The Lost ShadowA Puss in Boots Retelling

Shapeshifter Ebony has been cursed for over a year. Trapped in the form of a black cat, she survives by hunting rats and mice in a miller’s barn. After an unexpected encounter ends with in her curse being broken, she finds herself travelling with the miller’s youngest son to discover the truth about his hidden past.

Princess Marie must marry one of the young noblemen of Vorgravia. She decides to invoke the legendary Trials – a competition to win her hand in marriage – and hopes she will at least get to know her suitors before deciding which of them to marry. But it’s easy to wear a mask at court. How can she know them for who they truly are?

When her path collides with Ebony’s, the mischievous shifter has a solution: she will disguise herself in one of her cat forms, spy on the suitors and report back to the princess. What she doesn’t expect is for another shifter to capture her own attention, or for a terrifying figure from her past to show up.

The Lost Shadow is a standalone novella-length retelling of Puss in Boots and The White Cat, complete with tropes like secret identities and marriage competitions. It is part of The Garden of Lost Things series, a collection of ten fairy tale retellings featuring lost things and blooming gardens. Each book is written by a different author, so the series can be enjoyed in any order.