
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Start of Percy Jackson and the Olympians seriesby Rick Riordan
Why you'll love it:
This fantasy shares a adventurous and empowering tone that will resonate with Half Upon a Time fans.
If you loved Half Upon a Time by James Riley, here are the most similar books our readers recommend.
The best books like Half Upon a Time are:

When a mysterious girl named May literally falls from the sky claiming she's not a princess and doesn't believe in magic, Jack—whose father disappeared after that infamous beanstalk incident—finds himself reluctantly drawn into her quest to rescue her kidnapped grandmother. Their adventure becomes far more dangerous when they discover May's grandmother might be the legendary Snow White, and a vengeful Wicked Queen will stop at nothing to find her. This thrilling journey weaves together fractured fairy tales where nothing is quite what it seems and heroes come in the most unexpected forms.
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by Rick Riordan
Why you'll love it:
This fantasy shares a adventurous and empowering tone that will resonate with Half Upon a Time fans.

by Rick Riordan
Why you'll love it:
This fantasy shares a adventurous and urgent tone that will resonate with Half Upon a Time fans.
by Rick Riordan
Why you'll love it:
This fantasy shares a sarcastic and adventurous tone that will resonate with Half Upon a Time fans.

by Chris Colfer
Why you'll love it:
This fantasy shares a whimsical and heartwarming tone that will resonate with Half Upon a Time fans.
| Book | Author | Rating | Year | Pages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief📚 Series starter | Rick Riordan | 4.7 | 2013 | 400 | Start a new series |
| The Red Pyramid📚 Series starter | Rick Riordan | 4.7 | 2010 | 516 | Start a new series |
| The Hidden Oracle | Rick Riordan | 4.6 | 2017 | 376 | Similar vibes |
| The Son of Neptune: The Graphic Novel | Rick Riordan | 0 | 2017 | — | Similar vibes |
| The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories) | Chris Colfer | 4.3 | 2012 | — | Similar vibes |
| The Wizards of Once | Cressida Cowell | 4.7 | 2017 | 300 | Similar vibes |
| Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: Finding the Witch | Cube Kid | 4.8 | 2025 | 96 | Similar vibes |
| The School for Good and Evil📚 Series starter | Soman Chainani | 4.0 | 2013 | 488 | Start a new series |
| Keeper of the Lost Cities📚 Series starter | Shannon Messenger | 4.4 | 2012 | 496 | Start a new series |
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | J.K. Rowling | 4.8 | 1997 | 320 | Similar vibes |
If you enjoy James Riley's writing style, explore these similar authors.
The most similar books to Half Upon a Time are Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, The Red Pyramid, The Hidden Oracle.
After finishing Half Upon a Time, readers most commonly pick up Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief next.
Authors similar to James Riley include Jessica Townsend, Lisa McMann, Jasper Fforde, Erin Hunter, Andrew Peterson.
Half Upon a Time is a Fantasy novel by James Riley, published in 2010.
Half Upon a Time is 401 pages long.
Life’s no fairy tale for Jack. After all, his father's been missing ever since that incident with the beanstalk and the giant, and his grandfather keeps pushing him to get out and find a princess to rescue. Who'd want to rescue a snobby, entitled princess anyway? Especially one that falls out of the sky wearing a shirt that says "Punk Princess," and still denies she's royalty. In fact, May doesn't even believe in magic. Yeah, what's that about? May does need help though--a huntsman is chasing her, her grandmother has been kidnapped, and Jack thinks it’s all because of the Wicked Queen . . . mostly because May’s grandmother might just be the long-lost Snow White. Jack and May's thrillingly hilarious adventure combines all the classic stories—fractured as a broken magic mirror—into one epic novel for the ages.