Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Retellings I Absolutely Love
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is actually Books From My Favorite Genre (You pick the genre, and give us your ten faves.). I read so many genres that I just couldn’t pick a favorite one, so I decided to tweak the topic a bit and share some of my favorite retellings instead since I’m just a sucker for a good retelling. I also love all kinds of retellings, whether they’re fairytale retellings, retellings of classic novels, villain origin stories, or even historical retellings. I’m even taking part in a Retellings Reading Challenge this year because I want to read even more of them than I already do.
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10 Retellings I Absolutely Love
1, THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer
(a fairytale retelling that features Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Rapunzel)
(An Alice in Wonderland retelling, specifically a villain origin story for the Queen of Hearts)
3, GEEKERELLA by Ashley Poston
(A super cute, modern Cinderella retelling that also celebrates fandoms)
4, SPEAK EASY, SPEAK LOVE by McKelle George
(A retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, set during the Prohibition Era)
5, TO KILL A KINGDOM by Alexandra Christo
(A Little Mermaid retelling)
6. SKY WITHOUT STARS by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell
(A sci-fi retelling of Les Miserables)
7. A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas
(A Beauty and the Beast fantasy retelling)
(A modern Pride and Prejudice retelling set in Brooklyn)
9. MY LADY JANE by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows
(A surprisingly humorous retelling set in Tudor England and featuring Lady Jane Grey, King Edward VI, and Lord Guildford Dudley)
10. PRIDE, PREJUDICE, AND OTHER FLAVORS by Sonali Dev
(A modern and gender-bent retelling of Pride and Prejudice, featuring an Indian American protagonist, and set in San Francisco)
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What are some of your favorite retellings? Do we share any favorites?
I like retelling but so need to read more. I loved the Lunar Chronicles though and enjoyed Geekerella.
Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog recently posted…Monthly Rewind ~ May 2019 & BookExpo recap
There are so many good ones out there. It was hard to just pick 10.
Great list! I love The Lunar Chronicles and I really want to give To Kill a Kingdom a try.
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | My favourite fantasy novels
To Kill a Kingdom really exceeded my expectation for it, so I hope you love it too.
So glad you liked Pride. I really need to read it myself sometime.
My TTT.
Lydia recently posted…Interview with Berthold Gambrel
If you do, I hope you enjoy it. I did the audio version and thought it was fantastic.
My Lady Jane was so, so good! To Kill a Kingdom is on my retellings challenge TBR for this year, and I also want to read Sky Without Stars.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of To Kill a Kingdom. I need to get busy reading more retellings for the challenge. I’ve only done 4 so far this year.
I love The Lunar Chronicles. I still want to read Speak Easy, Speak Love.
-Lauren
The Lunar Chronicles is definitely my favorite retelling. I don’t think anyone can top that one.
I really need to go back and read Geekerella! I loved The Princess and the Fangirl😁
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…FIVE MIDNIGHTS by Ann Dávila Cardinal – Review
I can’t wait to read The Princess and the Fangirl!
Retellings tend to be a bit hit or miss for me! I loved To Kill A Kingdom & Heartless but the Lunar Chronicles (at least the two I’ve read) and ACOTAR were only so-so for me.
Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #214
I’ve had mostly good luck with retellings so hopefully my luck will continue.
A Court of Thorns and Roses is definitely a favorite. I very rarely read fantasy but I remember seeing that cover and reading the synopsis and thinking, “I have to read this.” So glad I did! And To Kill a Kingdom is one that I’ve been meaning to read for quite a while.
Tanya @ Girl Plus Books recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books From My Favorite Genre (Contemporary Romance)
The ACOTAR cover was a huge draw for me too. So gorgeous!
I’m reading ACOTAR at the moment, and I hadn’t realised it was a retelling! I’ve avoided reviews as I wanted to make up my own mind. Only on chapter 5 but really enjoying it.
Trish @ Between My Lines recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday : Books From My Favourite Genres
Oh yay, I hope you love it. The second book in the series is actually my favorite but they’re all really good.
I love retellings! I read Geekerella, Sky Without Stars, and A Court of Thorns and Roses. I am in the middle of To Kill A Kingdom and am very much enjoying it. I want to read the ones I have not yet.
Steph@paigesofbooks recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Historical
I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying To Kill a Kingdom. That was one that really lived up to the hype for me.
I`ve only read My Lady Jane, but most of these are on my TBR. If you`re looking for a good Beauty and The Beast retelling, I strongly recommend A Curse So Dark And Lonely. It`s so good!
Carmen recently posted…TTT: My Favourite Fantasy Books
Thanks for the rec. I have that one in my stack of books to read and hope to get to it this summer.
These all sound great! Thanks for sharing.
Hena Tayeb recently posted…Two Days in Vienna
You’re welcome. 🙂
Geekerella is a favorite of mine. So fun, so cute, so perfect for me. And, YESSSS! Speak Easy was excellent. It needs more hype.
Sam@wlabb recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Genre – YA Contemporary
I agree about Speak Easy. I still can’t get over how that one just flew under the radar and got minimal attention.
I’ve read so few retellings that I wouldn’t know where to start, but a few of these sound intriguing! Sky Without Stars and Pride both sound interesting!
Greg recently posted…Thor by Walter Simonson Vol. 3
Pride was really good. I loved the Brooklyn setting.
Yes to Sky Without Stars! I still need to read The Lunar Chronicles. I bought them, but haven’t found time to read them yet.
Brooke Lorren recently posted…Fantasy Books (Top Ten Tuesday)
The Lunar Chronicles was a really fun read for me. I hope you love them too!
I love this list! Geekerella was so fun and cute! I can’t wait to read the next one. 🙂
Kay @ It’s a Book Life recently posted…WWW Wednesday
I’m excited for her next book too. I need to hurry up and make the time to read it.
I love a good retelling. Heartless is easily one of my absolute favorites, I’m happy to see it here! 🙂 I really need to check out To Kill a Kingdom–I bought the book and everything, but still haven’t picked it up for some reason, haha. Great list!
I hope you enjoy To Kill a Kingdom when you get to it.
Retellings are great! I didn’t even know some of these were retellings, and I love how diverse some of them sound!
I really love them too. I always think it’s cool to see an author put their own unique spin on something that’s so familiar.
Sky Without Stars is one I’m really keen to read too!
It’s so good!
I pre-ordered Sky Without Stars, but I haven’t managed to read it yet. I’m a sucker for a good retelling, so thanks for these recs!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…Fun with SPAM! #7
I hope you enjoy Sky Without Stars. It made me want to pull out my old copy of Les Miserables and start re-reading it.
This is such a great list, Suzanne, especially because I’ve read none of them and now I want to read them all! Well-done!
Thanks Jenni!
I loved Heartless, I have To Kill A Kingdom on my shelf and I really want to pick up Geekerella!
Sarah @ SWB recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Young Adult Books I Adore
Geekerella is so good. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked it up, but it was just perfect.
I heard great things about Pride (and that cover my gosh).
Annemieke recently posted…Book Haul #43 – Just May for a Change
That cover is so gorgeous. It’s even pretty on the inside of the front and back cover.
Pride and Geekerella are awesome <3 I still need to read P&P and other flavors but it is on my list!
Brittany recently posted…The Wife
I hope you enjoy P&P and Other Flavors when you read it. 🙂