top ten tuesday: fairy tale retellings

After missing the last two weeks of TTT, I am happy to be back up and running! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish, where each week there is a different theme of the bookish variety. This week's category is: "August 4: Ten Fairytale Retellings I've Read/Want To Read (or you could do fairytales I want to be retold or fairytales I love)." I personally adore all types of fairy tale retellings, so this is an exciting week for me!

I'm going to do five of my favorite retellings and five retellings that I would like to read.

TOP FIVE FAVORITE RETELLINGS

 1. The Lunar Chronicles – Marissa Meyer – (pictured here: book 1: Cinder)

If you haven't heard of the Lunar Chronicles, I have one question for you: where the heck have you been? This is one of the most popular series in YA right now, and understandably so. It consists currently of three books and a couple of novellas, each of which deal with a different fairy tale retelling, but also each of which connects to the other books in many ways. Its sci-fi fairy tales, set in an interesting, futuristic world and given a decisive twist into things you wouldn't expect. They are a ton of fun, and definitely some of my favorite fairy tale retellings.

2.  The Goose Girl – Shannon Hale

Based on the Grimm fairy tale of the same name, this has been one of my favorite books (and also retellings) since I was eight years old. I've read it many times, and I never seem to get tired of it. I love Shannon Hale, and this book was absolutely a staple of my young life, and even now. If you haven't read this, just please do it. It is full of magic and bravery, of girls learning to be themselves, of princes and hard work and friendship and loyalty. I honestly can't think of a retelling that I could ever love more than this one.

3. A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J Maas

Sarah J Maas is one of my favorite authors right now. It seems that everything she touches turns into amazing stories filled with kickass, beautiful characters. This particular novel is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with faerie lore thrown in there. It is sexy and beautifully written, and I really just wanted it to go on forever. It was one of my most anticipated books of the entire year, and it did not disappoint. I absolutely cannot wait for the second novel to come out next year.

4. Cruel Beauty – Rosamund Hodge


Beauty and the Beast was always my favorite fairy tale, from the time I was a little girl, and so it isn't surprising that there are two Beauty and the Beast retellings on this list. Rosamund Hodge created a really awesome world in this retelling, which combines the classic story with elements of Roman society and mythology. I liked that I never knew what was coming next with this one, and the ending was super unexpected but beautiful at the same time.

5. The Wrath and the Dawn – Renee Ahdieh

I'm not sure if 1001 Nights is technically a traditional fairy tale, but I'm counting it as one for the purposes of this list because I just recently read this book and I'm completely obsessed with it. Romance and mystery, dangerous girls and lovable boys, all with an absolutely gorgeous setting that I seriously can't get enough of. You're going to want to hop on this bandwagon, because this series is going to be amazing.




TOP FIVE WANT-TO-READ RETELLINGS

1. Winter (Lunar Chronicles #4) – Marissa Meyer

This is the final installment in the aforementioned Lunar Chronicles series, and it is probably my most anticipated book of the entire year. I love this series so much, I can't believe that it is coming to an end, but at the same time I just want to read the book so bad that I won't be sad about it ending until after I get Winter in my hands. As the cover suggests, this one is a Snow White inspired story, following the other three novels, which were Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel.

2. A Thousand Nights – E.K. Johnson


I've never been that interested in the 1001 Nights tale, but maybe that's because I hadn't seen many retellings of it before this year. However, with the earlier release of The Wrath and the Dawn, which I loved, and then this book coming out later this year, I think it has become a story that I can appreciate through its retellings. This cover is completely gorgeous, right??

3. A Whole New World – Liz Braswell

This is the first book in a new series where Disney stories and fairy tales are reimagined in "unexpected ways." Again, I don't really know if Aladdin counts as a fairy tale, but since this is a retelling and Disney counts it as one, so will I. I have seen mixed things in advance of the release of this one, but I love Disney so much, I will definitely at least try this one when it comes out.

4. Mechanica – Betsy Cornwell 


This is a Cinderella retelling that sounds really similar to Cinder by Marissa Meyer, but I loved that book so much, I'm not complaining about the similarities. I like it when people reimagine fairy tales in a different world than their original one, it is something that fascinates me. So I do really want to get my hands on this one and give it a try soon!

5.  Crimson Bound – Rosamund Hodge


I have had this book since the day it came out, but I still have not gotten around to reading it. It is on my summer tbr, so I hope I can get it done by the end of August! This is in the same world as Hodge's other novel, Cruel Beauty, but it is not a sequel. It is a Red Riding Hood retelling and if CB is any indication, this one is going to be really cool.





What are your picks this week?

xx
Sunny