Can one find hope when everything familiar has been stripped away? On the eve of her 19th birthday, Alora learns she's not a peasant girl, the people who raised her aren't even related to her, and she can't marry the boy from the village who promised to return for her. She's a princess, betrothed to a neighboring royal—and cursed since birth. But Alora adored her simple life and flees from the new found expectations. When the curse is enacted anyway, she must fight her way through a strange new land. If she doesn't defeat the one who cursed her, she'll be trapped in a dream forever. A Gracious Hope, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty and The Wizard of Oz, is a standalone novella, complete with such tropes as "protective hero," "he falls first," and "no damsels here." It is part of the “Hope Ever After” series, a collection of twenty hopeful and uplifting fairy tale retellings. Each book is written by a different author so it can be enjoyed in any order. The proceeds from this series are donated to the O.U.R. (Operation Underground Railroad) to rescue children from exploitation and trafficking.