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)

 

2, HEARTLESS by Marissa Meyer

(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)

 

8. PRIDE by Ibi Zoboi

(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?

48 replies
  1. Angela
    Angela says:

    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.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      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.

  2. Jo
    Jo says:

    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.

  3. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books says:

    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.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Oh yay, I hope you love it. The second book in the series is actually my favorite but they’re all really good.

  4. Steph@paigesofbooks
    Steph@paigesofbooks says:

    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.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      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.

  5. Carmen
    Carmen says:

    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!

  6. Sam@wlabb
    Sam@wlabb says:

    Geekerella is a favorite of mine. So fun, so cute, so perfect for me. And, YESSSS! Speak Easy was excellent. It needs more hype.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I agree about Speak Easy. I still can’t get over how that one just flew under the radar and got minimal attention.

  7. Greg
    Greg says:

    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!

  8. Jordan Rose
    Jordan Rose says:

    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!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      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.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      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.

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