A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms Volume 1

"She’ll keep you up long past your bedtime." — #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King

"The prolific Lackey (the Valdemar series) draws on the darker, Brothers Grimm side of fairy lore for her enchanting tale." — Publisher’s Weekly

Rediscover the land of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, where if you can’t carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale… Now in a three-volume box set!

A TANGLED WEB

Kidnapping Persephone should have been an easy task. But in the Five Hundred Kingdoms, nothing’s ever simple—and the wrong blonde goddess is stolen by mistake, leaving Prince Leopold without his new bride. At least until he braves the realm of the dead to get her back…

THE FAIRY GODMOTHER

Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom’s Cinderella—until fate left her with a completely inappropriate prince! So she set out to make a new life for herself. But breaking with "The Tradition" is no easy matter—until she gets a little help from her own fairy godmother, who promptly offers Elena a most unexpected job…

ONE GOOD KNIGHT

When a dragon storms the castle, what should a (virgin) princess do? Practical-minded Princess Andromeda turns to her studies to find an answer, but cannot. The Traditional solution is to soothe the marauding dragon with a virgin sacrifice—but Andromeda herself is picked! To buck Tradition, it will take the strongest of wills, knowledge, quick wits and a refusal to give up, no matter what happens along the way…