Fairy tales. Prince Charming fights evil, wins the princess, lives happily ever after. Three sons, three wishes, witches, dragons, a quest, and happily ever after. These stories are part of our cultural fabric. The stories change in retellings to reflect contemporary culture, such as Princess Charming, or heroes and heroines as people of color. In this collection, queer characters take center stage in stories that grew out of questions: What if the prince falls in love with Cinderella's gay stepbrother? What if Rumpelstiltskin doesn't really want the Queen's child but rather the King himself? What if Beauty and the Beast are two men? These stories explore metaphors of magic and the magical, this time, with a gay perspective. What price must be paid for happily ever after? Duty or love? Is love worth great sacrifice? Once upon a time ...

Home, a place where we belong and are safe and loved. Home, the house in which we grew up, a neighborhood, a culture, even a country. Home is a state of mind, it is a place of the heart, and in the heart. Finding home, coming home, and bringing home the one we love is a journey, a journey that can be a dangerous adventure. For the lovers in these stories, adventures can include quests and fighting dragons and demons, past and present, physical as well as mental and emotional. Rocket launchers need to be dodged, the Wild Hunt needs to be outrun. For some of the lovers here, home has been lost, or they have been forced to leave, as is too common for LGBT+ youth. In this collection queer positive speculative fiction stories, explore the idea of what and where home is in the lives of these lovers. Will they survive their quests, defeat their monsters? Will they find a place to call home?

Gavin Booker, a school librarian, leads an orderly, normal life. Work, jogging, friends from work, his son every other weekend. Gavin is also a secret. He is a hybrid, or part-fairy. And in the Columbian Empire, hybrids are under an automatic death sentence. In this alternate version of the USA, magic is illegal. So is loving another man. Fairies are locked away in ghettoes, and magical beasts, such as gryphons, unicorns, and pegasi, are kept in zoos. The others, tree and water spirits, talking beasts, fauns, and the rest, are in hiding. This is the world in which Gavin grew up. He survived, thanks to his mother. He can never forget he is different: ministers preach against people like him constantly. Hating the other is a part of every school’s curriculum. But things are changing fast, and seemingly for the worst. Earthquakes, volcanoes, killer storms are frequent occurrences. The medicine Gavin takes to suppress his body’s glow isn’t working. The spells cast by his doctor, a witch, are losing their power. If anyone finds out what Gavin is, he is dead. The Empire always goes after its marginalized people. Can Gavin survive the coming catastrophe? Will he ever recover from losing the boys he loved earlier in life? Can he find the fairy man who has haunted his dreams before it is too late?

Holden, what have you done?! It wasn't enough to ruin Maddie's report on Cinderella, but now you've somehow broken the ACTUAL fairy tale? The ugly stepsister is marrying the prince and there's no happy ever after! You need to fix this and the only way seems to be by entering the story. But beware: if you can't mend it, you can never return . . .

Rhys, acclaimed author of Wide Sargasso Sea, Quartet, and other novels treating the alienation of a woman from the Caribbean living in European settings, has been a focus of interest both as a feminist writer and in the context of Caribbean literature.

Holden, you have sunk to a new low. Making fun of Maddie's beloved Snow White has changed the story and led to the Wicked Queen triumphing. If you and Maddie don't stop arguing, the prince will never marry Snow White and, more importantly, you'll never go home to the real world! Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to fix the fairy tale you go!

THE ORDER OF THE CRYSTAL DAGGERS: A HISTORICAL SPY ROMANCE SERIES Includes: Kingdom of Ash and Soot, Book 1 Prince of Secrets and Shadows, Book 2 Night of Blood and Beauty, A Companion Novella Heart of Hope and Fear, Book 3 City of Light and Sun, A Companion Novella Everyone has secrets. Everyone lies. Everyone has regrets. PRAGUE, 1870. For the last ten years, nineteen-year-old Eleanora Svobodová has worked as a servant in her stepmother's household. Along with her older brother, she dreams of the day they will be free to live life on their own terms. But everything changes when their estranged grandmother comes to Prague on behalf of Queen Victoria. Throughout Bohemia, a string of murders and secret whispers hint at a larger coup. As the leader of the Order of the Crystal Daggers, an ancient order of spies and soldiers that protect kingdoms and their rulers, Lady Penelope is determined to discover the perpetrators. And to do this, she eagerly pulls Eleanora into her plans. As she undergoes training in the life of a spy, Eleanora soon finds herself caught up in several adventures; she falls in love with a secretive rogue, finds the hidden heir to the throne of Bohemia, and traverses into the dark, magical worlds hidden throughout the city of Prague. But soon, her family's past secrets, intertwined with the history of the Order, lead to increasing division among her allies. Will Eleanora and the Order come together to stop war from coming to all of Europe, or will their quarrels destroy them – and others? Full of fun, history, secrets, betrayals, and family dysfunction, The Order of the Crystal Daggers is a historical spy romance series from award-winning author C. S. Johnson.

Henry liked to imagine his life began that cold rainy day in San Francisco when Mr. Earnshaw found him shivering by the side of the road. That was the day Henry met Catherine. For Henry, Catherine is like a precious gift. She pushes away his angry thoughts and makes him feel safe and calm. And though Mr. Earnshaw, a widow, raises the orphan and Catherine as brother and sister, their love for each other goes much deeper. They vow to always be together. But everything changes when Mr. Earnshaw dies suddenly and Hindley, Mr. Earnshaw's own son, gains control of the family finances. Furiously jealous, Hindley never accepted Henry as a true member of the family. He works to sever Henry's relationship with Catherine and the violent rage Henry has harbored since he was a child bubbles to the surface. . . . Contemporizing the classic novel, Wuthering Heights, notable YA author, Brian James delives into the dark nature of obsessive love, the social injustices of class, and the self-destructive power of revenge in this emotionally raw unforgettable offering.