Ella McLeod
The Branford Boase-nominated author of YA fiction and romantasy, including Guardian Best Books Pick The Map That Led to You.
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Ella McLeod, also known as E. S. McLeod, is an author and podcaster. Her latest book, Andromeda, is a feminist reimagining of the Greek myth, described as an 'electric reclaiming of the most famed, white-washed woman in Greek mythology'.
She has also written two YA novels under the name Ella McLeod: Rapunzella, Or, Don’t Touch My Hair is a retelling of the Rapunzel story that explores themes of race, gender and coming of age. It was long-listed for the prestigious Branford Boase Award and received rave reviews in Kirkus, the Irish Times, and the Guardian. Her second novel The Map That Led to You is a romance which interweaves pirate and Caribbean mermaid mythology, and was a Guardian Best Books Pick. She has also published a picture book, Goldilocs.
Ella’s Genres
- Romantasy
- Young Adult
- Historical Romance
Please note: all genuine emails from Ella McLeod will come from @thenovelry.com.
Andromeda
Blessed by the gods with unparalleled beauty, Andromeda lives a life of ease within her Aethiopian palace walls. Content with her sanctuary, the young princess has no concerns other than the royal expectations her parents have for her—until a single, fateful proclamation changes everything.
When the queen defies the gods with a blasphemous claim, Poseidon, fearsome God of the Seas, delivers a deadly ultimatum that puts the queen’s life in Andromeda’s hands. Poseidon sends his loyal servant, the shape-shifting Ceto, to seal the princess’s fate.
But Ceto is not just a servant. With a sharp tongue and hardened heart, she has little interest in the princess’s appearance—and even less in the games of gods. Yet an undeniable tension begins to bloom between them, and both quickly realize Andromeda’s beauty is not only a gift, but a weapon to wield. As Poseidon’s judgment draws ever closer, the two women find themselves pulled into something far more passionate—and dangerous—than either could have predicted...
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Rapunzella, Or, Don’t Touch My Hair
Rapunzella is imprisoned in a forest made of her own tangled Afro and the might of the pale King seems unstoppable. But is it? Can Rapunzella use her power to change the future?
You’re 15, you spend your time at school and at Val’s hair salon with Baker, Val’s son, who has eyes that are like falling off a cliff into space. The salon is a space of safety, but also of possibility and dreams... Dreams of hair so rich and alive that it grows upward and outward into a wild landscape, becomes trees and leaves, and houses birds and butterflies and all the secret creatures that belong in such a forest.
Is there a future where such possibility and power is more than just a dream?
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The Map That Led to You
A long time ago, a witch burst into flames. A pirate and a mermaid fell in love. A map was marked with a glowing X. And a Republic was born.
In the present day, two girls are given a history assignment: to try and piece together the rise and fall of the famous and corrupt pirate Republic, which once formed their island home.
As Reggie and Maeve sift fact from fiction, they realize that everything they’ve been told about the Republic is wrong. That the problem with history being told by the victors is that a lot gets left out. That ancient legend might be uncomfortably close to home. As their tentative friendship deepens into something more, they realize that a magical world could be on their very doorstep...
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