In this book, Maddy, a teenager with a rare disease, is kept inside her home, with only physical contact from her mom and her nurse. She reminds me a lot of Rapunzel, who is also kept locked up and warned not to leave or interact with strangers. Similarly to Rapunzel and Flynn, Maddy falls in love with a boy named Olly, who fuels her desire to experience life outside her house, and she ends up escaping to see the world with him. This is a perfect book for fans of Rapunzel who want similar themes of toxic parental relationships, love, adventure, and risk.
This book has a sister dynamic that reminds me of Anna and Elsa from Frozen. Similarly to Anna stepping up to lead Arendelle when Elsa runs away, Ivy steps up and puts herself in the running for Prince Bram’s hand in marriage. If Ivy wins, she will be able to support her family and free her sister from whatever bargain she has made with the immortal fae queen Mor. Both Anna and Ivy end up putting their hearts in the wrong man’s hands, and end up betrayed. Frozen and The Rose Bargain deal in shocking plot twists and sister dynamics.
This book is obviously The Princess and the Frog related, but it’s my favorite book out of the entire A Twisted Tale collection. This collection is perfect for Disney fans and allows for brand new takes and stories about beloved characters. What I love so much about this book is that Tiana is the one who makes a deal with Dr. Facilier, not Naveen. She finds herself living a life where she gets her restaurant and even her father back, but all deals come with consequences, and she must figure out how to fix hers. This book truly builds on the film in an amazing way that makes it a must-read for any The Princess and the Frog fans.
This book is very similar to the film Mulan in that the main character of the book disguises herself as a boy. However, this book is set in Japan, not China like Mulan is, and Mariko has a brother which allows the author to make direct commentary on how male and female children are raised with different expectations. Mariko is the daughter of a samurai who is ambushed on the way to her arranged wedding, reminding me of Mulan 2. She then disguises herself as a boy to infiltrate the group that ambushed her, and unexpectedly falls in love. Mariko and Mulan are so alike, and this book is bound to dazzle not only Mulan fans but also fans of strong, independent female characters.
This book reminds me a lot of The Little Mermaid, but it’s darker and features an enemies-to-lovers story. Lira is a siren princess who is cursed to be a human and must kill Prince Elian, who murders sirens, to return to her siren form. Similar to Ariel, Lira is turned into a human, but for her, it is a form of punishment and not a desire. Lira is a ruthless anti-hero, but perhaps her time on land as a human will change her. I greatly enjoyed how Lira wasn’t some meek princess and really takes Ariel’s original rebellion against her father’s wishes to darker places. Especially because all her life, Lira had been brought up by her mother, the Sea Queen, to be violent, and her mother, in transforming her into a human, then gives her the freedom and the space to decide for herself what she wants for her life. Both Ariel and Lira end up going down different paths than the ones their parents desired for them, and create peace between the land and sea.
There are, of course, so many more princesses I could have included in this list, but even if your favorite princess is not here, I highly recommend giving one of these books a try. They are all perfect YA books for fairytale, fantasy, and romance lovers alike!
Katelyn Burklow, Pine Reads Review Writer