From time to time I notice my books have themes. Recently the books I have been choosing or a few of them have been following the theme of being fairy tale adjacent. They are not genuine fairytales, there is a series of modern retellings and a book that is connected to a fictional set of fairytales.
In general I have been drawn to stories that are not based in reality. I find a fictional world allows me to recognize it as removed from my day to day life and allows me to suspend fear. I have typically been able to handle these stories better because I know they aren't real and in this stage of my life I think I appreciate the distance they offer.
On a side note, I listened to all of these books on audio and they are all read by the same narrator, Rebecca Soler, who I happen to love.
This book is a story about fictional fairytales. The protagonist's mother goes missing and in order to figure out what happened she must explore the stories that her grandmother wrote, a book of grim fairytales. The book has mystery surrounding it that she needs to learn about in order to find her mom. I appreciated that this book created it's own lore and I loved how fast paced it was and I found myself engaged wanting to know what happened next.
These 4 books form a series that I would say falls into the modern retelling genre. These books connect and intertwine so it makes sense to read them in order, top to bottom. The first is a modern retelling of Cinderella in a dystopian setting, the second is a modern retelling of Red Riding Hood, the third is a modern retelling of Rapunzel, and the final is a modern retelling of Snow White. These books are not simply retellings, but also develop a new storyline in response to the modern dystopian setting. I also appreciated that the author intentionally tried to tie the stories to places where they are thought to have originated or settings relevant to the fairytales themselves. I enjoyed the pace of these novels, but my one critique was that the main characters mostly tended to pair off in a predictable manner and I wished she had used the modern setting to give their endings a bit more nuance.
Any suggestions for more fairytale adjacent books? Any suggestions for ones I am missing or other recommendations would be much appreciated in the comments.
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About MeI'm Sarah; a wife, traveler, foodie, and adventurer. Archives
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