You Should See Me in a Crown

Teen - What We're Reading | March 21, 2025

Royally good novels.

  • Front cover of Red Queen showing an upside-down crown dripping blood

    The Red Queen / Victoria Aveyard
    Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood—those with common red blood serve the silver-blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court, where she discovers she has an ability of her own. #1 in the series.

  • Front cover of The Cruel Prince showing bare branches with a simple gold crown hanging from one of them

    The Cruel Prince / Holly Black
    Jude, seventeen and mortal, gets tangled in palace intrigues while trying to win a place in the treacherous High Court of Faerie, where she and her sisters have lived for a decade. Folk of the Air trilogy #1.

  • Front cover of showing a royal crest with blood dripping from it, against a background of snow

    Frostblood / Elly Blake
    Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who must use her powers of heat and flame to help two Frostblood rebels overthrow a maniacal Frostblood king. Frostblood Saga trilogy #1.

  • Front cover of Royal Blood showing a drawing of a teen with long brown hair, her bangs covering one eye, about to sip from a tea cup.

    Royal Blood / Aimée Carter
    As the King of England’s illegitimate daughter, 17-year-old Evan Bright knows a thing or two about keeping secrets. But when she’s forced to spend the summer in London with her father and the royal family, who aren’t exactly thrilled she exists, her identity is mysteriously revealed to the world. After a fun night turns deadly, she becomes the primary suspect and the escalating rumors threaten to tear her life apart. Duology.

  • Front cover of The Selection showing a photo of multiple young women in turquoise gowns, all with their hair up. One is facing toward the camera but her arm is raised, partially obscuring her face

    The Selection / Kiera Cass
    Thirty-five girls are part of the Selection, when the royalty takes suitors for their son, Prince Maxon. These girls will be treated to balls, gowns, and jewels in order to win the prince’s favor. For America Singer, however, the Selection offers only anxiety. She loves Aspen, even though he is a caste below her. When she meets Prince Maxon, her plans are ruined. #1 in the series.

  • Front cover of Violet Made of Thorns showing golden and purple flowers wrapping around a thick strand of woven vines

    Violet Made of Thorns / Gina Chen
    Violet is a prophet, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased—and not always true—divinations. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so-not charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to remove Violet from her role once he’s crowned. When the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus’s love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse.

  • Front cover of My Lady Jane showing a close-up photo of a woman in full royal garb, looking slyly over her shoulder at the camera

    My Lady Jane / Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
    At 16, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. She gets to be Queen of England. Like that could go wrong…. The Lady Janies series #1

  • Front cover of Royals showing a deep pink background with a pattern of crowns

    Royals / Rachel Hawkins
    Daisy Winters is an offbeat 16-year-old Floridian with red hair, a part-time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s about to become engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join her sister at a castle, where Daisy might rewrite the royal rules. Duology.

  • Front cover of A River of Royal Blood showing two woman facing each other, as if preparing to fight. Both are wearing long gowns; one holds a glowing orb in her hand, the other holds a knife

    A River of Royal Blood / Amanda Joy
    Seventeen-year-old Eva must harness the magic inside her to defeat her older sister, Isadore, as well as other forces, and win the crown in the Queendom of Myre—or die trying. Duology.

  • Front cover of Furyborn showing a golden crown and scepter against a black background

    Furyborn / Claire Legrand
    Rielle may prove to be one of the Prophesized Queens, if she survives the trials. A thousand years later, bounty-hunter Eliana helps a girl who could be the answer to the prophecy. Empirium trilogy #1.

  • Front cover of This Woven Kingdom showing a golden helmet with a spear at top, red roses around the helmet; the background is golden fading to yellow.

    This Woven Kingdom / Tahereh Mafi
    To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom, forced to hide in plain sight. The crown prince has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of the king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes would soon uproot his kingdom. #1 in the series.

  • Front cover of The Prince & the Apocalypse showing a drawing of a red-haired young woman in profile facing a dark-haired young man in a baseball cap. In the background are the Thames and London landmarks. In the sky is a blazing comet.

    The Prince & the Apocalypse / Rebecca McDowell
    Eighteen-year-old Wren, an American, is stranded in England when news of an impending world-ending comet causes global chaos, but when she meets a runaway prince with an agenda of his own, she realizes he might be her only chance of getting home in time to say goodbye.

  • Front cover of American Royals showing a close-up drawing of a young woman, her hair coiffed in a neat chignon, her fingernails painted red. She's wearing white sunglasses and a light blue dress.

    American Royals / Katharine McGee
    In an alternate America, princesses Beatrice and Samantha Washington and the two girls wooing their brother, Prince Jefferson, become embroiled in high drama in the most glorious court in the world. #1 in the series.

  • Front cover of Ash Princess, an illustrations of a crown ablaze

    Ash Princess / Laura Sebastian
    Held captive by the brutal Kaiser since she was six and witnessed her mother’s murder, Ash Princess is now sixteen and prepared to reclaim the throne by any means necessary. #1 in the series.

  • Front cover of Inferno's Heir, an illustration of a woman with long dark hair holding fire and gazing at it; the bottom, turned upside down, is a young man in a crown, holding a caged bird in his hand

    Inferno’s Heir / Tiffany Wang
    Fearing that her half-brother Jura will destroy her once he becomes king, Princess Teia Carthan decides on a daring and deceitful plan to infiltrate the rebel group then betray them to Jura in exchange for her life. But things become complicated when the rebels offer Teia trust and friendship.

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