Book picks similar to
Beast in the Machine by E.B. Dawson


sci-fi
retellings
short-stories
gr-recomends

Echo North


Joanna Ruth Meyer - 2019
    Believing he is lost forever, Echo is shocked to find him half-frozen in the winter forest six months later, guarded by a strange talking wolf—the same creature who attacked her as a child. The wolf presents Echo with an ultimatum: If she lives with him for one year, he will ensure her father makes it home safely. But there is more to the wolf than Echo realizes.In his enchanted house beneath a mountain, each room must be sewn together to keep the home from unraveling, and something new and dark and strange lies behind every door. When centuries-old secrets unfold, Echo discovers a magical library full of books-turned-mirrors, and a young man named Hal who is trapped inside of them. As the year ticks by, the rooms begin to disappear, and Echo must solve the mystery of the wolf’s enchantment before her time is up, otherwise Echo, the wolf, and Hal will be lost forever.

The Wizard Returns


Danielle Paige - 2015
    . . and she's not the sweet little heroine of Oz anymore. She's power-hungry and vicious, and she leaves a trail of destruction beneath her spike-heeled, magical shoes. But she wasn't always in charge. There used to be a different ruler of Oz. Someone who also came from the Other Place, and who stole power for himself. They called him the Wizard.The story goes that when a young Dorothy revealed the Wizard as a fraud, the man behind the curtain fled Oz in his hot air balloon. But in The Wizard Returns, he wakes in a field of poppies to find out that not only had he never left, but that he has no memory of who—or where—he is. As he undergoes a series of tests to uncover his memories, he finds that the very girl who threw him from the Emerald Palace is in control. And that Oz may be his destiny after all.The Wizard Returns by Danielle Paige is a dark and compelling reimagining of a beloved classic and is perfect for fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Beastly by Alex Flinn, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

Before Beauty


Brittany Fichter - 2015
    Prince Everard’s father spent the boy's youth forging the prince into a warrior. Upon the king’s death, however, Everard realizes he’s lost himself somewhere along the way, and in his pain, makes a decision that brings a dark curse upon both him and the great Fortress that has so long guarded the people of Destin. The prince's sin doesn’t simply affect those of his citadel, however. Isa, the daughter of a local merchant, has suffered the prince’s hasty temper before, and it changed her life forever. When Everard’s final outburst cuts off his people’s source of protection with the curse, he demands that she, a crippled commoner, come to help him break it. All the while, Destin’s northern enemy crouches at the foot of the Fortress’s mountain, waiting for the right moment to capture the stronghold that has stood for a thousand years. With the freedom of Destin at stake, can both Everard and Isa find ways to move beyond their brokenness and hatred for one another, not only to break the curse, but to find love as well? Or will they and their beloved kingdom remain under darkness forever?

Of Beast and Beauty


Chanda Hahn - 2019
    I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother's diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms.I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the Kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is two-edged sword that could cost me my soul.For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist. My choices and heart are not my own to give. Yet even in the thick of dire situations, beastly vengeance can give way to beautiful attraction.

Spirited


Nancy Holder - 2004
    During this highly dangerous time, Isabella Sevens is travelling with her father to the British stronghold Fort William Henry.In the forest, Wusamequin, the young and handsome medicine man, looks to avenge the death of his wife and child at the hands of British soldiers. When Wusamequin spots Isabella and her father, he alerts his warriors to capture them. But Wusamequin is quite taken with how bravely Isabella battles. He orders the warriors to spare her and her father, and they are dragged back to their village. However, many members of the Mohican tribe still want them to be killed. In a desperate plea to Wusamequin, Isabella vows to stay as his hostage if he lets her father go.Holder's colonial "captured-by-Indians" romance is an homage to "Last of the Mohicans" and a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast".

Beauty (Modern Wicked Fairy Tales)


Selena Kitt - 2011
    Her crime? Knowing too much. An anonymous letter arrived addressed in her name with proof that her husband, Carlos, a state logging and mining mogul, had been the one responsible for her father's death years earlier, killed for supporting the unions at a local logging camp. When a terrible accident ends her husband's plan to kill her, Jolee wakes up alone in a cabin in the middle of the woods, rescued by a masked man they call "the beast," with a husband who wants her dead, and miles of state forest between her and civilization. -----Warning: 18+ ONLY This title contains erotic sex, graphic language and violence.

Rogue Princess


B.R. Myers - 2020
    R. Myers' Rogue Princess, a gender-swapped sci-fi YA retelling of Cinderella.Princess Delia knows her duty: She must choose a prince to marry in order to secure an alliance and save her failing planet. Yet she secretly dreams of true love, and feels there must be a better way. Determined to chart her own course, she steals a spaceship to avoid the marriage, only to discover a handsome stowaway. All Aidan wanted was to “borrow” a few palace trinkets to help him get off the planet. Okay, so maybe escaping on a royal ship wasn’t the smartest plan, but he never expected to be kidnapped by a runaway princess!Sparks fly as this headstrong princess and clever thief battle wits, but everything changes when they inadvertently uncover a rebel conspiracy that could destroy their planet forever.

Five Enchanted Roses


Anne Elisabeth Stengl - 2015
    An abbey looms as the final defense between mortals and ghouls of the underworld. In the stillness of a throne room, statues stand forever frozen in a moment of terror. Monsters and men stalk their prey deep in the jungle’s shadows. A rose blooms in the dead of winter, sheltered in the ruins of an ancient Scottish castle.And only true love can free the Beast from his prison.ESPRIT DE LA ROSE ~ WITHER ~ STONE CURSE ~ ROSARA AND THE JUNGLE KING ~ THE WULVER'S ROSE

A Trial of Words and Worth: a fairytale retelling


Amity Thompson - 2021
    The word echoes daily in Emi of Stagmount's mind. Never a failure. Never a success. Not good enough by far to lead her humble mountain realm.All changes as Emi tends a handsome, foreign stranger mauled by an unworldly monster. After exhausting her meager healing abilities, Emi tells him a story of magic, hope, and truth... And he wakes.Little does Emi know, her words contain magic as fantastic as the eldertales she grew up loving. But to earn a happily ever after, she must first find the bravery to speak.Experience wonder and enchantment in this standalone fairytale retelling by Amity Thompson. If you enjoy imaginative tales with loyal friendship, clean romance, and a mysterious foe, A Trial of Words and Worth will delight.*Loosely based on the Grimm’s tale, The Twelve HuntsmenNo profanity or sex

His Hideous Heart


Dahlia AdlerMarieke Nijkamp - 2019
    Whether the stories are familiar to readers or discovered for the first time, readers will revel in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales, and how they’ve been brought to life in 13 unique and unforgettable ways.Contributors include Kendare Blake (reimagining “Metzengerstein”), Rin Chupeco (“The Murders in the Rue Morge”), Lamar Giles (“The Oval Portrait”), Tessa Gratton (“Annabel Lee”), Tiffany D. Jackson (“The Cask of Amontillado”), Stephanie Kuehn (“The Tell-Tale Heart”), Emily Lloyd-Jones (“The Purloined Letter”), Hillary Monahan (“The Masque of the Red Death”), Marieke Nijkamp (“Hop-Frog”), Caleb Roehrig (“The Pit and the Pendulum”), and Fran Wilde (“The Fall of the House of Usher”).

Wolfskin


W.R. Gingell - 2015
    . .’ At fourteen, barefoot and running wild, Rose is delighted to be apprenticed to Akiva, the witch of the forest. She thinks it will be all enchantment and excitement, and not so much fuss about baths. The reality is much more sober and practical- that is, until she meets a mysterious wolf in the forest and is tricked into stepping off the path . . . In young, naive Rose, Bastian sees a way of escape. Cursed to remain in the shape of a wolf after running afoul of a powerful enchantress, he has lived many decades under a spell, and now he is both desperate and ruthless. But by breaking part of Bastian’s curse, Rose has caught the attention of Cassandra, the enchantress who cursed him: and Cassandra is by no means ready to forgive and forget. Meanwhile, wardens have been disappearing from the forest, one by one. Rose is certain that Cassandra is behind the disappearances, but can she and Bastian get to the bottom of the matter before Akiva disappears as well? And are Bastian’s motives entirely to be trusted? Sometimes the little girl in the red hood doesn’t get eaten, and sometimes the wolf isn’t the most frightening thing in the forest.

Beautiful Beast


Cindy C. Bennett - 2012
    When she hears him for the first time, her heart is wrenched by the anguish she hears in the sound. Facing trespassing charges for her folly, Calli is forced to move into Monster House where she is to befriend the beast. Using the bribery offered by his father to gain some desperately needed money for her father, Calli accepts his terms. Horrified but trapped by her circumstance, Calli steps inside the doors of the great house to face the unknown.Alex is cursed by his beastliness.Alex believes Calli has bribed her way into his home in order to get a look at the beast of Monster House, and is determined to hate her. He isn't prepared as she batters down the hard walls of his soul with her kindness and humor.Alex allows Calli into his inner sanctum, sharing with her the most private parts of his heart. But when he finds out the truth, will her love be enough to convince him of her true feelings, or will she lose him forever? Note From the Author:Beautiful Beast is the first short story for Enchanted Fairytales, an anthology of modern day fairytales told as if the original fairytale does not exist. Beautiful Beast is the contemporary story of Beauty and the Beast. I have long been fascinated by fairytales, and have wanted to write re-tellings of some of my favorites. So, I decided to do something about it.New short stories in the Enchanted Fairytales will be released approximately bi-monthly (every two months) in eBook format if all goes according to plan. When all the fairytales are completed, they will then be compiled into a single anthology and will be available as both eBooks and in printed form.I consider them the lead up to my full length Rapunzel novel to be released by Sweetwater Books in February 2013. I hope you enjoy them!

Ice


Sarah Beth Durst - 2009
    Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back — if Cassie will agree to be his bride.That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her — until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.

Ember


Bettie Sharpe - 2007
    They have to—he’s cursed. Every man must respect him. Every woman must desire him. One look, and all is lost.Ember would rather carve out a piece of her soul than be enslaved by passions not her own. She turns to the dark arts to save her heart and becomes the one woman in the kingdom able to resist the Prince’s Charm.Poor girl. If Ember had spent less time studying magic and more time studying human nature, she might have guessed that a man who gets everything and everyone he wants will come to want the one woman he cannot have.Novella / 32,000 wordsWarning: This story contains sex, violence, and naughty words.It’s based on a fairytale, but it isn’t for kids.

Everland


Wendy Spinale - 2016
    The only ones who have survived the destruction and the outbreak of a deadly virus are children, among them sixteen-year-old Gwen Darling and her younger siblings, Joanna and Mikey. They spend their nights scavenging and their days avoiding the deadly Marauders—the German army led by the cutthroat Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer.Unsure if the virus has spread past England’s borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook is on the hunt for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the surviving children. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. None ever return.Until one day when they grab Joanna. Gwen will stop at nothing to get her sister back, but as she sets out, she crosses paths with a daredevil named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and the fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all been living in a city hidden underground. But in a place where help has a steep price and every promise is bound by blood, it might cost Gwen more than she bargained for. And are Gwen, Pete, the Lost Boys, and Bella enough to outsmart the ruthless Captain Hook?