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The Fairest Maidens Medieval Series Releases! (And a Giveaway!)

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The Fairest Maidens is HERE!

After months of planning and preparation, I’m super excited that The Fairest Maidens, my newest medieval YA romance series, will hit shelves next Tuesday (Sept. 20)!

I had a lot of fun writing this series for many reasons!

One reason I loved creating this series is that I used the same fictional world that I used in last year’s The Lost Princesses series. I loved being able to go back into the same place, develop it more, and introduce in greater detail some of the characters mentioned.

Another reason I had fun writing this series is because for the first time I’ve based the books off real fairy tales. Beholden is loosely tied to Cinderella. Beguiled is developed around Snow White. And Besotted is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

I wasn’t sure how well readers would like the connection to the original fairy tales. After all, there have been so many retellings over the years, that it’s difficult to make one more version unique. However, so far, readers seem to like my recreation!

One reader said: “With sweet romance, powerful sacrifice, and amazing inspirational characters and lessons, Beholden is a wonderfully unique take on the classic Cinderella story.”

Another said: “Containing many elements from the classic fairytale Cinderella, Beholden goes above and beyond, adding adventure and plot twists while keeping the love conquers all theme that we all love.”

If you love fairy tales, I invite you to give the series a try and let me know how you think my retellings compare!

A final reason I enjoyed writing The Fairest Maidens series is because I wrote them all in close succession. I enjoyed each one so much that I was eager to move on to the next. While the books are stand-alones, the series culminates in the third book with readers learning which prince wins the Testing and becomes king. And of course, the third book has the epic battle with the antagonist!

To celebrate the release of The Fairest Maidens, I’m having a giveaway! I’ll be giving away a copy of Beholden here on the blog to one lucky winner! Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

To pre-order your copy of Beholden go HERE!

Have you read or watched any fairy tale retellings? If so, which one? If not, which fairy tale would you like to see made into a retelling?

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Jody Hedlund

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Award-winning author Jody Hedlund makes her home in central Michigan with her husband and five children. When she's not busy with her family, she loves to read and consume large amounts of chocolate and coffee.
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Comments

  1. I’ve read many books of yours and I’m so ready to try this new series of yours! 🥰 keep up the good work

  3. I’ve seen/read a lot of fairytale retellings, and one of my favorites is Ever After (the movie with Drew Barrymore). It’s such a good Cinderella retelling!
    And I can’t wait to read these books- The Lost Princesses was amazing, and these look equally good!

  5. I love fairytale retellings!! Which just makes me all the mor excited to read these. Can’t wait!!

  7. I can’t wait to read Beholden!
    Melanie Dickerson’s THE SILENT SONGBIRD is a fabulous read. It’s an un-magical retelling of The Little Mermaid. (Another book in the series is The Noble Servant…it’s awesome too!)

  8. Loved the movie Maleficent which to me was a retelling of Snow White. I’ve also read several of the books in the The Amish Fairytales Series. I do love the original fairy tales and I’m always interested to read and see other versions of them.

  9. I really liked Maleficent and the twist of ‘true love’s kiss’. Would love to read your take on the retellings of these fairy tales. Thanks for the opportunity to win.

  11. I’ve read quite a few fairy tale retellings. I’ve enjoyed most of them even when I don’t recognize the original story.

  12. I have watched all the remakes of Cinderella and Snow White and loved them all!! Never get tired of the classics and all the remakes.

  13. I love fairytale retellings. It’s fun to see where different authors take familiar tails, whether they change anything, whether it’s set in history or fantasy, etc.
    I’m dying to get started on this new series!!

  14. I absolutely love the movie “Ever After,” which is not just my favorite fairy tale re-telling, but one of my favorite movies of all time!

  15. I do enjoy fairy tale retellings. Reading and watching them!!! I can’t help but think of Once upon a time, how it took the stories we knew and changed our thoughts and feelings for the villains.

  16. It’s interesting how fairytales vary from country to country, too. I’ve read many versions of Cinderella, and seen a few of the movie retellings as well. Beauty & the Beast usually tops the list as my favorite fairytale.

  18. Congratulations on you new books! I have read a lot of fairy tale retellings, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and so many others. However, I love reading fairy tale retellings and I am always exciting to try new ones.

  20. I’ve read so many retellings. They are my favorite stories. I love Melanie Dickerson’s books and the Lunar Chronicles and many more.

  21. I loved the movie Ever After about based off Cinderella, but I have not read a lot of books based on retellings. I do love to read some YA because there are a lot good books I would miss out on!

  26. Beauty and the Beast – invites creative retellings since there are so many ways to be a beastly or to be beautiful.

  28. Love fairy tale retellings! Jessica Day George, Melanie Celliwr, and Melanie Dickerson all do a great job. I love retellings of the Twelve Dancing Princesses the most.

  29. I’ve read several fairytale Retellings by Melanie Dickerson. I would love to read yours. Blessings

  30. I love Melanie Dickerson’s retellings. I love that she has done so many different stories and how the little elements weave into a new tale. Movie retellings are great too. People putting their twist on a classic story and expanding it into something new really resonates with me. I’m so excited to hear these are going to be fairytale retellings!

  31. Fairy tale retellings have been a big thing for several years. I’ve read plenty by indie authors. Still love Cinder and the Lunar Chronicles from Marissa Meyer the best 🙂

  32. My family love Once Upon A Time. It was fun to see the fairytales we all know retold with twists and overlapping. Ever After is also a favorite in our household. Personally, Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite.

  33. I have not read any fairy tale retelling, but I would love to read one inspired by Beauty and the Beast! There’s so much room for interpretation in that one. I am a new-to-you reader of yours and have yet to get ahold of one of your books. I’d love to read this series!

  35. Congratulations Jody! The book covers are so pretty.
    Cinderella was my favorite fairy tale growing up.
    I’ve enjoyed reading the the Hageneim series by Melanie Dickerson.
    Blessings,
    Tina

  38. I love Fairytale retellings. I recently read a contemporary retelling of Rapunzel but the guy represented Rapunzel-it was clever and hilariously put together!!

  40. Omg!! This series is so beautiful!! I’m about to finish an advanced copy of Beholden and I’m in love with the characters! And the plot! What an unique twist to the Cinderella retelling!! Highly recommended!!

  44. I’m just in the midst of reading The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson, a Rapunzel retelling. Waiting to see how it all comes together. Love the historical backgrounds. I’m excited to read about the princesses. Beautiful covers.

  45. This series sounds like a lot of fun! I am excited to read all of them! I don’t remember reading any re-tellings.

  47. I’ve read and seen a few fairy retellings.

    I shared giveaway on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

  49. I love your books! I havent read your YA ones yet but they are totally on my list to try. I love those covers too.

  51. Congratulations! I love fairy tale retellings and am looking forward to these. I think it would be fun to see retellings of The Wizard of Oz (even though not considered a fairy tale)- how the bad witch got bad and why Glenda stayed good.

  53. I love fairytale retellings. One of my favorites is the movie,”Ever After” and I love the retelling books by Melanie Dickerson. Can’t wait to read yours!

  55. I’ve read enough of your books to know that this version of Cinderella will be delightful!

  57. I love retellings!My favorite fairytale is Beauty and the Beast, and I really enjoyed Melanie Dickerson’s reimagining of it.

  59. I used to watch the TV show “Once Upon a Time,” and I like the fairytale retellings by Melanie Dickerson. Movie retellings of Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty are always fun to watch, too.

  60. I watch and read plenty of fairy tale retellings! There’s a series–book series, NOT the TV show–called Once upon a Time, another called The Lunar Chronicles, and of course all of Disney’s movies, like how Frozen and Tangled really changed and shook up The Snow Queen and Rapunzel. I also write my own, or at least used to–I’m now focusing on much longer books–however, I began to write a series of all the classic, popular fairy tales, such as Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella, and another series on much darker, less popular tales. If there’s any fairy tale on which you should do a twist, I’d love one on Rumpelstiltskin. We do not have many of those.

    Whether I win the book or not, I am looking forward to reading it! 🙂

  61. I enjoyed “The Lost Princesses” series so I’m looking to your new “The Fairest Maidens” series. However, I’m going to wait a bit until the complete set is out. I did that with “Lost Princesses” last year. Binge reading! 🙂

    We’ve got quite a number of Melanie Dickerson fans here! Count me in too! Mrs. Dickerson’s latest novel, “The Peasant’s Dream” is the #11 and finale to the “Fairy Tale Romance/Hagenheim” series. It’s been a lovely series, watching the ducal children grow up and have their own stories. Her “Medieval Fairy Tale/Thornbeck” trilogy was wonderful too.

  62. I have read one sleeping beauty retelling, but I already know Besotted will knock it out of the ball park. And Cinderella is probably my favorite princess, so I’ve got butterflies thinking about Beholden!!! Counting down the days till this series( with the most gorgeous, swoon-worthy covers) will unite on my favorite shelf with The Lost Princesses and The Noble Knights! So excited for you Jody! 💙

  63. I love fairy tale retellings! So far, Melanie Dickerson’s and Melanie Cellier’s have been my favorites, but I’ve loved many others too. My favorite retelling to read is Beauty and the Beast. Your Cinderella retelling in Beholden was lovely! I can’t wait for the rest of this series.

  64. The cover is just gorgeous (I pinned it to my Pinterest account) and I love the fair maidens as much as I did back in my fairytale days! My favorites were Rapunzel and Beauty and the Beast, and my oldest daughter loved Princess and the Pea.

  67. My favorite retelling that I have WATCHED is Ever After. Thanks for the giveaway and I look forward to reading this series!

  68. I’ve read many of yours and also Melanie Dickerson’s Hagenheim series. Haven’t watched very many but I would love to see a Sleeping Beauty remake someday.

  69. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation however I to find
    this topic to be actually one thing which I feel I might
    never understand. It seems too complex and very
    vast for me. I’m looking forward in your subsequent publish, I will try to get the cling of it!

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