Twisted retellings

Halfling A Fantasy Monster Romance

S. E. Wendel

<p>A half-orc, half-human belongs nowhere...</p><p>Orek has spent his life trying to prove himself to a clan that despises him. The son of a deposed orc chief and human captive, he must try twice as hard to prove himself a worthy male, a strong hunter, a potential mate...</p><p><br></p><p>Resigned to a thankless place in the shadows, Orek ekes out a living on the fringes of the clan, just waiting for an opportunity. But what he finds instead one cold autumn night could ruin everything he's worked so hard to gain-a human woman, captured just as his mother was so many years ago. The choice to protect her from the clan isn't a choice at all, but what will protect him and his lonely heart from her?</p><p><br></p><p>A life about to begin, usurped by fate...</p><p>Sorcha has spent her life helping raise her many siblings, but now finally has the chance to seek her own adventures. At least, she did, before she was snatched from her horse and peddled by slavers. Taken far from home, she's brought to the worst place imaginable-the craggy western mountains infested with brutal, brutish orcs. All humans know to fear them and stay away, and now she's been sold to the cruelest clan-chief of them all. But the first orc she meets is nothing like the stories. He's gentle. He frees her.</p><p><br></p><p>Nothing is what it seems as they lose themselves in the forest, hunted by trackers and slavers. Out of her depth, Sorcha has no choice but to rely on the mysterious halfling who saved her-but she's been betrayed already and cannot afford to trust him. Even if, little by little, the quiet male reveals himself to be everything she could ever want.</p><p><br></p><p>A human and a halfling, lives ripped apart, brought together by coincidence or fate. Running for their lives, they may find the most dangerous place is together...</p>

Ironling A Fantasy Monster Romance

S. E. Wendel · 2024

<p>A lady heir in a world of lords...</p><p>Aislinn Darrow was never meant to be her father's heir, but that was before her selfish brother condemned himself. Now, she must give up her old life to take his place. She should be presiding in her father's council chamber and serving the people of the Darrowlands-yet time and again, she finds herself straying to the castle smithy, to visit the handsome new blacksmith manning the forge.</p><p><br></p><p>A lady can never claim a monster...</p><p>Hakon has known all his life his place is in the background. At least at his forge, he can be of use and demonstrate his skills. The life of a halfling is one of halves and pieces, never quite to belong. When he hears of a place that welcomes halflings, he determines to build a new life for himself in the Darrowlands. It is a bittersweet fate to find everything he could ever want there, in a woman he can never have. He knows his green, sooty hands don't deserve to touch her, but Hakon cannot resist tempting Lady Aislinn back to him, nor indulging in the fantasy of claiming her as his own.</p><p><br></p><p>But in a world of lords and politics, a lady such as Aislinn could never truly take a halfling like him to mate and wed-especially when her position as a woman lord and usurper leave her and her people vulnerable. When grasping lords threaten the Darrowlands, prepared to take Aislinn's hand and land through marriage or force, she must choose-the halfling who loves her or the people who need her.</p>

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Brigid Kemmerer · 2019

Beauty A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Robin McKinley · 2018

<p>From Newbery Medal–winning author Robin McKinley, this beloved story illuminates an unlikely love story—Beauty and the Beast. This fortieth-anniversary edition features a striking new package for the award-winning novel. Publishers Weekly called Beauty “A splendid story.”</p><p>Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in appearance, she can perhaps make up for in courage. </p><p>When her father comes home with a tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must travel to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father insists that he will not let her go, but she responds, “Cannot a Beast be tamed?”</p><p>Newbery Medalist Robin McKinley’s beloved and acclaimed novel has been delighting readers for more than forty years. ALA Booklist called Beauty “A captivating novel.” </p><p>“A reader feels as though it’s all unfolding for the very first time.”—The Guardian</p><p>An ALA Notable Book for Children</p><p>A Best Book for Young Adults</p>

Thornhedge

T. Kingfisher · 2023

<p><b>Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novella!</b><br><b><br>From <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author T. Kingfisher, <i>Thornhedge</i> is the tale of a kind-hearted, toad-shaped heroine, a gentle knight, and a mission gone completely sideways.</b><br><br><b>*The very special hardcover edition features a foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.*</b><br><br>There's a princess trapped in a tower. This <i>isn't</i> her story.<br><br>Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?<br><br>But nothing with fairies is ever simple.<br><br>Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold...<br><br><b>"The way <i>Thornhedge</i> turns all the fairy tales inside out is a sharp-edged delight." </b><br><b>—Katherine Addison, author of <i>The Goblin Emperor</i></b><br><br><b>Also by T. Kingfisher</b><br><i>Nettle & Bone</i><br><i>A Sorceress Comes to Call</i><br><i>What Moves the Dead</i><br><i>What Feasts at Night</i><br><i>A House with Good Bones</i></p>