I don’t know about you, but I love fairy tales! It’s nice to read a familiar tale told in a new way. I love romance, fantasy, and happy endings, fairy tale retellings are always a good choice.
What are Fairy Tale Retellings?
Generally speaking, these stories take a fairy tale or myth from a culture and retell it in a unique way. This may be swapping Cinderella’s glass slipper for a well worn boot or making the fairy godmother a grumpy old woman. Whatever the author may choose, these fairy tale retellings have references to the original tale, but twist it to suit their story.
My list is one of clean fairy tale retellings, which means you won’t find cussing, sex, or gratuitous violence in these books. Instead, you’ll read some swoon-worthy fairy tales, packed with action, humor, and all the markings of the original fairy tale.
1. Dagger’s Sleep
A fairy tale retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
Blurb:
A prince cursed to sleep.
A princess destined to wake him.
A kingdom determined to stop them.
High Prince Alexander has been cursed to a sleep like unto death, a curse that will end the line of the high kings and send the Seven Kingdoms of Tallahatchia into chaos. With his manservant to carry his luggage and his own superior intelligence to aid him, Alex sets off to find one of the Fae and end his curse one way or another.
A hundred years later, Princess Rosanna learns she is the princess destined by the Highest King to wake the legendary sleeping prince. With the help of the mysterious Daemyn Rand, can she find the courage to finish the quest as Tallahatchia wavers on the edge of war?
One curse connects them. A hundred years separate them. From the rushing rivers of Tallahatchia’s mountains to the hall of the Highest King himself, their quests will demand greater sacrifice than either of them could imagine.
Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3TF7VV3
2. The Healer’s Apprentice
A Sleeping Beauty Fairy Tale Retelling.
Blurb:
Two Hearts. One Hope.
Rose has been appointed as a healer’s apprentice at Hagenheim Castle, a rare opportunity for a woodcutter’s daughter like her. While she often feels uneasy at the sight of blood, Rose is determined to prove herself capable. Failure will mean returning home to marry the aging bachelor her mother has chosen for her—a bloated, disgusting merchant who makes Rose feel ill.
When Lord Hamlin, the future duke, is injured, it is Rose who must tend to him. As she works to heal his wound, she begins to understand emotions she’s never felt before and wonders if he feels the same. But falling in love is forbidden, as Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a mysterious young woman in hiding. As Rose’s life spins toward confusion, she must take the first steps on a journey to discover her own destiny.
Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3MSb3Jk
3. Ellie and the Prince
A Cinderella Fairy Tale Retelling.
Blurb:
Ellie knows better. He’s a dashing prince, sought after by every beautiful lady in sight. She’s an overalls-wearing herder of cinder sprites. No WAY is Omar going to look twice at her!
Working as an employee at the illustrious Faraway Castle resort, eighteen-year-old Ellie is well aware that staff do not mingle with the guests. Period. Which means she has no business thinking about handsome Prince Omar, much less talking to him! For years she has admired him from afar, but a secret crush is the best she can hope for.
This summer, however, everything is about to change. Suddenly, everywhere Ellie turns, she finds the prince. Is he inventing reasons to be near her? Is it possible her crush isn’t as one-sided as she’s always thought? Before Ellie can sort through these confusing developments, disaster strikes. A unicorn on resort grounds attacks a party of riders, frightening the guests. When a band of adventurous young nobles decides to hunt it down, Ellie knows she can’t simply stand by and watch. A unicorn turned violent? Something must be wrong. And Ellie needs Omar’s help.
Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3ZAhGb6
4. The Relunctant Godfather
A Cinderella Fairy Tale Retelling.
Blurb:
Burndee is a young and cantankerous fairy godfather, who would rather bake cakes than help humans. A disgrace to the fairy order, Burndee has only two wards entrusted to his care…a cinder girl and a charming prince.
A royal ball presents Burndee with the brilliant solution of how to make his wards happy with the least amount of effort. He’ll arrange a meeting and hope the two fall in love.
A humorous and magical re-telling of Cinderella from a unique perspective.
Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3zilset
5. Before Beauty
A Beauty and the Beast Fairy Tale Retelling.
Blurb:
Can an accursed prince and a broken beauty move beyond their hatred for one another, not only to break the curse and save their kingdom, but to find love as well?
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.
Can Ever and Isa move past their brokenness to save Destin together, or will they and their beloved kingdom remain under darkness forever?
Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/4efeENY
6. Bluebeard and the Outlaw
A Bluebeard and Robin Hood Fairy Tale Retelling.
Blurb
Marriage: the ultimate heist.
Robin of the Wood spends her days robbing from the rich to feed the poor. But she and her merry band of brothers never seem to get anywhere. The more she steals, the more the evil Lord Guy “Bluebeard” taxes the villagers.
When Robin discovers that Lord Guy plans to marry yet again, she conceives a plan for a final, big score. As Guy’s wife, she will have access to his wealth. The lord is notorious for killing his wives shortly after he marries them, but Robin has no plans to be dead wife number four.
The only problem is that Lord Guy is devastatingly handsome, brooding, and nothing at all what she expected. If she isn’t careful, she might just find that he steals her heart before she can rob his riches.
Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/4ebx5Tt
7. Rose Petals & Snowflakes
A Snow White and Rose Red Fairy Tale Retelling.
Blurb:
After their father’s death, and thanks to their older half-brother’s wanderlust, two sisters find themselves caught in the politics of mysterious forest. Elinrose finds herself in direct conflict with the wood’s Mistress, while Snowmari hides a deadly secret that could mean her death if found out. Can their bonds of sisterhood withstand these trying times? Or will they even make it out alive?
Snow White and Rose Red meets Sense and Sensibility in this exciting high fantasy retelling of Austen’s classic!
Buy the Book: https://amzn.to/3BeIF1L
Further Reading:
7 Clean YA Fantasy Books You Should Read
8 Christian Fantasy Books to Read
4 Christian Fantasy Novellas You Should Read
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