) Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold (#2) Dance: Cinderella Retold (#3) Fly: Goose Girl Retold (#4) Revel: Twelve Dancing Princesses Retold (#5) Silence: Little Mermaid Retold (#6) Awaken: Sleeping Beauty Retold (#7) Embellish: Brave Little Tailor Retold (#8) Appease: Princess and the Pea Retold (#9) Blow: Three Little Pigs Retold (#10) Return: Hansel and Gretel Retold (#11) Wish: Aladdin Retold (#12) Melt: Snow Queen Retold (#13) Spin: Rumpelstiltskin Retold (#14) Kiss: Frog Prince Retold (#15) Hunt: Red Riding Hood Retold(#16) Reflect: Snow White Retold (#17) Roar: Goldilocks Retold

Shadows on the Moon


Zoë Marriott - 2011
    But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother's new husband, Lord Terayama, or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama's kitchens, or Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to capture the heart of a prince - and determined to use his power to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even love.

Little Thieves


Margaret Owen - 2021
    Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago. That was when Vanja's otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back... by stealing Gisele's life for herself.The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele's sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja's tail, she'll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life.Margaret Owen, author of The Merciful Crow series, crafts a delightfully irreverent retelling of "The Goose Girl" about stolen lives, thorny truths, and the wicked girls at the heart of both.

A Feast of Sorrows


Angela Slatter - 2016
    collection—features twelve of the World Fantasy and British Fantasy Award-winning Australian author’s finest, darkest fairy tales, and adds two new novellas to her marvelous cauldron of fiction. Stories peopled by women and girls—fearless, frightened, brave, bold, frail, and fantastical—who take the paths less traveled by, accept (and offer) poisoned apples, and embrace transformation in all its forms. Reminiscent of Angela Carter at her best, Slatter’s work is both timeless and fresh: fascinating new reflections from the enchanted mirrors of fairy tales and folklore.