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Alix E. Harrow, author of the Ten Thousand Doors of January  and A Spindle Splintered , returns with an Arthurian-style time travel novel sure to delight her fans. The Everlasting  tells the story of Sir Una Everlasting, an orphan turned knight turned legend, and Owen Mallory, a scholarly historian obsessed with her story. Owen believes Una has saved his life on multiple occasions. Her story provided him with solace to his loneliness as a child and inspired him to join his country’s war against the Hinterlands when he came of age. As the book begins, he is a wounded veteran and a struggling part-time professor in the Cantford College Department of History. He receives a parcel in the mail which contains a book carved from heartwood. The book, a tremendous scholarly discover which may win Owen a prestigious position, is the lost story of the Death of Una Everlasting . Owen soon finds himself thrust backward in time, living as a scribe tasked with telling Una’s story. Harrow immediately sucks the reader into a medieval world while also retaining the tone and humor of a contemporary setting and characters. Owen explains his academic advisor is “like a liege lord, except instead of beheading you she can make you rewrite your thesis chapters,” and notes “a journey which takes only a few paragraphs in a book takes considerably longer on horseback.” Comments like these remind the reader that Owen and Una’s fantastical story is a reflection of the real world we live in, and this lays the groundwork for a compelling contemplation of storytelling. Questions of narrative authority and cultural legacy sit side by side with questions about the nature of bravery and cowardice. Beneath it all is a love story that repeats and spans across generations. Although I sometimes felt lost in the time-loops, I loved Harrow’s beautiful and poetic presentation about the everlasting nature of love and the way a story can feel like home. Her presentation of a brave, sword-wielding female knight and a mousy, cowardly man is refreshing, and her combination of hope and tragedy will leave emotional readers in tatters. This book is for fans of fantasy, time travel, and all those who enjoy the power of a well-told love story. It is a book to be both enjoyed and studied, and I’m sure to return to its pages again. You can find it here . Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

We are elated to present Wildwood, our tree spirit issue! The issue is designed to move you subtly through the seasons with each story and poem. We also have non-fiction works discussing Green Man/Woman, an exploration of the Yaksha, and an interview with our cover's artist.  Cover Art: Leonard Greco, detail from Adolescence of the Green Knight   Scroll down for a list of featured authors and first lines for each piece in Wildwood, our Spring/Summer 2026 Issue. Click on the PDF to download and read the issue. A donation of $7.00 is greatly appreciated to keep The Fairy Tale Magazine running and able to pay its authors, its hard costs, and create our beautiful PDFs.  Access the Journal Here ⬇️ What’s inside:  Green Love In spring you are the willow man, your hair turning yellow Theodora Goss is the author of the Athena Club trilogy of novels, as well as five short story and poetry collections. Her most recent book is the collection Letters from an Imaginary Country from Tachyon Publications. Her work has won the World Fantasy, Locus, Mythopoeic, and Rhysling awards. She teaches rhetoric at Boston University. __________________________________________________________________________________ Only Leaves, Only Shade I wake when frost loosens its grip on the roots. May Garner is an author and poet who has been sharing her writing online for over a decade. She is the author of two poetry collections, Withered Rising (2023) and Melancholic Muse (2025). Her work has appeared in Querencia Press, Cozy Ink Press, Arcana Poetry Press, among others. Find her on Instagram (@crimson.hands). __________________________________________________________________________________ The Green Man and His Friends: Harbingers of Spring in Folklore and Literature Spring is the season everyone waits for. After the sleepy months of winter, spring beckons us to begin anew, awakening our souls with its language of flowers. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine , a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer , and teaches at Central Connecticut State University. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , was selected as a semi-finalist in the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship. Learn more https://kellyjarviswriter.com/ __________________________________________________________________________________ The Ghillie Dhu of the Bealltainn Wood The path that winds through the birch wood is no proper path at all in places, only a thinning of the moss where feet and hooves have passed often enough to leave their mark. James Garry is a heritage campaigner and cultural researcher based in Scotland. They specialise in Scottish folklore, ghostlore, and dark heritage. They hold an MLitt from the University of the Highlands and Islands and will be undertaking PhD research on Scottish ghost narratives, storytelling, and place from October 26 onward. __________________________________________________________________________________ Becoming Folklore Here she comes, Queen of Midday, Sunshine Mother baring mist-laden heart, Silvatiicus Riddle is a 4x Rhysling-nominated Dark Fantasy/Speculative Fiction Writer haunting the bones of an old amusement park in NYC. His work has appeared in: Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, Enchanted Living, EHS, Spectral Realms , and Creepy Podcast . He combats despair with his newsletter, The Goblin's Reliquary. For all works: http://linktr.ee/silvatiicusriddle __________________________________________________________________________________ The Dryad of Lucus Lerne Now, this happened in the time of my grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather, but the story was told to me this way, and I believe it. Urna Semper is a well-travelled writer from Argoshaan. Born to a family of scriveners, she learned the art of writing at her mother's side. She knows the valley of Lucus Lerne well, but does not believe she has ever actually seen a dryad. urnasemper.substack.com __________________________________________________________________________________ Dancing over mycelium the dwarf Kubera yaksha king Shoba Narayan won the Erbacce Prize for Poetry 2025 that resulted in the publication of her first poetry book. A Pushcart-prize nominee, her work appears or will appear in Prairie Schooner, Frontier Poetry, Southword, Tiger Moth Review, Marrow Magazine, Verseville, DMQ Review, Stillwater Review, Mantelpiece, Indian Literature, and others. __________________________________________________________________________________ The Mangrove Maiden and a Bargain of Salt Far away, where the mangroves leaned into the sea as if whispering secrets to the waves, there stood a village so small the tide might have carried it away in its sleep, had its people not clung stubbornly to their stilted homes and winding paths of mud and roots. Angela “Blythe” Tabios is a Philippine essayist, fictionist, poet, and film enthusiast. She won the University of Santo Tomas Gawad Ustetika in 2025, has been published in Dapitan 2023: Panopticon and The Halo-Halo Review , and runs Magnolia By the Margins on Substack, exploring the intersections of gender, memory, and identity. __________________________________________________________________________________ The Guanacaste Tree We will meet by the Guanacaste tree that grows in the middle of the road, the tree no one dares to cut down. Lisa Marie Martens is a NYC native with Costa Rican roots. Her novel Like It Never Happened is available on Amazon and BN. You can also contact her at Lisa.snetram@gmail.com. Pura Vida. __________________________________________________________________________________ Forests, Fertility, and the Hope of Good Fortune: an Exploration of the Yaksha Folklore and mythology rarely fit into the simple boxes and binaries modern categorists with black-and-white sensibilities might wish for. Shveta Thakrar’s work has appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, most recently Brian Froud’s Green Women . Her debut novel, Star Daughter , a 2021 Andre Norton Nebula Award finalist, was followed by The Dream Runners and Divining the Leaves . Her novella, Into the Moon Garden , is available from Audible. __________________________________________________________________________________ Daphne to Apollo I remember how I, stumbling, fled and slipped from female form Kelly Jarvis , see above. __________________________________________________________________________________ The Churel’s Garden There was once a tall sacred fig tree in a grove near my nano’s house, and I could see it from the bedroom window when I visited. Sachal Siddique Ali is a Pakistani-American writer and fantasy enthusiast who grew up in Wisconsin and now resides in California. He hopes to one day publish a fantasy novel rooted in his culture's fairy tales and folklore. __________________________________________________________________________________ Leaf from a Lost Manuscript by Jacob Grimm It’s all really a gigantic secret, when you get down to it. Christopher Greiner’s poetry, fiction, essays, and book reviews have appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer, Indie Shaman , and IK: Other Ways of Knowing . He is a contributing reviewer at Facing North , and holds English degrees from Penn State and the University of Minnesota. He works on fairy lore of various kinds. __________________________________________________________________________________ The Pear Tree The maiden came at night, beneath a moon like bitten fruit. Her form rose slowly over the high orchard wall: trembling arms first, followed by a mass of pale hair, and finally, strong, straining legs that fought her long skirts until she finally emerged atop the wall entire. Marisa Celeste Montany was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii, splitting time between Ka‘u and Kona. A retired ballet dancer, she currently resides with her husband in Maryland where she takes walks, studies herbs, reads books, and writes. You can visit her at marisamontany.com. She loves horizons. __________________________________________________________________________________ Mamaw Green Reckons with the Weight of the Sky once upon a dark mountains rise from crumpled Earth Rob E. Boley likes to make blank pages darker. He co-founded Howling Unicorn Press with his wife, author Megan Hart, to conjure tales that thrill, chill, and fulfill. You can learn more about this weird figure of the dark by visiting his website at http://www.robboley.com . __________________________________________________________________________________ Hazel Mother “You will come back to me…” Angela Rega is a writer in love with folklore, fairy tales and furry creatures. During the day, she works as a teacher and school librarian and writes in the hours in between. Her stories have been published in places including The Dark, Overland, Corvid Queen and The Fairy Tale Magazine . She is an Aurealis Awards, Neilma Sidney and Norma K. Hemming Finalist. She often falls in love with poetry and drinks way too much coffee and is still searching for the gateway to Fairyland. __________________________________________________________________________________ Drawing Strength They say that meditation brings you ease, so bare-toed on the ground I set my feet, Marie Brennan is the Nebula and World Fantasy Award-nominated and Hugo Award-winning author of the Memoirs of Lady Trent, other fantasy series, over a dozen poems, and nearly one hundred short stories. As half of M.A. Carrick, she’s written the Rook and Rose trilogy. Find her online at http://linktree/swan_tower . __________________________________________________________________________________ The Fine Art of Leonard Greco in conversation with Kristen Baum DeBeasi I first met Leonard Greco at his exhibit titled Fairyland in Southern California. Kristen Baum DeBeasi is the Editor in Chief of The Fairy Tale Magazine . She is a poet, writer, and composer who engages her wonder and curiosity to explore whichever parts of the world she finds herself in. Leonard Greco is an American self-taught narrative painter, decorative muralist, and fiber artist based in Arizona. His work is characterized by a surreal, haunting, and often grotesque style that blends, religious, mythological, and personal themes, frequently exploring the extremes of human existence, including birth, death, and transformation. __________________________________________________________________________________ Hyangga — The Woodsman 하나 (Hana)  War strikes you through,  keeps you for four seasons. Ma Bones is a semi sentient skeleton haunting the gutters of North East Florida. __________________________________________________________________________________ Leaf and Stone A widower, head cook to a powerful knight, had one daughter, who he cherished dearly because she looked so like her mother. Lynden Wade is the author of the fairytale collection, The Tapestry Unravels: Weaving Old Tales into New . She lives in the East of England, not far from two castle ruins and owns far more fairy crowns than she should at her age. __________________________________________________________________________________ The Old One His hair cardamon and cinnamon, beard clove, Kim Malinowski (she/they) is a lover of words. She is the author of Home, Phantom Reflection, Buffy’s House of Mirrors, Clutching Narcissus, Reverberations, Lilith Weaving Mountains into Canyons, and Death: A Love Story . She writes because the alternative is unthinkable. __________________________________________________________________________________ Winter Green Once upon a time when the all trees were green in springtime and summer, brown in autumn, and barren in winter, a young woman named Silvia lived with her parents near the center of a great forest. Robert Allen Lupton is a retired commercial balloon pilot. He runs and writes every day, but not necessarily in that order. Over 300 of his stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies. His four novels, nine short story collections, and edited anthologies are available in hardcover, paperback, EBook, and audiobook formats nearly everywhere except Amazon. __________________________________________________________________________________ Dryad’s Song Dress me in the moss from redwoods And braid my hair with mountain lupine Madeleine Elias has an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco, and a draft of her first novel. She is a writer of magical words and an avid crafter and maker. She is currently working on her Master of Library and Information Sciences at San Jose State University. The Fairy Tale Magazine  is made possible in part by the generosity of our Fairy Godparents Club. Our staff members volunteer their time. If you enjoy this issue and giving feels good, we welcome your donation!

If you are looking for a collection of fairy tale themed short stories steeped in whimsy and magic, look no further than R. Max Gibson’s My Lady Witch and Other Wondrous Tales . In this collection of twenty tales readers will discover kings and queens, giants and trolls, castles overgrown by forests, and monster men who hunt for naughty children in the night and can only be distracted by gold. There are archery tournaments for the hand of a princess, pirates who earn a mermaid’s wish, and knights who battle witches and dragons. And, beyond the expertly-drawn stock characters expected in a collection of fairy tales is a contemplation of the roles we are forced to play in life and a meditation on the serendipitous moments that define our futures. The opening tale, My Lady Witch , begins with a princess who has never left the castle she was born in and wishes to view the sea. This desire makes her prey for witches seeking to hex her, and eventually a woman far too beautiful to be a witch is mistaken for the princess herself. In Little Bertina , a motherless child with a cruel stepbrother uses trickery to save herself, and in The Hill of Golden Fleece , a story with an interactive variant readers can reach through an online address, a shepherd struggles with the choice between risk and reward. I loved how the theme of rivalry was explored in both The Rival Apprentices  and A Kingdom for Each , but my favorite tales were The Majestic Forest , a romantic story about a beautiful princess from an isolated kingdom who finds her happily-ever-after and The Duck Who Could Not Fly , a vignette about a duck who finds happiness in his limits. Gibson, an author and a video game designer, uses traditional storytelling techniques with close attention to plot and dialogue, but there are enough unexpected twists embedded in his narratives to keep readers turning pages. My expectations were often turned on their head as stories sometimes ended with acceptance rather than transformation. Gibson weaves just the right amount of absurdity into his fairy tale narratives, entertaining readers as he takes them on a journey of literary and personal discovery. If you like classic fairy tale characters and plots with innovative and imaginative twists, this collection of short stories is for you! You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University and works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2025-2026 Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship, and her first novel, Sea and Stars, a real-world reimagining of Beauty and the Beast set in the 19 th century, publishes in July 2026. Visit Kelly online at kellyjarviswriter.com .

The Maiden and the Marrow Witch  is a compelling novelette about murder and mystery in a magical, mythical world. Dedicated to the people of ancient Crete and the archeologists uncovering its beauty, the story launches directly into action with a proclamation that “The bull is dead.” This fact is unsettling to the Pasithea who rules over the kingdom. When the caretaker fails to learn how the bull has been killed and offers his own life for the ritual sacrifice to the maiden, his daughter, Ariemme, the least of the Pasithea’s children and an unlikely detective, must solve the crime and save his life. The tightly spun plot of Buchanan’s novel kept me reading, but I lingered on the sumptuous details of her world building and characterization. This is a tender country filled with magic, a place where the Pasithea can speak with the bees and bulls, call forth the rains, and hear the cracking of the earth. While Ariemme's bare-chested mother and siblings wear skirts in varying shades of red to denote their power, her skirt is pale pink because her abilities are so diluted. Nevertheless, golden bees click in her hair, and her compassion and curiosity lead her outward toward adventure and discovery. In a relatively short space, Buchanan expertly weaves the tale of a world I long to know more about, and I hope she circles back to this lore in future novelettes. The Maiden and the Marrow Witch swept me away and returned me changed; its images and characters will stay with me for a long time. If you enjoy fantasy, mythology, folklore, murder, and tight, purposeful narrative that paints pictures in your mind, you will love The Maiden and the Marrow Witch . It is the perfect, bite-sized appetizer to Buchanan’s luminous short stories, novellas, and poetry collections like The Adventures of the Faerie Coffin , Geek Witch and the Treacherous Tome of Deadly Danger and Not a Princess, (But) Yes, There Was a Pea & Other Tales to Foment Revolution . You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

An extraordinary retelling of the old “animal bridegroom” tales that inform stories like East of the Sun, West of the Moon  and Beauty and the Beast , Kathryn Trattner’s The Glass Palace  beautifully blends love, romance, adventure, magic, and comedy. Astrid has been betrothed to a stranger for as long as she can remember, and when her father, the last member of her family, passes away, she must travel to the cold, dark regions of the north to meet her fiancé Tyhr, a brooding man who wears a tiger mask and remains tight-lipped about his own past. The two travel through dangerous landscapes to reach his tropical kingdom, but even when they escape the shadows and threats that follow them, they struggle to find peace and happiness together. Tyhr abandons Astrid for long stretches of time, leaving her with a sassy bird companion who helps her to navigate her empty home. When Thyr and Astrid do spend time together, their affection deepens, and Astrid, wanting to help free him from the curse he has been under, makes a monumental mistake that takes Thyr away from her for good. Astrid must then journey to the ends of the earth to search for and save her lost husband. I loved the breathtaking imagery in this story! The settings and characters are described with such vivid detail that I felt like I was journeying alongside Astrid as she battled monsters and met helper figures who assisted her on her journey. Each landscape, from the cold Black Forest to the hot, dry desert, is described in immersive detail, and each monster is the stuff of nightmares. Pulsing beneath the surface of the journey is a deep and abiding sense of love and loss, and it is this which makes Trattner’s story so compelling. Astrid is an admirable heroine who must fight her way back to the man she loves, navigating a fairy world that often feels overwhelming and confusing. I found myself rooting for her as she encountered dangers and struck bargains, and her experiences quite often moved me to tears. If you are a fan of traditional folklore, fairy magic, and romantic love, you will enjoy The Glass Palace . I couldn’t put it down! You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

In her thoughtful collection of stories dedicated to her own stepmother and to “all stepmothers who raise their families with love and fortitude,”  Georgina Warren transforms dangerous tropes about blended families by replacing then with endearing tales of fully-realized women who heroically raise children not born of their bodies. Tales of Virtuous Stepmothers  features twelve enticing tales that entertain readers while educating them about identity, family, love, and the roles we choose to play.  The collection opens with a heartwarming tale titled “Aisimetra and the Manticore’s Eggs.” The stepmother in this tale is not a side character but a protagonist tasked with saving her family who have been trapped in a cave by a Manticore’s rage over her stolen eggs. When the monster is trapped and left to die, Aisimetra offers her empathy, striking a deal to help her locate her eggs in return for freeing her family from the cave. What follows is an exciting adventure laced with poignant moments of discourse that explores ways that birth mothers and step mothers can work together to raise their young. Another standout story in the collection, “Dalecaria, the Porcelain Girl” features a doll who comes to life and, with the help of her father and stepmother, must learn the difference between porcelain and flesh on her quest to become a human child. In each carefully crafted story, Warren resists the temptation to redeem stepmothers by vilifying birth mothers, and instead draws nuanced conclusions that free children from the burdens of exclusive love. Complex resolutions about family life are reached through deep thought, conversation, and cooperation, providing readers with emotional templates for navigating difficult family relationships. Tales of Virtuous Stepmothers  will appeal to all readers who enjoy sophisticated treatments of fairy tale tropes embedded into traditional plots and dialogue. You will find the crystals eggs of sprites, princesses without feet, birds who echo the calls of other winged species, magic wells that turn maidens into giants, boys who transform into sparrows, and dragons who become women. There are factory workers with five children, bakeries that create delectable puddings and soups, and, of course, stepmothers who do all they can to help raise the children in their lives while searching for their own happily-ever-afters. In a beautiful afterward, Warren discusses her own childhood and shares loving memories of both her mother and her stepmother as she argues the importance of narratives designed to break the “wicked stepmother” stereotype. Warren’s writing transforms readers’ opinions of stepmothers, and this collection, which is the first installment in a series of planned books, is a beautiful tool to help blended families heal. I loved this imaginative and insightful book! You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University and works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer . Her debut novella , Selkie Moon, was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2025-2026 Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship, and her first novel, Sea and Stars, a real-world reimagining of Beauty and the Beast set in the 19 th  century, publishes in July 2026. Visit Kelly online at kellyjarviswriter.com .

Only Spell Deep  tells the story of Judeth Cole, a young woman descended from a long line of elemental witches. Her late grandmother, Aurelia, once cast a powerful love spell on her grandfather, a man incapable of true love, and its obsessive effects have filtered down through the generations. When the novel opens, Judeth is sixteen years old and has lost her family and their seaside estate Solidago to a fire. Tasked with rebuilding the estate and retaining her grandmother’s maiden name if she hopes to inherit, she chooses to escape her troubled past, changing her name to Jude Clark and living a life of quiet obscurity. When a mysterious invitation tucked into a book brings her into contact with the Fathom, a circle of witches determined to seize their powers, Jude must weigh her loneliness against the cost of confronting her painful past. This novel is filled with atmospheric details which blend elements of coastal and urban magic. Morgyn offers gorgeous descriptions of a Gothic homestead set on the side of the cliff alongside thrilling adventures through the busy streets of Seattle. Although the book features a romance subplot between Judeth and Levi, the bookstore owner who helps to solve a series of riddles, the story’s strength is its commentary on pain as a source of magic and power. “Secretly, all women burn,” Judeth’s mother says shortly before the family estate goes up in flames; “To be a woman is to be fire.” Judeth learns she is a fire rover, and her interactions with the Fathom put her into contact with night bearers (those who learn to cast themselves in shadow to escape abuse) and water diviners (those who push their powers down in an effort to protect themselves). Steeped in mythology and feminine rage, this book explores difficult issues like sexual assault, suicidal ideation, and incest. The first half of the book establishes setting, initiates mystery, and explores the past’s influence on the present, setting up a second half filled with fast-paced action. Fans of Morgyn’s previous books The Witches of Bone Hill and The Bane Witch  will find much to love in Only Spell Deep . If you enjoy stories which heal generational trauma through the grasping and wielding of magical power give these books a try! You can find them here . Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

Pitched as a story where Bridgerton  meets Circe , Rachel Hochhauser’s Lady Tremaine  far surpassed my already high expectations, easily becoming my favorite new read! Told from the breathtaking perspective of the twice-widowed Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley, this novel will turn your perceptions of the Cinderella  story inside out while also rewriting the script of all fairy tale plots passed down through the generations. Hochhauser’s choice to filter a well-known tale through the voice of a mature protagonist is brilliant, and her novel quickly moves beyond the fairy tale tropes on which it is built. The famous wicked stepmother of folklore is given a fully-realized past that informs the way she navigates a world at odds with her downtrodden circumstances. Lady Tremaine, a woman whose very name is a reflection of her complicated history, has lived and loved. She has been raised to straddle the worlds of the gentry and the gentile, she has learned the art of commanding blood-thirsty falcons, and she fiercely protects and prepares her fatherless daughters, Matilda and Rosamund, to face a life where appearances craft reality. Her stepdaughter Elin, bound by the aristocratic dictates of her deceased mother’s conduct manual, inhabits a world of platitudes and dreams, fainting and fawning at the prospect of labor and only exerting herself to attend a ball where she meets a prince bent on marrying a submissive wife. When the romantic relationship between Elin and the prince is exposed as less than ideal, Lady Tremaine must decide where her loyalties to her daughters, her stepdaughter, and herself rest as she makes choices which will affect not only her family but the future of the kingdom. I absolutely loved every word of this book! I am well-versed in traditional fairy tale study and have read countless retellings of fairy tale plots, but Hochhauser’s narrative had me on the edge of my seat, gasping as her gorgeous prose twisted old tropes and symbols into something entirely new. “Stories are made by organizing and rewriting details,” Lady Tremaine says, “you can arrange them in so many ways.” Hochhauser’s deft rearrangement of the Cinderella  story does far more than filter it through the antagonist’s voice; it pushes readers to contemplate their own biases, rewiring the forest we have been taught to fear as a potent symbol of human life itself. Hochhauser does not shy away from the female rage that comes of living within a patriarchal environment, but unlike other writers who fantastically twist traditional plots to right the wrongs of the past in unproductive ways, she distills that rage into a force as beautiful and as believable as the balances found in nature, showing how it as necessary for survival and presenting it as both glorious and savage. Lady Tremaine’s  characters, scenes, dialogue, symbols, and commentary are a feast for the senses; even while in the grip of a story that delighted me with surprising twists and turns, I knew I was in the hands of a writer who was consciously and beautifully transforming my perceptions of the lives we lead and the stories we tell. Lady Tremaine  is more than a book about happily-ever-afters. It is a poignant and powerful exploration of identity, love, life, loss, and motherhood that will force readers to rethink the stories that have shaped them. This is a book I would teach in my Fairy Tale and Folklore classes, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone who enjoys novels that are both entertaining and transformative. You can find it here . Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University and works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2025-2026 Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship, and her first novel, Sea and Stars, a real-world reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, publishes in July 2026. Visit Kelly online at kellyjarviswriter.com .

A haunted bookshop in Scotland, a series of mysterious disappearances, and a sweet romance that unfold across the bonds of time: if these things sound intriguing to you then add Jessica Dodge’s The Messengers of Magic to the top of your TBR List! This lovely novel follows Pen Turner, a young man from the 1950’s who escapes the pain and grief of his childhood when a neighbor leaves him the deed to an old bookshop named The Feather Thorn in Scotland, and Adelaide Benson, a woman who retreats to Scotland when her husband leaves her for his assistant. Adelaide soon becomes interested in the haunted bookshop from which two men have disappeared, and she decides to start her life over by purchasing and renovating the property. Soon, she finds herself in an impossible situation, communicating with the missing Pen Turner through a magical typewriter that transcends time. The dual timelines of Penn and Adelaide are punctuated with pages from the hidden diary of John Dee, an astronomer and mathematician who served as an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. Dee’s writing contains the clues to understanding the rip in time that has hidden Pen from view, and together, Pen and Adelaide must work to uncover the mysteries of the past. The Messengers of Magic is the perfect book to lose yourself in, especially if you love romance and magic. Dodge peppers the text with both contemporary and folkloric references that transport readers to a quaint Scottish town, and the romantic connection she creates between two characters who spend the majority of their time on different planes of existence is admirable. Pen’s sensitivity and kindness make him an excellent foil to the other men in Adelaide’s life, and the letters he types on the enchanted typewriter are sweet and swoony. The story features a watch inscribed with constellations, chiming bells, and fluttering moths which are symbols of magic messages conveyed across time, and the buildings and streets in the small Scottish town are all named after species of moths found in Scotland. These enchanting details create an immersive experience that sweeps readers away into a world where anything might be possible. Part mystery, part love story, and part meditation on how time shapes and defines our lives, The Messengers of Magic  is a book to be devoured. You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

Jess Armstrong serves up a round of murder and folklore in her latest installment of the Ruby Vaughn Mystery series The Devil in Oxford . After investigating mysterious murders and hauntings in Cornwall and Scotland in The Curse of Penryth Hall  and The Secret of the Three Fates , Ruby, a disgraced American heiress and former World War I ambulance driver, accompanies her octogenarian housemate and employer Mr. Owen to Oxford for the annual meeting of his antiquarian society. Ruby has a penchant for attracting danger, and in typical fashion, she discovers the body of a missing scholar while visiting a crowded exhibition of artifacts. When her old friend, Leona Abernathy, asks for her help in finding the killer, Ruby once again becomes involved in a murder investigation. Readers of Armstrong’s series will be delighted to know it is not only Ruby roaming the Oxford streets in this novel. Ruan Kivell, a Cornish Pellar who can hear Ruby’s thoughts, once again joins the narrative, and the estranged couple must work through their awkward past while navigating their continued attraction to each other. As they investigate murder, search for missing people, and become embroiled in a seditious world of cocaine and antiquities, Ruby and Ruan’s slow-burn romantic relationship sizzles. In addition to further exploring the series' regulars like Ruby, Ruan, and Mr. Owen, Armstrong offers new and exciting characters like Leona Abernathy and Frederick Reaver, the keepers of the Egyptology Collection, who jump off the page. The twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing, and even as the “devil” was revealed, I was eager to keep turning the pages. Armstrong beautifully resolves her story while setting readers up for a new mystery, proving her series is as addictive as the illegal substances at the heart of the Oxford crime circuit. Set in 1920’s Great Britain, the Ruby Vaughn series oozes with lush historical detail and evocative settings. I loved exploring Oxford's museums with Ruby, and enjoyed the cozy winter atmosphere that permeates the tale. Gently falling snow and Christmas celebrations perfectly compliment the adventure and excitement. Although Devil in Oxford is firmly planted in the real world of dark academia, the presence of ghosts, the power of witches, and the mysteries of the other-world add a Gothic and supernatural flavor. I love the Ruby Vaughn series and highly recommend it to all who enjoy classic murder mysteries with a side of folklore! You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own,   Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her debut novella, Selkie Moon , was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

Behind the Door  by M. S. Berry is a contemporary and psychological reworking of Bluebeard  that will have readers on the edge of their seats! When Anna, a student finishing her PhD in folklore and fairy tales takes a house-sitting position in a sleepy English town, she finds herself thrust into a real-world fairy tale narrative. Her mysterious employer, Ryan Boswell, offers Anna a quiet space to finish her thesis in return for light work in his book shop and care of his house and cats (named after Hamlet’s  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern), but he demands no one enters the bedroom on the second floor of the home. Although the house is beautiful, something is off from the beginning, and Anna quickly develops an intimate relationship with a local landscaper to distract herself from the strange shadows and noises that manifest in her imagination. The plot is kicked into high gear when Anna’s sister Alice, who is visiting from Toronto, goes missing just as the owner of the house announces his early return. Characters like a suspicious old woman and a thin man who regularly paces in the field behind the home add layers of Gothic color to Berry’s Bluebeard tale. Although I did have a little trouble believing a student of folklore would display what felt like a limited understanding of Perrault’s Bluebeard, and although I wished Berry, who introduces her main character as a Brothers Grimm aficionado, would have included some nods to The Fitcher’s Bird , the tense pacing and movement of Behind the Door  had me hooked from the beginning! The chapters and sentences are purposefully terse and concise, creating an atmosphere of exhilaration which kept me turning pages well into the night. I struggled with some of the decisions the protagonist made, but I was always excited to keep reading and learn how her decisions would impact the course of the story. Behind the Door  is a thriller that explores the fine line between privacy and secrecy, between love and stalking, and between passion and violence, but the setting provides a cozy feel that readers of English mysteries will recognize and adore. Divided into three sections ( The Beginning , The Middle , and The End ) to replicate what Anna understands as fairy tale structure, this novel is an addictive escape that immerses readers in a spooky house and a dusty bookshop, forcing them to consider how the repeated patterns of fairy tales reflect and impact the patterns of real human life. Anna’s initial conclusion that Bluebeard  teaches wives to be obedient is finally and meaningfully reversed by her commentary at the novel’s end, and the book’s assertion that “you can’t go back in time when it comes to knowledge” lends profound contemplation to the varied interpretations of the fairy tale. If you love Bluebeard  and you are looking for a fun read that will sweep you away to a sleepy but mysterious English countryside town, pick up a copy of this book and learn what lies behind the door! I couldn’t put it down! You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University and works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer . Her poetry and fiction have appeared in  A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard, Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Enchanted Conversation, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , Mothers of Enchantment, The Chamber Magazine, and The Magic of Us. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2025-2026 Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship. Visit Kelly online at kellyjarviswriter.com .

Are you a fan of swoony Gothic romance, dark fantasy, and fairy tale? If so, you can find all this and more in Amanda Linsmeier’s novel A Dance With Death . Set in The Pins, a village by the sea, and written in the first person present point of view of Corliss Bell, one of three orphaned sisters who run the town apothecary, this book beautifully blends Beauty and the Beast  with Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes , adding a healthy dash of romantic spice to warm the gloomy atmosphere. The Pins is a place where magic resides, and rumor has it that the crumbling Colehart Mansion is haunted by a demon. Although Corliss, a tattooed rebel whose ink tells the story of her past loves and losses, doesn’t believe in magic, she visits the mansion in a desperate attempt to save her sister’s life. While there, she discovers a pair of red ballet slippers and uses them to audition as a ballerina at The Red Clover. Orrin, the demon owner of the mansion, soon learns about her theft and forces her into captivity, making her dance for him each night in punishment for her crimes. Although the demon is known for his involvement in murder, Corliss soon learns there are even more powerful villains to confront if she hopes to rescue her sister’s tortured soul. Although the writer admittedly takes liberties with historical content and dialogue, A Dance With Death is a thoroughly enjoyable read that drips with Gothic atmosphere. Lush descriptions of landscapes, ballet costumes, and mansion bedrooms transport readers to a new time and place, and the dancing imagery is breathtaking. The slow-burn but steamy relationship between Corliss and Orrin is a classic enemies-to-lovers tale, and the stakes are high enough to propel the twisting plot forward. The book explores the depths of love, memory, terror, and hope. I love this standalone romantic tale, and I look forward to reading more novels in The Three Bells  series. Fans of dark fairy tale romance will be delighted with this book! You can find it here . Kelly Jarvis teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University and works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer . Her poetry and fiction have appeared in  A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard, Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Enchanted Conversation, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , Mothers of Enchantment, The Chamber Magazine, and The Magic of Us. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2025-2026 Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship. Visit Kelly online at kellyjarviswriter.com .