Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (Rumpelstiltskin retelling) – Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father is not a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has left his family on the edge of poverty–until Miryem intercedes. Hardening her heart, she sets out to retrieve what is owed, and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. But when an ill-advised boast brings her to the attention of the cold creatures who haunt the wood, nothing will be the same again. For words have power, and the fate of a kingdom will be forever altered by the challenge she is issued.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigit Kemmerer (series, Beauty and the Beast retelling) – Seventeen-year-old Harper lives in modern day Washington, DC, until one day she suddenly finds herself transported to the fairytale land of Emberfall. Eighteen for the 327th time, Prince Rhen despairs of breaking the curse that turns him into a mindless beast at the end of each season. The spell can only be broken when Rhen and a woman mutually fall in love. Harper is Rhen’s last hope before he becomes the deadly monster permanently. Unfortunately Rhen has given up hope of ever breaking the curse and Harper isn’t one to let others dictate her choices.
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (Cinderella retelling) – Two hundred years after Cinderella found her prince, the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. Sophia tries to flee the ball, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. Together with Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her stepsisters, Sophia vows to bring down the king once and for all.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan (Chinese folklore) – A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm and sets her on a dangerous path — where choices come with deadly consequences, and she risks losing more than her heart.
Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen (Sleeping Beauty retelling) – Every night between midnight and 6am, Doctor Isla Cooper falls into a death-like sleep from which she cannot be awakened. After a year, this curse will become permanent. Isla goes on a voyage to find the witch who cursed her and on the way meets shapeshifters, a despicable government official, and plenty of romance.
The Girl in Red by Christina Henry (Little Red Riding Hood retelling) – A woman in red is fleeing a world decimated by the Crisis and escapes into the woods, but she is determined to protect herself against the evils there, even if it means she has to become a killer.
Lost Boi by Sassafras Lowrey (Peter Pan retelling) – In a queer punk retelling of the J.M. Barrie story, Peter Pan convinces Mommy Wendi and tomboy John Michael to join him and the lost bois in Neverland, a squatters’ warehouse, where they search for belonging and meaning.
Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi (12 Dancing Princesses) – Imelda and Ambrose have forgotten why they got together in the first place. After a whirlwind courtship and a fairy-tale wedding, they embark on life together as royalty of Loves Keep. But when Imelda is in trouble, Ambrose sacrifices their love to save her life, little knowing that the loss of their love will jeopardize the entire kingdom. Now the witch who stole their love is giving them chance at getting what they truly desire All they have to do is steal a potion from an evil queen. How hard can it be?
Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling: & Other Feminist Fairy Tales: A Parody by Lauren Lane (various fairytale retellings) – You know what? It’s super creepy to kiss a woman who is unconscious. And you know what else? The way out of poverty isn’t by marrying a rich dude–or by wearing fragile footwear, for that matter. And while we’re at it, why is the only woman who lives with seven men expected to do the cooking, cleaning, and laundry? Fairy tales need a reboot, and comedy queens Laura Lane and Ellen Haun are the women to do it. In Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling, they offer a rollicking parody of classic (read: patriarchal) tales that turns sweet, submissive princesses into women who are perfectly capable of being the heroes of their own stories. Mulan climbs the ranks in the army but wages a different war when she finds out she’s getting paid less than her fellow male captains, Wendy learns never to trust a manboy stalking her window, Sleeping Beauty’s prince gets a lesson in consent, and more. Busting with laugh-out-loud, razor-sharp twists to these outdated tales, Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling is fun, magical, necessary, and totally woke.
Twisted Tale series by Liz Brazwell, Jen Calonita, & Elizabeth Lim (various fairytale retellings) – Discover your favorite worlds and stories, with game-changing twists that will have you feverishly turning pages to follow your heroes and heroines into all-new adventures. Each book of this series is based around alternate “what-if” spins on familiar Disney films.
Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, (Baba Yaga/Koschei, Russian folklore) – Koschei the Deathless is a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless Russian stories that have been passed down through the generations. In this modern day retelling of Russian folklore young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. Bringing this Russian myth back to life in a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death.
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexican folklore) While cleaning her grandfather’s house, Casiopea Tun opens a wooden box and frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death. If Casiopea helps him regain his throne from his treacherous brother he will make all her dreams come true. Her adventure takes Casiopea across Mexico and into the Mayan underworld. Great choice for those who love mythology, history, and the 1920s.
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi (Indian mythology) – Aru’s family is the caretaker of the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture. One unfortunate day, however, Aru lights up a lamp that was cursed thereby launching a chain of events, by waking up a sleeping demon. Now she must go on a quest to find the reincarnations of the Pandavas and traverse the land of the dead.
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Persephone and Hades retelling) – Sent away to a home for children who have tumbled into fantastical other worlds and are looking for ways to return, Nancy triggers dark changes among her fellow schoolmates and resolves to expose the truth when a child dies under suspicious magical circumstances.
An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma (Odyssey retelling) – In a contemporary twist on Homer’s “The Odyssey,” a guardian spirit recounts the tragic story of a Nigerian poultry farmer who sacrifices everything for the wealthy woman he loves. Written in the mythic style of the Igbo literary tradition, Chigozie Obioma weaves a heart-wrenching epic about destiny and determination.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Iliad retelling) – A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, this literary feat brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner that will delight fans of Greek mythology in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.
Lavinia by Ursula K Le Guin (retelling of Virgil’s Aeneid) – Growing up in ancient Italy, Lavinia is on the verge of a betrothal to Turnus, the handsome king of nearby Rulli, when a fleet of Trojan ships, under the command of Aeneas, sails up the Tiber, and Lavinia sets out to control her own destiny and find the love of her life, in a historical novel that puts a female twist on Virgil’s classic, The Aeneid.
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes (Trojan War retelling) – Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen. From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.
The Mythic Dream edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe (various myth retellings) – Madeleine L’Engle once said, “When we lose our myths we lose our place in the universe.” The Mythic Dream gathers together eighteen stories that reclaim the myths that shaped our collective past, and use them to explore our present and future. From Hades and Persephone to Kali, from Loki to Inanna, this anthology explores retellings of myths across cultures and civilizations.
The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White (King Arthur retelling) – Sent by a banished Merlin to protect King Arthur, a sixteen-year-old impersonating the deceased Guinevere struggles to fit in at Camelot where the magic she practices is banished.