With the world still dealing with COVID-19, and now the events happening in the United States after the horrific death. of George Floyd, … it feels weird to be posting about normal every day things and promoting my book and blog. I’ve seen authors express this online several times over the last few years and I never understood it and would be all “We still need to celebrate the good things! Art and creativity gives us hope! Don’t feel bad!” Yet, now I’m understanding it more.
I want to try and take my own advice though - because it’s true. When things are at their worst, we need art and creativity to give us hope and help us. There isn’t much I can do to help, but I can keep creating and use those talents. Even if it just puts a smile on someone’s face.
Or in the case of this blog post - give someone a recommendation for a book to put a smile on their face.
That being said, if you’re looking for something new to read I highly recommend doing research and educating yourself on racism. This is something I know I need to work on as well and I am not an expert. This is not my lane so I can’t give you a list of books I personally have read. But, I’ve found this link to be incredibly helpful: An Essential Reading Guide for Fighting Racism. Many retailers are selling out of these books, but I’ve seen some stores say they are working on restocking them as there is such a high demand right now. If that’s all you need and want right now, please check out that link and read those books and feel free to walk away from this blog post.
If you’re looking for something to help you escape and relax after fighting and helping and need a respite from the world - now that is my lane. Particularly, retellings. My book, The Night’s Chosen and the books following it are all retelilngs of fairy tales and it is a sub-genre I have loved for most of my life.
Here are 10 of my favorites!
Red Hood Chronicles by Kendari Meeks (Red Riding Hood)
Kendari Meeks is an indie author and her debut series, Red Hood Chronicles is an urban fantasy inspired by Red Riding Hood. The “red hoods” are werewolf hunters and their history has roots in the Red Riding Hood tale. She even wrote a spin off series diving deeper into that history.
The first book is Reluctant Hood and our main character, Geri, has run away to Chicago to get away from her wolf hunting heritage. Then she finds out her lab professor is a vampire and a wolf comes seeking her help pulling her back into her former life.
I label it as new adult as the characters are college age, there are scientist vampires, with a hint of romance.
Snow by Tracy Lynn (Snow White)
This is one of the very first books which introduced me to retellings as a book sub-genre. When I was in high school I devoured the Once Upon a Time series by several different authors. There are over a dozen of them sitting on my shelf and I don’t even own them all!
Naturally, as Snow White is a personal favorite fairy tale, Snow was my favorite of these books. It has a historical fantasy feel and deals with an experimental evil stepmother whose projects go wrong. I will admit- this one dabbles more on the strange and odd side of things which might make you go “huh… that was… interesting.” But that’s part of what I love about it!
Warm Bodies by Issac Marion (Romeo and Juliet)
I’m not sure if you would categorize Warm Bodies as a strict “retelling” but when you read it, you can see the Romeo and Juliet inspiration woven into this zombie apocalypse book. (The main characters are R and Julie and are enemies who fall in love as they are a zombie and a human respectively.)
If you’ve seen the movie you have a good idea of what the book is about, and it is a well done adaptation. Think of the movie being the PG-13 version aimed for teens, and the book as the rated R version for adults. I usually don’t go for zombie stories, but this one is both grotesque while also having some of the most beautiful writing and messages about love and life and being human.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White)
The Lunar Chronicles is a popular young adult science fiction series - and rightly so! Each of the four books (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter) follow a different fairy tale. Only this series takes place in space with cyborgs and what’s highly relevant now - a worldwide pandemic.
All of the characters draw you in, the love stories are adorable and hopeful, and it has some awesome Firefly vibes.
Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier (Beauty and the Beast)
This is such a lovely retelling of Beauty and the Beast where a young scribe takes refuge (not imprisoned!) in a cursed castle and it is through her love the curse can be broken. It’s a classic tale but when you read this book it feels brand new.
I’ve seen in different places this book labeled as young adult and adult. I’m not sure what the “official” categorization is, but it’s safe to say readers of both will enjoy it!
Hunted by Megan Spooner (Beauty and the Beast, Ivan, The Firebird, and The Wolf)
Another Beauty and the Beast retelling (it’s one of the most popular stories people like to re-write I’ve learned) but this one is Russian inspired, and also has tastes of other Russian tales which gives it such a wonderful new flavor. It sticks to the original tale, but varies from it enough where you can see the author’s creativity. I really enjoyed the blend of both!
It’s a little bit of a quieter book, but so worth the read!
Chronicles of the Third Realm War by EJ Wenstrom (Greek Mythology)
EJ Wenstrom just completed the final book in her Third Realm War series earlier this year and they were SO GOOD! While these books are straight retellings, they are heavily inspired by tales and characters in Greek mythology mixed with some Judeo/Christian imagery as well.
One of the things I loved and made this series unique was the ancient feel of the setting. Most fantasy books I always imagine being somewhere between medieval times to victorian. This felt much older in a new world where things were a bit rough. Then with all the angels and demons and gods - and of course our golum Adem! Muah! So good!
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (Rumplestilzkin)
When talking about Naomi Novik I usually see people discuss Uprooted which is very good. But… I liked the book which followed it, Spinning Silver, even more!
It’s another Russian inspired book but a retelling of Rumplestitzkin which you don’t see often. I loved the focus on the three different women in the book and how their lives got woven together. And they aren’t all sweet and lovely women you usually think of with fairy tales which was different. (One is a harsh money-lender!)
How the Dukes Stole Christmas by Tess Dare, Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan, Joanna Shupe (Various Christmas Movies)
This pick is slightly unusual - but I love it! This is a Christmas historical romance compilation of four novellas. All of them are reimaginings of classic Christmas movies. It came out a few years ago and it quickly became a December tradition for me! They are all so fun and heart-warming. The perfect holiday read for fans of romance that show you don’t have to read fantasy for a good retelling!
A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas (Beauty and the Beast/Tamlin/East of Moon West of Sun)
This is another popular fantasy series and yet another Beauty and the Best retelling. I almost didn’t include it since it is so popular - but this is a list of MY favorites and I would be lying if it wasn’t here! I’m a massive Sarah J Maas fan, and I’ve re-read this series a few times over.
The first book at first seems to be classic Beauty and the Beast, but then you see as the book goes on the elements of Tamlin and East of Moon and West of Sun and just… wow! It becomes a whole different book! If you love retellings and haven’t read this series yet, get on it!
So, there you have it - ten of my favorite retellings! Are you a fan of retellings too? Let me know your favorites in the comments!