Book picks similar to
The Cursed Queen by Colleen Forbes


fantasy
beauty-and-the-beast
arcs
fairy-tale-retellings

Finding Beauty in the Beast


Jessilyn Stewart Peaslee - 2018
    After being spurned and humiliated for the last time, the princes forces every eligible man to present a gift to her under pain of death. The man who brings her the best gift will be chosen as her husband. When Corbin presents his gift, he hopes that his simple offering will keep him safely overlooked. All he wants is to return to his quiet life as a blacksmith away from forbidding castles and beastly princesses. But love works in mysterious ways, and it all starts with a rose...

The Juliet Spell


Douglas Rees - 2011
    I studied hard. I gave a great reading for it—even with Bobby checking me out the whole time. I deserved the part.I didn't get it. So I decided to level the playing field, though I actually might have leveled the whole play. You see, since there aren't any Success in Getting to Be Juliet in Your High School Play spells, I thought I'd cast the next best—a Fame spell. Good idea, right?Yeah. Instead of bringing me a little fame, it brought me someone a little famous. Shakespeare. Well, Edmund Shakespeare. William's younger brother.Good thing he's sweet and enthusiastic about helping me with the play...and—ahem—maybe a little bit hot. But he's from the past. Way past. Cars amaze him—cars! And cell phones? Ugh.Still, there's something about him that's making my eyes go star-crossed....

Beauty and the Beast


Sarah Winter - 2016
    On his eighteenth birthday, the old crone returns to find the same ignorant boy in the body of a beautiful young man. In a night shrouded in mystery, his parents King Alaric and Queen Adele died and Leopold himself disappeared. For years, villagers are frozen in fear of a mysterious and terrifying creature that haunts the town at night.Armand Babineaux, once the wealthiest merchant in the village of Fontainbleu, must secure his daughter Jolie to the unpleasant but enormously wealthy Quentin Garamonde, or condemn her to a life of servitude and poverty. His eldest daughter, Mireille, has already married well, but Jolie will be left all alone in the world if he does nothing to safeguard her future. Once the task is done, he must travel to Port Lucerne to recover his last ship or face the same fate in his old age. On his return trip, he is caught in a winter storm and finds himself far from the beaten path, at the foot of Villeneuve Castle.Armand seeks shelter in the castle, and once inside, he is forced to confront the reality of what happened to the royal family so many years ago. The next morning, when he picks a beautiful rose for Jolie, he is brought face to face with the creature of local legend and must make a decision that will change all of their lives forever.

Once Upon a Happy Ending: An Anthology of Reimagined Fairy Tales


Ella SummersBrittany Fichter - 2016
     Buy Once Upon a Happy Ending to start the timeless anthology today! Note:The current available edition only contains 13 Stories from 14 different authors.

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.

Fly with the Arrow


Sarah K.L. Wilson - 2021
    A TERRIFYING BRIDEGROOM. THE GAME THAT WILL DETERMINE THEIR FATES.No one told her the most important law of the court - the Law of Greeting.If they had, maybe she wouldn't have greeted Bluebeard when he arrived to claim a mortal wife. And if she hadn't greeted him, she wouldn't have become his sixteenth wife or been swept away to the lands of the Wittenhame.But if none of that had happened, then she wouldn't have been an integral part of the game that takes place every two hundred years - a game that determines the fates of nations .For not all is as it seems, not in her homeland of Pensmoore, not in the Wittenhame, and certainly not in her new marriage.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely


Brigid Kemmerer - 2019
    But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she's pulled into a magical world.Break the curse, save the kingdom.Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

The Never King


Nikki St. Crowe - 2022
    Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken.Now, on the afternoon of my 18th birthday, my mother is running around the house making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked.But it’s pointless.Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go.* Release Date is not final and will likely be much sooner. Target release date is March 2022 *The Never King is a dark retelling of Peter and Wendy. If you like your enemies to lovers romance with hot, ruthless, morally gray love interests, you’ll enjoy The Never King and the Lost Boys. You can expect hate kissing, fighting, bickering, and ‘touch her and I’ll unalive you’ vibes.

The Golden Apple


Michelle Diener - 2014
    . . Her father has made her the prize in a deadly, impossible tournament, and Kayla has retaliated in the only way she knows how; by choosing her champion beforehand. But taking control of the outcome changes the game completely, and when the real reason behind the strange test becomes apparent, Kayla realizes not just her life, but her entire kingdom is at stake. Rane's honor is torn in two... In order to save his brother, Rane will do whatever he has to--including deceive and betray a princess. He knew nothing about this tournament would be easy, but when it turns into a deeper, far more sinister game, Rane is forced to see it through to the end, or leave his brother at the mercy of their enemy. Now their fates are entwined, and they must venture into the deep, dark forest together . . . Kayla and Rane are bound to one another by an enchantment and Kayla's actions. But the sorcerer forcing them to do his will may have miscalculated, because no-one comes out of the Great Forest unchanged. No-one.The Golden Apple is loosely based on the fairy tale The Princess on the Glass Hill.

Depravity


M.J. Haag - 2015
    Unfortunately, the best wild fruit and vegetables are near the walls of the estate, a dark misty place inhabited by an unforgiving beast.When her tormentors lock her behind the massive gates, Benella knows her fate is sealed. Yet, the fate isn't one she expects. Her encounter with the beast starts a bizarre cycle of bargaining for her freedom, a freedom the beast seems determined to see her lose.A classic fairy tale with a new twist, the Beauty and the Beast saga begins with Depravity.Intended for mature readers due to sexual situations and moderate language.

The Storyteller's Daughter


Victoria McCombs - 2020
     Then Cosette is born, Giftless. An attempt to hide her misfortune brings her before the King, who entraps her to use her Gift as a pawn in his war. Caught in a lie, Cosette desperately searches for a power strong enough to free her. Intrigued by whispers of an old king and a dark curse, she calls upon Rumpelstiltskin and finds him trapped in a magic deeper than she bargained for. Now, Cosette must fight to reclaim her freedom from the King and break Rumpel’s curse. When time runs out, she’ll lose more than her heart. She’ll lose her life.THE STORYTELLER’S DAUGHTER is the perfect introduction to YA that will satisfy fans of Gail Carson Levine’s ELLA ENCHANTED, as well as Jessica Day George’s DRAGON SLIPPERS and PRINCESS OF GLASS, and Cameron Dokey’s THE WORLD ABOVE.

Entreat Me


Grace Draven - 2013
    Ballard of Ketach Tor holds no hope of escaping his fate until his son returns home one day, accompanied by a woman of incomparable beauty. His family believes her arrival may herald Ballard’s salvation. ...until they confront her elder sister. Determined to rescue her sibling from ruin, Louvaen Duenda pursues her to a decrepit castle and discovers a household imprisoned in time. Dark magic, threatening sorcerers, and a malevolent climbing rose with a thirst for blood won’t deter her, but a proud man disfigured by an undying hatred might. Louvaen must decide if loving him will ultimately save him or destroy him. A tale of vengeance and devotion.

Princess of Shadows


A.G. Marshall - 2016
    Marshall with the ASIN number B01M0MKH7Q.Only a true princess can save the kingdom. Alaric wants to be king. He wants to continue the peace and prosperity his father created in Aeonia. But with enemies questioning his bloodline, he’ll have to put his heart on the line and marry a stranger to secure his right to rule. Only a match with a true princess will silence his critics and protect his future. Lina’s lineage is shocking at best and deadly at worst. Over a century ago, she put herself into an enchanted sleep to seal away a horde of dark creatures. Now both Lina and the goblins are awake. Without friends or resources, Lina must seek the help of the Council of Kings. To get close enough to them to ask for aid, she’ll need to convince everyone she’s a true princess. As Alaric searches for a true princess to marry, Lina tries to convince the world she is one. But while they try to save the kingdom on their own, they may find what they need is each other.

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.

Kingdom of Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast


Deborah Grace White - 2021
    But when protecting her father means falling afoul of the curse that has swallowed the Summer Castle, and Prince Justin along with it, her own safety is not all that’s at stake. The prince’s monstrous form is the least of her concerns—the whole castle has been trapped by his pride, and his absence from the capital is driving the kingdom to ruin.Justin was born to be a king, not a beast. Between the inhuman coldness he learned from his father, the humiliation of his cursed form, and his powerlessness against his hidden enemies back in the capital, laughter is the last thing on his mind. But even though she’s a prisoner, nothing seems to dampen the intruder’s maddening cheerfulness. Justin has to break his curse, and he needs someone like Felicity to do it. But as she begins to thaw the ice around his heart, he discovers her past is not what it seems.With time running out, not just for the castle’s inhabitants, but for the kingdom of Albury, they will need more than the help of a dragon to break the curse and prevent disaster before it’s too late. But for all Felicity’s warmth and laughter, even she could never look at Justin and like what she sees.Could she?