I’m a fairly wide reader when it comes to what I enjoy. I love fantasy and sci-fi, but also enjoy a good suspense, dip into contemporaries, devour dystopians, and peruse post-apocalyptic novels. One of my particular favourites though, is fairytale retellings. There’s something so fascinating about reading these books which take such familiar stories and then turn them on their heads, adding their own unique twists. I’ve certainly read more than a few, and today I thought I would share five fairytale retellings which I recommend checking out if you, like me, love a familiar story with a bit of a twist.
The Goose Girl
Shannon Hale
Anidora-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree spent the first years of her life listening to her aunt’s incredible stories, and learning the language of the birds. Little knowing how valuable her aunt’s strange knowledge would prove to be when she grew older. From the Grimm’s fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become a queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must understand her own incredible talents before she can overcome those who wish her harm.
‘‘The Goose Girl’ is a retelling of the fairytale by the same name, but with a heaping helping more adventure and a fun magic system. It’s the first in a series of four books, though as far as I’m aware, it’s the only one based on a retelling. I highly recommend the whole series though. Each book focuses on a different main female character, but they’re all compelling, interesting, and loveable in their own way.
Princess of the Midnight Ball
Jessica Day George
Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above.
This is a retelling of ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses’. I love the strong sisterly bonds between the twelve girls, though I am a little less convinced by the naming convention of every princess having a flower name. It’s the first in a trilogy of fairytale retellings, which includes ‘Princess of Glass’, a retelling of ‘Cinderella’, and ‘Princess of the Silver Woods’, which is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood’. They’re a good read for anyone looking for a slightly retelling with a slightly more fairytale feel to it.
Cinder
Marissa Meyer
A forbidden romance.
A deadly plague.
Earth’s fate hinges on one girl . . .
CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She’s reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen – and a dangerous temptation.
Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth’s future.
This is not the fairytale you remember. But it’s one you won’t forget.
This is an awesome sci-fi retelling of ‘Cinderella’, with cyborgs and spaceships and robots, and a princess who is anything but dainty or in distress. It’s the first in a series of four books, all based on different fairytales, from ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ to ‘Rapunzel’, and ‘Snow White’. They’re all fantastic books, and setting them in a sci-fi universe really shakes up the traditional formula. I highly recommend the whole series, if you haven’t checked them out yet.
The Shadow Queen
C. G. Redwine
Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.
In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.
But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.
This is a creative take on ‘Snow White’, adding one of my favourite things of all time, dragons. Every story is made that much better with dragons. If someone would like to write a ‘Pride and Prejudice’ retelling with dragons, I would love to read one of those. This book also adds dark magic, big sacrifices, and tough decisions to make this an epic tale. I haven’t read a lot of ‘Snow White’ retellings so far, so I very much enjoyed seeing this take.
East
Edith Pattou
Rose has always been different.
Since the day she was born, it was clear she had a special fate. Her superstitious mother keeps the unusual circumstances of Rose’s birth a secret, hoping to prevent her adventurous daughter from leaving home… but she can’t suppress Rose’s true nature forever.
So when an enormous white bear shows up one cold autumn evening and asks teenage Rose to come away with it–in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family–she readily agrees.
Rose travels on the bear’s broad back to a distant and empty castle, where she is nightly joined by a mysterious stranger. In discovering his identity, she loses her heart– and finds her purpose–and realizes her journey has only just begun.
To be honest, I hadn’t even heard of the Norwegian fairytale ‘East of the Sun, West of the Moon’ until I picked this book up, and then I fell in love with it at once. It’s all about trust, bravery, and sacrifice, as well as polar bears and long journeys. If you’ve never experienced this particular fairytale before, then I highly recommend reading this book. It reminds me a little of the classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’, but in the frozen north, and with a great deal more adventuring for love.
These are five retellings (plus a few series as an added bonus) which I highly recommend checking out if you love fairytales, and seeing a new twist on stories you already love. But I’d love to hear from you. What fairytale retellings do you recommend I check out? Did any of your favourites make it onto my list? Let’s chat, down in the comments.
We like Regina Doman’s fairytale novels. 🙂