I can’t help but be a huge Disney junkie. It goes with the territory of living in Orlando, having cast members in the family, and living in an age of Marvel superheroes, Star Wars movies, and of course live action Disney classics.
Disney princesses are the first romance stories most children learn about and even as adults they are entertaining and breathtaking. (Who doesn’t love the duet between Rapunzel and Eugene? Crazy people, that’s who.)
So, here are 12 romance novels, one for every official Disney princess. (Here’s my source in case you think Anna and Elsa were overlooked).
Snow White: Crave by Cathy Yardley
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.13 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 272 pages
Snow White is the original Disney princess, known for being sweet and good with animals– as well as taking food from strangers and singing about how someday her prince will come.
This retelling of Snow White is a bit more grown-up, and much more satisfying for adult fairytale lovers.
Beth Cordova’s life is no fairy tale. Having barely escaped the evil grasp of her wicked stepmother, this “missing princess” seeks refuge in a strict commune where carnal pleasures are forbidden.
Sometimes just one bite of the apple . . .
Her world is lonely and void of intimacy, until the charming Stephen Trent arrives at the commune. Suddenly Beth yearns for a man’s touch, the feel of his lips on hers . . . and Stephen is eager to show this pure-as-snow princess that she can still be the sensual woman she was once upon a time.
Get Crave at your local bookstore today.
Cinderella: A Kiss At Midnight by Eloisa James
Genre: Historical
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.81 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 370 pages
Cinderella is well-loved by many for her beauty, grace, and starring in one of the most lasting wish-fulfillment stories in history. But for Miss Kate Daltry, an arrogant prince fawning all over her is one wish her heart didn’t make.
Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince . . . and decides he’s anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman–a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions.
Gabriel “likes” his fiance, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn’t love her. Obviously, he should be “wooing” his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him.
Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after.
Unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble . . .
Unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune . . .
Unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.
Get A Kiss at Midnight at your local bookstore today.
Aurora: A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
Genre: Teen, Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.76 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 400 pages
Okay, unpopular opinion time: I’m a huge fan of Sleeping Beauty. I like it the most out of the three original Disney Princess movies. (Yes, even more than Cinderella.) Say what you want about Sleeping Beauty, but at least the prince has a name.
And I’m obsessed with Alex Flinn’s fairytale retellings. Both A Kiss in Time and Beastly were phenomenal teen fairytale retellings. So, of course, I had to include at least one of them on this list.
Talia fell under a spell…Jack broke the curse.
I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic…
I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.
I awakened in the same place but in another time—to a stranger’s soft kiss.
***
I couldn’t help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to kiss someone. I didn’t know this would happen.
Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away with this commoner!
Now I’m stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of her jewels…The good news: My parents will freak!
Get A Kiss in Time at your local bookstore today.
Ariel: Sleeping With the Fishes by MaryJanice Davidson
Genre: Fantasy, Chick-Lit
Average Goodreads Rating: 3..65 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 304 pages
Ariel isn’t one of my favorite princesses, even though she’s one of the few who actually acts her age. Being 16, it’s easier to forgive her for being kind of bratty and naive (still doesn’t make her very likable though).
But Fred, the non-perky, blue-haired mermaid volunteering at the New England Aquarium, is totally different.
Fred is a mermaid. But stop right there. Whatever image you’re thinking of right now, forget it. Fred is not blonde. She’s not buxom. And she’s definitely not perky. In fact, Fred can be downright cranky. And it doesn’t help matters that her hair is blue.
Being a mermaid does help Fred when she volunteers at the New England Aquarium. But, needless to say, it’s there that she gets involved in something fishy. Weird levels of toxins have been found in the local seawater. A gorgeous marine biologist wants her help investigating. So does her merperson ruler, the High Prince of the Black Sea. You’d think it would be easy for a mermaid to get to the bottom of things. Think again…
Get Sleeping with the Fishes at your local bookstore today.
Belle: Depravity by M.J. Haag
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.98 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 236 pages
Belle is one of my favorite Disney Princesses, of course. Her obsession with books matches mine and most everyone in my life can tell you that I have a horrible daydreaming problem.
Benella, from Depravity has it even worse than Belle does. Not only does she suffer from a provincial life, but she’s also fighting to survive with her family. This story comes with a trigger warning for attempted rape, but some of the reviews say the sex scenes are usually on the milder side.
Sixteen year old Benella is concerned with two things–avoiding the two village boys who torment her and scrounging for food to help feed her family. Unfortunately, the best wild fruit and vegetables are near the walls of the estate, a dark misty place inhabited by an unforgiving beast.
When her tormentors lock her behind the massive gates, Benella knows her fate is sealed. Yet, the fate isn’t one she expects. Her encounter with the beast starts a bizarre cycle of bargaining for her freedom, a freedom the beast seems determined to see her lose.
Get Depravity at your local bookstore today.
Jasmine: The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.02 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 352 pages
Jasmine is pretty cool, although I spent most of my time watching Aladdin lusting over her boyfriend than admiring her character. And I really enjoyed the updated version of her in the live-action movie, where she’s more focused on becoming sultan than marrying.
The Forbidden Wish reimagine’s Aladdin’s princess as a powerful Jinni in what looks like a fascinating retelling.
She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world. . . .
When Aladdin discovers Zahra’s jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn’t seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra’s very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes.
But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?
As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of the Aladdin story from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury.
Get The Forbidden Wish at your local bookstore today.
Pocahontas: My Lady Pocahontas by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
Genre: Historical, Teen, Non-Romance
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.73 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 288 pages
I’ve only seen Pocahontas as a couple of times, and I have to admit I didn’t care for the story that much, although I love the music. And, unfortunately for romance novel fans, it’s near impossible to find a good romance novel with this Disney princess.
While the true story of Pocahontas is fascinating, fictional versions of her life can be a bit, well, cringy and expoitative. Maybe that’s why it’s difficult to find romance novels featuring her. Or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough. Please, feel free to drop a link to your favorite Pocahontas romance novel. Or enjoy this nonromantic story about her.
Neetah, Pocahontas’s Pamunkey friend and servant, could hear the words princess and My Lady whispered from the lips of the white men who had settled in the colony they called Jamestown. Pocahontas, the daughter of the Supreme Chief of the Confederacy, was important in their eyes, and Neetah, too, could see something special within her bold friend.
She accompanied Pocahontas to Jamestown regularly, to this fort of smelly, hairy men whose food supply was slowly disappearing. The girls’ mission was clear: to protect the Confederacy by finding out as much as they could about these strangers and report back to the Supreme Chief. But the daring Pocahontas, led by visions, had other intentions as well. My Lady Pocahontas tells an important early chapter of America’s history from the Pamunkey viewpoint as the drama of two clashing cultures unfolds. Author’s note and bibliography included.
Get My Lady Pocahontas at your local bookstore today.
Mulan: Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey
Genre: Historical, Teen
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.87 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 224 pages
Mulan is one of my favorite Disney princesses because she’s just a badass. There are very few Disney princesses as fierce as she is and her movie is so satisfying because of it. How can I not like the scene where she saves her man from the cliff, after practically single-handedly annihilating the Hun army with an avalanche?
The Wild Orchid looks just as satisfying as the Disney movie.
Wielding a sword as deftly as an embroidery needle, Mulan is unlike any other girl in China. When the emperor summons a great army, each family must send a male to fight, tom-boyish Mulan is determined to spare her aging father and bring her family honor, so she disguises herself and answers the call.
But Mulan never expects to find a friend, let alone a soul mate, in the commander of her division, Prince Jian. For all of Mulan’s courage with a bow and arrow, is she brave enough to share her true identity and feelings with Prince Jian?
Get Wild Orchid at your local bookstore.
Tiana: The Frog Prince by Jane Porter
Genre: Contemporary
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.37 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 384 pages
Okay, can we all agree that Tiana deserved better than a spoiled prince who squandered away all of his money?
Tiana is classy and cool, and she’s got some of the best music Disney has to offer. I had the honor of meeting her at Magic Kingdom and she offered to give me cooking lessons which I really wish I could take her up on.
I absolutely love Tiana but she needs to keep her husband away from the financial side of her restaurant.
Hopefully Holly Bishop will have better luck in The Frog Prince.
Holly Bishop is the proverbial, small-town good girl. She always follows the rules, thinks of others first, and she never, ever makes mistakes. Until she marries the man she thought was her Prince Charming, who confesses on their honeymoon that he’s not sexually attracted to her. Now, 14 months after, Holly’s marriage is in the toilet, along with her self-esteem. Determined to start over, she moves to San Francisco, where she must navigate the landmines of dating in the big city. In the shadow of the Golden Gate and amid a population of wacky Bay Area eccentrics, Holly will discover that nice girls don’t always finish last. In fact, they sometimes end up with everything they’d ever wanted.
Get The Frog Prince at your local bookstore.
Rapunzel: My Name Is Rapunzel by K.C. Hilton
Genre: Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.13 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 324 pages
Rapunzel is my favorite Disney princess. I like her even more than Belle. She’s adorable and hilarious and brave. I relate to her argument with herself after breaking out of her tower, and she and Flynn Rider have the best Disney love story, as far as I’m concerned.
But, according to K.C. Hilton’s Rapunzel, we don’t know the real story. This is what she has to say:
“My tale has been told again and again, and I’ve heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children…but the children wouldn’t have laughed if they’d known the real story. It wasn’t their fault. They didn’t know the truth. Nobody did. My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.”
Get My Name is Rapunzel at your local bookstore.
Merida: Hero in the Highlands by Suzanne Enoch
Genre: Historical
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.63 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 384 pages
Merida broke a lot of barriers as the first Disney princess without a love interest. She is also originally a Pixar princess who later joined the Disney princess ranks, making her different than the others. Not only does she not sing, but she’s also one of the few princesses with an original story instead of coming from a public domain fairytale. So instead of finding a Brave retelling, I found a romance with a fierce Scottish heroine, just like Merida.
Scotland, 1812: He’s ferocious and rugged to the bone, an English soldier more at home on the battlefield than in any Society drawing room. And when Major Gabriel Forrester learns that he’s inherited the massive Scottish Highlands title and estate of a distant relation, the last thing he wants to do is give up the intensity of the battlefield for the too-soft indulgences of noble life. But Gabriel Forrester does not shirk his responsibilities, and when he meets striking, raven-eyed lass Fiona Blackstock, his new circumstances abruptly become more intriguing.
Like any good Highlander, Fiona despises the English—and the new Duke of Lattimer is no exception. Firstly, he is far too attractive for Fiona’s peace of mind. Secondly, his right to “her” castle is a travesty, since it’s been clan Maxwell property for ages. As the two enter a heated battle of wills, an unexpected passion blazes into a love as fierce as the Highlands themselves. Is Fiona strong enough to resist her enemy’s advances—or is Gabriel actually her hero in disguise?
Get Hero in the Highlands at your local bookstore.
Moana: The Daughter of the Reef by Clara Coleman
Genre: Historical, Non-Romance
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.76 out of 5 stars
Page Count: 360 pages
Moana is the newest addition to the Disney Princess lineup, officially being added in 2019. Her songs are fantastic and her dynamic with Maui is hilarious.
Being a heroine who jumps in headfirst and figures it out later, she’s inspirational to anyone on a mission.
Like Merida, Moana is an original character, so instead of finding a retelling, I’m recommending a novel about the daughter of a chief, like Moana.
Tepua, the daughter of a chief sails from her coral atoll home toward her planned, and ritually mandated, marriage. But she never reaches her destination because a violent storm damages her vessel and leaves her stranded on the shores of Tahiti, a land previously unknown to her. She is made unwelcome because of her foreignness and is victimized because of her weakness and innocence, but her spirit is strong and her will to survive and thrive is boundless.
The world of Tahiti is very different from the one she has known, beautiful, savage, and mystical by turns. But she is determined to build herself a new life and, in the process, she will change the destiny of all for generations to come.
Get Daughter of the Reef on Kobo.
What books would you recommend for Disney princesses? Let me know in the comments below.
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