Winter (Lunar Chronicles fourth book) by Marissa Meyer 827 pages

This was the final story of the Lunar Chronicles series.  All the characters come together, get split apart, come back in different groups, separate again and there's no time to register calm or relief for any of them.  The end was hard fought, but well worth it.  If you are looking for a very satisfying, female character-driven, sci-fi, light romance, adventure story, you need to jump into the Lunar Chronicles at your very first opportunity.  This was an incredibly well-crafted series with characters that constantly surprised me with their complexity and depth.  I listened to the whole series read by Rebecca Soler who did a fantastic job.

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer 464 pages

Another great twisted fairy tale. After Alex and Conner’ father dies, the twins receive a book of fairy tales on their birthday that their father used to read to them. When the book comes to life, Alex and Conner seem to find themselves falling into the Land of Stories. The twins follow a mysterious journal that instructs them to find eight items from various people throughout the kingdom, to complete the Wishing Spell so that they can get home.

When things do not go right, the twins meet Fairy Godmother, their own grandmother. Alex and Conner learn of their father’s childhood, they realize that the journey that they have been following is their father’s. Along the way, the twins meet the Evil Queen, Red Riding Hood, and more.

This was read by Chris Colfer.

Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School) by Jen Calonita 256 pages

Gillian Cobbler lives in a boot with her parents and five brothers and sisters. Gilly steals the things her family needs, to make things meet. She was a good thief, until one day she gets caught. Gilly is sent to Fairy Tale Reform School.

Fairy Tale Reform School is ran by former villains like the Big Bad Wolf and the Evil Queen. It is where mischievous children on the path to becoming villains go to be put on the path of heroes. While at school, Gilly and her friends Jax and Kayla must fight Gargoyles and help save the lives of princesses such as Snow White and Cinderella.

Gilly, Jax, and Kayla need to figure out just how good the former villains are?

This was read by Kristin Condon.

The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz 320 pages

Have you ever wondered what happened to all of your favorite villains from the Disney movies? Well, twenty years ago all of the evil villains were banished to the Isle of the Lost from the kingdom of Auradon. The island is dark and dreary, where magic no longer works. 

They also had kids to follow in their footsteps. Mal the daughter of Maleficent, wants nothing more than to be just like her mother. Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen, is fixated on her looks just as her mother was. Jay, the son of Jafar, is a thief and can lie like the best of them. Carlos, the son of Cruella, has great skills with technology, but is deathly afraid of dogs.

It’s not easy being a child of an evil villain.

This was read by Sophia Carson.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman 352 Pages

Elizabeth has taken a job at the New York Circulating Material Repository, a rather unusual library that loans out a variety of objects with historical value. In the basement of the Repository, sits a special room – The Grimm Collection. Any object that has magical properties resides in this room.

When objects start to go missing from the Grimm Collection, Elizabeth along with her fellow pages, go on a dangerous journey to recover the stolen pieces. Elizabeth begins to learn that fairy tales are not just stories anymore.

This was read by Julia Whelan. 

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff 272 Pages

Growing up, 12-year-old Rump always heard that your name was your destiny. However, Rump never knew his whole name. I mean, what kind of name is Rump? It is a name that will make you the butt of everyone’s jokes. When he finds his mother’s old spinning wheel, things seem to change for Rump. He learns that he can spin straw into gold. However, magic can be a dangerous thing.

Rump, on mission to break the spinning spell, travels to Yonder and Beyond, encounters trolls, pixies, poison apples, and a foolish queen. With the help of his friend Little Red Riding Hood, Rump learns of his true name and the power that it holds.

This was read by Maxwell Glick and a final nominee for the Mark Twain Awards. 

Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer 448 pages

Everyone has heard the story of Cinderella. Marissa Meyer gives a new version of this tale with a twist, which takes place in a different time where humans and cyborgs co-exist.

Lin Cinder is a cyborg. Prince Kai is human. As Cinder learns more about herself and where she truly came from, Prince Kai must make decisions he is not ready for, following the death of his father, the Emperor. As feelings grow between Cinder and Prince Kai, both must decide what they truly want. For Cinder, she wants to run away from her stepmother and stepsister, but at the cost of the Prince’s life? For Prince Kai, he is given the option of marrying the Lunar Queen or having his people suffer from a terrible disease, the cure of which is owned solely by the Lunars.

Thankfully, this is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles because the ending was left as a cliffhanger making me want to read on.