Books like 'Watching the Roses'
Readers who enjoyed Watching the Roses by Adèle Geras also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy romance retellings classics fairy-tale myths
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Beauty and the Beast Novelization by Elizabeth Rudnick
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsBelle has dreamt of adventures like the ones she reads in her books, of traveling the world outside her small town. When Belle's father is captured, she takes his place as a prisoner of a fearsome Beast. But life in the enchanted castle isn't as terrible as Belle imagines, and she ultimately finds friendship and love... -
Callie and the Pumpkin Seed: A Cinderella Retelling by Sarah Beran
Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsShe’s a baker struggling to support her stepfamily. He’s a prince running from the biggest decision of his life. Can their friendship result in something sweet, or is it a recipe for disaster?Calliope Cendrillon wants nothing more than for her bakery, “Sweet Pea’s Pumpkin Perfections,” to start turning a profit... -
Besotted by Jody Hedlund
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . .A young queen trying to stay alive until she comes of age to rule, and a prince turned into a pauper.Queen Aurora of Mercia has spent her entire life deep in Inglewood Forest, hiding from Warwick’s Queen Margery, who seeks her demise. As the time draws near for Aurora to take the throne, she happens upon a handsome woodcutter... -
The Sleeping Beauty by Trina Schart Hyman
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe story of the beautiful princess who sleeps for a hundred years has captured the imaginations of children for an even longer period of time... -
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The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling by Melanie Cellier
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn outcast.A prince.And a deadly rebellion...After a lifetime of rejection, seamstress Evie can't trust Frederic, the crown prince of Lanover—not his words of friendship or the way the warmth in his eyes seems to ask for even more. But when they end up on a tour of his kingdom—one filled with increasing danger—Evie's mistrust might doom them all... -
The Frog Prince by K.M. Shea
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCrown Prince Lucien has spent his life pretending to be a flirtatious idiot in order to manipulate his courts and hide his deficiencies. His acting backfires, however, when his father orders an enchantress to turn him into a frog for his own safety after he narrowly escapes an assassination plot. Servant. Capable. Expendable...Categorized as:
fairy-tale myths retellings action-adventure adaptations book enemies-to-lovers fiction -
A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Melanie Cellier
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsPrincess Sophia has helped her twin sister Lily save the duchy of Marin. But now Sophie faces an even greater threat when she sets out to free the cursed kingdom of Palinar from its beastly prince. Alone, and with danger on every side, Sophie must navigate a magical castle and its even more mysterious master to discover the secret to breaking the curse... -
Spindles and Thorns by Melanie Karsak
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThree blessings. One curse. A beauty whose life will change forever. When Aurora and her twin brother Aubrey were born, a dark mage cursed on their eighteenth birthday, the twins would suffer the torment of eternal sleep. Aurora and Aubrey’s parents, being sensible wizards, eviscerated the mage. Unfortunately, dark magic doesn’t go quietly. Aurora and Aubrey were left orphans... -
Beguiled by Jody Hedlund
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . .A princess rejected and hunted by her mother, and a prince who lives as a shunned outcast.Princess Pearl flees for her life after her mother, Queen Margery, tries to have her killed during a hunting expedition. Pearl finds refuge on the Isle of Outcasts among criminals and misfits, disguising her face with a veil so no one recognizes her... -
Beholden by Jody Hedlund
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . .A beautiful noblewoman with a terrible secret, and a prince subjected to slavery.Upon the death of her wealthy father, Lady Gabriella is condemned to work in Warwick’s gem mine. As she struggles to survive the dangerous conditions, her kindness and beauty shine as brightly as the jewels the slaves excavate... -
The Coronation Ball by Melanie Cellier
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHanna knows all about hard work. For years she’s labored to complete her apprenticeship and become a pastry chef. Driven from her home once before, she’s willing to endure whatever it takes to keep her position in the palace kitchens of Northhelm. But when she finally has a chance for all her dreams to come true, everything goes wrong... -
Fate Be Changed by Farrah Rochon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhat if the witch gave Merida a different spell? This New York Times best-selling series twists Disney•Pixar's Brave into a fast-paced story in which Merida is sent back in time.If you could change your fate, would you? Merida understands that as princess of Clan DunBroch, she has certain obligations—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it... -
Snow White by K.M. Shea
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsOnce upon a time, a princess and her stepmother ruled together with all happiness and joy…until the Queen’s chronic headaches and mood swings escalate to violence, and Princess Snow White is forced to flee for her life. Snow White is certain that a dark magic has pushed her once loving stepmother into madness... -
Sleeping Beauty by K.M. Shea
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBriar Rose, a clever peasant girl, feels only pity for the mysterious Princess Rosalinda–the hidden princess who was cursed to prick her finger on a spindle and fall asleep until true love’s kiss awakens her. But her pity turns into horror when Briar learns she is the secret princess, and Isaia, her childhood friend, is really a Magic Knight sworn to protect her... -
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A Midwinter's Wedding by Melanie Cellier
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPrincess Cordelia is used to being overshadowed by her many brothers and sisters. So when she's offered the chance to attend her brother's wedding in a faraway kingdom, she leaps at it. In Northhelm, she'll finally have the chance to stand out. And maybe, just maybe, she'll even find romance. But not everything in the Northhelmian court is as it appears... -
Enamored in Death: A Story of Thanatos and Makaria by Molly Tullis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPerfect for fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Jennifer Saint’s Elektra, or Scarlett St. Clair's A Touch of Darkness, this story combines romance and Greek mythology in a twist of several famous myths.In the belly of the Underworld, Thanatos has reigned as the God of Death since time immemorial, disregarding his own fearsome reputation and the loneliness that comes with it... -
Beast of Rosemead by Lucy Tempest
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFor fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses, comes the highly anticipated new installment in the #1 bestselling Fairytales of Folkshore series! A BOOKISH BEAUTY. A BEASTLY PRINCE. A DEADLY CURSE. Bonnie Fairborn’s wish to escape her small-town life for one of adventure is granted in the worst way when she’s flung along with her family into the unknown... -
Shadow and Thorn by Kenley Davidson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA Retelling of Beauty and the BeastWhen a beautiful thief meets a beastly king, it’s anything but true love.Unless a haunted castle can change their minds…Zara has always hated to steal, even from the dead, but treasure hunting is the only life she knows—until her father’s cowardice traps her in an abandoned Erathi castle... -
Thorn of Rose: A Beauty and the Beast Romance by Emily Deady
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBeauty is a curse.It attracts the basest sort of men, even a beast.With her father deathly ill, Isabel Bielsa throws herself into their mutual passion: bookbinding. Hiding in the library also allows her to avoid the unwanted attentions of the local self-absorbed noblemen. But, there is only so many times one can read the same book... -
Cinders: The Untold Story of Cinderella by Finley Aaron
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEverything you’ve been told is wrong. Oh, not everything, I suppose. Yes, I turned a pumpkin into a coach and mice into horses. The stroke of midnight, the glass slippers, and the prince searching for a girl whose foot fit the shoe…those were all part of the story. And yet, the prince didn’t just fall in love with Cinderella because she looked good at the ball... -
Red and the Wolf by Vivienne Savage
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSorcha knows every inch of the forest, but a spontaneous visit to her grandmother thrusts her into the middle of a brutal conflict between shifters and an unknown force in the woodlands.As the alpha of clan TalWolthe, Conall is obligated to protect his fellow wolves at all costs--even if it means his life... -
The Beggar Prince by Kate Stradling
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn unwilling suitor. A mocking princess. A marriage they both abhor. Diplomacy and a demanding mother send Thorben of Hauke to a neighboring kingdom, there to present himself as candidate for marriage to their princess. Beautiful Leonie of Elisia is famous for insulting every suitor she receives, and Thorben banks on her dismissing him as well—which she does, with vicious aplomb... -
Fight for Freedom by K.M. Shea
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsASIN moved from less recent edition hereThe ballads lie. Robin Hood, the Bold and Brave Outlaw of Sherwood Forest, is cowardly, spineless, and a girl. Robyn left her band of Merry Men after losing an archery contest against Little John and runs to the last place her men would expect: the courts of Prince John... -
Ever After: A Cinderella Story by Wendy Loggia
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBased on the screenplay by Susannah Grant. A prince in search of a princess, a domineering baroness and her two daughters, and an orphaned servant girl who sleeps in the ashes by the fireplace....By the time Danielle is eight years old, her mother and father have died and she has been left in the care of her new stepmother, the Baroness Rodmilla of Ghent... -
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The Princess Pact: A Twist on Rumpelstiltskin by Melanie Cellier
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSpinning straw into gold was only the beginning of the story...Marie, the dutiful princess of Northhelm, chafes under the rigid protocol that governs her life. Then a growing darkness threatens the kingdom and uncovers the lie at the centre of her whole life - a single pact that changes everything... -
Nottingham: The True Story of Robyn Hood by Anna Burke
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRobyn Hood didn’t set out to rob the rich, but in Nottingham, nothing ever goes according to plan....After a fateful hunting accident sends her on the run from the law, Robyn finds herself deep in the heart of Sherwood Forest... -
To Ride the Wind: A Retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Melanie Cellier
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCharlotte has always longed to be accepted by her older sisters. She would gladly exchange her vaunted beauty for their friendship. But they ask a far higher price. Pushed into marriage with a stranger, Charlotte is left betrayed and alone. All she knows of her new husband is that he has secrets—and that her heart beats a little faster whenever he calls her Lottie... -
Daughter of Lies by Kenley Davidson
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Retelling of Snow WhiteShe never needed a mirror to tell her who she was. She thought she knew…Until an assassin made her question everything.Brenna Seagrave would rather spy on her kingdom’s enemies than attend a ball. She prefers danger and disguise to the smiling insincerities of the Andari court, but no one is quite sure what to do with a countess who engages in espionage... -
A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen by Melanie Cellier
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsAn unexpected gift from her godmother will give Celine enough fire to take on an entire kingdom of snow and ice. But first she needs to melt one frozen prince. Rumors have long swirled about the strange kingdom of Eldon. The only thing more frozen than its mountains are the inhabitants themselves... -
Silent Mermaid by Brittany Fichter
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHow does a silent mermaid win a war of song? How does she break the siren song of another that holds her beloved captive? After being touched by the sun at birth, Princess Arianna has grown up imprisoned between two worlds, neither fully mermaid nor fully human. Her life is one of solitude and dreams... -
Briar Rose by Caroline Lee
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLucky for this sleeping beauty, her hero has the recipe for True Love! Briar Rose Jorgenson has always been much more comfortable with her best friend’s family than her own. Her mother and grandmother pull her in opposite directions, demanding her attention to “proper” pursuits… when all she wants to do is bake... -
Il cuore di Derfel by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTorna l'attesa voce di Derfel Cadarn, il guerriero fattosi monaco, un tempo protetto di Merlino e paladino fedele di Artù, per accompagnarci lungo un nuovo capitolo delle sue memorie, che lo vede impegnato a lottare su due fronti ugualmente insidiosi: l'amore e la guerra... -
La spada perduta by Bernard Cornwell, Gaetano Luigi Staffilano
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings... -
Hades by Ambrosia R. Harris
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Careful what you say, Goddess,” he breathed, “I may not let you leave.”…A wicked smile spread her lips once more, “Perhaps it is you who should be careful, my king.”Hades, the King of the Underworld and God of the Dead, had a lonely existence in his realm. Meeting and judging the shades, attending the few meetings in Olympus, and spending as little time in the mortal realm as possible... -
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Maiden in the Tower: A Regency Fairy Tale Retelling by Heidi Kimball
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHe's the first man she's ever met. She's the exact opposite of the woman he's supposed to marry.Lisette Hunt has been hidden away her entire life, with nothing but a large window up in the cottage turret to give her a glimpse of the outside world. Until Gerry Worthington stumbles into her garden in search of his runaway dog... -
The Queen of Gold and Straw by Shari L. Tapscott
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGreta knows two things to be true. The first: trolls don't venture into the forest, especially during the day. The second: kings don't save peddler's daughters from those trolls, and they certainly don't deposit them atop royal horses and personally escort them home.But sometimes, they do. And sometimes afterward, life gets very complicated.. -
The Stepmother by Caroline Lee
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBetween the witch and the rescue, the lost princess had two loving parents… This is their Happily Ever After. There’s a Guild of Godmothers in Everland, Wyoming, and they’re prepared to meddle. They can’t stand the thought of handsome, newly arrived Doctor Jack Carpenter raising his precious little daughter all by himself, and they’re determined to find him a suitable wife... -
When Ash Falls by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Rachel Van Dyken returns to regency romance with the last and final installment in The London Fairy Tales series...A regency retelling of Snow White and The Seven Dwarves.Ashton Wolfsbane, Earl of Grimm, has taken a vow of celibacy after blaming himself for his sister in laws death...Categorized as:
fairy-tale retellings adult book fiction historical historical-fiction industrial-era -
Prisoner by Sylvia Mercedes
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDon't miss book II of this romantic "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.A new light shines into the darkness of his heart . . .After fifteen years of imprisonment and solitude, Soran Silveri's life is rudely interrupted by the arrival of one brash, headstrong, flame-haired girl. He cannot refuse her appeals for sanctuary—but he can resist her pleas for him to teach her magic... -
Goldheart by Kenley Davidson
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA Retelling of RumpelstiltskinKidnapped, abandoned, and betrayed.At least no one’s asking her to spin straw into gold…Elaine was happy with her quiet, simple life. But after the death of her parents, the disappearance of her fiancé, and a traumatic kidnapping, quiet and simple are out of the question.Her father left debts, and now his creditors mean to collect... -
The Marquise and Her Cat by Shari L. Tapscott
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFinding your happily ever after is complicated when your matchmaker is a cat...Etta's happy with her simple life in the mill, but when her aunt passes and leaves her a very peculiar cat, everything goes awry. Now, determined to find her place in the world, Etta's learning to hunt, having audiences with a king, and falling for a man who's keeping something from her... -
Princess of Shadows by A.G. Marshall
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis is the alternate cover edition of The Princess and the Pea by A.G. Marshall with the ASIN number B01M0MKH7Q.Only a true princess can save the kingdom. Alaric wants to be king. He wants to continue the peace and prosperity his father created in Aeonia. But with enemies questioning his bloodline, he’ll have to put his heart on the line and marry a stranger to secure his right to rule... -
Traitor's Masque by Kenley Davidson, Esther Wane
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat would you be willing to betray in exchange for your freedom?Trystan was once the pampered daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, but since his death, she’s considered a social pariah. Trapped by her stepmother’s malicious web of lies, Trystan is willing to do just about anything to escape—even play a part in a devious plot to disinherit the kingdom’s incompetent heir, Prince Ramsey... -
Sita's Sister by Kavita Kané
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of Karna's Wife, comes this book about Urmila, Sita's sister and the neglected wife of Lakshman, and one of the most overlooked characters in the Ramayana. As Sita prepares to go into exile, her younger sisters stay back at the doomed palace of Ayodhya, their smiles, hope and joy wiped away in a single stroke... -
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A Question of Magic by E.D. Baker
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSerafina was living the normal life of a village girl, when she gets a mysterious letter--her first letter ever, in fact--from a great aunt she's never heard of in another village. Little does 'Fina know, her great aunt is actually a Baba Yaga, a magical witch who lives in an even more magical cottage... -
Rojo y oro by Iria G. Parente, Selene M. Pascual
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEscuchad mortales,la historia de un dios que no quería vivir,de una amazona obligada a matary de su libertad para siempre robada.Aguardad y temed el despertar del caos:cuando Eris abra los ojos, la venganza al fin llegará.Orión está cansado de ser el esclavo de Hera desde que su madre, la diosa del Caos, fue condenada por su ambición... -
Ruslan and Lyudmila by Alexander Pushkin
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA new verse translation of Pushkin’s first major work, a fantastic narrative poem based on Russian folklore that later inspired Glinka’s famous opera Spirited away by the evil sorcerer Chernomer, Lyudmila awaits rescue by her beloved Ruslan. Before he can secure her release, however, the gallant Ruslan must first endure all the trials and tribulations that a malevolent world can throw at him... -
Mistress of Magic by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings13 Hours 53 Minutes, on 12 CDs.In the tradition of T.H. Whites The Once and Future King, the author makes use of the prerequisites of the Arthurian legend: Excalibur, the Holy Grail, Lancelets illicit love for Gwenhwyfar, the destruction of Camelot, but with a twist--she presents the entire panoramic story from the female point of view... -
Hooked by Annette K. Larsen
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe’s free to fly if her past doesn’t catch up with her. But what if she’s ready to fall for him instead?Cecily doesn’t want to grow up—not if growing up means marrying. After escaping a life of abandonment and mistreatment, she refuses to put her life in the hands of a man ever again. She’s happily settled into her life as lady’s maid to Princess Marilee, and that’s where she intends to stay... -
The Hidden Gift by Annette K. Larsen
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat if Father Christmas’s quest to help the downtrodden…started with his love for one girl?In the quaint village of Tethurn, Annabelle has always been the steadfast pillar of her family, unafraid of hard work and sacrifice. But when her father falls gravely ill, her family's already tenuous situation becomes dire...
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