Fairy Tales Books in Order

In the Fairy Tales novels, Eloisa James takes the bones of classic stories and wraps them in Regency‑era settings, witty dialogue, and grounded emotional stakes. The result is a set of stand‑alone romances that feel both familiarly “once upon a time” and very human.

A Kiss at Midnight is a Cinderella story with sharp edges. Kate is the practical, impoverished daughter left behind when her stepmother takes over the family estate. Sent to a prince’s house party in her softer sister’s place, she meets Gabriel, a pragmatic royal who needs a rich bride to solve his money troubles. Glass slippers become delicate shoes never meant for work, fairy godmothers become savvy godparents, and the question is not whether the prince will find the girl, but whether the two of them can afford to choose each other.

In When Beauty Tamed the Beast, Beauty comes in the form of Linnet, a dazzling society darling whose reputation is shattered by a false rumor. Packed off to the wilds of Wales, she meets Piers, an irritable, brilliant doctor whose bad leg and worse bedside manner have made him a legend in his own right. Their battle of wits, set in a rambling house filled with patients and relatives, echoes the original tale while also nodding to modern medical dramas.

The Duke Is Mine plays with The Princess and the Pea. Olivia, a curvy, irreverent heroine, has been raised since birth to marry a duke. When she travels to inspect a different duke as a potential husband for her twin sister, she becomes entangled with Tarquin, a rigid man who has built his life around rules. The “pea under the mattress” becomes a test of sensitivity and resilience rather than mere delicacy.

In The Ugly Duchess, James turns to The Ugly Duckling. Theodora has grown up a bit too tall, a bit too angular, and far too clever, best friends with the boy next door who becomes her husband in a rushed marriage. When betrayal and public mockery drive them apart, he vanishes into a new life at sea and she remakes herself as a fashion icon. Their eventual reunion is as much about identity and forgiveness as it is about attraction.

Once Upon a Tower borrows from Rapunzel. Edie, a gifted cellist, panics when she learns she is to marry a stern Scottish duke she barely remembers meeting. A disastrous wedding night, misunderstandings, and a literal tower retreat force both partners to reconsider what intimacy should look like.

Shorter works like Storming the Castle, Winning the Wallflower, and Seduced by a Pirate spin off from the novels, giving side characters their own fairy‑tale‑tinted endings. You can read the books in publication order for the pleasure of spotting familiar faces, or dip in anywhere that your favorite fairy tale calls to you.