It's no secret to my family that I'm a fantasy lover. I may dabble in a few other genres but fantasy is really my bent. If we're really going to get to the heart of the matter though I'm a complete sucker for fairy tale retellings.
I remember my mother reading a few chapters once of a retelling and trying to let me down easy she goes, "I hate to tell you this but it reminded me a lot of Snow White."
I then explained, well yeah! It's supposed to! It's a retelling of Snow White.
A what now?
So there I was explaining to my mom that yes... there is a whole subgenre of fantasy dedicated to retelling fairy tales and her response was, but why?! How is that interesting at all?
Let me explain, if you're not already an addict like me, if you've ever sat and watched a cooking show where everyone is told to either make the same thing or use the same ingredients.... you're also intrigued by the same process.
It's fun to be like, all right I want you all to make a cake and see how different everyone's cake is. Or you all have the same 15 ingredients go for it. And see which things people use and which things they don't use. And somehow they all create a vastly different dish.
That's retellings. People are taking the same ingredients and creating something different. In some ways I think that's more difficult. You have to follow some of the same elements or incorporate the themes or crucial plot points so we can recognize them while being original.
Now while I've always known I LIKE retellings it has only been in the last few years that I've decided I have an extreme preference for them. As a result I consume a lot... no really, a LOT of retellings in a year.
I peeked at an old list from 4 years ago and was like phew, that is outdated!! I need to polish that thing off because I have read some crazy good things since then that deserve a spot on that list. And here they are in no particular order!
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There never was a beauty and a beast, only a girl who was both.
And that girl was me.
Zaina will never be free.
She's forced into an arranged marriage to a Viking King in a castle full of secrets. But she carries secrets of her own, and the scars of her haunted past.
Handed off from one monster to another, she has no choice but to do her best to survive and protect her sisters.
Even if it costs her everything.
Though I haven't experience in small or large ways a lot of what she went through, there were so many things that resonated. I thought it was a book that was well-written and powerful in the way it baldly stared at some of the ugliness in the world(Because let's be honest these aren't fantasy situations. They're in the dark corners of our world.). I thought Zaina was very real in how she reacted to things. Her decisions were logical considering what she has been through. Her inward process of protect me and mine and that's it made all the sense in the world.
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Raelyn would love a simple life getting up to mischief with her brother and being valued for herself, not her title, but she's a princess with the weight of a peace treaty on her shoulders.
When Raelyn gets separated from her family on the way to her arranged marriage to the crown prince of the neighboring kingdom, she is saved by a beast...
But now he won't let her leave.
Not only does the monster claim to be Alexander, the rightful crown prince living in hiding, but he refuses to escort her back to her family. Trapped in dangerous mountains with an infuriating, fire-breathing dragon-man, Raelyn fears for the future of her kingdom and the safety of her family.
And yet...
The kindness of the cursed prince's human friends surprises her. When Alexander reveals the shocking truth of his curse, she begins to see past the monstrous exterior to the prince’s human heart. But will Raelyn have the courage to admit her growing love for a cursed man? And will her family manage to salvage the treaty when they think her dead?
For years, there has been an odd notice posted every so often in the town square calling forth the most beautiful maiden in the land to serve the kingdom. The Queen decides which of the eligible ladies earns the feared and elusive title. After that, the chosen one disappears, never to be seen or heard from again. A few months later, the game is played all over again. Some say that the Queen boils the women alive to steal their youth, and others insist that they are sacrificed to a great dragon in the North to stop him from invading. The only certain thing, however, is that being beautiful is now a curse.
Belara has been terrified of coming of age for years now. Ever since she was little, people have been telling her that she is a beauty beyond compare. Over the last few years, they have said this with pity rather than admiration. Right after her birthday, the same notice is posted again. No one is surprised when Belara is sent to the palace and declared to be the most beautiful of all. She is dispatched to fates unknown by the Queen, who gives her one piece of advice: not everything is what it seems. Armed with years of careful education and everything she learned from her father's library, Belara is determined not to meet the same fate as all the others.
A beauty that's aware of it, but still a good person. One who doesn't grab the simplest dress but the most glamorous one because why not? And she retained some of that wanting to enjoy her beauty in the end but also had mellowed out a bit and adjusted other things.
But truly a great story. I loved the amount of time spent with the characters getting to know each other.
Alaric wants to be king. He wants to continue the peace and prosperity his father created in Aeonia. But with enemies questioning his bloodline, he’ll have to put his heart on the line and marry a stranger to secure his right to rule. Only a match with a true princess will silence his critics and protect his future.
Lina’s lineage is shocking at best and deadly at worst. Over a century ago, she put herself into an enchanted sleep to seal away a horde of dark creatures. Now both Lina and the goblins are awake. Without friends or resources, Lina must seek the help of the Council of Kings. To get close enough to them to ask for aid, she’ll need to convince everyone she’s a true princess.
As Alaric searches for a true princess to marry, Lina tries to convince the world she is one. But while they try to save the kingdom on their own, they may find what they need is each other.
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Princess Lily, the eldest of twelve sisters and heir to a mighty kingdom, desperately seeks a break from her mother's matchmaking. Tradition forbids marriage with the man Lily loves, so she would rather rule alone than marry someone who only wants the crown.
Fleeing an overzealous suitor, Lily stumbles into a secret underground kingdom where she and her sisters encounter a mysterious sorcerer-prince and become entangled in a curse that threatens the safety of her family and her people. Lily can free them, but the price for freedom may be more than she's willing to pay.
Love the connection between the sisters and how there's more than just one featured male character. I like that there's was a new take on the oldest sister, her parents, and the love interest. I liked that there were a couple of decent men that I could imagine having their own stories in the future as well as several of the princesses.
Princess Rinda of Balinore knows of only one way to get her cold father’s attention – to be an obnoxious, spoiled princess. When she finds out that the king plan to marrying her off to a far-flung nobleman, she puts on her best bratty show in front of the entire court. But Rinda’s plan backfires, and she soon finds herself married to the most ineligible man ever. Her new husband is monastery raised, poor as dirt, and a traveling minstrel.
A very, very bad traveling minstrel.
But Alek isn’t what he seems like on the surface, and neither is Rinda. She won’t take this marriage lying down, and schemes to find herself a new husband – a king. But as she and Alek travel together, they learn that not only are appearances deceiving, but goals can change in the blink of an eye, and love can get in the way of the strongest plans…
Another unbeaten favorite. I think this is a very difficult tale to retell so that you really come out liking both main characters. I'd love to read more of these but struggle to even find ones to try.
A rarely retold story that shines unexpectedly from an author who doesn't write retellings, or even fantasy for that matter. This book was so amazing that I hope it won't be her only foray into the genre. The best part of this is how the two main characters are developed. Rinda has a reason for her tasteless comments and hoity toity attitude. While Alek also has a reason for choosing to come for a bride that was nasty to him and that he doesn't love(because let's be honest, one short meeting where the other person insults you is not going to result in love).
Runner up: Princess Without a Palace by Kristen Niedfeldt
A selkie’s song can enchant a man and tame the sea . . .
Naia’s unusual love for human things led her to become the sole artisan in her clan. But when this passion leads to her abduction, she loses more than contact with the sea when her pelt is taken. Unable to shift forms or return to the sea without it, she knows she will die if she cannot recover the pelt soon. Cut off from her family, Naia must appease the human king while persuading his lovesick son to honor past arrangements.
Malik has loved and lost before, an experience leading him to shy away from love. When Naia is stranded, however, he risks everything to find her. Together they uncover a plot that would sweep up humans and selkies alike in a war that would destroy the Five Kingdoms and possibly all of Sonera.
When the enemy acts, can they save sea and land . . . and each other?
A few chapters in I actually got misty-eyed because I was like THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD and it's been so long since a romance plot hit me in the feels that knowing I was going to get a good one was like *sniff sniff* it's been too long.
I mean the mermaid character(who is a selkie) has this garden underwater(it's not actually underwater. They live in air pocket houses in the rocks and her roof is actually part of some rocks that poke above the waves and they have tiny holes for sunlight to come in.) where she raises land plants for no other reason than she loves them. She's seen as odd and the misfit because of how she looks and what she does for a hobby.
And this selkie leader--he is freaking tracking down flowers that are really beautiful and exotic and transporting them in cases underwater to bring to her for her garden.
And she has nooooo idea and I was like, "I'm not crying you are!!!" because it was so darn sweet how he was just doing something for her like that. That's romance peoples. He figured out what she liked, what she was passionate about and he showed interest. He wasn't going, "ermagosh you're so hawt and we just met and you're hawt so I like you." No, he actually has gotten to know this woman and her family. He's learned what interests her and he's going out of his way no matter how busy he is and get her something she likes even if she's totally oblivious.
The things that have bothered me about EVERY retelling of this story were dealt with in this book and I was like YES. I was so happy someone wanted the same things for the story and made it happen.
In an evocative and fast-paced adventure on the high seas and on a faraway island, an orphan boy named Peter and his mysterious new friend, Molly, overcome bands of pirates and thieves in their quest to keep a fantastical secret safe and save the world from evil. Best-selling authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have turned back the clock to reveal the wonderful story that precedes J. M. Barrie’s beloved Peter Pan. Peter and the Starcatchers is brimming with richly developed characters, from the scary but somehow familiar Black Stache and ferocious Mister Grin to the sweet but sophisticated Molly and fearless Peter. Page after page of riveting adventures take readers of all ages on a voyage from a filthy, crime-ridden port in old England across the turbulent sea. Aboard the Neverland is a trunk that hold the “greatest treasure on earth” —but is it gold, jewels, or something far more mysterious and dangerous?
Roiling waves and raging storms; skullduggery and pirate treachery provide the backdrop for battles at sea. Bone-crushing breakers eventually land our characters on Mollusk Island—where the action really heats up.
When the world doesn't want
you to be who you are,
you must become more yourself
than you knew you could be.
London. 1789. More than anything in the world, Wendy Darling wants to be the captain of a ship, but women aren't allowed in the Royal Navy. When she learns the Home Office is accepting a handful of women into its ranks, she jumps at the chance, joining the fight against the most formidable threat England has ever faced. Magic.
But the secret service isn't exactly what she hoped. Accompanied by a reimagined cast of the original Peter Pan, Wendy soon discovers that her dreams are as far away as ever, that choosing sides isn't as simple as she thought, and that the only man who isn't blinded by her gender might be the worst friend anyone could ask for.
Anyone, that is, except Wendy Darling.
I've always had a hard time finding enjoyable retellings of Peter Pan. For the longest time Peter and the Starcatchers has held the spot of not only my favorite retelling of this tale but also the only retelling I've really enjoyed. While I still love that story, I was excited to find two new favorites this year.
The Wendy is vastly different from Peter and the Starcatchers. One of the things I really enjoyed was that this is a new adult book. We get characters who are older and more mature.
Wendy is a working adult who is fighting to gain acceptance in a time and place where women are expected to stay in their lane. She gets a rare opportunity to do what she's been wanting when a few positions for women are opened in the Royal Navy.
This however is not as it seems and Wendy not only has to fight for acceptance but quickly learns that what she thought she'd be doing is not what they actually want her for.
She learns there is more going on and despite everything starts to question the narrative being sold to her.
James Hook never meant to become a pirate, and never dreamed that he would turn against best friend, Peter Pan. Every adventure and eternal youth awaited them… until a pixie exposes a shocking revelation. Tinkerbell’s information forces James into acknowledging that, far from being the benevolent hero he painted himself to be, Peter Pan was kidnapping innocent children.
After accepting the traumatic loss of his hand and of the family he can barely remember, James deserts Pan. In the fight to rescue the Lost Boys, Hook will risk everything, even if that means becoming the most notorious villain in Neverland… or losing the fiery pixie who is stealing his heart.
Can the original Lost Boy vanquish Neverland’s greatest threat?
Hands down this is my favorite retelling of Peter Pan. I don't always love Mecham's books but when I don't it's always a case of me not the book. She has a great style that incorporates so many real life aspects.
Becoming Hook is more of a retelling based off the Disney version than the original which I usually do not like, but this was an exception.
Hook and Tink made for great characters. Peter was a properly vile villain. I thought the twist of Hook being the first lost boy who simply came to his senses and now wants to protect others was great.
I especially like how Mecham took all of the quirky things we know about Hook(Disney) and made them signs of his struggle with balancing self-care with protecting people. From the eye twitch and shaking(instead of being out of fear of the crocodile) being sings of lack of sleep to his unkempt hair being letting his personal hygiene go down hill from being under so much stress.
Mecham's ability and willingness to include real life struggles in her work for people to relate to is a large part of what makes her work shine above the rest.
Overall a fun story that while you'll never forget it's a retelling(and if we're reading them do we really want to forget?) it's really a whole new adventure.
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This is also a story that I feel like gets a lot of attention in the retelling world. Despite it being one of my least favorite fairy tales, I do find that there are a lot of great retellings of it. Again I really struggled to narrow this down. I managed to pick just three and they're all new on this list!
They say a dream is a wish your heart makes, but what happens when you’re trapped in nightmares?
Aika is playing a dangerous game.
Torn between the loyalties she thought she had and revelations she wishes she didn’t, she will burn the city down to get the answers she needs.
To get the vengeance she craves.
But when the boy from her past starts asking questions that could get them both killed, she is forced to choose between the people she needs to die and those she wants to save.
Even if it costs her the only thing true in a lifetime of lies.
Even if it costs her him.
You probably know me as the younger ugly stepsister. The foolish stepsister. The girl who was so jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty that I forced her to dress in rags and do all the chores while my mother and sister and I did nothing, sitting in our rooms all day while Cinderella slaved away to serve us. But that is not at all what happened.
No one ever remembers that it wasn't just Cinderella's father who died. Mine did too. No one asks why I am considered ugly or remembers that I fell in love with Prince Curtis years before that fateful night at the ball. No one wonders what my family was doing while Cinderella was cleaning. But I am here to tell you. I am the ugly stepsister, and this is my story.
One of the aspects that makes this story unique from the other Cinderella stories on this list(or even a majority not on the list) is that it's a twisted tale where the heroine is the stepsister while Cinderella is the girl you'd like to slap.
But really the stand out for this is that Mecham pulls no punches when inserting real life topics into her work. I don't want to give too much away but the grief
I, Elya Pavlovna, am a horribly wicked and unfortunate girl.
After her governess is fired for teaching her to read, Elya writes in a secret journal to continue her lessons on her own. Though, as an unwanted scullery maid, she doubts she will ever have much to say.
But when a charming stranger answers her private messages, Elya's world turns upside down. He calls her sweet. He calls her strong. He challenges her to come to a palace celebration and leave her abusive past behind.
Each small push reveals more risks and hidden heartache. Will the magic of their words be enough to rewrite their story together, or will it all fade away at midnight?
While a lot of authors fail on providing a Cinderella that doesn't bug the heck out of me for being such a pushover, Stevens manages to make that work.
This is probably the only Cinderella retelling(at least that I recollect) where the Cinderella character IS a huge doormat but it actually works.
Elya is an abuse victim through and through. And she acts like what. I actually understood WHY she put up with everything because Stevens did an excellent job of showing how traumatized Elya was. We see the abuse, we see the impact it has, and we go through the quicksand of Elya's thoughts as each thing that happens to her sends into a spiral. It's all my fault. I deserve this.
You can tell she believes it. She believes she's the problem. She doesn't see herself as a victim of unjustified abuse.
This is a quick read and I do believe the two books should've just been put together. I see no reason for the split especially considering the second one takes up the exact same scene it left off.
But overall I really liked how well-written Elya was and I look forward to see her discovering who she is outside of the abuse.
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But not everything in the Northhelmian court is as it appears. With her brother distracted by the wedding, only Ferdinand, the ugliest man at court, will listen to Cordelia's concerns. An observant princess and a strangely amphibious soldier may be the only thing standing between all Four Kingdoms and disaster.
Cordelia will have to overcome prejudice, deceit and danger if she wants to save the day and find romance
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Aleksia, Queen of the Northern Lights, is mysterious, beautiful and widely known to have a heart of ice. No one would seek her wisdom except as a last resort. But when she's falsely accused of unleashing evil on nearby villages, she realizes there's an impostor out there far more heartless than she could ever be.
And when a young warrior following the Tradition disappears, leaving his sweetheart and mother to fear the worst, Aleksia's powers are needed as never before.
Now, on a journey through a realm of perpetual winter, it will take all her skills, a mother's faith and a little magic to face down an enemy more formidable than any she has ever known.…
Lackey's novel has yet to be beat. This was one of the first novels I recall reading where the story was twisted so that the villain was the hero. While that is not as uncommon now it was unique at the time.
Not only did I enjoy the twist but I love Aleksia's personality. She's self-assured, intelligent, no nonsense, and slightly cynical/sarcastic. So even after many years, this is still my solid favorite for this category.
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Brianna bears a deadly secret: she’s not the princess she is pretending to be. If the prince finds out, her life will be forfeit and her country plunged into war.
But there is more to the icy prince than meets the eye, and Brianna slowly unravels the secrets of his dark past while surviving in a strange culture.
However her goodness and wit will only get her so far. Terrifying beasts stalk the border and a murderer is at work in the town. They know the truth of Brianna’s identity and will stop at nothing to destroy all she has fought for.
For years I feel like Shannon Hale's Goose Girl has held the spot not only as my favorite retelling of The Goose Girl but probably most people's. It's not a story I see retold often and Hale did a great job with her book. While I still believe Goose Girl deserves a mention, last year I did finally find a retelling that topped that for me. Not only is Feathers of Snow a newer book that you may not have read yet, but it is also expanded into a series of 3.5 books that go past the ending of the original tale(like Hale did with her series).
I absolutely loved the characters, the rich world building, and the slow burn romance. I equally enjoyed the rest of the series as well and I love when I can recommend not just one but all or most of the series.
Runner up: Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
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Unlike everyone around her, Princess Azalea has never been especially troubled by the curse placed on her at her christening. But, as her sixteenth birthday approaches, even Ben--usually her only sanctuary from her well-meaning protectors--starts to worry. Not to mention he begins acting strangely about the betrothal that's bound them since childhood. Being forced to marry her best friend has always seemed like a far bigger problem than a mere curse--until the unthinkable happens.
Prince Bentleigh has been in a quandary for some time. How do you go about winning a girl who's already yours, whether she wants to be or not? Any hope of finding an answer withers the moment Azalea pricks her finger and is ripped from him. The magic powering her enchanted sleep is so strong, the whole kingdom succumbs during the hours of darkness.
And nothing else matters but finding a way to wake her up. Except Azalea isn't asleep. At least, not once the sun sets. And with the rest of the kingdom in an unnatural slumber, there's no one but her to fight the deadly magic creeping into the heart of her kingdom. As the curse becomes more aggressive, Azalea and Bentleigh grow increasingly desperate--enough to risk war with the dragons, their own lives . . . even their hearts.
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Newly-minted healer mage, Alba Mattas, has only ever had one goal—to be swept off her feet by a rich, handsome man. The richer and handsomer, the better. Alba is gorgeous, and she knows how to flirt to get her way. Finding true love should be easy, right?
But when her suitor’s wealthy, well-connected mother discovers her son’s interest in Alba, everything changes.
Alba is banished from the city and sent into the Badlands on a mission. Lost in the mountains, Alba is close to death when help appears in the most unlikely form. Will this unexpected refuge keep her safe or put her in greater danger than ever?
Her search for love has failed. Beauty has ruined her life. And now her troubled twin sister, Briar Rose, is in serious peril.
For the first time, Alba has bigger concerns than her own survival.
Hunted was my favorite of the series by far. This was the first book(in series) where I really felt like the romance had a proper amount of development to it. Alba and the love interest ACTUALLY spend time together. There's conversations, time spent together, etc. So it was nice to finally have a romance where I felt like the characters fell in love because they had time to get to know each other and liked what they saw in the other person.
I normally don't like characters like Alba(Snow White-esque characters) so it was refreshing to enjoy one. Alba starts out silly and flighty but quickly gets a reality check and there's a nice progression of character growth. I also liked that the "dwarves" had sufficient page time where they didn't all get muddled together for lack of development. There was definitely differences between each of the 7 and they were easy to keep separated in my mind.
Again there's some great strides made in terms of the arcing series plot. The one weird thing was the lack of completion at the end. The last 4 books had pretty solid endings whereas this one stops before certain points are resolved. I understand though that finishing up Alba's story would've ruined things for Bri's story (#6) and it stopped at a weird point to uphold the stability of the next book.
