October Suggestions - Fairy-Tale Retelling

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Hey loves! October is coming and this month's theme is one of my favorites, I LOVE fairy tales and I can't to see what cool retellings we can share and read here. What's your favorite fairy-tales? And what's the best retelling you've read? Share your recommendations here!

[Danielle A]

I definitely recommend The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer :)

[Jennifer]

I recommend Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. I wasn't crazy about his book Wicked, but I seem to recall really enjoying this one. I also recommend The Big Over Easy. I think I enjoyed the second book in this series even more than the first. It's by the same author who wrote The Eyre Affair. It's actually a spin-off of one of the characters in that series.

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Once again, I'm leaving this Epic Reads chart here so we can check out a ton of retellings of all the traditional Grimm's and Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales: http://www.epicreads.com/blog/an-epic...

[Frogli]

This month is giving me an excuse to read Bitter Greenswhich I bought ages ago but still haven't read.

Other than that? I may try Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

As for recs, only one I can actually think of is The Sleeper and the Spindle which I really enjoyed and with Chris Riddell's illustrations is one of the most gorgeous books I own

[Tamara]

Definitely going to try some Kate Forsyth books. She has some awesome retellings! Bitter Greens and The Wild Girl seem really, really cool.

[Paula]

Hello to all :)

I love this genre! I'll recommend The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter.

I read just the first story but it is beautifully written, it really makes you feel, this woman was amazing with words. They have a feminist touch, these retellings, and it's so refreshing because women are so often maligned in fairy tales. Here's a quote of the story that has stayed with me through the years, because it's so powerful:

"You disobeyed him," he said. "That is sufficient reason for him to punish you."
"I only did what he knew I would."
"Like Eve," he said.

Have a good one :)

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Paula wrote: "Hello to all :)

I love this genre! I'll recommend The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter.

I read ..."

You had me at feminist fairy-tale retellings! With that description, I'm definitely adding The Bloody Chamber to my TBR! Thanks Pau!

[Jennifer]

I liked Cinder, but I wasn't crazy about Scarlet. I haven't read any of the other books in the series yet and I haven't decided if I will. I'm totally in love with the concept of these books though so I think it's worth reading.

[Renuka , (eternal-books)]

OMG yes, this is the best genre ever. I'm thinking of reading Sisters Red because everyone keeps recommending it!

(On a sidenote, how awesome is it that this coincided with the return of OUAT?)

[Valerie]

Wicked is on my TBR list and has been for a while so I might give that ago. Or wait for the group read suggestion as I'm not too familiar with his genre.
I just finished A Discovery of Witches, and am trying to decide if I wan to continue with that trilogy as well :)

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Valerie wrote: "Wicked is on my TBR list and has been for a while so I might give that ago. Or wait for the group read suggestion as I'm not too familiar with his genre.
I just finished A Discovery of Witches, ..."

Hey I just got A Discovery of Witches! What did you think of it???

[Marie]

Ash by Malinda Lo is very good and very diverse:D

[Danielle A]

Also this is a perfect genre for October !

I've heard good things about Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound.

I can't wait to see which book we pick ^__^

[Helen]

I am thinking of reading Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales, Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, &Twisted Fairy Tales this month.

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Angela Carter seems to be a popular choice. We'll be sure to include her in the poll!

[Frogli]

Ooh yeah, The Bloody Chamber is really good. I keep meaning to try more Angela Carter...

@Renuka I was very underwhelmed by Sisters Red tbh, I liked the premise (& the cover) more than the execution.

[D.G.]

I recommend The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett

[Valerie]

Silvia wrote: "Valerie wrote: "Wicked is on my TBR list and has been for a while so I might give that ago. Or wait for the group read suggestion as I'm not too familiar with his genre.
I just finished A Discov..."

I just finished it this afternoon, so that usually has an impact on how I feel about a book :)
I would say it's a solid three. Slow to start, needs a much more aggressive editor for sure, and I don't like the 'insta-love' story line at all. I'm more of a slow burn person myself. And the more I think about it the more I don't like Diana. However, I do like Mathew and several supporting characters. I like the world that Harkness has build, and I actually do want to know what happens next (it's a trilogy). So for me it's definitely a three, maybe 3.5. I read it for my irl book club.

[Meg]

I will hopefully be reading A Court of Thorns and Roses!!

[Paula]

Here's my take on some of the suggestions:

Cinder is pretty bad. I mean, it's fun to read and all but has no depth or nuance. To me it was so badly written I couldn't consider reading the sequel. That's just my opinion, of course if that's what most people want to read then awesome.

The opposite, I think, can be said for Wicked. I loved it, it' s one of my favorite books, but consider, it is a very heavy book. It is big and complicated and sometimes painfully slow. I really like this book, but be forewarned, it is not light reading in any way.

The Sleeper and the Spindle is just pure beauty. More of a graphic novel, though.

That's it :) Your suggestions are exciting. Keep suggesting! I might read more than one :)

Good night.

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Paula wrote: "Here's my take on some of the suggestions:

Cinder is pretty bad. I mean, it's fun to read and all but has no depth or nuance. To me it was so badly written I couldn't consider reading the sequel. ..."

I've read so many bad reviews on Wicked, now it all makes sense: if it's slow and complicated, people tend not to like it. But if you like it, I probably will too. I own it, so I'll definitely give it a shot.

[Lauren]

The Lunar Chronicles is my lifeblood; I've read Scarlet twice. This is the perfect genre for Halloween, too!

[Liz]

I loved Cinder but I also liked the darker twist with The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories and the more light hearted The Summer of Chasing Mermaids which was kind of a retelling of the little mermaid. I've really been wanting to read Dorothy Must Die, Tender Morsels and Dead Upon a Time though

[Valerie]

Liz,
I've read Dorothy must must die. Met was a solid three (out of five) for me. She didn't do a lot of world building or fleshing out of characters from Oz, but one could argue it's not necessary. I liked Dorothy's struggles, and who can resist a flying monkey? Overall it was a good read.

[Valerie]

Liz,
I've read Dorothy must must die. Met was a solid three (out of five) for me. She didn't do a lot of world building or fleshing out of characters from Oz, but one could argue it's not necessary. I liked Dorothy's struggles, and who can resist a flying monkey? Overall it was a good read.

[Melany]

This is definitely one of my favorite genres!

Some suggestions that I've loved:

- Beauty by Robin McKinley
- Deerskin by Robin McKinley
- The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
- Some of Neil Gaiman's short stories- The Sleeper and the Spindle was suggested but also Snow, Glass, Apples is amazing
- Deathless by Catherynne Valente, obviously.
- Ella Enchanted is an oldie but still great.

I'm looking forward to reading The Girls at the Kingfisher Club.

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Hey darlings, I found this list of fairy-tale retellings organized by fairy-tale, I thought I would share it with you: http://hpldreads.tumblr.com/post/1297...

Also have you voted already for our group book of the month??

[Danielle A]

I haven't seen the voting poll yet D:

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Danielle A wrote: "I haven't seen the voting poll yet D:"

Oh no! Didn't you get the message? Damn now I'm worried it didn't get sent :( here it is: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

[Danielle A]

Nope I didn't get the message.

Thank you for posting the link :D

[Valerie]

I did t get it either. Will take a look now :)

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

I sent it again. Did you guys get it this time?

[Danielle A]

Sorry Silvia, I'm not receiving the messages. Only notifications from this thread :/

[Valerie]

Same :(

But you posted the poll here, I was able to vote :)

[Roisin]

I'm reading a court of thorns and roses, it's ok but this last few chapters have been taking a toll. I'm not sure I'll recommend it but I just finished reading Uprooted and that was beyond amazing! (Though I'm not sure if it's a retelling)
I'll probably read Cress next, I held it back so I could read it this month. But also thinking about reading Hild and a thousand nights!

[Roisin]

I'm reading a court of thorns and roses, it's ok but this last few chapters have been taking a toll. I'm not sure I'll recommend it but I just finished reading Uprooted and that was beyond amazing! (Though I'm not sure if it's a retelling)
I'll probably read Cress next, I held it back so I could read it this month. But also thinking about reading Hild and a thousand nights!

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

You guys have no idea how close the voting is! Keep voting! This is going to be a good reading month, I can tell!

[Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)]

Hey guys! We have a winner for the poll, head over to the group read discussion to check it out! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...