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Series · historical romance

Fairy Tales

by Eloisa James

The Fairy Tales series by Eloisa James has 5 books and is best read in publication order, starting with A Kiss at Midnight (2010).

Books
5 books
First published
2010
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: A Kiss at Midnight (2010) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of A Kiss at Midnight, the first book in Fairy Tales

A Kiss at Midnight (2010)

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. A Kiss at Midnight

    Novel

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  2. When Beauty Tamed the Beast

    Novel

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  3. The Duke Is Mine

    Novel

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  4. The Ugly Duchess

    Novel

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  5. Once Upon a Tower

    Novel

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About the Fairy Tales series

Fairy Tales is Eloisa James's series of Regency-era retellings, each novel reworking a classic fairy tale -- Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and others -- into a full-length historical romance. A Kiss at Midnight (2010) opens the series with a Cinderella retelling, followed by When Beauty Tamed the Beast (2011) and The Duke Is Mine (2011, a Princess and the Pea variation), then The Ugly Duchess (2012) and Once Upon a Tower (2013, a Rapunzel retelling).

James, an English literature professor as well as a novelist, brings her academic interest in fairy-tale structure directly into the series' premise, using each classic story's shape as scaffolding for a full Regency courtship rather than simply borrowing surface details.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Fairy Tales series?

Five: A Kiss at Midnight (2010), When Beauty Tamed the Beast (2011), The Duke Is Mine (2011), The Ugly Duchess (2012), and Once Upon a Tower (2013).

What fairy tales does the series retell?

A Kiss at Midnight reworks Cinderella, When Beauty Tamed the Beast reworks Beauty and the Beast, The Duke Is Mine reworks The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duchess reworks The Ugly Duckling, and Once Upon a Tower reworks Rapunzel.

Do I need to read the Fairy Tales books in order?

No -- each is a standalone retelling of a different fairy tale with its own self-contained romance.

Is Fairy Tales connected to James's Happily Ever After novellas?

They're separate series, though both were published around the same period and share James's interest in classic story structures reworked as Regency romance.

Is a sixth Fairy Tales book planned?

None has been announced as of August 2026; the series appears complete.

Reading order last verified .