Hi Blisses,

Retellings are an absolute treat, for they let us readers revisit and reimagine well-loved stories. Personally, I love retellings because of the nostalgic feeling they give to me. Of course, still, nothing can beats the original but there’s something wonderful about seeing familiar things in a different way. Also, retellings begs the questions of what-ifs and answers them at the same time. Like, what if Cinderella lives in the future where robots literally co-exist with people? Cinder by Marissa Meyer asks that what-if and it gives the answer too. If you like Cinder, like me, then for you, the answer to that what-if question is amazing. Like I said, retellings are an absolute treat.
In this post, I’m sharing 5 retellings I want to read soon. By the way, it seems like this post is a part of a blog post series, because I recently posted, 10 Series I Want To Read (or start) This Year and 5 Popular Books From 2019 I Might Read (or not). But really, this is unintentional. Besides, this post is for Top 5 Saturday, hosted by Amanda from Devouring Books. This week’s topic is Retellings. And since I feel like I’ve already talked enough about the retellings I’ve already read, I decided to post about the ones I want to read soon.
Here they are…
1.) Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Thorn is a retelling of The Goose Girl, but to be honest, when I first see this cover, before reading the blurb, I thought it’s about Belle of beauty and the Beast because hello, thorn, remind me of roses and cover’s theme seems dark. But still, I love that it’s about the Goose Girl. Thorn is about Princess Alyrra who is forced to marry a foreign prince. But in her journey to meet her betrothed, she was attacked. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s during the journey. All I know is she was saved and then given a chance to start a new life with another identity. But she must also think about the prince she’s never met. To say I’m excited to read this is an understatement.
2.) Heartless by Marissa Meyer

As a fan of Marissa Meyer, I’m surprised myself that I haven’t read this one yet. Take note, I have a physical copy of this book. Anyway, Heartless is about Catherine. She is being courted by the King of Hearts but her heart lies in baking. She wants to have her own baking shop. And then she fell in love with the King’s court joker – whatever that means. Haha. Obviously, this is a retelling of Wonderland, specifically of the Queen of Hearts. I don’t have a particular reason why I haven’t read this one yet. It’s just one of those books that I want to read but always forget to pick up.
3.) A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

A Study in Charlotte is obviously a retelling of A Study in Scarlet, that stars Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson. They are descendants of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I mean…aadsjsklahsghgk. I can’t even. This book is published in 2016 and I’m so disappointed in my bookish friends. No one, I repeat NO ONE, has ever told me that this book exists. Sure, I’m not a known fan of Sherlock Holmes but still I want to blame someone for my late discovery of this precious book. LOL. Kidding aside, I might read this one this month even though it’s not in my TBR. I literally just discovered this book last night. What a tragedy!!!
4.) A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse so dark and Lonely is a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast. To be honest, I think that most B&B retellings tells the same story – a cursed prince/king meets bookish/nerdy but fierce girl – so even though B&B is one my all-time favorite classic fairytale, I now avoid its retellings. But this one, I hear nothing but good things so I want to see it for myself. Plus, the heroine, Harper, is from our world, modern world, so I think that’ll be exciting to read.
5.) The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

The Guinevere Deception is a reimagining of the Arthurian legend which is set in Camelot. To be honest, I know so little about this legend. Heck, I can’t even spell Guinevere in one try. I always spell it with two N’s. That said, I didn’t really have any interest in reading any Arthurian retellings, or any literature about it, but someone gave me a copy of this book. So I have no choice but to give it a try. Who knows, I might end up loving it. Maybe after finishing this book, I’ll end up binge-watching Merlin because I’m already so into the Arthurian legend. Who knows, right?
There you have it Blisses – 5 retellings I will soon read. I already own copies of these books so I have no reason to not read them.
Have you read these books? What do you think of them? Any recommendation in the same genre? Let’s chat.

These books sound amazing. Iβve read A Curse So Dark and Lonely and loved it. I will definitely be checking the other ones out! Great post π
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Thank you. I’m excited to read it. π
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Merlin was a good TV series so you may enjoy binge watching it.
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Or so I’ve heard. I’m sure I’ll love it. π
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So many great books on this list. I had Thorn on my TBR forever but now that it’s getting republished I was able to get an ARC! I also recently scored a copy of A Curse So Dark and Lonely that I’m pretty excited about. I just finished The Boundless (the sequel to The Beholder) and it inspired this post bc I love how much that series incorporated fairy tales. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. Some of my favorite retellings are Kill Me Softly which is set in a fairy tale world which is really cool and The Shadow Queen which is by CJ Redwine and is a series of retellings which can each be read as standalones. I also really loved House of Salt and Sorrows mainly because it’s a retelling of The 12 Dancing Princesses which is my favorite fairy tale.
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Oh I’ll check out all your recommendations. I love retellings. π
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There are just so many good ones out there!!
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True. π π
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A Curse So Dark and Lonely is amazing!! Was my first 5 star read of the year! π
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Really? Oh I’m now more excited. π
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Yes! I hope you enjoy!!
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I’m still going back on forth on reading Heartless and A Curse So Dark And Lonely! I want to read them but afraid if the story will not be as good as the hype Lol
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Lol, the hype is also the reason why I’m only reading them now. π
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I didn’t know about Thorn but I love there is a retelling of the Goose Girl. I love the lesser known fairytales like that one and a retelling would be awesome. π
I had Study in Charlotte on my tbr for a long time too and read it last year some time. It wasn’t bad as far as I remember but nothing too special. I’m curious what you will think.
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I think I’ll love study in charlotte. Are you familiar with Stalking with Jack the Ripper series. I love that series though I haven’t finished the whole series yet but it has the same concept, with two teenage-ish couple solving crimes. π
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Yeah, I’ve read it. There are indeed some similarities, although I feel like Study in Charlotte was still a little different. I think it was a fast read but apparently nothing that I really kept in my head. π
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Oh yes I want to check out Thorn and the cover is stunning ππ it sounds so gooooodd too !!!
I need to pick up Heartless at one point too as I do love Marissa Meyer and I’m curius to see what this one will be like !!
Happy reading !! π
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Right? The cover is beautiful. Happy reading to you as well. π
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How have I never heard of Thorn before? I canβt wait to try this one! Youβre right about the title and cover though… they do give off beauty and the beast vibes. Fab post Lili π
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Thank you Jen. And I think it’s because Thorn is being republished that’s why it’s not that well-known but I have a copy of it.
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So excited to see GD on another list!!!
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I’ll soon read it. π π
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I can’t wait to see what you think!
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Lili K Marcus!! I have been screaming about the Charlotte Holmes books since I found them last year!! I’ve read the first 3, and I have the last one on my TBR for this month. They’re good, and I hope you enjoy them!!
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Hahaha!!!! Sorry for saying in this post that I’m disappointed in my bookish friends for not telling me about this one. Haha. But I also hope I enjoy this series. π π
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ππ Totally fine. Also fine if you missed me yelling about them. Maybe it wasnβt loud enough?! π
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Hahahaha!!!
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