Much like how there’s been a recent rise of Mythological retellings, it’s also become extremely popular to write adaptations of fairy tales. Fairy tale retellings have always been in demand. However, the recent boom of the category tends to lean towards making the stories more in tune with today’s ideals. Specifically, modernizing them, if not in settings then in characters. Authors have found that retelling the usual dragons-swords-and-crowns stories, to where the princesses and the damsels in distress are the ones leading their own narrative are something people really want to see. Here are just a few of my personal favorites that I would highly recommend based on my own experience with them:
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
This eight-book series is the height of fantasy in every way, with lost royals and epic magical battles and witches that ride wyverns into war. At its core, it's inspired by the simple fairy tale of Cinderella. The main character, Celaena Sardothien, is far from your typical servant girl rags-to-riches story; she’s the most famous assassin in the land at only eighteen. The first book follows her as she competes in a contest to be the King’s Champion, his personal assassin, which will win her her freedom and begin her journey towards a happily ever after. Although the following seven books seem like a major commitment, it’s so worth it to see Celaena grow into the heroine she is by the end, fighting for her family and earning the happy ending the original Cinderella got by simply fitting into a shoe.
The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson
This book is actually part of an eleven-book (and still counting, according to the author) series, but what’s great about this particular series is that each book can still be read as a standalone if you don’t feel like reading all of them. This one is the first book of the collection I read and is also my favorite. It was so subtle in its retelling ways, I didn’t realize it was a rewrite of The Frog Prince until I was halfway through the book.
The story follows a girl named Margaretha, an evil Lord’s plot to take over everything her family has built, and a boy named Colin who was the one to reveal to Margaretha what danger she was in. When we first meet her, Margaretha is a bit of a chatterbox and a little naive to the ways of the world, but she quickly becomes the hero her family needs, living up to the title of the book and working right under the Lord’s nose to bring him down.
I liked that this book chose this slightly more obscure fairy tale and spun it in the way it did to let Margaretha find her happy ending, while also finding herself in a way her original unnamed character of “the Princess” in The Frog Prince never did.
House of Salt & Sorrows by Erin A Craig
Though The Twelve Dancing Princesses is a tale that’s been retold quite a few times, this version remains one of my favorites. It’s hard to throw twelve women into one story and make the main character feel like her own, but it’s considerably easier when four of the twelve are already dead. Annaleigh’s sisters have been getting picked off like flies with tragic accident after tragic accident, and as the story progresses, she starts to believe they were not only on purpose, but she might also be the next to die. To save both her sisters and herself, Annaleigh has to face her family’s ghosts (literally), to uncover what has been cursing her house and her sisters.
I liked this book for how it managed to keep the fairy-tale persona of Annaleigh and her sisters, letting them be feminine and a little gullible, while still having Annaleigh be the one to save the day- even if she had help. I also liked the mystery of it all, giving the happily-ever-after of the original tale a feeling of danger and a ticking time bomb.
Honorable Mentions:
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine:
Genuinely one of my favorite books ever, a Cinderella retelling with a main character (Ella), who never stops saving herself and also never stops being a complete pain in the ass to people who annoy her. Ella is cursed to do whatever people tell her, but even then she rarely does. She is insanely clever and resourceful, and works hard for her happy ending the entire book, completely deserving it once she’s found it.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas:
I didn’t want to put both of Maas’ books on this list, but this series is just as good as if not better than Throne of Glass, in my opinion. It’s a Beauty and The Beast rewrite with curses, Fae and fairies from folklore, and plot twists like you wouldn’t believe. The Beauty of the story, Feyre, is headstrong and a little too hot headed for her own good, rushing into danger for the people she loves without a second thought for herself. I like this series specifically because of how real the characters feel. Readers grow with Feyre as she learns how to navigate the unknown right alongside her, as she’s pulled into a deal with a beast and subsequently is entrusted with literally saving her world.
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