Fairytale retellings are quite common, and I imagine finding a new way to tell the same story is difficult. Melanie Cellier does an excellent job of presenting them in a different way, keeping her stories fresh, intriguing, and magical. She has three series of fairytale retellings with each book being a standalone novel, though they are interconnected and contain spoilers for the previous books in the series. All of her books are excellent and well-worth reading, but I’ll focus on only one or two of my personal favorites from each series.
The first series in her fairytale retellings is The Four Kingdoms. I had the most difficulty picking only two favorites from this series, but The Princess Fugitive and The Princess Search won because they are the two books I keep reading over and over again.
The Princess Fugitive is a reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood, a fairytale I’ve not come across a retelling of before. The story is the second in the series and features a key character from the first book, The Princess Companion. The Princess Fugitive explores redemption, the depths of friendship and loyalty, and what – or who – is worth fighting for. Read it to find out who Little Red is, and whether she allows the wolf to swallow her.
My other favorite is The Princess Search, a retelling of The Ugly Duckling and the last book in the series. It wasn’t originally included in Cellier’s writing plans, but an outcry from readers on behalf of Lanoverian Crown Prince Fredrick, who had not met his true love in any of the previous books, resulted in the story being written. In the book, the reader tags along with Evie, a seamstress, as she accompanies Fredrick and two of his siblings on a royal tour. The tour forces Evie to confront her painful past, challenging her belief that revisiting her previous homes will irrevocably break her and reveal her lack of value to the royal family.
The Four Kingdoms series is available through KindleUnlimited and contains five full-length novels as well as three novellas. Click on the link below to visit Melanie’s website.
Happy reading, and keep magic in the mundane!
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