Tales of Beauty & Madness Books in Order

Tales of Beauty & Madness is a three-book young adult fantasy sequence that takes the bones of familiar fairy tales and sets them inside a dangerous modern city. Each novel follows a different young woman, but all three live under the influence of powerful magical Families, old customs, and a social order that can be as threatening as any monster. The stories echo Snow White, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood without simply retelling them scene for scene.

The city is the thread that ties everything together.

Nameless centers on Cami, a scarred girl who was found mute in the snow and taken in by Enrico Vultusino, head of one of the ruling Families. She grows up protected by wealth and by Nico, Enrico's son, but she never knows where she came from or why certain memories frighten her. When Tor appears and hints that her past is still alive, Cami has to question the beautiful, controlled life built around her.

Wayfarer turns to Ellen Sinder, an orphan trapped with a cruel stepmother and accustomed to making herself small. A train, a new stepsister, a strange Auntie, and the promise of the Charmer's Ball draw her toward a wider magical world. The Cinderella shape is recognizable, but Ellen's real struggle is learning whether kindness is safe, whether escape is possible, and how much of her own power she is willing to claim.

In Kin, Ruby de Varre belongs to the rootkin, a people with their own rules, appetites, and expectations. Her future seems arranged around Conrad, yet a string of murders and the threat aimed at Ruby turn family tradition into a trap. The red-cloaked heroine of this story is no helpless wanderer. She has to work out who is hunting her while facing the parts of her community that would rather decide her life for her.

These books are moody, romantic, and sometimes brutal. Their heroines live in luxurious houses, ordinary streets, forests, schools, and hidden magical spaces, but none of those places is entirely safe. Friendship and desire offer comfort, while family loyalty can protect or imprison. The fairy-tale references provide a shape, not a promise that events will unfold neatly.

Read Nameless, Wayfarer, and Kin in publication order. Each novel has its own main conflict, so readers get a complete character journey while gradually learning more about the shared setting. Expect dark fairy-tale imagery, young women finding their voices, and magic woven into the rules of everyday life.