Fairy Tale Retellings! discussion

Gretchen & the Bear by Carrie Ann Noble just came out. I’d say it’s kind of a re-imagining of The Three Little Bears and Cinderella. It’s not my favorite retelling, but it’s good! 🙂

Camille Peters recently released her new book Awaken. It's a retelling of Sleeping Beauty and I found it interesting because Reve's memories are slowly getting consumed by darkness and she's actively fighting to keep them.

This book explores the concept of Sleep Beauty being a loss of your identity, of losing your very self and I think that's a lot harder to do than to just put your character in slumber. The character growth and arch in this book's great! Love having characters that realistically can't do everything and aren't all powerful/strong 24/7. This way, characters are more real and relatable.

Reve is also has to come to terms with the fact that she seemed to not be the best of people in her past and I think the author handled Reve trying to come to terms with and face her past extremely well! After all, not everyone is saint since birth. Becoming a better person and owning up to your mistakes is extremely important and the Camille Peters does an amazing job of it.

The Mirror and the Curse was recently released by J.M. Stengl and is a retelling of Snow White. It's not my favorite in the series. (The others are my absolute favorites haha.) But it's a still a good book; the world building and character arch is great in this book. J.M. Stengl did a great job of capturing the struggle to try and make the best choices for yourself while you're at the same time trying to figure out who you are.

This is not a fairytale but a retelling of Jane Eyre.

I just saw that Mimi Matthews will have a new book out on 20th July.

It's a retelling of Jane Eyre but gender flipped instead.

John Eyre: A Tale of Darkness and Shadow by Mimi Matthews

It's a mash-up between two classics and Mimi Matthews herself has left a spoiler comment on Goodreads reviews section!!! :o

I didn't read the spoiler...yet...but part of it is revealing the other classic novel. Apparently, revealing the other classic novel is spoiling the end of the book.

I think this is for those that enjoy reading dark and gothic novels.

Fridey wrote: "This is not a fairytale but a retelling of Jane Eyre.

I just saw that Mimi Matthews will have a new book out on 20th July.

It's a retelling of Jane Eyre but gender flipped instead.

John Eyre: A..."
Ohhh John Eyre: A Tale of Darkness and Shadow sounds interesting! I'll definitely check out Mimi Matthews. Dark gothic novels? AND a retelling of Jane Eyre? Sign me up bro.

I love the font that's used on the cover though. The contrast between the swirl of the title and her name.

LOL, I wish I was braver. I so want to read it. I want to see who the narrator will be for the audiobook first. Then it's between the kindle version or audiobook.

I will probably have a peek at Mimi Matthews spoiler before deciding.

Fridey wrote: "LOL, I wish I was braver. I so want to read it. I want to see who the narrator will be for the audiobook first. Then it's between the kindle version or audiobook.

I will probably have a peek at Mi..."
I read the spoiler XD.

LOL did you!!!

Have you read the other classic that she mashed it with?

Fridey wrote: "LOL did you!!!

Have you read the other classic that she mashed it with?"
No I haven't actually. Then again, I've only ever read four classics haha.

Well then nothing is spoiled for you. :)

Haha! I peaked at the spoiler, I haven't read the whole thing yet. Just to see the other classic.

But I haven't read that one either and don't know how it ends. Good — Bad??? I have no idea. Hmmm.

I did NOT expect that one at all.

Fridey wrote: "I did NOT expect that one at all."
Right?! I was so surprised when I saw it. I read a bit of her explanation though and it does make sense why she chose that retelling. I'm just sad that she's turning Mr. Rochester into the bad guy lol.

Hmmm, I have to read the whole thing later.

I might just read Jane Eyre again, instead, if Rochester is the bad guy. And continue reading fairytales, hehe. :)

At least for now. :)

Fridey wrote: "Hmmm, I have to read the whole thing later.

I might just read Jane Eyre again, instead, if Rochester is the bad guy. And continue reading fairytales, hehe. :)

At least for now. :)"
Same! I'm just going to reread Jane Eyre (and skim the middle) haha.

LOL @ skim the middle.

Like every true fan XD

:) :) hehe

So you all probably already know but since I didn't see until now I'm sharing this piece of news...in case someone else missed it too.

Melanie Dickerson will have the second book of Dericott Castle out on the 1st of June.

Castle of Refuge
The Dericott Tales #2
by Melanie Dickerson

The audiobook too.
(Me grinning).

It's an ugly duckling retelling.

I was happy when reading the blurb to see that it's the injured brother from book one who is the Hero. Maybe he'll get his chance for happiness in this installment. :) :)

So 3 days more.

I don't care what I'm reading on 1st of June, I'll shove it aside for this one, hehe. :)

I'm sorry, I can't help myself, I'm a sucker for romantic stories, lol!

I can't wait for that one!

lol yeah :) :)

Fridey wrote: "So you all probably already know but since I didn't see until now I'm sharing this piece of news...in case someone else missed it too.

Melanie Dickerson will have the second book of Dericott Castl..."
I'm SO excited it for it!! Hyped XD

I'm also really glad that the injured brother is the main male character this time. He deserves his happily ever after. :) I'm also excited since I haven't really read many ugly duckling retellings.

A Villain's Ever After is a series by different fairytale retelling authors. They're fairytales, but twisted. The author I got the news from described it as, "A VILLAIN'S EVER AFTER will sweep you away to lands filled with magic, romance, and adventure where wishes really do come true … from a certain point of view. You'll see villains in a whole new light." There's twelve different books and each is a twist of a different retelling and told by a different author. The first book's called The Beast and the Enchantress and it's by Camille Peters.

Here's the link to the goodreads page for the series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/3195...

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. I generally didn't like retellings with a twist that I've read so far. Hopefully I'll enjoy these though.
(Oops, the first book releases on August 1st. I'll update with a cover photo then lol.)

I just read the blurb of the first one in the series by Camille Peters

The Beast and the Enchantress: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (A Villain's Ever After)

and it actually appealed to me.

But I would have to read some reviews before going ahead. Too creepy is not my thing. :)

Doesn't say how long they are, only that they are short. I'm thinking, wouldn't it have been better to publish them in one book.

I'm so excited about the A Villian's Ever After series!!! There's only one author out of the twelve that I'm not familiar with, all of the others are ones that I've either heard really good things about or are some of my favorite authors :)

(I haven't even looked at the blurbs yet, I'm just stoked about the authors XD)

@Noonscansinkmyship thanks for posting this!! I hope you enjoy them!

@Fridey Yeah, it can be hard to gauge the creepiness level... reviews are always good for that sort of thing :)

Depends on how long they are... if they were short stories it would make sense to publish them all in one big anthology. I'm taking a wild shot in the dark and guessing about 150-200ish pages each. Like novella size.

Fridey wrote: "I just read the blurb of the first one in the series by Camille Peters

The Beast and the Enchantress: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (A Villain's Ever After)

and it actually appealed to me...."
I agree with Carina. The stories are probably not short enough to all be published in one book. It'll probably be 200 pages maybe? That's my guess anyways.

I know the first book at least won't be too creepy. I've read Camille Peters's work and they're usually clean and sweet. I'm really curious how she's planning on spinning this one actually.

Carina wrote: "@Noonscansinkmyship thanks for posting this!! I hope you enjoy them!

@Fridey Yeah, it can be hard to gauge the creepiness level... reviews are always good for that sort of thing :)

Depends on h..."
Thanks! I'm getting more excited about them. :)

Haha, I'm glad so many of your favorite authors decided to gather around. You must be ecstatic! :D