Top Fantasy Post Series: Fairy Tale Fantasy

Yes, we’ve got another one of these posts on my top fantasy series! And yes I’m going to be gushing and ranting about fairy tales once again! If you’re tired of that, too bad, fairy tale retellings are what got this blog rolling in the first place haha.

Dark Fairy Tale Queen series by Anita Valle

This series mixes and matches with some of my favorite fairy tale retelling tropes, and to great success. Valle’s stories feature antiheros, arguably villains in some ways, with darker versions of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel being presented as the protagonists. Selfish and vengeful protagonists aside, the stories are also intricately tied up with more elements from other stories being thrown in to add to the world. I think a lot of interesting things are done in the writing of this series, and I wholly recommend it!

Snow Queen series by KM Shea

Though I adore all of Shea’s fairy tale based series, the Snow Queen series holds a special place on this list. This series takes place in the past of the magical world that KM Shea has constructed, and features the most powerful magical character I think her world hosts. The Snow Queen’s legacy is felt in every single story in Shea’s world, and seeing her story finally put out there was fantastic. The writing in this trilogy also felt elevated, darker, and more intense than the rest of the works Shea placed in her world. I fully recommend reading the Snow Queen series if you’re not always a fan of younger YA themes, but still want to read a fairy tale based series.

Beyond the Four Kingdoms series by Melanie Cellier

Melanie Cellier is no small player in the fairy tale game. But I’d say that her first series is a little more well known than Beyond the Four Kingdoms. Admittedly, I started with the second one and am only now (slowly) working my way through her original fairy tale retellings. But I do prefer the second series for its higher degree of political intrigue and entanglement. A stand alone fairy tale retelling is always a fun time, but crafting a longer series in which the retellings tie into a darker plotline, and a larger picture, is far more intriguing for me.

Entwined Tales by various

Each book in this series is by a different author with a penchant for fairy tales, including some well known! What I liked most about this series was that it provides a great introduction to a variety of authors, letting you get a feeling for their styles and settings. If an author really stands out or speaks to you, then you can explore their other works!

Let me know in the comments what some of your favorite fairy tale fantasy novels and series are!