Book picks similar to
Academia of the Beast: A Dark Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by K.N. Lee
fantasy
romance
beauty-and-the-beast
adult
Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer
Maureen McGowan - 2011
With vampire-slaying talents that she practices in secret, Sleeping Beauty puts her courage to the test in the dark of night, fighting evil as she searches for a way to break the spell that has cut her off from her family. In a special twist, readers have the opportunity to make key decisions for Sleeping Beauty and decide where she goes next—but no matter the choice; the result is a story unlike any fairy tale you've ever read!Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer is an entirely new type of fairy tale–one that will keep today's kids guessing and offer them hours of magical fun.
Bryony and Roses
T. Kingfisher - 2015
Their merchant father died trying to reclaim his fortune and left them to eke out a living in a village far from their home in the city. But when Bryony is caught in a snowstorm and takes refuge in an abandoned manor, she stumbles into a house full of dark enchantments. Is the Beast that lives there her captor, or a fellow prisoner? Is the house her enemy or her ally? And why are roses blooming out of season in the courtyard? Armed only with gardening shears and her wits, Bryony must untangle the secrets of the house before she—or the Beast—are swallowed by them.
Hunted
Meagan Spooner - 2017
Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them. So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?
Chasing Rabbits
Erin Bedford - 2016
This was the Fae world, where rules are rules, and some things are exactly as they seem.
The Eye of the Beholder
Elizabeth Darcy - 2012
My every wish was a kingdom’s command, my displeasure every man’s worst fear. But then, at the whim of a merciless enchantress, all was stolen from me. My once lavish castle became my dungeon. My once-handsome form became that of a beast. There is no hope of release from the prison of my own body, for the only way to break this curse is to earn the love of another. I, who have never felt a drop of compassion, must hope to inspire devotion. I, who am hideous beyond compare, must hope to inspire passion. After hundreds of years, I have come to accept the truth: I will never know love. There is no escape for me.I am a prisoner.Born to two loving parents and a happy home, I was grateful for my good fortune. Though I was plain and prone to living in my head, forced to live in the shadow of my beautiful sisters, I had everything my heart desired. Then tragedy struck, and I lost my mother and my home. Papa was all I had left in the world, and I was utterly devoted to him. When his thoughtful gesture earned him the wrath of a horrible monster, I sacrificed myself for the sake of the one person I love. Now I am a prisoner in a decaying castle with only a terrifying beast for companionship. But I am determined not to give in to the beast’s wrath, to prove to him that he can never truly ensnare me.
Cruel Beauty
Rosamund Hodge - 2014
And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.
Roses
G.R. Mannering - 2013
Her silvery appearance is freakish to the numerous inhabitants of Sago, the cosmopolitan capital of Pevorocco in a fantasy realm. With her mother vanishing at the instance of her birth, she is sent to live with the cruel, rich Ma Dane, where she is punished daily for something, though she knows not what. Tauntingly named Beauty, she flees Sago in a violent uprising that sets out to massacre all Magics and journeys to the furthest point of the country. But Beauty cannot hide in the grassy Hillands forever. Before long, the State officials find her and threaten to take her back to war-torn Sago where death surely awaits. In a midnight blizzard she escapes them, running into a deep, enchanted forest to a great and terrible beast who will bargain for her life. But can Beauty accept Beast? Eternity is a long time.
Sinful Cinderella
Anita Valle - 2015
I'm not who they think I am. A docile girl who meekly obeys her stepmother and stepsisters. Some kind of sick angel who cheerfully bears their mistreatment. That's what I WANT them to think. Because then they won't suspect what I'm really up to.The ball, the prince - it's all part of my plan to come out on top. Stepmother and her demented daughters will pay for every floor I have scoured, every sneer I have borne. They don't know about the white magic, how I use it to enhance myself. They can't see that my heart is black as midnight, rotten as a poisoned apple.They're about to find out. Book Details
Length: Approx. 150 pages
Genre: Fractured Fairy Tale
Mood: Dark / Humorous
Content: Moderate violence. A few mild sexual references. No sex scenes or erotica.
Audience: Teens and Adults
Author's Note: For anyone who enjoys a dark fairy tale retelling. This Cinderella book has all the elements of the original story: beauty, magic, glass slippers, and a handsome prince. But like any "Grimm" fairy tale it gets twisted into dark places. Sinful Cinderella is the first book in the Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series. Other books by Anita Valle
SNEAKY SNOW WHITE (Coming Soon!)
MAELYN: The Nine Princesses Book 1 (FREE TO DOWNLOAD)
CORALINA: The Nine Princesses Book 2
HEIDEL: The Nine Princesses Book 3
BRIETTE: The Nine Princesses Book 4 (Coming Soon!)
THE BULLY MONSTER (A novel for kids)
A fractured fairy tale that twists the story of Cinderella into a dark and sinister retelling.
Scarlette: A Gothic Folktale
Davonna Juroe - 2012
Starting in 1764, an unidentified wolf-like animal ferociously mauled dozens of peasants in the Gévaudan region of France. Whispered rumors of unnatural creatures blended with age-old superstition to cause mass hysteria. Alarmed, King Louis XV sent his best huntsmen to rid the province of the beastly scourge, but this legendary massacre had only just begun. Scarlette, a 19-year-old seamstress who is laboring to make ends meet, lives under this dark threat. Although fearful of the nightmarish monster lurking in the surrounding forest, she remains naive and skeptical of the supernatural gossip. Until her grandmother is attacked.Scarlette learns her grandmother has been infected by the animal's bite. Desperate to save her, Scarlette begins to uncover the dark secrets of her village and finds there are those who wish to keep their pasts hidden. As time grows short, Scarlette is befriended by a local nobleman and a woodcutter who both share an eerie history with the wolf. Scarlette must unravel the men's connection and solve a long-forgotten crime before her grandmother's infection spreads. Based on both the traditional Grimm fairy-tale and older known French versions of "Little Red Riding Hood", this Gothic novel is set against the historic 18th century Beast of Gévaudan attacks in a modern, accessible prose style. Unique to the genre, the novel revives the fable of the girl-in-the-red-cloak with a new historical angle.
Rebel Rose
Emma Theriault - 2020
Belle has finally broken the Enchantress’s curse, restoring the Beast to his human form and bringing life back to their castle in the province of Aveyon. But in Paris, the fires of change are burning, and it’s only a matter of time before the rebellion arrives on their doorstep.Not so very long ago, Belle dreamed of leaving her provincial home for a life of adventure. But now she finds herself living in a palace, torn between her past as a commoner, and her future as royalty. While Belle grapples with her newfound position, there are those who would do anything to keep her from power.When she stumbles across a magic mirror that holds a dire warning, Belle wants nothing more than to ignore the mysterious voice calling her to accept a crown she never desired. But violent factions of the revolution may already be lurking within her own castle, and doing nothing would endanger everything she holds dear. With the fate of her country, her love, and her life at stake, Belle must decide if she is ready to embrace her own strength--and the magic that ties her to so many female rulers before her--to become the queen she is meant to be.Rebel Rose is the first in the Queen's Council series, an empowering fairy tale reimagining of the Disney Princesses-and the real history behind their stories-like you've never seen before.
To Bleed a Crystal Bloom
Sarah A. Parker - 2021
Fragile.An enigma.Now ward to a powerful High Master who knows too much and says too little, I lead a simple life, never straying from the confines of an imaginary line I've drawn around the castle grounds.Stay within. Never leave.Out there, the monsters lurk. Inside, I'm safe ... though at a cost far greater than the blood I drip into a goblet daily.Toxic, unreciprocated love for a man who's utterly unavailable.My savior. My protector.My almost executioner.I can't help but be enamored with the arcane man who holds the power to pull my roots from the ground.When voracious beasts spill across the land and threaten to fray the fabric of my tailored existence, the petals of reality will peel back to reveal an ugly truth. But in a castle puddled with secrets, none are greater than the one I've kept from myself.No tower is tall enough to protect me from the horror that tore my life to shreds.To Bleed a Crystal Bloom is a dark Rapunzel reimagining full of immersive imagery and breathtaking angst. A unique new fantasy series perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout, guaranteed to grip you from the very first page.
Beauty and the Beast
K.M. Shea - 2013
A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin. Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. However, he has given up all hope of shattering the curse after several painful and failed attempts to break it. As such he has only disdain for Elle, leaving her to the devices of his bossy servants. This suits Elle perfectly as she dislikes the entire royal family, Severin included. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting pair, the chateau servants are determined to break the curse and spend the majority of their time pushing Elle and Severin together. After bonding over gardens, animals, and terrifying squirrels Elle and Severin show signs of friendship, and perhaps something more… But not all love stories can end that easily. After all, Elle is not what she seems, and Severin’s life is placed in danger when hostilities flare between his brother and the monarchs of a neighboring country. If they really want the love of a lifetime Elle, a loyal liar, and Severin, an indifferent beast, will have to use every trick they know to survive.
The Moonfire Bride
Sylvia Mercedes - 2021
Until the night he whispers her name.For years, Valera has worked weary hours as a seamstress just to keep food on the table. She would give her all to protect her little sister from the cruelties of the world . . . and the tantalizing lure of the fae forest. One day, she fears, the fae will spirit her sister away, and how can Valera hope to stop them?Then the fae come. Not for her sister . . . but for her.Trapped in a magnificent palace far from her own world, Valera finds herself the unwilling bride of an enigmatic fae lord. He claims he won’t harm her and vows to return her home after a year and a day if she honors one rule: she must never see his face.Determined to return to her sister at all costs, Valera struggles to unravel the mystery of her so-called husband. Why does he so desperately need a wife? And why her specifically? Torn between love, duty, and the unexpected freedom she finds in this strange new world, Valera must fight to find her place.But will a burgeoning passion for the unseen figure in the shadows be her undoing?The Moonfire Bride is book one of a two-part fae romance inspired by the myth of “Hades and Persephone” as well as “Eros and Psyche.” Read today if you’re craving a dark, swoon-worthy hero and a sweet, slow-burn romance with just a touch of steam!
A Ruin of Roses
K.F. Breene - 2021
We all have. A curse put upon us by the mad king.We are a kingdom locked in time. Shifters unable to feel our animals. Stuck here by a deal between the late king and a demon who seeks our destruction.The only one keeping this kingdom alive is Nyfain, the golden prince to a stolen throne. The last dragon shifter.He’s our hope.He’s my nightmare.When he catches me trespassing in the forbidden wood, he doesn’t punish me with death, as he’s entitled.He takes me, instead. Forces me back to the castle as his prisoner. Seeks to use me.Apparently, I can save him. I can save the whole forgotten kingdom, locked away by the demon king’s power.But it would mean taming the monster beneath his skin. It would mean giving myself to him.It would mean my ruin._ _ _ _ _ _This is a dark and sexy Beauty and the Beast retelling, featuring a strong heroine, a dangerous anti-hero, and a humorous supporting cast. It is a full-length novel at 80k words and suitable for 18+. This is the beginning of a trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Buckle up. The author was let off her leash.
Mistress of the Wind
Michelle Diener - 2013
. .
The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.
Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . .
She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response.
It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . .
A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.