Book picks similar to
Pathways by Camille Peters


fantasy
romance
retellings
young-adult

A Sharpened Axe


Jill M. Beene - 2018
    An unlikely heroine. Deadly stakes. This love could kill...A jaded fae princess and a few words whispered in the dark...that’s all it took for the prosperous country of Leiria to fall under a curse. Disease, famine and calamity followed. Fifteen years later, Samiris is one of the Chosen, a group of young women brought to the palace to try and break the curse. But if they fail, one of them will die.Unlike the rest of the girls, who see living in the palace with the Crown Prince as an exciting privilege, Samiris is indifferent to the social whirl and offended by the sumptuous wealth present in the capital. She just wants to go home to take care of her sick father and younger sister.Can Samiris survive the social intrigue at court, deadly plots against the Chosen, a seemingly unloveable Crown Prince, and a stubborn adversary to break the curse?A Sharpened Axe is a stand-alone, young adult fairy tale retelling with intrigue and romance, for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black, and Brigid Kemmerer. If you like a strong female lead, fast paced action, and slow burn romance, then you’ll love this exciting book!

Red Wolf


Rachel Vincent - 2021
    Like every person who grows up in Oakvale she has been told to steer clear of the woods unless absolutely necessary.But unlike her neighbors in Oakvale, Adele has a very good reason for going into the woods. Adele is one of a long line of guardians, women who are able to change into wolves and who are tasked with the job of protecting their village while never letting any of the villagers know of their existence. But when following her calling means abandoning the person she loves, the future she imagined for herself, and her values she must decide how far she is willing to go to keep her neighbors safe.

Deerskin


Robin McKinley - 1993
    But this likeness forces her to flee from her father's lust and madness; and in the pain and horror of that flight she forgets who she is and what it is she flees from: forgets almost everything but the love and loyalty of her dog, Ash, who accompanies her. But a chance encounter on the road leads to a job in another king's kennels, where the prince finds himself falling in love with the new kennel maid . . . and one day he tells her of a princess named Lissla Lissar, who had a dog named Ash.

A Curse Dark as Gold


Elizabeth C. Bunce - 2008
    But after her father's death, the bad luck piles up: departing workers, impossible debts, an overbearing uncle. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner offers a tempting proposition: He can turn straw into gold thread, for the small price of her mother's ring. As Charlotte is drawn deeper into her bargains with Spinner-and a romance with the local banker-she must unravel the truth of the curse on the mill and save the community she's always called home.

The Mermaid


Christina Henry - 2018
    Barnum's American Museum as the real Fiji mermaid. However, leaving the museum may be harder than leaving the sea ever was.Once there was a mermaid who longed to know of more than her ocean home and her people. One day a fisherman trapped her in his net but couldn't bear to keep her. But his eyes were lonely and caught her more surely than the net, and so she evoked a magic that allowed her to walk upon the shore. The mermaid, Amelia, became his wife, and they lived on a cliff above the ocean for ever so many years, until one day the fisherman rowed out to sea and did not return.P. T. Barnum was looking for marvelous attractions for his American Museum, and he'd heard a rumor of a mermaid who lived on a cliff by the sea. He wanted to make his fortune, and an attraction like Amelia was just the ticket.Amelia agreed to play the mermaid for Barnum, and she believes she can leave any time she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he's determined to hold on to his mermaid.

Dust City


Robert Paul Weston - 2010
    Or will be, someday. His dad is doing time for the double murder of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother so everyone assumes crime is in Henry's blood. For years, he's kept a low profile in a Home for Wayward Wolves on the outskirts of Dust City--a gritty metropolis known for its black market, mind-altering dust. And the entire population of foxes, ravens, and hominids are hooked. But it's not just any dust the creatures of this grim underground are slinging and sniffing. It's fairydust.When a murder at the Home forces Henry to escape, he begins to suspect his dad may have been framed. With a daring she wolf named Fiona by his side, Henry travels into the dark alleyways and cavernous tunnels of Dust City. There, he'll come face to snout with legendary mobster Skinner and his Water Nixie henchmen to discover what really happened to his father in the woods that infamous night...and the shocking truth about fairydust.

Beasts and Beauty


Soman Chainani - 2021
     You don’t know them at all. Twelve tales, twelve dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that capture hearts long kept tame and set them free, truths that explore life . . . and death.A prince has a surprising awakening . . .                           A beauty fights like a beast . . .A boy refuses to become prey . . .A path to happiness is lost. . . . then found again.New York Times bestselling author Soman Chainani respins old stories into fresh fairy tales for a new era and creates a world like no other. These stories know you. They understand you. They reflect you. They are tales for our times. So read on, if you dare.

Cinderella's Dress


Shonna Slayton - 2014
    Will she get to the truth before it's forgotten? If you like fairytale retellings and are looking for something new to the genre, you'll love this historic twist to a well-known tale.Buy Cinderella's Dress today.

Spinning Starlight


R.C. Lewis - 2015
    But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it’s hard to escape it. So when a group of men shows up at her house uninvited, she assumes it’s just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi’s vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home—a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers’ survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for its very survival.

Winterspell


Claire Legrand - 2014
    Clara Stole, the mayor’s ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother’s murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.Her home is destroyed, her father abducted—by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they’re to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets—and a need she can’t define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won’t leave Cane unscathed—if she leaves at all.Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

My Fair Godmother


Janette Rallison - 2009
    Enter Chrissy (Chrysanthemum) Everstar: Savannah’s gum-chewing, cell phone–carrying, high heel-wearing Fair Godmother. Showing why she’s only Fair—because she’s not a very good fairy student—Chrissy mistakenly sends Savannah back in time to the Middle Ages, first as Cinderella, then as Snow White. Finally she sends Tristan, a boy in Savannah’s class, back instead to turn him into her prom-worthy prince. When Savannah returns to the Middle Ages to save Tristan, they must team up to defeat a troll, a dragon, and the mysterious and undeniably sexy Black Knight. Laughs abound in this clever fairy tale twist from a master of romantic comedy.

The Star-Touched Queen


Roshani Chokshi - 2016
    Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.Listening Length: 9 hours and 22 minutes

Dust


Kara Swanson - 2020
    Now Claire's desperate search points to London... and a boy who shouldn't exist.Peter Pan is having a beastly time getting back to Neverland. Grounded in London and hunted by his own Lost Boys, Peter searches for the last hope of restoring his crumbling island: a lass with magic in her veins.The girl who fears her own destiny is on a collision course with the boy who never wanted to grow up. The truth behind this fairy tale is about to unravel everything Claire thought she knew about Peter Pan—and herself.

Cinderella


May Sage - 2015
    For that reason, the pictures I request of those who wish to apply are explicit. The full prerequisites are attached to the correspondence. If you aren’t comfortable with these demands, don’t bother applying."Ella applies, seeing straight through the bullshit; she goes as far as derisivly add a set of pictures fitting the requirements the letter demands:A picture of her "pussy" - a fat, indolent persian - and of her in her nightwear - yoga pants and a hoodie.In lieu of an introduction, her message reads:« Dear Daniel Franko Phillipe Del Luz,I’ve applied to guarantee that I’m not summoned to your little orgy.Fuck you. We aren’t all stupid.Ella. »It was supposed to go through an automated system;she didn't expect anyone to read it...Let alone the King

Kiss of the Royal


Lindsey Duga - 2018
    Prince Zach’s unparalleled skill with a sword should make them an unstoppable pair—if only they could agree on...well, just about anything.But Ivy’s magic can only fully unlock with Zach’s help, and he’s not exactly cooperating.Zach believes Ivy’s magic is dangerous. Ivy believes they’ll never win the war without it. Two warriors, one goal, and the fate of their world on the line. But the more they argue, the more they fall for each other. And only one of them can be right…