Oh, there are so many I could choose from, which makes this the hardest post to write out of all these “5 Favorite” posts I’ve done. It’s harder because I have a much larger selection of fantasy than I do any other genre in YA Literature.
I love fairytale adaptations and finding out what new twist or take the author has done to make the story fresh and unique, and these five books do exactly that in my opinion. Each of these books are obviously favorites that I constantly push my friends to read – which has been partially successful.
What’s my favorite fairytale adaptation? I’m a sucker for a Sleeping Beauty adaptation, but I haven’t found many of them that I absolutely love. Usually I see Beauty and the Beast adaptations, and I always end up loving them – two of the books I’m going to list are Beauty and the Beast stories. One of my favorite adaptations is one about the 12 Dancing Princesses – I’d die for more stories based on that one.
Now, onto the five books!
Princess of Thorns – Stacey Jay
Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora’s throne ten years ago.
Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it’s too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love.
I haven’t read this book since around the time it first came out, but I remember absolutely loving it and wishing that there were more adaptations!
Entwined – Heather Dixon
Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. 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.
It’s been a long while since I’ve read this, but it’s still a favorite. It’s probably time for a reread!
Hunted – Meagan Spooner
Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.
So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.
Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?
I’ve been a fan of Meagan’s for a while, and I was so excited for this book. It didn’t disappoint, and it was fresh and creative and I loved it.
The Wish Granter – CJ Redwine
The world has turned upside down for Thad and Ari Glavan, the bastard twins of Súndraille’s king. Their mother was murdered. The royal family died mysteriously. And now Thad sits on the throne of a kingdom whose streets are suddenly overrun with violence he can’t stop.
Growing up ignored by the nobility, Ari never wanted to be a proper princess. And when Thad suddenly starts training Ari to take his place, she realizes that her brother’s ascension to the throne wasn’t fate. It was the work of a Wish Granter named Alistair Teague who tricked Thad into wishing away both the safety of his people and his soul in exchange for the crown.
So Ari recruits the help of Thad’s enigmatic new weapons master, Sebastian Vaughn, to teach her how to fight Teague. With secret ties to Teague’s criminal empire, Sebastian might just hold the key to discovering Alistair’s weaknesses, saving Ari’s brother—and herself.
But Teague is ruthless and more than ready to destroy anyone who dares stand in his way—and now he has his sights set on the princess. And if Ari can’t outwit him, she’ll lose Sebastian, her brother…and her soul.
Who knew a Rumpelstiltskin story would end up on this list. I was wary going into this book – honestly didn’t know if I would like it, but oh my god, I’m so happy I was wrong.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer
Fall in love, break the curse.
It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.
Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.
Break the curse, save the kingdom.
A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But 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.
This is a recent read for me, and it comes out in January 2019. I knew I would love it, but what I wasn’t aware of was how much. This book should definitely be on your radar, and I’ll have a review up for it soon!
What are your favorite Fairytale adaptions? Let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for book recommendations!
Writing The Universe 