The Brothers Grimm collected tales and lore that were orally passed down from generation to generation and embellished them into some of the darkest and most magical stories of all time. What could make for more epic reading than fairy tales? Their retellings! These reimaginings, like their sources of inspiration, are some of the most creative and inventive in fictional history. They encompass so much—romance, thrills, adventure, horror, and high-stakes action!
You think you know these characters and stories well, but think again where these adaptations are concerned. With witches, vampires, bloodthirsty wargs, fairies, and predatory wolves, these books are bound to scare the hell out of you (and enchant you). In this curated list, there’s something for every taste—fantasy, mystery, and even some romantic comedy. Inspired by Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and more, the below authors completely change the stories you always thought you knew.
Retellings of Brothers Grimm Stories
THAT ARE BOUND TO ENCHANT YOU
1. Greymist Fair by Francesca Zappia
Lovers of gothic literature will become bewitched by this collection of short stories that intertwine and build on each other. Greymist Fair is a deliciously dark and atmospheric read. It draws its inspiration from lesser known Grimm fairy tales. The author provides a rich world with detailed lore and a history of Greymist that carries such a force that you almost forget it’s made up. There’s even a map! With slow reveals and endless mysteries, you’ll become transfixed.
The villagers of Greymist Fair know that the woods are a dangerous and magical place, and that they should never set foot off the road. But when a young tailor discovers a body, her search for the culprit reveals even more strange and dark happenings around her town.
From acclaimed author Francesca Zappia, Greymist Fair is a suspenseful and inventive murder-mystery infused with magic and inspired by the lesser-known fairytales of the Brothers Grimm.
Two roads lead into a dark forest. They meet at Greymist Fair, the village hidden in the trees, a place kept alive by the families that never leave. The people of Greymist Fair know the woods are a dangerous and magical place, and to set foot off the road is to invite trouble.
When Heike, the village’s young tailor, discovers a body on the road, she goes looking for who is responsible. But her quest only leads to more strange happenings around Greymist Fair.
Inspired by the original, bloody, lesser-known fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, acclaimed author Francesca Zappia crafts an enthralling murder-mystery that will keep readers turning the pages. Told from multiple points of view, with each narrative building on the crime discovered by Heike, Greymist Fair examines the themes of childhood fears, growing into adult responsibilities, and finding a place to call home amid the trials of life and death.
2. Creeping Beauty by Andrea Portes
Looking for a captivating, fast-paced, and action-packed story that you can devour in one weekend? Creeping Beauty is just the book for you! You’ll relate to the bookworm protagonist and find yourself inspired on her journey of coming into her own and learning what she stands for. She’s a funny, smart, and witty heroine who finds herself out of her element in a strange, harsh world where you must be beautiful to hold power. This classic retelling of Sleeping Beauty is a tale about female empowerment and autonomy. With its thought-provoking and unexpected ending, it’s sure to stay with you for a long time.
The dark and deadly world of Heartless meets the empowering twist of Cruel Beauty in this thrilling, unpredictable, multigenre retelling of one of the most beloved fairy tales: where instead of falling asleep to await her prince, this sleeping beauty finally wakes up.
Bitsy is no one’s ideal princess.
She’s heard it all: that it’s a shame she’s so plain, so lacking in grace. That the best thing for her to do is simply wait (and wait some more) and hope some prince will grant her a happy ending.
Then Bitsy pricks her finger on a spindle and falls down, down, down.
Into a world where cutthroats and con artists are more common than curtsies. Where no one ages and everyone is beautiful. Where an inscrutable evil rests at its core.
A land where Bitsy’s fate and her future are solely in her own hands—and neither are what she expects.
3. Rhythm & Muse by India Hill Brown
Love an intriguing slow burn? You won’t be able to put down Rhythm & Muse. With beautiful writing and delightful characters you can’t help but love, this book will leave you feeling bittersweet. After you’re done, you will find yourself inspired to use your voice and go after your heart’s deepest desire.
Cinderella meets Cyrano in this pitch-perfect YA rom-com that is a celebration of Black joy, first crushes, and putting your heart on the line for love.
Darren Johnson lives in his head. There, he can pine for his crush—total dream girl, Delia Dawson—in peace, away from the unsolicited opinions of his talkative family and showboat friends. When Delia announces a theme song contest for her popular podcast, Dillie D in the Place to Be, Darren’s friends—convinced he’ll never make a move—submit one of his secret side projects for consideration.
After the anonymous romantic verse catches Dillie’s ear, she sets out to uncover the mystery singer behind the track. Now Darren must decide: Is he ready to step out of the shadows and take the lead in his own life?
4. Thorn by Intisar Khanani
Thorn is the first book in the Dauntless Path series. This story is a retelling of Goose Girl with a focus on fae magic. The author has conjured up a fairy tale world with vivid and evocative precision. The magic system is well crafted, but still manages to remain mysterious. The protagonist is flawed, determined, and inspiring. This isn’t a tale about riding off into the sunset at the end. The heroine faces her demons and fights with her every fiber to not only win every battle, but to work on herself. Intisar Khanani shows us how a person can overcome their trauma and live a fuller future by taking responsibility for themselves.
Hunted meets The Wrath and the Dawn in this bold fairytale retelling—where court intrigue, false identities, and dark secrets will thrill fans of classic and contemporary fantasy alike.
Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life, but when her mother betroths her to a powerful prince in a distant kingdom, she has little hope for a better future.
Until Alyrra arrives at her new kingdom, where a mysterious sorceress robs her of both her identity and her role as princess—and Alyrra seizes on the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.
But as Alyrra uncovers dangerous secrets about her new world, including a threat to the prince himself, she knows she can’t remain silent forever. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds, and ultimately must decide who she is and what she stands for.
5. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
Calling all fans of horror! House of Salt and Sorrows is the first installment in the Sisters of the Salt series. This spooky retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses will catapult you into its magical world. This atmospheric story will creep under your skin and entrance you with its mystery. Its twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end.
In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor with her sisters and their father and stepmother. Once there were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last–the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge–and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.
Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister’s deaths were no accidents. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who–or what–are they really dancing with?
When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family–before it claims her next. House of Salt and Sorrows is a spellbinding novel filled with magic and the rustle of gossamer skirts down long, dark hallways. Be careful who you dance with…
6. Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent
You might have guessed it with the title alone, Red Wolf is a completely revamped adaptation of The Little Red Riding Hood. In this tale, however, not all wolves are monsters. The author provides elements that will remind you of the original, but this story is a truly unique story of its own. The plot is modern and morally gray. The protagonist lives in a witch-burning territory where deviating from convention is not only dangerous, but lethal. She comes to question the firmly held beliefs of her family and every rule laid out for her.
For as long as sixteen-year-old Adele can remember, the village of Oakvale has been surrounded by the dark wood—a forest filled with terrible monsters. A forest that light itself cannot penetrate.
Unlike her fellow villagers, Adele cannot avoid the dark wood.
Adele is one of a long line of guardians: women who secretly take on the form of a wolf, in order to protect their village.
But when accepting her fate means giving up the boy she loves, abandoning the future she imagined for herself, and breaking her own moral code, she must decide how far she is willing to go to keep her neighbors safe.
7. Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold
Another retelling inspired by The Little Red Riding Hood! This one is adventurous and magical, but it’s also gory, emotional, and scary. This isn’t an easy book to read, but it’s extremely powerful and necessary. It displays the double standards between men and women, as well as emphasizes female oppression. It is, however, so much more than that—it’s about women coming to realize their power.
“It’s not that we need more wolf hunters. It’s that we need men to stop being wolves.”
You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked. And the wolf is angry.
Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good.
But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her.
A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions.
About the blood in Bisou’s past, and on her hands as she stumbles home.
About broken boys and vicious wolves.
About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.
8. The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores
This one is highly recommended for those who enjoy a good enemies-to-lovers romance. The banter and tension seeps through the pages. Fans of supernatural fiction won’t be disappointed, either. The author weaves words into moving prose that will elicit every emotion from the reader. With characters who evolve along with the plot, you won’t want to come up for air!
Francesca Flores’s The Witch and the Vampire is a queer Rapunzel retelling where a witch and a vampire who trust no one but themselves must journey together through a cursed forest with danger at every turn.
Ava and Kaye used to be best friends. Until one night two years ago, vampires broke through the magical barrier protecting their town, and in the ensuing attack, Kaye’s mother was killed, and Ava was turned into a vampire. Since then, Ava has been trapped in her house. Her mother Eugenia needs her: Ava still has her witch powers, and Eugenia must take them in order to hide that she’s a vampire as well. Desperate to escape her confinement and stop her mother’s plans to destroy the town, Ava must break out, flee to the forest, and seek help from the vampires who live there. When there is another attack, she sees her opportunity and escapes.
Kaye, now at the end of her training as a Flame witch, is ready to fulfill her duty of killing any vampires that threaten the town, including Ava. On the night that Ava escapes, Kaye follows her and convinces her to travel together into the forest, while secretly planning to turn her in. Ava agrees, hoping to rekindle their old friendship, and the romantic feelings she’d started to have for Kaye before that terrible night.
But with monstrous trees that devour humans whole, vampires who attack from above, and Ava’s stepfather tracking her, the woods are full of danger. As they travel deeper into the forest, Kaye questions everything she thought she knew. The two are each other’s greatest threat—and also their only hope, if they want to make it through the forest unscathed.
9. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a gorgeous, dark, and intoxicating origin story about Snow White’s big bad villain. The MC in this book is one of the most complex and intriguing ones written in recent history. She’s not soulless, rather she’s someone struggling with her own humanity and one big question: is her fate worth the price she’s going to have to pay? This tale is for readers who are deeply moved by characters who are as human as they are monsters.
“You have two faces. Two beings live within you, struggling for control. One has a heart that thrives in darkness and feeds on the pain of weaker souls. The other longs to stretch a hand to the light, to live and love as others do.”
An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl’s quest to become Empress—and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.
Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng’s majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?
Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins—sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.
10. The Blood Spell by C.J. Redwine
The Blood Spell is the fourth installment in the Ravenspire series of standalone companion novels. You’ll be addicted to the pages of this magical, whimsical, dark, and captivating tale, starring a brave heroine and a sweet, swoony hero.
Blue de la Cour has her life planned: hide the magic in her blood and continue trying to turn metal into gold so she can help her city’s homeless. But when her father is murdered and a cruel but powerful woman claims custody of Blue and her property, one wrong move could expose her—and doom her once and for all. The only one who can help? The boy she’s loathed since childhood: Prince Kellan.
Kellan Renard, crown prince of Balavata, is walking a thin line between political success and devastating violence. Newly returned from boarding school, he must find a bride among the kingdom’s head families and announce his betrothal—but escalating violence among the families makes the search nearly impossible. He’s surprised to discover that the one person who makes him feel like he can breathe is Blue, the girl who once ruined all his best adventures.
When mysterious forces lead to disappearances throughout Balavata, Blue and Kellan must work together to find the truth. What they discover will lead them to the darkest reaches of the kingdom, and to the most painful moments of their pasts.
When romance is forbidden and evil is rising, can Blue save those she loves, even if it costs her everything?
11. Greymist Fair by Francesca Zappia
Girls Made of Snow and Glass is a story about family, love, and friendship—and so much more. It emphasizes the relationship between mother and daughter, and that between father and daughter. It’s told through the POVs of Snow White and her stepmother (who is nothing like what Disney painted her to be, but rather human). Your heart will ache throughout these pages of this atmospheric and vivid tale. It reminds us how we all deeply ache to be loved for who we are.
Sixteen-year-old Mina is motherless, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother.
Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image, at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she’s ever known…or else defeat her once and for all.
Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything—unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.
12. Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
There is no prince charming in this fairytale—instead queer girls overthrow the patriarchy in Cinderella is Dead. Even when everyone tells them that their efforts are futile, these girls will stop at nothing to dismantle the corrupt systems they live in. This is a story about female empowerment and about creating your own story.
“Do not be silent. Raise your voice. Be a light in the dark.”
It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.
Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .
This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.