Sunday, December 12, 2021

Five novels with twisty curses at their heart

Leslie Vedder is a queer ace author who loves fairytale retellings with girl adventurers and heroes! She grew up on fantasy books, anime, fanfiction and the Lord of the Rings movies, and met her true love in high school choir. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in creative writing and currently lives in Colorado with her wife and two spoiled house cats.

When she's not reading or writing, you can find her watching anime and sci-fi shows, walking in the woods and pretending they're enchanted forests, or playing old video games.

Vedder's debut YA novel The Bone Spindle is forthcoming in January 2022 from Penguin / Razorbill.

At Tor.com the author tagged five favorite books with twisty curses at their heart, including:
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a spellbinding queer fairytale that follows a princess cursed from birth to be poisonous to the touch. Because of her curse, Soraya has spent her whole life hidden away in the shadows, safe only in her garden. As her twin brother’s wedding approaches, she crosses paths with a boy who’s not what he seems and a girl who’s more than she ever could have imagined, and finally seeks out the monstrous truth behind her curse and her power.

Melissa Bashardoust is an amazing storyteller! The intricate plot uncoils like a snake shedding its skin, revealing twist after twist, and the entrancing f/f love story will draw you in like a moth to the flame.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue