Deerskin

Princess Lissar is the daughter of a beautiful mother and a father who adores his wife absolutely. Neither is very interested in their daughter, so she is raised by servants and rather shy at court. One day, Lissar's mother gets sick and when she loses her perfect beauty as a result, she decides she'd rather die than live like this. Her father goes almost mad over his loss - until he realizes that Lissar isn't a child anymore and looks very much like her mother. At this point, his affections become more and more disturbing up to the point that he decides to marry his own daughter! When she refuses, he rapes and beats her, and Lissar sees no choice but to escape with her loyal dog, a gift by a young prince from a neighbouring kingdom. Almost mad herself and severely injured, she manages to survive a harsh winter in the woods and finally finds refuge in the foreign prince's kingdom. But while the two develop a tender love for each other, Lissar can't escape her past and her father ... Robin McKinley is best known for her fairytale romances that can be read both by a young and an older audience. Deerskin is one of those books and probably her best - in my opinion at least. In places it is very dark, but also very touching and sweet. This book goes under your skin and it's a pleasure to re-read it over and over again. I would recommend it without any reservations to readers of fantasy, romance and fairytales.