Sleep Like Death

Bayron (Cinderella Is Dead) delivers a haunting fairy tale in this atmospheric “Snow White” reimagining. Almost-17-year-old Eve, the brown-skinned daughter of Queens Regina and Sanaa, is Regina’s “right hand, her fury.” All her life, Eve has trained her magic and martial talents to serve the people of her mothers’ queendom, Queen’s Bridge. She has also sworn to protect Queen’s Bridge from its mortal enemy, the malevolent figure known as the Knight (“The Knight is not a queen or any other sort of royalty. He is not even a man. He is a myth made real. A monster”). Whomever asks the Knight to grant their wish is at risk of suffering his perverse wrath, as when he transforms Queen Saana into a songbird after she wishes for a beautiful singing voice. As the Knight draws closer, Eve acts—with disastrous consequences. She later confronts the Knight’s beautiful emissary Nova, from whom she learns a devastating secret about her past. Elongated buildup results in a somewhat precipitous denouement. Nevertheless, via lightly horror-tinged prose, Bayron fashions the beguiling plot, populated by adeptly hewn characters, into a suitable entry to the canon of fairy tale remixes. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jamie Vankirk, Rainbow Nerds Literary. (June)