Everything has already been done. But has it been done well? And can it be done differently?
I think there’s a certain appeal to fairy tale retellings or reimaginings in that beyond the classic elements crossing over from the fairy tale–there’s also the fact that you “know” the story and you’re curious how they’ll do it differently.
This Weakness for You isn’t technically a retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood story, but it has elements of it and the story is mentioned several times during the novel.
I LOVE fairy tale retellings/reimaginings. I binge read on them. The most common, in my experience, are the Beauty and the Beast ones. I think that’s a trope often used in romances. (If you want to see more Beauty and the Beast or like flawed heroes/heroines go see my Perfectly Flawed List. I have others labeled as FTR–fairy tale retelling.) Though Cinderella comes in a close-second in that genre.
Do you want to know some good ones?
Beauty and the Beast
~At the Edge of a Dark Forest by Connie Almony (Contemporary Christian)
~The Man Behind the Scars by Caitlyn Crews (Contemporary)
~Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare (Historical)
~Honor Among Orcs by Amalia Dillin (Fantasy)
~The Curse Girl by Kate Avery Ellison (YA)
~To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt (Historical)
~When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James (Historical)
~With this Kiss by Victoria Lynne (Historical)
~The Bride and the Beast by Teresa Mederios (Historical)
~Beautiful Beast by Dani Sinclair (Suspense)
Cinderella
~Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (YA)
~Secret Cinderella by Dani Sinclair (Suspense)
Rapunzel
~Once Upon Tower by Eloisa James (Historical)
Princess and the Frog
~Voodoo on the Bayou by Elle James (Suspense)
Little Red Riding Hood
~Red by Kait Nolan (YA)
Sleeping Beauty
~Sleeping Beauty Suspect by Dani Sinclair (Suspense)
There are a ton of others out there but these are my faves. Tell me some of yours in the comments and I’ll add them to my TBR and maybe to the book list up here.
Have you read Marissa Meyer’s series? The first book is Cinder, the Second is Scarlet, and the third is Cress. (Book comes out this year) Great retellings in a dystopian future,
My mom reminded me of those too. I bought all those in ebook for my daughter and niece and they LOVE them. I keep meaning to read them, but I haven’t gotten to them yet. *adds to TBR list* B is highly anticipating the fourth book. She can’t wait.
Let’s see…I’ve read Beastly (Beauty and the Beast), A Kiss in Time (Sleeping Beauty)–both are by Alex Flinn and were decent. I’ve also read Ella Enchanted. I started reading Cinders, but I couldn’t get into it. Oh, and I wrote a short story once, a steampunk-ish Little Red Riding Hood (hehehe.) Are you going to see the movie adaptation of Into the Woods?
I’m really excited about that actually. I can’t wait for it to come out. 🙂
Aw, thanks for sharing my book!
No problem! You’re the bomb, Kait!
My favorite fairy tale retelling is Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley. It’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I’d love to see an even longer list here!
I’m working on it, but I seem to be stuck in my flawed hero/heroine binge-reading again. Luckily, some of those are Beauty and the Beast…but still…
Don’t know if this qualifies but Wicked- retelling of Wizard of Oz witch
I guess Wizard of OZ might qualify as a more modern American fairy tale–it has many of the elements. Though I think, generally, anything that didn’t exist in folklore in some form prior to the 1800s isn’t considered a fairy tale. Like I don’t know that most people consider Peter Pan a fairy tale. But I don’t know what the actual parameters are. Have you read Wicked or the Wizard of OZ?