Book picks similar to
Cinders: Necessary Evil by Sky Sommers
fantasy
retellings
fairy-tale
series-books
Second Star
Alyssa B. Sheinmel - 2014
Wendy’s journey leads her to a mysterious hidden cove inhabited by a tribe of young renegade surfers, most of them runaways like her brothers. Wendy is instantly drawn to the cove’s charismatic leader, Pete, but her search also points her toward Pete's nemesis, the drug-dealing Jas. Enigmatic, dangerous, and handsome, Jas pulls Wendy in even as she's falling hard for Pete. A radical reinvention of a classic, Second Star is an irresistible summer romance about two young men who have yet to grow up--and the troubled beauty trapped between them.
Disney Manga: Descendants - Evie's Wicked Runway Book 1
Jason Muell - 2019
No one is more excited than Evie, the Villain Kids' (VKs) resident fashionista and designer extraordinaire! The other VKs roll up their sleeves to help their friend, but with another Auradon student competing for the top prize alongside her, will Evie be able to reach the top spot? And just how far are the other competitors prepared to go to win first place?This is book 1 of 2.
Malice
Heather WalterHeather Walter - 2021
But in this darkly magical retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” true love is more than a simple fairy tale. Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after. Utter nonsense. Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her. Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse. But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world. Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I— I am the villain.
A Bet to Wed the Duke: Historical Regency Romance
Lisa Campell - 2020
The Children in the Lake: A Story You Will Never Forget
Mark Edward Hall - 2019
Nearly a century later there are those who still report seeing the children swimming beneath the surface like elusive dolphins. After losing her husband in a violent car crash, Rachel King and her two young sons venture to Arrowhead Lake to heal. When Rachel discovers that Great Woods Timber is planning to clear-cut this beautiful wilderness she enlists the help of Lilly Bowman and her mysterious father, chief and shaman of the Wabanaki nation. But dark events have been set in motion and Arrowhead Lake is under siege by a sinister force of mercenaries. When Chief Neptune vanishes, Rachel and Lilly call on Seth Ferguson, the local deputy sheriff for help. Together they discover an astonishing truth; a shadowy cabal that will stop at nothing to obtain the secret of Arrowhead Lake, a secret that if unearthed could have far-reaching consequences. When one of Rachel’s sons vanishes in the Lake, she and Lilly embark on a harrowing journey to find him. What they discover is a mind boggling truth that will change their lives forever. *
Of Thorns and Beauty
Elle Madison - 2020
But she carries secrets of her own, and the scars of her haunted past.Handed off from one monster to another, she has no choice but to do her best to survive and protect her sisters.Even if it costs her everything.A Beauty and the Beast retelling you won’t want to miss, where nothing is what it seems and time is running out.
The Collectors’ Society
Heather Lyons - 2014
An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence, though. Soon, she’s whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors’ Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth.It’s there she discovers villains are afoot—ones who want to shelve the lives of countless beings. Assigned to work with the mysterious and alluring Finn, Alice and the rest of the Collectors’ Society race against a doomsday clock in order to prevent further destruction . . . but will they make it before all their endings are erased?
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.
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.
The Looking Glass Wars
Frank Beddor - 2004
Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carrol, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. He even spells her name incorrectly!Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss' story - and he's searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland, to battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.The Looking Glass Wars unabashedly challenges our Wonderland assumptions of mad tea parties, grinning Cheshire cats, and a curious little blond girl to reveal an epic battle in the endless war for Imagination.
The Girl Who Called the Stars
Heather Hildenbrand - 2018
Human. I can’t remember my life before Earth, but I’ve grown up hearing the stories of a planet ravaged by war and a people in need of a leader who will bring them out of the darkness. I’m supposed to be their light. My future terrifies me. But I’m done waiting to have a real life. If I ever want a chance to live free of the Shadows, I’ll need to fight for it because freedom is never free. No matter what galaxy you call home. (This is book 1 in The Starlight Duology. Previously published as Across the Galaxy, now revised & rewritten with brand new content. This is a full-length Upper YA Fantasy Romance.)
White as Frost
Anthea Sharp - 2021
One enchanted forest. And a hidden destiny that could doom them both… Swept away to the castle beside the Darkwood, Rose Valrois finds herself in a world full of secrets and forbidden magic. There she meets her new stepsister, the enigmatic Princess Neeve, who will either become her best friend - or her worst enemy.When Rose follows her stepsister into the enchanted shadows beneath the trees, she is beset by dangerous creatures and rescued by Thorne, the Dark Elf guardian of the forest, who binds her to the Darkwood and forbids her to speak of its mysteries.Yet despite the danger surrounding her, Rose continues to risk everything in her quest for answers, until the day she steals into the depths of the forest and discovers the most perilous secret of all...A fantasy fairy-tale from USA Today bestseller Anthea Sharp, weaving elements of Snow White & Rose Red with romance, magic, and dangerous secrets that will destroy a kingdom.
The Ugly Stepsister
Aya Ling - 2015
To get back, she'll have to complete the story, right to the end of happily ever after. But the odds are huge: the other stepsister is drop-dead gorgeous, the fairy godmother is nowhere to be found, and the prince, despite being insanely hot, openly dislikes balls. Can she ever return to the modern world?
Eldorado
Jay Allan Storey - 2013
Richard has to make the transformation from bookish nerd to street-smart warrior to survive, when he jumps the Food Train to the disintegrating wasteland that was once suburbia in a desperate search for Danny and his dog, Zonk.Branded a criminal by a community of outcasts and condemned to death, Richard is rescued by streetwise Carrie, who joins in his search. As they trek across the remnants of civilization, facing criminal gangs, renegade militias, and the hardships of the road, their friendship evolves into something more.The trail finally unwinds at a deserted complex in the remotest corner of the sprawling suburbs. The incredible secret they uncover there will alter their lives and their world forever.
The Surface Breaks
Louise O'Neill - 2018
On her first swim to the surface, she is drawn towards a human boy. She longs to join his carefree world, but how much will she have to sacrifice? What will it take for the little mermaid to find her voice? Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminist lens, with the stunning, scalpel-sharp writing and world building that has won Louise her legions of devoted fans. A book with the darkest of undercurrents, full of rage and rallying cries: storytelling at its most spellbinding.