Binding of Bindings #26: 10 Book Retellings You Need To Own

July 26, 2019 JenAcideByBibliophile14 Comments

Princes and Princesses.

Evil Queens and deadly magicians.

Magical kisses, tall towers, dragons, knights in shining armor and damsels who just can’t seem to get themselves out of their own distresses.

Fairy tales.

We know them by heart, don’t we?

But…

What if we didn’t?

What if everything wasn’t as pretty, peppy and perfect as it seemed?

Are you sure you know the true story?

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~* 10 Book Retellings *~

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1. Dorothy Must Die (Book 1) by Danielle Paige

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Retelling of: Wizard of Oz

Dorothy Must Die is the story of the OTHER girl from Kansas, Amy Gumm.

After Dorothy finds her way back to Oz, she seizes power and becomes crazed with ruling. Now, Oz is a land where the good are bad, the bad are good, and executions are more frequent than not. Amy must find away to take Dorothy down, once and for all.

2. The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Horror

Retelling of: Little Red Riding Hood

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, The Girl in Red is a Fantasy/Horror about a woman trying to survive in a decimated wasteland filled with vicious creatures: human AND animal.

This is a dark, twisted, gritty, and frightening version of Little Red Riding Hood, and one that NEEDS to be read. The reviews for this book are OUTSTANDING! Even if horror isn’t your thing, TRY to read this.

Christina Henry rewriting fairy tales is seriously, everything.

3. Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Horror

Retelling of: Faust

The tale of Faust is about a man who makes a deal with the Devil in order to receive knowledge and pleasures greater than his wildest dreams. In Teeth in the Mist, the story is told in the voices of three women from varying times in history.

Zoey is sixteen living in modern times, and explores the haunted ruins of Medwyn Mill House with her friend. Roan is seventeen in 1851 and is, along with two others, the newest ward of the eerie Mill House. Hermione in 1583, is a young bride married to a man with plans of building a mansion and water mill with a few rumors of dark rituals.

Their only chance of survival is finding the man that brought them all together.

Reviewers have been LOSING it all over Goodreads about the creepiness and obsession that is this book! If you don’t read it now, at least save it for October!

4. Stealing Snow (Book 1) by Danielle Paige

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Retelling of: The Snow Queen

Snow White set in an Insane Asylum?

VIBE.

Stealing Snow is set at Whittaker Psychiatric, where seventeen-year-old Snow is spending her days…even though she isn’t crazy. But when her first kiss with Bale turns him violent, Snow is suddenly drawn to a new orderly who promises to whisk her away to a mysterious kingdom that could be the answer to all of their prayers.

5. Entwined by Heather Dixon Wallwork

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Romance

Retelling of: Twelve Dancing Princesses

You know the tale to the Twelve Dancing Princesses right?

12 Princesses, sisters, are on lock-down by their father, the King. But unbeknownst to him, the girls sneak out every night and go dancing until sun up. Once a sweet story, now…

Well. Not a sweet story.

Entwined is about Azalea and her eleven sisters who walk through an enchanted passage each night to go dancing in the silver forest, invited each night by The Keeper. The Keeper knows what it is like to be unable to leave, but the Keeper also likes to keep things.

6. Mechanica (Book 1) by Betsy Cornwell

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Steampunk

Retelling of: Cinderella

Mechanica is a steampunk Cinderella retelling about a sixteen-year-old inventor who discovers a secret workshop in her cellar filled with magical animal creations and gadgets.

After Nicolette’s mother dies, her father remarries a cruel woman with two even crueler daughters. But when her father dies, Nicolette is forced to live under the rule of her new family. But once Nicolette discovers the workshop that she knows can change her life forever, she sets her sight on the upcoming ball – a convention to showcase inventions and talents.

7. Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Retelling of: Little Red Riding Hood

Another Little Red Riding Hood retelling, because wine not?

Red Hood follows Bisou Martel who has grown up under the care of her grandmother. But then a wolf attacks her on homecoming night, and Bisou ends up killing it. The next morning, however, she realizes that one of her male classmates has been found dead. And she wonders, was he the wolf?

My description is s**t, I know. But I didn’t have much to work with here okay?

Basically what I am gathering from the reviews is this is a story of toxic masculinity and feminism, and really packs an emotional punch. I all ready to read it!

8. Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Retelling of: The Goose Girl

Thorn is about a princess who longs to escape her vicious family and cruel courtiers, and her betrothal to a Prince in a kingdom called Kestrin. So when a sorceress robs Princess Alyrra of her identity, she jumps at the change to start her life as a goose girl. But life in Kestrin is different from what she was expecting – less lavishness, and more suffering.

Now Alyrra must decide which kingdom she will stand for, the kingdom of her birthright, or the kingdom that offered her freedom?

9. Lost Boy by Christina Henry

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Horror

Retelling of: Peter Pan

Another Christina Henry Horror Retelling!

My gift to you.

Because I love you.

In Lost Boy, Jamie is Peter’s closest friend and favorite. When Peter took him from the Other Place years ago, he was enamored with the world that Peter created. A world where there weren’t any grownups to tell them what to do. A place where they could be young forever, playing tricks on pirates, and swimming with mermaids.

But Peter isn’t who Jaime thinks he is. Peter only wants to have fun, and doesn’t care if there are a few deaths and monstrosities along the way. Because the way the lost boys play is hard and dangerous.

10. Coiled by H.L. Burke

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Retelling of: Eros and Psyche

Oh look, another sweet tale for all us Slytherins out there ❤

Coiled is about a Princess who has always lived in the shadow of her beautiful sister, due to the curse that was placed on them at birth. But each time her sister is cruel to another, she becomes lovelier. And each time Princess Lairda uses her power of healing, she becomes more ugly.

Embarrassed of their daughter, she is shipped away to an island where another pair of male twins reside who are also cursed. The curse for one of the boys, Calen, is that each time anyone sets eyes on him, he is turned into a snake. But Laidra sees the good in Calen, and together they fight to break their curses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

Stay Witchy ❤

Binding of Bindings · Book Promo · Books · Reviews

Weekly Binding of Bindings #1: The Winter Books

January 11, 2019March 7, 2019 JenAcideByBibliophile2 Comments

asteriks

Good Morrow my lovelies!!!

It is I: your favorite over-dramatic goth with a hidden agenda to bring forth smirking giggles, a feisty and sarcastic mood, and to entice every reader to become horribly addicted to the books I shove into their pretty little faces.

You may call me Pablo Bibliobar!

The not so famous, but infallible and surely fun to be around, Book Lord.

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She’s quick, she’s funny, you probably wouldn’t call her sunny:

It’s Pablo Biblobar.

From henceforth, I will bring you weekly witty prompts all about books, books, books! It will commence every Friday, so be on the lookout for these bookish rants and escapades! There will be must-reads, there will be don’t-reads. There will be sarcasm, and there will be moments of actual seriousness.

However brief they may be.

May I introduce: JenacideByBibliophile’s Weekly Binding of Bindings!

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WHERE TO BEGIN?!

Well, the obvious place:

winter reads

These are all the books that are great to read in the months of November to January/February. Or whenever the snow leaves your front yard. Some of these books I have read, and some I haven’t. I know, I KNOW!

“She’s blogging about books she hasn’t even read?!?!!?“

Yes. I’m devilish like that.

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The Kanin Chronicles by Amanda Hocking

frostfire series

This series is one of my FAVORITES, so I played favoritism and put it first <3. If you like to stalk me, you will have noticed that I JUST posted this on my Bookstagram account. Here we have a strong female lead (my favorite) who is attempting to work her way up to become a member of her King’s royal guard. When she is sent on a mission to retrieve a changeling, some serious s**t hits the snow-covered hills and she is thrust into the throngs of a potential war between kingdoms.

There is bloodshed, there is romance, and there are mythical fairy creatures. What’s not to love?

Amber Sky by Claire Warner

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Amber Sky is another favorite of mine, and I am PATIENTLY waiting for book two. This is set in a dystopian/steampunk styled world where Tay, who comes from a family of poor standing, is forced to seek help from a noble named Darius. A bargain is struck between them, and Tay is brought into high society as a spy.

This book is full of sneaky courtiers and extravagant tastes, and of course a sweet rebellion.

Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard

Though not a huge favorite of mine, still it’s a thrilling read. In a world where humanity is separated by the color of your blood, silver bloods are all powerful and red bloods are treated as scum. Our red blooded main character Mare eventually finds herself in the service of the Silver King, and betrothed to the Prince of the Silver Court. With as much hatred as this poor lass can muster, she joins the rebellion group called the Scarlet Guard, and plots the take-down of the silver bloods.

To me these books are over-hyped, but I could see the appeal while reading. Though it isn’t compelling me to get the next book.

Frost by E. Latimer

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LOVED this book! There are Fire and Frost Giants, and the ever-so-loved evil Queen. Story of a girl living just like me and you, when one day she is kidnapped by striking young men. It’s a tale of who to trust and who to kill! This story is full of tall women with even taller personalities. I had received this book from Netgalley and pulled an all-nighter to read it.

Still waiting on that copy of book 2..

*cough cough*

The Lone City series by Amy Ewing

the lone city series

THESE BOOKS!

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This series is downright f****d, in the best way ever. Think The Handmaid’s Tale…but for the YA world. Girls are brought into The Lone City and sold as surrogates for the rich and powerful. It is cruel, it is beautiful, and it is downright LEGENDARY. I read through them so quickly that I didn’t even pause to write a review. I still haven’t.

Thuglife.

The Dark Beneath The Ice by Amelinda Berube

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I mean…what’s there to say about this one. It looked promising, but it was a mess in my opinion. It’s a dark paranormal book that doesn’t really have an exact point. Marianne has the moments of feeling like she’s drowning, things are flying around the room, and the logical explanation is that something wants her dead. But the something trying to kill her is just…*sigh*.

This is the epitome of an “I can’t even” book.

But I hope you enjoy it ❤

The Giver, Graphic Novel by Lois Lowry, P. Craig Russell (Illustrations)

the giver

EXCITEMENT!

I know what you’re thinking. “Jenaca, is this really a winter read?“

*Whisper Voice* Shhhhhh, yes.

We have all read this wonderful classic, if you haven’t…*gasp*…GET INVOLVED! Color me shocked and thrilled, they are releasing a graphic novel version of The Giver! I JUST received it for review, my first graphic novel, so be on the lookout for that. I may have already taken a little peak inside and…..

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I haven’t read these. It’s not a crime. I will. I’m trying!

Don’t judge me.

Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

Stealing Snow

I’m waiting for this little number to arrive today in my Bookoutlet shipment, so it’s ALMOST in my pale skeletal fingers.It is a magical tale of insane asylums and whispers of a far off kingdom. It sounds so ROMANTIC doesn’t it?!

But you know how I know it’s a Winter Read? The main character is named Snow.

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Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara

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I fear this one is going to be a tear-jerker. If not from the description, then from the countless Goodreads reviews of readers just saying:

TEARS.

A girl survives a car accident that kills her boyfriend, she hides herself out in her father’s studio in the woods, and eventually meets another young man. Where it shall lead, I DON’T KNOW.

I haven’t read it yet.

Frostblood by Elly Blake

frost blood

Frost Blood sounds like one of those rebellion/burn-em-all-to-the-ground types of books. I predict an angry female lead who goes on a killing rampage, but who’s to say? I sure cannot. Countless reviews of it’s pure awesomeness and fantastical delightfulness lead me to assume that I must have it. Though I MAY have had it already if Netgalley hadn’t denied me of the pleasure of reading it…

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The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

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Quite a wide arrange of reviews and opinions on this story, but I still can’t help but want to read it. The description sums up what this book is about perfectly:

A good girl.
A bad boy.
A fairy tale that’s true.
A truth that is no fairy tale.

As a warning, I DID read that there might be some sensitive issues in this book for readers. So be warned. Even I am a little worried about this read, but who cares! I’m up for it. BRING IT ON!

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With that, I leave you my list of Winter reads as of this January of 2019. Go ahead, curl up with a blanket! Get a cup of hot coco or tea and sit in front of a blazing fire, roasting a mortal or two! By the end of the year I may have a whole new list of cozy books for you to read, but only the witches will know!

Happy Reading my witchy readers!

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