Bargain Ebook: The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson for $.99

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson is on sale in ebook format for $.99. I haven't read this one but I have read some Wilson's other titles and they have all been fun with enough real life to make them not full out fluff--although these days fluff is just what the librarian prescribed--so I imagine this will be fun, too.

Book description:

Everyone knows how those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.

But what happens when you're the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect--pretty, smart, and, worst of all, nice--stepsister is dating the charming, devastatingly handsome guy you've had a thing for since you were nine?

Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her online. The school mean girl has made it her mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister is the most popular girl in school and is dating Mattie's secret crush, Jake Kingston.

Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She'll start by running for senior class president against Jake.

Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie's going to rule the school.

And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.

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Bargain Ebooks: It’s Not a Fairy Tale Books for $.99 Each

It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk (It’s Not a Fairy Tale Book 1) by Josh Funk (Author) and Edwardian Taylor (Illustrator) is on sale in ebook format for $.99. Their second book, It's Not Hansel and Gretel (It’s Not a Fairy Tale Book 2), is on sale for the same price. 

Book descriptions:

“When I was a kid, my best friend was Josh Funk. Now he’s becoming a friend to a whole new generation.” —B.J. Novak, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book with No Pictures

Jack is not fond of the bossy narrator of his fairy tale! When Jack is told to trade his beloved cow Bessie for some magic beans, throw the beans out the window, climb the ENORMOUS beanstalk that sprouts overnight, and steal from a GIANT, he decides this fairy tale is getting out of control. In fact, he doesn’t want to follow the story line at all. Who says Jack needs to enter a life of daring, thievery, and giant trickery? He takes his story into his own hands—and you’ll never guess what happens next!

With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden fairy tale creatures for kids to find), this Jack and the Beanstalk retelling will have children rolling with laughter till Bessie the cow comes home.

and 

Hansel and Gretel will not listen to their storyteller. For one thing, who leaves a trail of bread crumbs lying around, when there are people starving? Not Hansel, that’s for sure! And that sweet old lady who lives in a house made of cookies and candy? There’s no way she’s an evil witch! As for Gretel, well, she’s about to set the record straight—after all, who says the story can’t be called Gretel and Hansel? It’s time for these wacky siblings to take their fairy tale into their own hands. So sit back and enjoy the gingerbread! With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden search-and-find fairy-tale creatures), this Hansel and Gretel retelling will have kids giggling right up to the delicious ending!

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TODAY ONLY: Bargain Book: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth for $1.99

 Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth is on sale TODAY ONLY for $1.99 in ebook format. This is a retelling of Rapunzel and I don't remember it ever being bargain priced before. It's usually priced in the $10 range.

Book description:

A Library Journal Best Book of 2014: Historical Fiction

The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love

French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...

After Margherita's father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.

Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman.

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TODAY ONLY: Bargain Book: Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron for $1.99

 

 
Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron is on sale in ebook format TODAY ONLY for $1.99. This is a new book released in July of this year.

Book description:

"Wholly original and captivating." - Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella from a stunning new voice that's perfect for fans of A Curse So Dark and Lonely.

It's 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl's display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella's mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all--and in the process, they learn that there's more to Cinderella's story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they've been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

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Bargain Ebook: TODAY ONLY: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer for $1.99

 

TODAY ONLY: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer is on sale in ebook format for $1.99. Catnip for many of you since this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling!

Book description:

In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

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Help a SurLaLuner: Finding a Fairy Tale: The Crying Soldier

Hello to the collective memories of SurLaLuners!

This one was not familiar to me at all, so I am throwing it out to the bigger brains of the SurLaLune readers. This is from Pam:

I was wondering if maybe you or someone else could help me with this one.

There was a book I had as a child featuring this tale titled "The Crybaby Soldier", or "The Crying Soldier" (I'm not sure what fits better, as the title was translated to Portuguese). If I recall correctly, it was a story about a soldier who returned from a war only to find everything he once had was gone. He was so sad that he started crying and his tears fell on a turnip that was growing in the ground, and it grew really huge. He decided to offer the giant turnip to the king, and I'm not sure what exactly comes after that, but at one point the king takes him to see his daughter, the princess, whose feet are different in size, one being really small. The soldier feels really sad for the princess, kneels down before her foot and starts crying, and of course, when his tears touch the foot it grows and becomes the same size as the other. And then they get married and live happily ever after, the usual stuff.

The image of the soldier crying onto the princess's foot has stuck with me for a long time, but no matter how much I search, I can never find the original tale that was adapted into this book, if there ever was any. It was part of a small collection featuring quite a few well-known fairy tales, so I suppose an original version of it must exist, or at least something very similar to it.

Do you have any idea what tale this might be? I'd be eternally grateful if you could help me solve this mystery. Thank you very much in advance!

Bargain Ebook: Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino for $2.99 TODAY ONLY

Folks, this is a run, don't walk, to get this deal before it disappears tonight if you don't already own this. Today only on Amazon, but hopefully price matched elsewhere, Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino is $2.99 in ebook format. This book is usually in the $10 range so it is a big bargain. More importantly, it's a great collection of fairy tales and folklore. Calvino retells Italian tales, obviously, and you'll find iterations of many of the best known tales. The book is on a lot of recommended folklore reading lists, too.

Book description:

One of the New York Times’s Ten Best Books of the Year: These traditional stories of Italy, retold by a literary master, are “a treasure” (Los Angeles Times).

Filled with kings and peasants, saints and ogres—as well as some quite extraordinary plants and animals—these two hundred tales bring to life Italy’s folklore, sometimes with earthy humor, sometimes with noble mystery, and sometimes with the playfulness of sheer nonsense.

Selected and retold by one of the country’s greatest literary icons, “this collection stands with the finest folktale collections anywhere” (The New York Times Book Review).

“For readers of any age . . . A masterwork.” —The Wall Street Journal

“A magic book, and a classic to boot.” —Time

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