For generations, fairy tales and folktales have been a staple of the childhood experience. From picking up the first fable to eventually reading chapter books, every story is infused with the allure of talking animals, magical powers, and beautiful lessons during our first few years as readers.
But what happens to these tales that have been engraved so deeply within our hearts?
For many writers around the world, these generational stories become the backbone of the new ideas that bloom within their minds. These same tales are given new twists and meanings, and, as a reader, it is fascinating to see what is retained and what an author chooses to completely transform.
With that said, let me introduce you to my all-time favorite retellings inspired by the very same fairy tales and folklore that made my childhood!
“‘These things do not happen in dreams, dear girl,’ he said, vanishing up to his neck. ‘They happen only in nightmares.’”
Ever wondered how the Queen of Hearts came to be the most volatile of villains? Set in the Alice in Wonderland universe, this romantic tragedy certainly doesn’t check the box for a “happily ever after,” but it does follow the demise of its beloved main character, Catherine Pinkerton. Familial betrayals and her gut-wrenching love for Jest, the swoon-worthy court joker, lead her to question whether her lifelong dream to open a bakery will ever come true. With the ever-growing pressure from her parents and the affections of the sweet-toothed King of Hearts, Cath must decide if her forbidden love is worthy of pursuit or if she must succumb to the madness that awaits her as future queen.
Content Warning: Series contains graphic depictions of violence and sexuality.
“‘We all bear scars, Dorian. Mine just happens to be more visible than most.’”
What if Cinderella wasn’t a damsel in distress but instead a deadly assassin that has come to avenge the Crown Prince of Adarlan? Celaena Sardothien’s story may have begun as a slave in the salt mines of Endovier, but as readers are thrust deeper into the magic and darkness of this world created by Maas, they learn of the secrets and scars that Celaena has kept hidden until now. Between the chance to win the title of King’s Champion and the tyrannical threat posed by Adarlan’s ruler, the taste of freedom offered by the prince’s promise reminds Celaena of her past, the beauty in kindling new bonds, and, beyond that, a legacy—a royal bloodline—that awaits her return.
“‘Every night I will offer you the chance to guess my name. If you guess right, you have your freedom. If you guess wrong, you die.’”
With a demonic ruler and a heroine chained to him by the promise of marriage, Hodge introduces a world born from Beauty and the Beast and Roman mythology. Nyx battles her fate—one sealed by the bargain her father cut with the Gentle Lord upon her birth for the survival of her sister. Now, when she is called upon to fulfill her end of the bargain, she knows no escape and is met with the looming danger of dallying with her power-hungry enemy. But despite the dreadful time that she is to spend with the cruel monster, something deep within Nyx is drawn to her new groom. Is it his charm, or does something even darker lurk beneath?
“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.”
Marissa Meyer makes a second appearance on this retelling list! From Little Red Riding Hood to Snow White, every novel featured within this saga combines the magic and mystery of traditional fairy tales with Meyer’s talent for darker, futuristic twists that deviate from the original tale. But, apart from the central fairy tale driving the storyline, what do these books all have in common? Meyer’s imaginative and wicked worlds do not fall short in giving readers the touching romances and vengeful villains they all desire, creating a universe that connects all these traditional tales together. However, the evil Lunar Queen Levana will stop at nothing to have full reign over the planet Earth, and these four magical forces and more must unite in order to defeat their growing enemy.
“I’ve been told a good storyteller can trap an audience with a single sentence.”
Shahrzad only has one motive driving her to the caliph’s bed: the loss of her beloved friend Shiva. An eye for an eye, as the saying goes. But even she knows that death is imminent once she becomes wedded to Caliph Khalid—the notorious bride-killer. As she follows in Shiva’s footsteps to take back what she has lost, Shahrzad learns that the corruption slowly taking over her kingdom runs far deeper than she had imagined, threatening all that she treasures. For all fans of Aladdin, The Wrath & the Dawn draws in the wonders of storytelling and its connection to the cultures of the Middle East, mirroring much of the power and intrigue within the bounds of The Arabian Nights.
Content Warning: Series contains graphic depictions of violence and sexuality.
“‘Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.’”
In another Beauty and the Beast retelling, Feyre Archeron is forced to cross the borders to Prythian—the faerie land that has been sealed away for centuries since the war waged by the mortals—with a mysterious beast, one who claims that she has murdered a shapeshifting faerie belonging to his court. As the sole breadwinner of her impoverished family, Feyre leaves behind her father and two sisters in the Mortal Lands to become a subject of the Spring Court under the High Lord Tamlin. Through all her desperate attempts to return home and the risks of being a mortal in a place where magical beings know no mercy, Feyre is not only thrust into the dangers of dallying with the High Fae, but also the growing threat of a force that seeks power over all of Prythian—one that threatens to take away the man she now loves most.
“I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing.”
Woven from Arden’s love of Russian folklore, readers meet Vasilisa, a believer in the ancient tales of the wandering winter demon and forest spirits. However, after the unfortunate death of her mother, her father remarries a woman who is bent on making Vasya the picture-perfect, dutiful girl destined for either courtship or the convent. The household soon changes, and Vasya senses that these spirits have once again been awakened from their slumber. But, what happens when there is no one to stop them from completely ravaging Vasilisa’s forest haven?
All in all, I am a big fan of fairy tale and folklore retellings with darker twists than the original story, and all these literary picks fulfilled my thirst for these elements. To this day, I still wish that I could open the pages of these books and read them for the first time again!
Alysa Jacob, Pine Reads Review Writer & Social Media