The Altered Stones Duology
EMERALD BOUND
TOPAZ REIGN
A princess, a pea, and a tower of mattresses. This is the sliver that survives of a story more nightmare than fairytale...
Maggie Rhodes, high school junior and semi-reformed stalker, learns the tale’s true roots after a spying attempt goes awry and her best friend Kate ends up as the victim of an ancient curse. At the center of the curse lies an enchanted emerald that has been residing quietly in a museum for the past fifty years. Admirers of the gem have no idea that it feeds on life. Or that it’s found its next victim in Kate.
Enter Lindy, a school acquaintance who knows more than she’s letting on, and Garon, a handsome stranger claiming he knows how to help, and Maggie is left wondering who to trust and how to save her best friend before it’s too late.
If only Maggie knew her connection to the fairy tale was rooted far deeper than an endangered best friend.
Fairy tales are simply tales, told and re-told, but changed over time.
It has been four months since Maggie learned the dark truth behind the tale of the Princess and the Pea and freed Princess Lindy from the cursed Emerald. Lindy is now back in the past where she belongs, queen of her tiny Scandinavian country, and Maggie is a fully reformed ex-stalker.
Except … she can’t stop doing internet searches on Lindy and her country.
One morning, Maggie wakes to find history turned on its head. Apparently, you can’t destroy a centuries-old curse without consequence. In order to prevent the changes in history from wiping out the present, Maggie resurrects her stalking gene and learns that fairy tales don’t stay dead for long. Or at all.
Back in 1623, Lindy is juggling a threat to her family, a handsome new guard she’s not supposed to have feelings for, and a cursed Topaz with ties to the tale of Thumbelina. When past and present collide, Lindy and Maggie are brought together again, and another of Andersen’s tales turns from twisted fiction to chilling fact.
.png)
READER REVIEWS
"Intricate storyline, with eloquent word craft, makes this book a must-read and is an outstanding debut novel."
--Writing Pearls Reviews
"Kept me glued to the page from beginning to end."
--Long and Short Reviews
"Teresa Richards is a brilliant new voice in young fantasy."
--Roberto Calas, author of The Scourge
"Brilliant book. Exceptionally good story. A must-read."
--LAS Reviewer
"A brilliant mix of fantasy, horror, and a touch of romance."
--J. Krogue
"My favorite part about these books is how they take Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales and turn them into something a little darker, but then they still give you that happily-ever-after feeling too."
--Amazon Reader
"Action-packed adventure that I couldn't read fast enough."
--Katie's Clean Book Collection
"A delightful and inviting read, this fast-paced story is one that readers will not want to put down and will absolutely not want to miss."
--Singing Librarian Books
"The story is FUN. It's clever, the plot twists unexpectedly, the characters are endearing, and it's a really fresh approach to time travel and the question of whether you can change history. I love watching characters explore the implications of time travel, and this story had such a charming and intriguing answer to those questions."
--A. Wilson
"I loved trying to figure out which character was Thumbelina, because it’s not obvious at first! Thumbelina is another fairy tale that, like the princess and the pea, is not one that I’ve heard many times. I feel like Hollywood and mainstream books redo the same fairy tales over and over—Cinderella, Snow White, the “classic” princesses—and I love the author’s ability to bring lesser-known fairy tales to the limelight and give them a twist. Like Emerald Bound, Topaz Reign is so much fun, full of action, and sure to keep you turning pages!"
--Cindy's Good Tales
"This book is full of present day travels, historical problems needing to be put right, and the best thing of all – Magic! The characters could be the kids next door, while the new Queen shows the uncertainty of one thrust into the limelight of ruling a country. Even the fantasy characters had me looking over my shoulder to make sure they weren’t real and creeping up on me."
--Long and Short Reviews