Book picks similar to
The Rakshasa's Bride by Suzannah Rowntree


fantasy
beauty-and-the-beast
fairy-tale-retellings
retellings

Grim


Christine JohnsonShaun David Hutchinson - 2014
    Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today: Ellen Hopkins Amanda Hocking Julie Kagawa Claudia Gray Rachel Hawkins Kimberly Derting Myra McEntire Malinda Lo Sarah Rees-Brennan Jackson Pearce Christine Johnson Jeri Smith Ready Shaun David Hutchinson Saundra Mitchell Sonia Gensler Tessa Gratton Jon Skrovon

Queen of Hearts


Colleen Oakes - 2014
    Alice has not fallen down a rabbit hole. There is no all-knowing cat with a taunting smile. This is a Wonderland where beneath each smile lies a secret, each tart comes with a demand, and only prisoners tell the truth.Dinah is the princess who will one day reign over Wonderland. She has not yet seen the dark depths of her kingdom; she longs only for her father’s approval and a future with the boy she loves. But when a betrayal breaks her heart and threatens her throne, she is launched into Wonderland’s dangerous political game. Dinah must stay one step ahead of her cunning enemies or she’ll lose not just the crown but her head.Evil is brewing in Wonderland and maybe, most frighteningly, in Dinah herself.This is not a story of happily ever after.This is the story of the Queen of Hearts.

Silver Birch, Blood Moon


Ellen DatlowIndia Edghill - 1999
    An embittered mother cares for her dying son who is trapped in a thicket that guards a sleeping beauty... In a bleak and desolate industrial wasteland, a group of violent outcasts lays the tattered myths of one Millenium to rest, and gives terrifying birth to those of the next.Erotic, compelling, witty, and altogether extraordinary, these stories lay bare our innermost demons and desires--imaginatively transforming our youthful fantasies into things darker, slyer, and more delightfully subversive. The "Snow White, Blood Red" Collection #1. Snow White, Blood Red #2. Black Thorn, White Rose #3. Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears #4. Black Swan, White Raven #5. Silver Birch, Blood Moon #6. Black Heart, Ivory Bones

Sea Witch


Sarah Henning - 2018
    A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch. A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

Spinning Silver


Naomi Novik - 2018
    Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk--grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh--Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar. But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love. Channeling the vibrant heart of myth and fairy tale, Spinning Silver weaves a multilayered, magical tapestry that readers will want to return to again and again.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood


Rena Rossner - 2018
    When their parents travel to visit their dying grandfather, the sisters are left behind in their home in the woods.But before they leave, Liba discovers the secret that their Tati can transform into a bear, and their Mami into a swan. Perhaps, Liba realizes, the old fairy tales are true. She must guard this secret carefully, even from her beloved sister.Soon a troupe of mysterious men appear in town and Laya falls under their spell-despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And these are not the only dangers lurking in the woods...The sisters will need each other if they are to become the women they need to be - and save their people from the dark forces that draw closer.

Gold Spun


Brandie June - 2021
    Instead, Nor uses it for a con—to convince villagers to buy straw that can be transformed into gold. Her trick works a little too well, attracting the suspicion of Prince Casper, who hates nobody more than a liar. Intent on punishing Nor, he demands that she spin a room of straw into gold and as her reward, he will marry her. Should she refuse or fail, the consequences will be dire.

Hunter Huntsman's Story


Shannon Hale - 2013
    What happens when he has to hide his real feelings about hunting in the forest-and about a forest maiden, too? Read all about it in this exclusive Ever After High short story by Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale.

Heart of the Fae


Emma Hamm - 2017
    To save her people, Sorcha makes a deal with a dangerous Fae. She must travel across the sea, through merrow and kelpie lands, to find a forgotten king on a crumbling throne. Born king of the Seelie Fae, Eamonn fought battles unnumbered to uphold honor, duty, and freedom… until his twin brother sank a blade between his shoulders. Crystals grew from the wound, splitting open skin and bone. His people banished him to a cursed isle for his disfigurement, now king of criminals and fools. With the help of brownies, pixies, and will-o’-the-wisps, Sorcha battles to break through his crystalline shell and persuade him to take back his stolen throne. This determined beauty could come dangerously close to stealing his beastly heart.

Queen Cinder


Roy A. Mauritsen - 2012
    She carries the fabled shards of Cinderella's glass slippers, as well as the dark secret of who murdered the last of the fairy godmothers.Roy A.Mauritsen's fantasy adventure fairy tale epic begins with Shards of the Glass Slipper: Queen Cinder. "Fantastic... A Magnificent Epic!" -Sarah Beth Durst, author of Into The Wild & Drink, Slay, Love "The Brothers Grimm meets Lord of the Rings." -Patrick Thomas, author of TheMurphy's Lore series "Roy Mauritsen's enchanting epic comes at a time when fairy tales are back in the forefront of our collective imagination. If you've missed the stone halls and warm fireplaces of Happily Ever After then look no further." -Darin Kennedy, author

Cinderella's Phantom Prince and Beauty's Mirror


Jenni James - 2017
    . . two paranormal fairytale retellings by bestselling authors. Cinderella’s Phantom Prince by Jenni James Prince Adrian died tragically twenty years before, and until he met Adeline, his life had been quite lonely indeed. Suddenly, it is full of intrigues and a yearning desire to get to know the contradictory maiden. One moment, she is a prim and proper miss, and the next, a pillar of pluck and determination. Mostly, he finds he wants to protect her from the onslaught of her family—and the role of servant they have forced her to play. Adeline Moses was not royalty at all—she was merely a companion to her two stepsisters, the daughters of Lady Attlepate. So when she finds herself falling for a princely ghost during a summer party, all the rules of etiquette and her station in life seem to be tossed out the window. Now she is attempting to spend as much time with the prince as she can without her stepsisters ruining what little bit of happiness she has found. Their hearts feel alive for the first time in ages, yet a bit battered too, for how can such an unlikely pair find their happily ever after? Beauty’s Mirror by Rose Fairbanks Leonard Sundridge must find true love before his stepdaughter’s sixth birthday or he will die, cursed by his phantom wife to this fate unless he learns to love. But he cannot leave the estate grounds, and no one has ever loved him. Five years later, an angry and bitter prisoner in his own home, he hires a governess for Rosie in what may be his first selfless act ever. Arabella Beauley once believed in magical tales, but when nothing can save her mother, she forsakes fanciful stories. When her brother incurs a debt to the duke of Erroll, she chooses to work off his debt as a governess. Bella expected merely to give French lessons. Instead, the strange happenings at Sundridge Castle engulf her. Is the duke as rough and beastly as others have said? You’ve never read a Beauty and the Beast story like this before!

Heart's Blood


Juliet Marillier - 2009
    A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

Fairest Son


H.S.J. Williams - 2018
    Burdened with shame and sorrow, the prince flees to the cold mountains far above the forests and lochs with nothing but animals and goblins for company. When a human huntress stumbles upon him in her search for a legendary predator, their fates are intertwined. But she hides deadly secrets, and if he dares to trust her, he may risk the doom of both courts to an ancient evil...A Retelling of Snow White

Hunting the Beast


Anna Santos - 2019
    On her first mission, things go terribly wrong, and Belle is captured.Alpha Drake and his pack have been hiding in the Black Forest to protect a powerful magical object. They are shapeshifters and guardians, yet the humans of the neighboring kingdom believe they are nothing more than beasts. One night, in the woods, he saves a young woman who was being attacked by his archenemy, the Black Wolf.Belle survives, but she’s turned into a werewolf, and the insufferable beast who saved her doesn’t let her leave his domain. She’s trapped and has no way to let her mother know that she’s alive. The more time she spends with the pack, the more she questions everything she believed to be true. That doesn’t stop her from trying to escape and return to her village.Alpha Drake has other plans for the new addition to his pack.

The Countess and the Frog


Kenley Davidson - 2016
    A tale of romance in unexpected places… When independent and opinionated Lizbet discovers she has an unwelcome suitor, will she be too distracted by her royal nephew’s antics to look past what she thinks she wants and find true love?