Book picks similar to
Quest of the Hart (A Princess of Valendria Novel) by Mary Waibel
young-adult
fantasy
indie
the-reading-cafe
Entwined
Heather Dixon Wallwork - 2011
All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.
Thornspell
Helen Lowe - 2008
Prince Sigismund has grown up hearing fantastical stories about enchantments and faie spells, basilisks and dragons, knights-errant and heroic quests. He'd love for them to be true--he's been sheltered in a country castle for most of his life and longs for adventure--but they are just stories. Or are they? From the day that a mysterious lady in a fine carriage speaks to him through the castle gates, Sigismund's world starts to shift. He begins to dream of a girl wrapped, "trapped," in thorns. He dreams of a palace, utterly still, waiting. He dreams of a man in red armor, riding a red horse--and then suddenly that man arrives at the castle! Sigismund is about to learn that sometimes dreams are true, that the world is both more magical and more dangerous than he imagined, and that the heroic quest he imagined for himself as a boy . . . begins now.
Damsel
Elana K. Arnold - 2018
This is the way things have always been.When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, however, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon, or what horrors she has faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome prince, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny to sit on the throne beside him. Ama comes with Emory back to the kingdom of Harding, hailed as the new princess, welcomed to the court.However, as soon as her first night falls, she begins to realize that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows–and that the greatest threats to her life may not be behind her, but here, in front of her.
The Curse Girl
Kate Avery Ellison - 2011
escape! But she must solve a riddle and help her fellow prisoners break the curse that binds them all before she can leave, and that is proving more difficult than she originally thought thanks to the bitter young master of the house, Will.Will wants nothing to do with Bee or her help (and he certainly isn't planning on falling in love with her), but he might have underestimated just how determined and clever--and irresistible--she can be.
Cindy Ella
Robin Palmer - 2008
fairy tale for fans of Once Upon a Time and L.A. Candy, from the author of Geek Charming.Prom fever has infected LA--especially Cindy's two annoying stepsisters, and her overly Botoxed stepmother. Cindy seems to be the only one immune to it all. But her anti-prom letter in the school newspaper does more to turn Cindy into Queen of the Freaks than close the gap between the popular kids and the rest of the students. Everyone thinks she's committed social suicide, except for her two best friends, the yoga goddess India and John Hughes-worshipping Malcolm, and shockingly, the most popular senior at Castle Heights High and Cindy's crush, Adam Silver. Suddenly Cindy starts to think that maybe her social life could have a happily ever after. But there's still the rest of the school to deal with. With a little bit of help from an unexpected source and a fabulous pair of heels, Cindy realizes that she still has a chance at a happily ever after.
The Bone Spindle
Leslie Vedder - 2022
Now she's stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose until she and Shane can break the century-old curse on his kingdom.Dark magic, Witch Hunters, and bad exes all stand in her way--not to mention a mysterious witch who might wind up stealing Shane's heart, along with whatever else she's after. But nothing scares Fi more than the possibility of falling in love with Briar Rose.Set in a lush world inspired by beloved fairytales, The Bone Spindle is a fast-paced young adult fantasy full of adventure, romance, found family, and snark.
Slumber
Becky Bird - 2019
Though the problem isn’t his lack of suitors but his refusal to marry a princess that is less than perfect. The cardinal presents him with an opportunity: a quest to find the most beautiful princess in the land who has been in slumber for a century. But, unbeknown to the prince, the cardinal plans to kill him as soon as the prince embarks on his quest, and take the throne for himself. Luckily, Prince Thomas’s path crosses with Lucy, a spirited orphan runaway, who saves his life and convinces the prince to continue the quest. When they eventually find Princess Aurora, they also find another contender – Prince Philip – vying for the princess’s heart. Despite their mutual disdain for each other, Lucy agrees to assist the prince, and Thomas accepts her help to keep him alive long enough to beat out his competition and return to rule his kingdom alongside his perfect bride. They just don’t count on falling for each other in the process.
The Goose Girl
Shannon Hale - 2003
And when she was older, she watched as a colt was born, and she heard the first word on his tongue, his name, Falada.From the Grimm’s fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original, and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can lead the people she has made her own.
Remnant
Aaron Pogue - 2012
Gone the high culture of the Mountain Tribes, the learned writings of the Twin Empires. Among the remnant of survivors, barbarism reigns. Men hunt men, sacrifice the weak, and do whatever they must to survive in the face of the dragonswarm.Rinuld, a man once deeply devoted to a fallen Empire, stands amidst this chaos. Despite danger and deprivation, he's fashioned a semblance of safety. Now he faces a form of brutality unthinkable scant years before, and it forces a decision. Rinuld can hide from the monsters, or he can risk his life for the memory of civilization by saving a young girl."Remnant" is a short story set in the fantasy world of the bestselling novel Taming Fire. Beginning thousands of years before the events of the Dragonprince Trilogy, "Remnant" reveals what happened last time the dragons woke.Approximately 10,000 words.
The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales
Gail Carson Levine - 2002
In The Princess Test, the author spoofs the notion that a pea can prove a person's pedigree. Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep features a genius of a princess, a hundred years of snooze, two princes, and a flock of balding sheep! Cinderella is a boy in Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, and the glass slipper is a glass hill. In For Biddle's Sake, Parsley tries to forget her beloved prince and get used to life as a Biddlebum Toad. The road to happily-ever-after isn't easy when a baker's son and a princess fall in love in The Fairy's Return.Elements of the classics are woven into these not-so-typical retellings of "Toads and Diamonds," "The Princess and the Pea," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Princess on the Glass Hill," "Puddocky," and "The Golden Goose." The fresh and funny twists on favorite fairy tales will win the hearts and capture the imaginations of young readers everywhere.
Cinder and Ella
Melissa Lemon - 2011
But it isn't long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. Cinder and Ella is a Cinderella story like no other, and one you'll never forget.
Awake
Jessica Grey - 2012
Alex has always been more interested in rocks and science than stories about princesses and magic. Now she's far too busy with her summer internship at the Gem and Mineral Museum to think about children's stories. Between avoiding her former best friend and high school baseball star, Luke Reed, and trying to hide her unrequited crush on her mentor at the museum, the real world is occupying all of her time. ...Until she walked into one. It turns out fairytales aren't all fun and games. A curse has turned her neat and orderly world upside down, and to break it, she bands together with a fellow intern and a recently awakened princess who's been asleep for almost 900 years. Can this trio of unlikely heroines put an end to an ominous enchantment, discover true love, and keep an ancient and evil magic from being unleashed on modern-day Los Angeles?
The Shadow of the Bear (A Fairy Tale Retold #1)
Regina Doman - 1997
In New York City, a young, secretive street tough who calls himself, Bear, lands on the doorstep of two teenaged sisters. On the one hand Rose is delighted with his surprising knowledge of literature, poetry, and music; on the other hand Blanche is afraid of his apparent connections to drugs, murder, and a hidden treasure. Even as Blanche learns to trust him, her fears that Bear's friendship threatens their family prove terrifyingly true.Originally published in hardcover in 1997 as Snow White and Rose Red: A Modern Fairy Tale, Bethlehem Books released The Shadow of the Bear: Snow White and Rose Red Retold in paperback in 2002.
Beauty and the Beast
Vivienne Savage - 2016
Prince Alistair isn’t an ordinary dragon. He’s a shifter afflicted by a curse, unable to become human again until he finds his true love. When a mortal king’s adventurers trespass in Alistair’s territory to steal a rare flower, the prince decides to steal a valuable prize of his own. (Author's Note: This is a magical retelling of the beloved tale written for an adult audience. Reader discretion is advised.)
Neverland
Anna Katmore - 2014
“Angel, the word you’re looking for is pirate.”Strange things are happening in Neverland…Although Angelina McFarland loves reading fairytales, she never dreamed of falling right into one herself. Literally! But who is this flying boy who saved her? And why doesn’t he want to grow up?Desperately trying to find a way off this cursed island, Angelina runs into a ruthless pirate. Hook captures her and keeps her trapped on his ship, the Jolly Roger, to lure the flying boy out of his hiding. But is Hook really the heartless man she heard about? The more time Angel spends with him, the more she starts to wonder. Her growing feelings for him are as intense as shocking, and soon she can’t stop thinking about how soft his lips felt on hers when he kissed her under the stars. As time passes, an old train ticket to London is all she has left to remind her of her former life and why she can’t give up trying to find a way home.Or is staying in Neverland forever the better choice after all?Grab a happy thought and follow Angel on an adventure that will keep you breathless and smiling long after you read the last page…Mind the cliffhanger! (I’m sorry!)The sequel PAN’S REVENGE is already available.