Book picks similar to
Once Upon A Curse by Yasmine GalenornC. Gockel
fantasy
short-stories
anthology
fairy-tales
Jenny Pox
J.L. Bryan - 2010
A lifetime of avoiding any physical contact with others has made her isolated and painfully lonely in her small rural town.Then she meets the one boy she can touch. Jenny feels herself falling for Seth...but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the deadly pox inside her to confront his ruthless and manipulative girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.* * *Not recommended for readers under eighteen.BONUS: Includes an excerpt of Glimpse by Stacey Wallace Benefiel.
Thorn Jack
Katherine Harbour - 2014
These words from Lily Rose Sullivan the night of her death haunts her seventeen-year-old sister, Finn, who has moved with her widowed father to his hometown of Fair Hollow, New York. After befriending a boy named Christie Hart and his best friend, Sylvie Whitethorn, Finn is invited to a lakeside party where she encounters the alluring Jack Fata, a member of the town's mysterious Fata family. Despite Jack's air of danger and his clever words, Finn learns they have things in common.One day, while unpacking, Finn finds her sister's journal, scrawled with descriptions of creatures that bear a sinister resemblance to Jack's family. Finn dismisses these stories as fiction, but Jack's family has a secret—the Fatas are the children of nothing and night, nomadic beings who have been preying on humanity for centuries—and Jack fears that his friendship with Finn has drawn the attention of the most dangerous members of his family—Reiko Fata and vicious Caliban, otherwise known as the white snake and the crooked dog.Plagued with nightmares about her sister, Finn attempts to discover what happened to Lily Rose and begins to suspect that the Fatas are somehow tied to Lily Rose's untimely death. Drawn to Jack, determined to solve the mystery of her sister's suicide, Finn must navigate a dangerous world where nothing is as it seems.
Nameless
Lili St. Crow - 2013
Papa Vultusino adopted the mute, scarred child, naming her after his dead wife and raising her in luxury on Haven Hill alongside his own son, Nico.Now Cami is turning sixteen. She’s no longer mute, though she keeps her faded scars hidden under her school uniform, and though she opens up only to her two best friends, Ruby and Ellie, and to Nico, who has become more than a brother to her. But even though Cami is a pampered Vultusino heiress, she knows that she is not really Family. Unlike them, she is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until she meets the mysterious Tor, who reveals scars of his own, that Cami begins to uncover the secrets of her birth... to find out where she comes from and why her past is threatening her now.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
Angela Carter - 1979
K. Rowling, Kelly Link, and other contemporary masters of supernatural fiction. In her masterpiece, The Bloody Chamber—which includes the story that is the basis of Neil Jordan’s 1984 movie The Company of Wolves—she spins subversively dark and sensual versions of familiar fairy tales and legends like “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Bluebeard,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” giving them exhilarating new life in a style steeped in the romantic trappings of the gothic tradition.
Once Upon a Dream
Megan Derr - 2016
This volume is compiled from free works on my website, stories written for various challenges and prompts, and other straggling tales. Some of these are my spins on familiar tales, like Cinderella and Ivan and the Wolf, others are simply based on well-known types of fairytales. Stories included in this volume: True Chivalry If the Shoe Fits Deeds Great & Small Challenge of Quests The Shining Knight The Prince's Champion The King's Challenges Knight of the Rose Three Questions The Witch in the Woods Ivan the Heartless Blood in the Water The Stable Boy Three Goats The Gardner The Good Son Play Me a Song 100 Words
The Princess Game
Soman Chainani - 2020
To find the killer, rookie detective Callum Pederson has gone undercover where the Princes hold court. He’s found enough secrets among the bros to bring them in for questioning—but he could very well get lost in the games the Princes play.
The Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden - 2017
But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa's stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse's most frightening tales.The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent.
Time Trap
Micah Caida - 2013
Time Trap, book one in the Red Moon seriesHer memory is blank.Her future's in question.Her power is dangerous.Waking up in an unknown world, Rayen learns only that she's seventeen and is hunted by a sentient beast. Terrified that she may never learn who she really is or find her way back to her home, she's captured in a land that is at times familiar even if the people and the structures seem alien. When local law enforcement delivers her to a private school, she's labeled as a Native American runaway, and Rayen discovers a secret with deadly repercussions. Forced into an unlikely alliance with a computer savvy street punk and a gifted oddball girl to save their world - and the future - Rayen finds the key to an identity that no person would want.Available in print and ebook - http://www.MicahCaida.com
The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold
Francesca Lia Block - 2000
With language that is both lyrical and distinctly her own, Francesca Lia Block turns nine fairy tales inside out.Escaping the poisoned apple, Snow frees herself from possession to find the truth of love in an unexpected place.A club girl from L.A., awakening from a long sleep to the memories of her past, finally finds release from its curse.And Beauty learns that Beasts can understand more than men.Within these singular, timeless landscapes, the brutal and the magical collide, and the heroine triumphs because of the strength she finds in a pen, a paintbrush, a lover, a friend, a mother, and finally, in herself.
Courtlight Series Boxed Set
Terah Edun - 2013
But beneath her empire's seemingly idyllic surface lies a hidden secret. Whispers of an inept crown Prince are growing ever louder--intensified by the five year anniversary of the soulbond initiations.Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companions Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she'd never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron.But she must master those skills quickly. If the legends are true, only Ciardis can harness the power to raise a Prince in an Imperial Court sworn to bring him down.Sworn To TransferEighteen-year-old companion trainee Ciardis Weathervane has won the friendship of the royal heir and saved his claim to the throne. Yet her interference in the inheritance rights leaves more harm done than good. The Ameles Forest lies unprotected and it's inhabitants are dying.As humans begin to die in gruesome deaths, the Emperor dispatches the royal heir to the forests with the solution to the kith concerns.With enemies closing ranks in Sandrin, Ciardis can little afford to leave the city's nest of vipers to take on a new task. But she's given no choice when her loyalty to the crown and courts are called into question.To keep the Companions' Guild happy and the favor of the Imperial Court, Ciardis will be tested in frightening new ways, especially when she's faced with an obstacle that could risk the lives of her friends and the family she never thought she had.Sworn To ConflictCiardis Weathervane fought for the living dead and won. But worse than taking on a mass murderer, was her discovery that she had been deceived by her friends. Now she needs to not only fight a war in the North and survive, but also decide where she stands in the midst of competing sides.A threat to all she holds dear lies in the North and her heart is not the only thing she might lose. A massive army awaits in the mountain pass, surging closer to the gates of the southern lands. Nothing the Algardis army has done so far has dissuaded their march forward and Ciardis finds out that her powers to enhance are needed now more than ever.As she faces her greatest fears on the battlefields and her heart is torn between her love of Sebastian and loyalty to her family, Ciardis must choose her fate carefully. For in her path, lies the destiny of the empire.GET ALL THREE BESTSELLING NOVELS in one Digital Box Set.
Kiss of Fire
Rebecca Ethington - 2012
and it very nearly ended my life.Secrets are dangerous, and sometimes they can kill.My secret may not be that bad, but it sure has put a wrench in my high school plans. I am in love with my best friend. I know, I know. It's every teenage girls big confession, but most of them at least have a chance. Cute boy next door and all that.Not me, I just so happen to have a crush on a guy that is way out of my league. Ryland LaRue is insanely hot, insanely rich, and way too nice for his own good. It's clear I can't have him, and not just because his evil overlord father hates my guts. My crush on Ryland is not my only secret. I'm hiding something bigger than that. It's the reason my dad left, and I am pretty sure it's why his 'magical' cult is now following me around.The only problem? Ryland has a secret too, and his just happens to have all the answers I need.Which brings us to that kiss…
The Dark Realm
Anthea Sharp - 2011
But she doesn’t suspect the virtual world is close enough to touch — or that she’ll be battling for her life against the Dark Queen of the faeries.TURNS REAL…Tam Linn is the perfect hero — in-game. Too bad the rest of his life is seriously flawed. The last thing he needs is rich-girl Jennet prying into his secrets, insisting he’s the only one who can help her.WINNING IS EVERYTHING…Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland, only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen… before it’s too late.FEYLAND is now available in both paperback and ebook formats.
Stars Above
Marissa Meyer - 2016
How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies? With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles. CONTENTSThe Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit. Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch…. The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be. Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles. After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna. The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a young Winter and Jacin playing a game called the Princess and the Guard… The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles. The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective. Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century…
Wintersong
S. Jae-Jones - 2017
Duncan,
New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints and Ruthless GodsDark, romantic, and unforgettable, Wintersong is an enchanting coming-of-age story for fans of Labyrinth and The Cruel Prince.The last night of the year. Now the days of winter begin and the Goblin King rides abroad, searching for his bride…All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They’ve enraptured her mind, her spirit, and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen and helping to run her family’s inn, Liesl can’t help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.But when her own sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds—and the mysterious man who rules it—she soon faces an impossible decision. And with time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.Rich with music and magic, S. Jae-Jones's Wintersong will sweep you away into a world you won’t soon forget.
The Sea Queen
Jovee Winters - 2015
Spitting mad. Ghosts of the dead are fouling her waters. She wants this problem fixed, and she wants it fixed now. Rushing off in search of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, to demand answers, she’s soon shocked to discover him bound and standing trial before a jury of his peers—for nothing less than murder. Calypso normally despises the beastly gods, all of them, but there’s something about seeing Hades bound as he is that gives her an evilly clever idea. Tired of being a virgin queen, she wishes to shed that boring image once and for all, and no one seems quite as fit for the task as the gorgeous and brooding Hades. Of course, there is the minor problem of murder to deal with, but Calypso is bound and determined to have her way. And when a dark queen gets an idea, nothing and no one can stand in her way…