The Beast and the Enchantress - Camille Peters

The Beast and the Enchantress

Camille Peters

A Villain's Ever After

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb:

If there’s one thing Astrid, an aspiring enchantress with budding magical powers, has learned throughout her studies, it's that magic must only be used for good. But when an egocentric prince breaks her sister’s heart, Astrid’s only focus is revenge, and what better way to enact it than with a well-chosen curse?

A simple incantation is all it takes to transform the arrogant prince's appearance to match the state of his heart. But something goes wrong, causing the spell to affect not only the prince, but its caster as well. As the curse begins to change her appearance to reflect the state of her own vengeful heart, Astrid becomes desperate to break it at all costs, even if it means entering the castle in disguise and interacting with the prince she loathes.

To her surprise, Astrid encounters not a conceited prince, but one very different from the one she cursed. She soon finds her heart softening, but not in the way she expects—she’s losing it to the cursed prince she has vowed to hate. The closer they become, the more desperate Astrid is to free the prince, and herself, from the curse. But in so doing, she may lose the man she loves forever.

For how could a prince ever love the woman who turned him into a beast?

As a Retelling:

This is a more cozy retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Astrid's curse only affects the prince and herself, and does not condemn a whole castle to ghostly status as in the original. This retelling also effectively combines the reasons for the curse in both the original tale (jilted love) and the Disney version (rejection of a rose). However, because the Enchantress was an invention of the Disney film, that solidly makes this retelling of said film, rather than the original story. 

Arista's Thoughts:
While I like the idea and the romance was sweet, unfortunately, once the curse was cast, the rest of the book was just a succession of conversations and nothing happened. There was no external conflict to challenge the characters, just Astrid and the prince talking and then feeling betrayed. 

I do appreciate that this book did let the heroine actually be the villain and that it gave her a proper redemption arc, which is ... not really the route taken by the rest of the series. However, I have read better retellings with the Enchantress as the heroine. 

Alternate Perspective - Beauty and the Beast

Alternate Ending

Reimagining 

Disney Influence

Book 

Magical 

Traditional European 

Multiauthor Collection

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Grace by Contract - Rachel Rossano

Grace by Contract

Rachel Rossano

Once Upon a Duchy

SPOILER WARNING

Where to Purchase:

Official Blurb:

After her father uproots the family to the northern duchy of Brackenhurst, Grace Eldon and her four younger sisters struggle with a new life of hardship. Desperate to keep a roof over their heads amid mounting debts, she and her youngest sister seek employment in the Duke of Brackenhurst's household despite fearsome rumors.

Scarred and maimed from a terrible fire Silas Isling, Duke of Brackenhurst, buries himself in his work to avoid the stares of pity and fear. When one of the new maids shows no fear at his appearance, he is intrigued. That is until his meddling steward gives her the task of cleaning Silas' bookroom. It is a most unwelcome disruption since he prefers to be alone.

While a thief plagues his castle, an old nemesis reappears, and enemies invade in the guise of guests. Amidst the distractions and chaos, Grace brings some unexpected order. Once convinced his scars had stolen all hope for love, Silas finds his life forever changed by the quiet maid. Could she love a scarred Duke?

As a Retelling:

The basic hallmarks of B&B are here. An attractive young woman by name of Beauty ends up in the castle of a disfigured local lord, and ... wait, no (checks notes again), it's actually her sister, Grace who the Duke falls in love with. They are the daughters of a merchant, though this merchant is ... a bit of a rat, defrauded a bunch of his customers, and is currently allowing a fellow rat to impose upon his very beautiful but mentally challenged daughter, Beauty. Grace seeks employment from the local Duke in order to clear their debt and gain his protection.

There's a lot to this setup that has a definite feel of Pride and Prejudice - Grace's is a family of five sisters, Silas's history with Sir Webb is very Darcy-Wickham, and the head housekeeper plays a very good Catherine de Bourgh. It might have just been the fact that I read this coming right off an actual P&P retelling, but it was quite glaring to me.

Weirdly, combining the two stories in this format lessened rather than intensified the romance's conflict. There's little if any prejudice that drives our couple apart, though Grace does make a lot of noise about their class difference and his favoritism causes her issues with the head housekeeper. His disfiguring injuries are actually what throws them together, since he struggles to read and write due to weakened eyesight and the loss of his dominant hand. She used to keep the paperwork for her father, so the steward gives her the task of reading and writing for the duke.

The climax of the story does parallel the original story, with Grace leaving for home to deal with family issues, and then things quickly growing worse from there.

Arista's Thoughts:
All together, a touching romance between a duke who thinks no one can love him and a servant girl who has the world against her. It's set in Rachel Rossano's greater world that contains most of her books, and it works pretty well. I've seen most of the themes implemented better in other retellings, but they came together well for a very cohesive whole here. I felt the villains were a bit over the top, and I think the author shied a bit too hard away from Sir Webb's vileness and thus made certain aspects a bit confusing, but seeing them go down was satisfying regardless. If you like your retellings without the magic, I definitely recommend this one.

Loose Retelling: Beauty and the Beast

Unintentional Retelling: Pride and Prejudice

Cameo - Wild Swans, Twelve Dancing Princesses

Non-Magical
Indie

Traditional European

Have you read Grace By Contract? If so, leave a comment below with your own short review to help future readers!

Doctor & King - Camille Esther

Doctor & King

Camille Esther

The Fairyless Tales #1

SPOILER WARNING
for "as a retelling"

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb: Not your average Sleeping Beauty retelling.
Rescuing a stranger from her poisoned sleep is one thing, but shouldering the weight of a kingdom and a hundred doubts and fears is another.

Kissing an apparently dead maiden was not what young king Gervaise had planned for the day. Nor was nursing her back to health and acting as her impromptu  protector. Forced to face and counter danger for the first time in his life, Gervaise realizes he lacks the heroism he ought to have.

As the real source of the threat against his patient comes to light, the king-turned-doctor finds himself in the sole position to thwart an ambitious new ruler. But how can he save a kingdom that doesn’t believe it needs saving? And how can a coward such as he win the day with only a handful of men?

As a Retellling: Of all fairy tales, retelling Sleeping Beauty without the magic can be the hardest to pull off. Thus, this is a pretty loose retelling. In fact, most of the "sleeping beauty" part is over within the first twenty percent of the book - a kiss alerts Gervaise to the fact that the girl he found in the woods is still alive (not as creepy as it sounds, it was a kiss on the hand and a salute of respect to a girl who had presumed to have died alone), and then he later uses a spindle as a weapon. However, there are a few larger plot elements that, if they aren't a reference to the Disney movie, including the main romance trope and the title given to the antagonist, are a pretty suspicious coincidence. They're handled in very much their own way, but the fact remains.

Arista's Thoughts: I quite enjoyed this retelling, but the hero could get on my nerves with his indecision. The main conflict of the book stemmed from some early miscommunication, which I connected the dots on early and found quite frustrating. There was also the fact that, while most of the book is first person from Gervaise's perspective, there were a couple swaps to third person from Vannie's, and some of them went back in time and I found them confusing. All said, it's a sweet tale, if a little more padded than it possibly needed, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a Christain, non-magical retelling.

Loose Retelling - Sleeping Beauty
Non-magical
Christian
Indie
Traditional European
Disney Knockoff (Again, not the worst offender, but the tropes used are 3-2 to Disney)


Alternative Covers:

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Beast Hunter - Michelle Israel Harper

Beast Hunter

Michelle Israel Harper

Beast Hunters - Prequel

SPOILER WARNING for "Arista's Thoughts"

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb:

Ro’s people are starving. A curse has overtaken her land, blackening the soil, wiping out crops, and bringing ruin to all. She doesn't know what to do.

The only people who thrive are the huntsmen, brought in by the mysterious Gautier to stem the flow of ravenous creatures looking for food.

When Ro accidentally kills a wolf, an idea begins to form. Could she become a huntress? Earn enough livres to feed her family?

But her world is shattered when her father promises her to a beast in exchange for his own life. If she doesn’t go, a curse will fall on her family worse than the one destroying their land. But Ro is determined to save her family another way.


Will Ro have the courage to seek her own fate instead of the one pressed upon her?

As a Retellling:

This is basically set-up for Harper's full-length novel Kill the Beast, but it does cover the first act of the original fairy tale - with the twist being that instead of our heroine's demure sweetness, Ro is quite resentful of the hard times that have overtaken her family, and she also has more than her fair share of Rebellious Princess Syndrome, and instead of going to the beast to save her father ... she runs away in search of the means to save her land. The Red Riding Hood parallels come up in the fact that there are Hunters who kill wolves (the book actually opens with Ro killing one accidentally), and the climax involves Ro meeting with a "grandmother" character who's not who she seems.

Arista's Thoughts: 

I really love the concept for Kill the Beast, and this prequel hasn't turned me off from my goal of tracking that book down and reading it ... but Beast Hunter suffered for being, well, a prequel. There was a lot set up in the book that wasn't really resolved, and the climax happened when there was still a bit of book left, leaving the final act feeling a little underwhelming. Ro was also a very inconsistent character and had no real growth. I feel that these issues could and probably will be resolved in the main book, but I just couldn't connect with this prequel.

Prequel - Beauty and the Beast
Inspired By - Little Red Riding Hood
Twisted Tale
"I'll Save Myself"
Traditional European


Have you read Beast Hunter? If so, leave a comment below with your own short review to help future readers!

Spindle - W.R. Gingell

Spindle

W.R. Gingell

Two Monarchies Sequence #1

SPOILER WARNING

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb:

As a Retelling:

This Sleeping Beauty story starts with the kiss, but immediately, nothing is as it should be. First off, Poly knows for certain that she's not the princess, but she can't remember why she's asleep in the princess's bed, wearing the princess's clothes. The story follows a twisted romp as she and her rescuer - a wizard named Luck - meander through the world she's found herself in, and try to figure out What Went Wrong.

Also, she keeps trying to fall back asleep, though her hair (which is now incredibly and annoyingly long), seems to contain the curse and it keeps growing in an effort to protect her. 

Along the way, misadventures happen and they eventually figure out who's to blame and how to break her curse.

Arista's Thoughts:

As a retelling, it's a very clever idea and pretty decently executed. However, there's a lot of meandering between concept and resolution and we're left quite in the dark with Poly as Luck refuses to trust her with any information regarding her curse and she's forgotten how she came to be sleeping in the princess's bed. The romance also suffers as we're told that she likes him, but once we're to his home, she spends more time with decoy love interests instead, both of whom are decent figures (I mean, Melchior's squintable, but at least he's keeping Poly on the same page as him.) Honestly, it was annoying how much of the book was Poly getting into trouble 'cause Luck won't give her vital information. Like, I love how determined she is to fix her own problems, but she keeps getting put in the corner 'cause she's only making the problem worse.

I wish there could have been more proper development to their relationship, because there's pretty much zilch after the one-third point, and we're just expected to believe that she's actually in love with Luck at the end? (I will say, I have a lot of friends who ship 'em hard, but as a kid who grew up in a household with a manchild Dad ... romances like this are hard to sell me on, and this one covered too much time with too little actual development for it to sit right with me)

Onepiece was adorable, though. Would recommend the book just so you can read about him, the precious child. Oh, and for Poly organizing Luck's library. That was amazing.

Happily Ever After Gone Wrong - Sleeping Beauty

Influenced By - Rapunzel

Magical

"I'll Save Myself"

Indie

Traditional European

Alternative Covers:

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Beauty and the Beast - K.M. Shea

Beauty and the Beast

K.M. Shea

Timeless Fairy Tales #1

SPOILER WARNING for Arista's Thoughts

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb: Once upon a time Elle made a mistake. A small miscalculation sends her through the roof of an enchanted chateau. Stranded until her broken leg mends, Elle is unwillingly forced to rely on the good will of the sour chateau owner —the cursed Prince Severin.

Prince Severin—the commanding general and staunch supporter of his brother the crown prince—is cursed to look like a beast until a maiden falls in love with him. He has given up all hope of shattering the curse, and has only disdain for Elle.

Unfortunately, the pair can’t seem to avoid each other thanks to the meddling of the chateau’s cursed servants. Eventually Elle’s playful manners and Severin’s hidden gentleness draw the pair together.

But not all love stories can end that easily. After all, Elle is not what she seems, and Severin’s life is placed in danger when hostilities flare between his brother and the monarchs of a neighboring country. When Elle risks everything to save Severin, will he be able to forgive her for her lies?

As a Retellling: Prince Severin is a Beast due to an enchantress's curse, and Elle is the daughter of a merchant who has fallen on hard times. However, she winds up in Severin's house not because of an extracted promise from her father, but because she is a really good spy and her kingdom is taking advantage of her family's debt to eek as much work out of her as possible. She had been assigned to spy on Prince Severin, and, belying her skill ... fell through a glass roof and broke her leg, forcing her to rely on his hospitality. All of his servants are immediately hopeful that she might, finally, be the girl to break their master's curse, and immediately start shoving the two together. 

Arista's Thoughts: It's an interesting take on the tale and I appreciate that there is very little, if anything, that feels Disney about it. However, B&B is a very slow fairy tale, and this retelling removed most of the story's action - it opened when Elle fell through the roof, and there's no occasion where she gets to go home and have Thoughts with herself concerning the Beast. As a result, while I love that it got the fairy tale's themes and messages right, it dragged painfully in many places. Also, the plot twist concerning Elle's spy position was rather clumsily handled, and, I felt, played up too much for drama at the end.

Fairy Tale Romance - Beauty and the Beast

Twisted Tale

Magical

Traditional European

Alternative Covers:

 

Have you read Beauty and the Beast? If so, leave a comment below with your own short review to help future readers!

Do You Take This Quest? - Kendra E. Ardnek

Do You Take This Quest?

Kendra E. Ardnek

The Bookania Quests #2

SPOILER WARNING

Where to Purchase: Amazon 

Official Blurb:

Once Upon a Time...

When Arthur's parents were lost at sea, his Uncle Mordreth became the regent for the young boy. Yet now that he's ofage, Mordreth seems to have no intentions of relinquishing the throne. It looks as though Arthur will have to fight for his throne. If only he had more than just his two servants and the old man he met in the woods for friends. So the old man takes things into his own hands and whisks Arthur off to the wedding of a fellow prince, with the intention of finding him some allies.

All is not right at the wedding, however. The groom is missing and the bride has called quits. Where's the groom? Well, he's found a new bride. Now if he can just get her home ...

As a Retelling:

This book twines together two story lines that come together towards the end. The Arthur plotline is very much a reimagining, with an Arthur who knows his status as crown prince, and the Mordred and the Sir Ector characters are combined in Mordreth. Merlin is a nameless old man who goes by Grandfather, who spirits Arthur away in the middle of the night to attend a wedding and gain allies to take his kingdom.

Meanwhile, Sleeping Beauty's prince is on his way to wake Sleeping Beauty, and we watch this through the perspective of his great-aunt who attended the party and, thanks to her gift of sensitivity to magic, is able to dream about what is happening to her twin brother's family. This means that she's not caught off guard, like the rest of the party, who had no awareness of the passing time. This plotline is about adjusting to change as everyone needs to discover where they belong to this new world. 

Arista's Thoughts:
I freely admit that this is my messiest book, especially as it lacks any proper climax. However, there are scenes that I absolutely love. It's not a great book, but it's generally fun, has good messages, and sets things up well for the next book in the series. 

After Ever After - Sleeping Beauty
Reimagining - King Arthur 

Ensemble - Robin Hood, Toads and Diamonds, Capserl and the Princess

Alternate Perspective

Magical 

Traditional European 

Indie

Book

Alternative Covers:

Have you read Do You Take This Quest? If so, leave a comment below with your own short review to help future readers!

Sew, It's a Quest - Kendra E. Ardnek

Sew, It's a Quest

Kendra E. Ardnek

The Bookania Quests #1

SPOILER WARNING
for "As a Retelling"

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb: Robin and Robert are royal twins. They are the only two to have received a Fairy Godmother gift in nearly a century, an amazing honor. Soon it was clear that their gifts had been switched and a search began to find the Fairy Godmother to right the mistake. When she is finally sighted by a knight, the family learns that the pair must find her for themselves and they only have until their 18th birthday ... only 4 months away. Will they be able to find her in time?

As a Retelling: This is an original story set against the backdrop of several fairy tales, using fairy tale tropes. Most fairy tales in this volume are kept intact, though Sleeping Beauty seems to have been woken up early by the wrong prince.

Arista's Thoughts: I wrote this book when I was sixteen, and sometimes it shows in the writing and characters, however, it's a fun story and I enjoy the world and characters.

Ensemble Retelling - Sleeping Beauty, Toads and Diamonds, Casperl and the Princess, Robin Hood
Cameo - Puss in Boots
Indie
Magical
World of Fairy Tales
Traditional European

Alternative Covers:

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The Princess Test - Gail Carson Levine

The Princess Test

Gail Carson Levine

The Princess Tales, #2

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb:

King Humphrey has decided it's time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith's daughter. She's no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same--but how will she ever pass the terrible tests? 

As a Retelling: This is a retelling that seeks to explain the history behind the poor little princess, caught in the rain. And, turns out, she's not a princess, but a blacksmith's daughter who just happens to be very sensitive, and happens to have caught the prince's eye. His parents are the ones determined that he'll marry a "true" princess, and so she winds up competing alongside several actual princesses.

Arista's Thoughts:
It's a quick, short, and sweet story that turns the fairy tale on its head in a hilarious way. While not my favorite of the collection, I highly recommend it.

True Retelling - The Princess and the Pea

Magical

Traditional European

Have you read The Princess Test? If so, leave a comment below with your own short review to help future readers!

The Fairy's Mistake - Gail Carson Levine

The Fairy's Mistake

Gail Carson Levine

The Princess Tales #1

SPOILER WARNING For "As a Fairy Tale"

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb: Two very different sisters have two very different encounters with the fairy Ethelinda. Rosella is kind and helpful. Her reward: Jewels and gems tumble out of her mouth whenever she speaks. Myrtle is rude and spiteful. Her punishment: Bugs and vipers slither out of her mouth. The fairy Ethelinda feels she's meted out justice just right--until she discovers Rosella has been locked up by a greedy prince and Myrtle is having the time of her life!

As a Retelling: This short little story, like the others in the series, seeks to expand and explain the fairy tale more than to present any great changes. It does, however, present it with a view "maybe things aren't always as they seem," allowing for both girls to grow over the course of the book and end in a better place. Oh, and it also employs the "false bride" trope that is sometimes found connected to fairy tales similar to Toads and Diamonds. 

Arista's Thoughts: While it isn't quite my favorite of the collection, it's a sweet little story about unforeseen consequences and a fairy tale that deserves more retellings.

True Retelling - Toads and Diamonds
Magical
Children's
Illustrated
Traditional European


Have you read The Fairy's Mistake? If so, leave a comment below with your own short review to help future readers!

Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine

Ella Enchanted

Gail Carson Levine

SPOILER WARNING
for "As a retelling"

Where to Purchase: Amazon

Official Blurb: At her birth, Ella of Frell receives a foolish fairy's gift—the “gift” of obedience. Ella must obey any order, whether it's to hop on one foot for a day and a half, or to chop off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not accept her fate...

Against a bold backdrop of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse forever.

As a Retellling: This is a slow-burn retelling that takes its time to establish its characters and setting. In fact, it's only within the last few chapters that the Cinderella story unfolds with the ball, glass slippers, and midnight deadline, though many of the pieces were set on the board ahead of time. Ella's curse of obedience provides both a compelling reason for her stepmother and stepsisters to take advantage of her and make her their servant and motivation for her to run from the ball.

Note: There is a movie adaptation of this book, starring Anne Hathaway, but the plot was changed and most of the Cinderella elements removed. It would be considered a general fairy tale parody instead.

Arista's Thoughts: This was the book that taught me what a retelling was capable of. Having read it multiple times, it's definitely one of my favorite books and well worth its Newberry Honor Award. Ella was an inspiration to me in a difficult

True Retelling: Cinderella
Magical
"I'll Save Myself"
Traditional European

Alternative Covers:

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