Hello everyone! This weeks Tithe related blog post is about underrated books about faerie and all things like it! It was a bit difficult for me to narrow this list down, but I tried to keep it fairly brief so as not to flood your TBR shelves!
There are so many fantastic books out there about faeries! Some are fairytale retellings, other recreate old folktales, and some make up pretty much everything from scratch! I love all books about the fae, and some become really popular, but there are a few that I've loved over the years that haven't gotten as much notice. To make sure you don't miss out, I've put a tiny list together :) So, without further ado, here a few of my favorite underrated books about fae
Thorn Jack
Written by Katherine Harbour
Blurb:
They call us things with teeth. These words from Lily Rose Sullivan the night of her death haunts her seventeen-year-old sister, Finn, who has moved with her widowed father to his hometown of Fair Hollow, New York. After befriending a boy named Christie Hart and his best friend, Sylvie Whitethorn, Finn is invited to a lakeside party where she encounters the alluring Jack Fata, a member of the town's mysterious Fata family. Despite Jack's air of danger and his clever words, Finn learns they have things in common.
One day, while unpacking, Finn finds her sister's journal, scrawled with descriptions of creatures that bear a sinister resemblance to Jack's family. Finn dismisses these stories as fiction, but Jack's family has a secret—the Fatas are the children of nothing and night, nomadic beings who have been preying on humanity for centuries—and Jack fears that his friendship with Finn has drawn the attention of the most dangerous members of his family—Reiko Fata and vicious Caliban, otherwise known as the white snake and the crooked dog.
Plagued with nightmares about her sister, Finn attempts to discover what happened to Lily Rose and begins to suspect that the Fatas are somehow tied to Lily Rose's untimely death. Drawn to Jack, determined to solve the mystery of her sister's suicide, Finn must navigate a dangerous world where nothing is as it seems.
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18505811-thorn-jack
I am a huge fan of this book, and the following books I the series! This a dark and twisted retelling of Tam Lin, with a lot of original turns and really colorful characters that you sometimes want to shake. Not only is the story really good, but these covers are all GORGEOUS. I love taking book photos with them! Unfortunately, only the first book is available in hardcover. After that the rest of the trilogy only came out in paperback.
The Thorn and the Blossom
Written by Theodora Goss
Blurb:
One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever.
When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn’t know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn’t know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself . . . The Thorn and the Blossom is a remarkable literary artifact: You can open the book in either direction to decide whether you’ll first read Brendan’s, or Evelyn’s account of the mysterious love affair. Choose a side, read it like a regular novel—and when you get to the end, you’ll find yourself at a whole new beginning.
This one admittedly has a very low rating on Goodreads, but here's why I like it: the book itself is crafted really uniquely. It's an accordion style that folds out two ways and can be read from each main characters POV, depending on which direction you begin. The story its self is written in the vein of romantic literature, with a very "Gawain the Green Knight" type feel. As someone who took both Romantic British Lit and Romantic British Poetry in college, I was a fan. I feel like the story moves quickly, and it's a solid, super fast read with interesting main characters who come off very realistic.
The Goblins of Bellwater
Written by Molly Ringle
Blurb:
A contemporary romance inspired by Christina Rossetti's eerie, sensual poem, "Goblin Market." Four neighbors encounter sinister enchantments and a magical path to love in a small, modern-day Puget Sound town, where a fae realm hides in the woods and waters...
Most people have no idea goblins live in the woods around the small town of Bellwater, Washington. But some are about to find out.
Skye, a young barista and artist, falls victim to a goblin curse in the forest one winter night, rendering her depressed and silenced, unable to speak of what happened. Her older sister, Livy, is at wit’s end trying to understand what’s wrong with her. Local mechanic Kit would know, but he doesn’t talk of such things: he’s the human liaison for the goblin tribe, a job he keeps secret and never wanted, thrust on him by an ancient family contract.
Unaware of what’s happened to Skye, Kit starts dating Livy, trying to keep it casual to protect her from the attention of the goblins. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Kit, Skye draws his cousin Grady into the spell through an enchanted kiss in the woods, dooming Grady and Skye both to become goblins and disappear from humankind forever.
It’s a midwinter night’s enchantment as Livy, the only one untainted by a spell, sets out to save them on a dangerous magical path of her own.
I'm a huge fan of this one, and it's pretty short, so can easily be read in one or two sittings. The world building was a lot of fun to read, and the intricate relationships were also super well done. I fell into this world easily, and definitely recommend it. This isn't so much a YA book however, and the characters aren't teenagers, but this isn't heavy on the "adult paranormal romance" tropes either. It's marked down as an NA.
Once... Tales, Myths and Legends of Faerie
Written by Ronal Janse van Vuuren
Blurb:
Damsels in distress, curses, echoes of faery tales and tragic love affairs swirl together in sixteen stories found in a dragon’s lair by a curious half-fae.
Unexpected changes to reality causes more than one damsel to turn into a strong, independent woman who takes charge of her own life.
A collection of short stories about Faerie and the fae that live in the human realm. A few of the stories had won competitions and all of them had enchanted readers.
Learn their secrets and enter the realm of the fae…
For a change of pace, this one is a collection of short stories I read recently. The author also has other books out, so this is a good way to check out her writing style!
And finally, I haven't yet read this one, but I recently picked up a copy and plan to soon! I figured since it fit the theme, I'd include it still! If you've read it, please let me know what you thought in the comments (no spoilers though please)! ...
Roses and Rot
Written by Kat Howard
Blurb:
Imogen and her sister Marin have escaped their cruel mother to attend a prestigious artists’ retreat, but soon learn that living in a fairy tale requires sacrifices, be it art or love.
What would you sacrifice in the name of success? How much does an artist need to give up to create great art?
Imogen has grown up reading fairy tales about mothers who die and make way for cruel stepmothers. As a child, she used to lie in bed wishing that her life would become one of these tragic fairy tales because she couldn’t imagine how a stepmother could be worse than her mother now. As adults, Imogen and her sister Marin are accepted to an elite post-grad arts program—Imogen as a writer and Marin as a dancer. Soon enough, though, they realize that there’s more to the school than meets the eye. Imogen might be living in the fairy tale she’s dreamed about as a child, but it’s one that will pit her against Marin if she decides to escape her past to find her heart’s desire.
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23524322-roses-and-rot
There you have it! This is just a very short list. Do you guys know of any? If so, leave a comment! And make sure you check back because I'll be having a giveaway soon, as well as another incentive reveal on Friday!
Don't forget, Tithe officially releases this Halloween! You can preorder a copy the day before, and the ebook will be discounted for the first three days!