Forbidden Fairytales (Susanne Valenti) Books in Order

Forbidden Fairytales is an earlier dark-leaning YA fantasy trilogy, and it takes familiar fairy-tale pieces, especially Aladdin and Rapunzel, then rearranges them into something more romantic, more dangerous, and much less polished than the versions most readers grow up with.

The core cast tells you a lot about the tone. There is a thief who is far more interested in treasure than in behaving like a noble hero, a princess who would rather rescue herself than sit quietly inside royal expectations, a guard caught between duty and desire, and a genie whose long confinement has not exactly left her stable.

So yes, it uses fairy-tale ingredients. No, it does not play them straight.

The kingdom setting matters because court rules, marriage politics, and public image all shape the danger. Winning a princess is not just a romantic goal here. It is tied to power, inheritance, and control. That means even the love story is wrapped up in competition and survival.

Compared with later adult romantasy, this series feels a little more YA in structure, but the appeal is already very familiar: sharp banter, strong heroines, men making bad choices for reasons they think are excellent, and a world that keeps asking what people will sacrifice for freedom.

If you want to see this writing duo working in a fairy-tale mode before later books like A Game of Malice and Greed, this is a good place to look. It is adventurous, romantic, and willing to let the magic feel a little dangerous instead of simply wondrous.