Grimm was a Bastard Books in Order

The wonderfully rude title tells you almost everything about the mood of Grimm was a Bastard. These books take classic fairy-tale logic, poke it with a stick, and then let the characters complain about how unfair the whole system is. At the center is Riley, Anna Katmore's version of Little Red Riding Hood, who is thoroughly tired of a story where her grandmother keeps getting eaten and nobody seems interested in giving her a better ending.

Riley wants a prince, a castle, and a proper happily ever after, thank you very much.

That plan would be easier if Jack Wolf were not standing in the way. Jack is the Wolf, yes, but he is also the obvious romantic counterweight to Riley's fixation on royalty. Their alternating voices are a big part of the series' appeal. Riley is stubborn, funny, and very sure she knows how fairy tales are supposed to work. Jack knows the rules are ridiculous, but he also knows Riley is chasing the wrong kind of ending. The tension comes from watching them argue their way toward the truth.

In A Prince for Little Red Riding Hood, Riley tries to rewrite her fate by setting a trap for royalty and refusing to settle for the wolf in her path. A Wolf in her Way widens the adventure once she goes after the prince from the ball and Jack follows, partly to help, partly to stop the disaster, and mostly because he cannot stay away. That broader journey pulls in more of Fairyland, so the books feel bigger than a single retelling. Forest paths, royal parties, fairy-tale side characters, and odd magical rules all get folded into the romance.

It is playful, but it is not empty fluff.

Under the jokes, the series keeps asking a solid question: do we want the ending we were taught to want, or the one that actually fits us? Katmore answers that question with lots of banter, brisk pacing, and characters who spend a surprising amount of time arguing about crowns, frogs, kisses, and destiny. The tone stays light rather than dark, so even when wolves, ogres, and old story beats show up, the books read more like a fairy-tale rom-com than a grim fantasy. If you like retellings that know the rules and enjoy breaking them, this duo is a fun pick.