Friday 14 June 2019

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Sapphic Retellings

Sapphic Retellings

Sapphic Retellings


This post contains affiliate links.

Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


I'm wanting to try and read more f/f novels this year, whether it's bi rep or lesbian rep. When I stumbled across Robbergirl by S. T. Gibson, and realised it was f/f, I decided I definitely wanted to read more sapphic retellings, so I put a call out on Twitter, and Twitter delivered! I ended up with so many recommendations, I thought I would share them with you guys. So this least features those I already knew about, and those that were recommended to me, with credit given. Some are traditionally published, some published by indies, and some self-published, and are either YA or adult. None are (or shouldn't be) erotica, as that's not what I'm personally interested in, but you can put your own call out on Twitter, and I'm sure people can give you all the recs!

Please note: As far as I am aware, all characters involved in the romances identify as women. Please let me know if I am wrong with any book. I was recommended an f/non-binary retelling, where the nb person was assigned female at birth, but I've not included it here as this is a specific f/f list, and it would be midgendering to do so.

On to the list! Hope you find something that interests you!

Fairy Tales:

Ash by Malinda LoAsh by Malinda Lo (Cinderella)

In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash’s capacity for love—and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Cinder Ella by S. T. LynnCinder Ella by S. T. Lynn (Cinderella)

Ella is transgender. She's known since she was young; being a woman just fit better. She was happier in skirts than trousers, but that was before her stepmother moved in. Eleanor can't stand her, and after Ella's father passes she's forced to revert to Cole, a lump of a son. She cooks, she cleans, and she tolerates being called the wrong name for the sake of a roof over her head. Where else can she go?

An opportunity to attend the royal ball transforms Ella's life. For the first time, strangers see a woman when she walks down the stairs. While Princess Lizabetta invited Cole to the ball, she doesn't blink an eye when Cinderella is the one who shows. The princess is elegant, bold, and everything Ella never knew she wanted. For a moment she glimpses a world that can accept her, and she holds on tight.

She should have known it wouldn't last. Dumped by her wicked stepmother on the farthest edge of the kingdom, Ella must find a way to let go of the princess and the beautiful life they shared for an hour. She'll never find her way back. But it's hard to forget the greatest night of her life when every rose she plants is a reminder.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: LGBTQ Reads, and Amy of Bookish Heights.

Goodreads

In the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de BodardIn the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard (Beauty and the Beast)

In a ruined, devastated world, where the earth is poisoned and beings of nightmares roam the land...

A woman, betrayed, terrified, sold into indenture to pay her village's debts and struggling to survive in a spirit world.

A dragon, among the last of her kind, cold and aloof but desperately trying to make a difference.

When failed scholar Yên is sold to Vu Côn, one of the last dragons walking the earth, she expects to be tortured or killed for Vu Côn's amusement. But Vu Côn, it turns out, has a use for Yên: she needs a scholar to tutor her two unruly children. She takes Yên back to her home, a vast, vertiginous palace-prison where every door can lead to death. Vu Côn seems stern and unbending, but as the days pass Yên comes to see her kinder and caring side. She finds herself dangerously attracted to the dragon who is her master and jailer. In the end, Yên will have to decide where her own happiness lies—and whether it will survive the revelation of Vu Côn’s dark, unspeakable secrets...
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Thorn by Anna BurkeThorn by Anna Burke (Beauty and the Beast)

On a cold day deep in the heart of winter, Rowan’s father returns from an ill-fated hunting trip bearing a single, white rose. The rose is followed by the Huntress, a figure out of legend. Tall, cruel, and achingly beautiful, she brings Rowan back with her to a mountain fastness populated solely by the creatures of the hunt. Rowan, who once scorned the villagers for their superstitions, now finds herself at the heart of a curse with roots as deep as the mountains, ruled by an old magic that is as insidious as the touch of the winter rose. Torn between her family loyalties, her guilty relief at escaping her betrothal to the charming but arrogant Avery Lockland, and her complicated feelings for the Huntress, Rowan must find a way to break the curse before it destroys everything she loves. There is only one problem―if she can find a way to lift the curse, she will have to return to the life she left behind. And the only thing more unbearable than endless winter is facing a lifetime of springs without the Huntress. From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Amy of Bookish Heights.

Goodreads

Robbergirl by S. T. GibsonRobbergirl by S. T. Gibson (The Snow Queen)

SAVE THE WITCH, KILL THE SNOW QUEEN

In a Sweden wracked by war and haunted by folk stories so dark they can only be spoken of in whispers, Helvig has been raised by her brigand father to steal whatever treasure catches her eye. When her men ambush a girl on the road with hair pale as death and a raven perched on her shoulder, Helvig cannot resist bringing home a truly unique prize: a genuine witch.

Drawn irresistibly into the other woman’s web, Helvig soon learns of Gerda’s reason for walking the icy border roads alone: to find the Queen who lives at the top of the world and kill her. Anyone else would be smart enough not to believe a children’s story, but Helvig is plagued by enchantments of her own, and she struggles to guard the sins of her past while growing closer to Gerda.

As Christmastide gives way to the thin-veiled days when ghosts are at their most vengeful, the two women find themselves on a journey through forest and Samiland to a final confrontation that will either redeem them or destroy them entirely.

It's DEATHLESS meets OF FIRE AND STARS in this coming of age fable.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Charlotte.

Goodreads

The Raven and the Reindeer by T. KingfisherThe Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher (The Snow Queen)

When Gerta’s friend Kay is stolen away by the mysterious Snow Queen, it’s up to Gerta to find him. Her journey will take her through a dangerous land of snow and witchcraft, accompanied only by a bandit and a talking raven. Can she win her friend’s release, or will following her heart take her to unexpected places?

A strange, sly retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s "Snow Queen," by T. Kingfisher, author of "Bryony and Roses" and "The Seventh Bride."
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Miriam.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Winterglass by Benjanun SriduangkaewWinterglass by Benjanun Sriduangkaew (The Snow Queen)

Winterglass is a sci-fantasy about one woman’s love for her homeland and her determination to defeat the Winter Queen who has overtaken the land.

The city-state Sirapirat once knew only warmth and monsoon. When the Winter Queen conquered it, she remade the land in her image, turning Sirapirat into a country of snow and unending frost. But an empire is not her only goal. In secret, she seeks the fragments of a mirror whose power will grant her deepest desire.

At her right hand is General Lussadh, who bears a mirror shard in her heart, as loyal to winter as she is plagued by her past as a traitor to her country. Tasked with locating other glass-bearers, she finds one in Nuawa, an insurgent who’s forged herself into a weapon that will strike down the queen.

To earn her place in the queen’s army, Nuawa must enter a deadly tournament where the losers’ souls are given in service to winter. To free Sirapirat, she is prepared to make sacrifices: those she loves, herself, and the complicated bond slowly forming between her and Lussadh.

If the splinter of glass in Nuawa's heart doesn't destroy her first.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Girls Made of Glass and Snow by Melissa BashardoustGirls Made of Glass and Snow by Melissa Bashardoust (Snow White)

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.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia EmberThe Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember* (The Little Mermaid)

Having long-wondered what lives beyond the ice shelf, nineteen-year-old mermaid Ersel learns of the life she wants when she rescues and befriends Ragna, a shield-maiden stranded on the mermen’s glacier. But when Ersel’s childhood friend and suitor catches them together, he gives Ersel a choice: say goodbye to Ragna or face justice at the hands of the glacier’s brutal king.

Determined to forge a different fate, Ersel seeks help from Loki. But such deals are never as one expects, and the outcome sees her exiled from the only home and protection she’s known. To save herself from perishing in the barren, underwater wasteland and be reunited with the human she’s come to love, Ersel must try to outsmart the God of Lies
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman & Chris RiddellThe Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell* (Sleeping Beauty meets Snow White)

A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.

On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.

Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Mara.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Seeing Red by Cara MaloneSeeing Red by Cara Malone (Little Red Riding Hood)

Hunter has spent the last two years running in place.

Trying to get ahead of the bills.
Trying to provide for her sister, Piper, and her nephews.
Trying to finish her nursing education.
Trying to keep Piper out of her criminal husband’s claws.

Big, bad Jed Wolfe is a con artist, a manipulator, and he’s currently doing ten years for counterfeiting. Now is Hunter’s best chance to convince Piper that he’s bad news and they can survive without him.

Except the mortgage is overdue again, there’s an eviction notice stapled to the front door, and Hunter can see it in Piper’s eyes. She wants to crawl back to Jed and ask him how to dig out of this mess.

They’re getting desperate and Hunter begs Piper not to be like him.

Then along comes a beautiful girl in a red cap. Her grandmother is sick, she needs Hunter’s nursing help, and the pay is great. It’s just what they need and soon Hunter is able to catch her breath. Stop running in place. Start to feel something that she hasn’t had time for in years.

Happiness. Desire. Love.

Until one day an old, familiar feeling returns.

Suspicion.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Alex of Alex Reads Books.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion by Lynn E. O'ConnachtThe Ice Princess's Fair Illusion by Lynn E. O'Connacht (King Thrushbeard)

All Marian wants is for society to accept that she's just not interested in... whatever society thinks she ought to be interested in. A princess with a reputation for insults and snide remarks, she's afraid to show anyone who she would be if people would let her. In a fit of temper at her refusal to marry, her father creates her worst nightmare: she is to be wed to the first beggar who arrives at the gates.

Edel was visiting purely for diplomatic reasons, aiming to ensure her daughter inherits a strong and peaceful kingdom. She sees something in Marian that is achingly familiar and when Edel hears the king's proclamation, only one thing is on her mind: to protect Marian from the fate that had befallen Edel herself.

Their lives threaded together by magic, Edel and Marian will have to find their way in the world in this queerplatonic, sapphic verse novel retelling of King Thrushbeard.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: E. H. Timms.

Goodreads

Children's Classics

The Navigator's Touch by Julia EmberThe Navigator's Touch by Julia Ember (Peter Pan - companion novel to The Seafarer's Kiss)

After invaders destroyed her village, murdered her family, and took her prisoner, shield-maiden Ragna is hungry for revenge. A trained warrior, she is ready to fight for her home, but with only a mermaid and a crew of disloyal mercenaries to aid her, Ragna knows she needs new allies. Guided by the magical maps on her skin, battling storms and mutiny, Ragna sets sail across the Northern Sea.

She petitions the Jarl in Skjordal for aid, but despite Ragna’s rank and fighting ability, the Jarl sees only a young girl, too inexperienced to lead, unworthy of help. To prove herself to the Jarl and win her crew’s respect, Ragna undertakes a dangerous expedition. But when forced to decide between her own freedom and the fate of her crew, what will she sacrifice to save what’s left of her home?

Inspired by Norse mythology and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, this companion novel to The Seafarer’s Kiss is a tale of vengeance, valor, honor, and redemption.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

The Emerald Wars by Grace WatsonThe Emerald Wars by Grace Watson (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

When Leonie escapes from her life as a servant in the Emerald City, all she wants is to find her place in the outside world. After being saved by rebel fighter Dorothy, she finds herself drawn into a mission to retrieve the stolen heart of the Tin Man. But something much more sinister is happening in Oz, and before long they find themselves working with the exiled Professor Crow to save their home from being destroyed from the inside out.

It’s a perilous journey that pushes them to their limits, but the four friends keep going in search of the things they need the most; wisdom, love, courage, and a home.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Alex at Alex Reads Books.

Goodreads

Greek Myths:

Outrun the Wind by Elizabeth TammiOutrun the Wind by Elizabeth Tammi (Atalanta)

The Huntresses of Artemis must obey two rules: never disobey the goddess, and never fall in love. After being rescued from a harrowing life as an Oracle of Delphi, Kahina is glad to be a part of the Hunt; living among a group of female warriors gives her a chance to reclaim her strength, even while her prophetic powers linger. But when a routine mission goes awry, Kahina breaks the first rule in order to save the legendary huntress Atalanta.

To earn back Artemis’s favor, Kahina must complete a dangerous task in the kingdom of Arkadia— where the king’s daughter is revealed to be none other than Atalanta. Still reeling from her disastrous quest and her father’s insistence on marriage, Atalanta isn’t sure what to make of Kahina. As her connection to Atalanta deepens, Kahina finds herself in danger of breaking Artemis’ second rule.

She helps Atalanta devise a dangerous game to avoid marriage, and word spreads throughout Greece, attracting suitors willing to tempt fate to go up against Atalanta in a race for her hand. But when the men responsible for both the girls’ dark pasts arrive, the game turns deadly.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

The Dark Wife by Sarah DiemerThe Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer (Persephone and Hades)

Three thousand years ago, a god told a lie. Now, only a goddess can tell the truth. Persephone has everything a daughter of Zeus could want--except for freedom. She lives on the green earth with her mother, Demeter, growing up beneath the ever-watchful eyes of the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. But when Persephone meets the enigmatic Hades, she experiences something new: choice. Zeus calls Hades "lord" of the dead as a joke. In truth, Hades is the goddess of the underworld, and no friend of Zeus. She offers Persephone sanctuary in her land of the dead, so the young goddess may escape her Olympian destiny. But Persephone finds more than freedom in the underworld. She finds love, and herself. From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Aliette de Bodard and Lynn E. O'Connacht.

Goodreads

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-HenryOrpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry* (Orpheus)

In her debut novel, award–winning poet Brynne Rebele-Henry re-imagines the epic of Orpheus as a love story between two teen girls in rural Texas.

Abandoned by a single mother she never knew, 16-year-old Raya—obsessed with ancient myths—lives with her grandmother in a small conservative Texas town. For years Raya has hidden her feelings for her best friend and true love, Sarah. When the two are caught in an intimate moment, they are sent to Friendly Saviors: a re-education camp meant to “fix” them and make them heterosexual. Upon arrival Raya vows to assume the mythic role of Orpheus to save them both and to return them to the world of the living, at any cost.

In a haunting voice reminiscent of Sylvia Plath, with the contemporary lyricism of David Levithan, Orpheus Girl is a mythic story of dysfunctional families, first love, heartbreak—and the fierce adolescent resilience that has the power to triumph over darkness and ignorance.
From Goodreads.

Goodreads

Alcestis by Katharine BeutnerAlcestis by Katharine Beutner (Alcestis)

In Greek myth, Alcestis is known as the ideal wife; she loved her husband so much that she died and went to the underworld in his place. In this vividly-imagined debut, Katharine Beutner gives voice to the woman behind the ideal and reveals the part of the story that’s never been told: What happened to Alcestis in the three days she spent in the underworld? From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Amanda Michele.

Goodreads

Shakespeare:

As I Descended by Robin TalleyAs I Descended by Robin Talley* (Macbeth)

Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

From acclaimed author Robin Talley comes a Shakespeare-inspired story of revenge and redemption, where fair is foul, and foul is fair.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: LGBTQ Reads

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Miranda in Milan by Katharine DuckettMiranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett (The Tempest)

After the tempest, after the reunion, after her father drowned his books, Miranda was meant to enter a brave new world. Naples awaited her, and Ferdinand, and a throne. Instead she finds herself in Milan, in her father’s castle, surrounded by hostile servants who treat her like a ghost. Whispers cling to her like spiderwebs, whispers that carry her dead mother’s name. And though he promised to give away his power, Milan is once again contorting around Prospero’s dark arts. With only Dorothea, her sole companion and confidant to aid her, Miranda must cut through the mystery and find the truth about her father, her mother, and herself. From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Cece of Problems of a Book Nerd.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Gale by Lyssa ChiavariGale by Lyssa Chiavari (The Tempest)

Miranda doesn’t want to be different. On Gale, being different can get you killed. When her seizures began, Miranda tried to keep her abnormality secret. But then the visions started—ominous hallucinations of strange lights in the sky, an otherworldly monster with wings like a dragon, and a girl who appeared from the clouds like a bolt of lightning. Despite the ever-present threat of the Watch, Miranda is determined to find out what the visions mean. Little does she know that the answers might lead her to freedom... From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Lynn E. O'Connacht.

Goodreads

Nothing Happened by Molly BoothNothing Happened by Molly Booth (Much Ado About Nothing)

This modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing takes place at the idyllic Camp Dogberry, where sisters Bee and Hana Leonato have grown up. Their parents own the place, and every summer they look forward to leading little campers in crafts, swimming in the lake, playing games of capture the flag and sproutball, and of course, the legendary counselor parties.

This year, the camp drama isn’t just on the improv stage. Bee and longtime counselor Ben have a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that’s complicated by events that happened—or didn’t happen—last summer. Meanwhile, Hana is falling hard for the kind but insecure Claudia, putting them both in the crosshairs of resident troublemaker John, who spreads a vicious rumor that could tear them apart.

As the counselors juggle their camp responsibilities with simmering drama that comes to a head at the Fourth of July sparkler party, they’ll have to swallow their pride and find the courage to untangle the truth, whether it leads to heartbreak or happily ever after.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Cece of Problems of a Book Nerd.

Wordery | Goodreads

Classics:

Great by Sara BenincasaGreat by Sara Benincasa (The Great Gatsby)

In Sara Benincasa's contemporary retelling of The Great Gatsby, a teenage girl becomes entangled in the drama of a Hamptons social circle, only to be implicated in a tragedy that shakes the summer community.

Everyone loves a good scandal.

Naomi Rye usually dreads spending the summer with her socialite mother in East Hampton. This year is no different. She sticks out like a sore thumb among the teenagers who have been summering (a verb only the very rich use) together for years. But Naomi finds herself captivated by her mysterious next-door neighbor, Jacinta. Jacinta has her own reason for drawing close to Naomi-to meet the beautiful and untouchable Delilah Fairweather. But Jacinta's carefully constructed world is hiding something huge, a secret that could undo everything. And Naomi must decide how far she is willing to be pulled into this web of lies and deception before she is unable to escape.

Based on a beloved classic and steeped in Sara Benincasa's darkly comic voice, Great has all the drama, glitz, and romance with a terrific modern (and scandalous) twist to enthrall readers.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: LGBTQ Reads

Book Depository | Goodreads

If I Loved You Less by Tamsen ParkerIf I Loved You Less by Tamsen Parker (Emma)

Matchmaking? Check. Surfing? Check. Falling in love? As if.

Sunny, striking, and satisfied with her life in paradise, Theodosia Sullivan sees no need for marriage. She does, however, relish serving as matchmaker for everyone who crosses her path. As the manager of her family’s surf shop in Hanalei Bay, that includes locals and tourists alike.

One person she won’t be playing Cupid for is the equally happy bachelorette down the street. Baker Kini ʻŌpūnui has been the owner of Queen’s Sweet Shop since her parents passed away and her younger brother married Theo’s older sister and moved to Oahu. Kini’s ready smile, haupia shortbread, and lilikoi malasadas are staples of Hanalei’s main street.

However, Theo’s matchmaking machinations and social scheming soon become less charming—even hazardous—to everyone involved. And when she fails to heed Kini’s warnings about her meddling, she may be more successful than she ever intended. Theo has to face the prospect of Kini ending up with someone else, just as she realizes she’s loved Kini all along.

A modern retelling of Jane Austen's Emma.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: LGBTQ Reads

Book Depository | Goodreads

The Story of Lizzy and Darcy by Grace WatsonThe Story of Lizzy and Darcy by Grace Watson (Pride and Prejudice)

When Lizzy Bennet first meets Darcy Williams, there is an instant dislike between them. As much as they try to avoid it their paths keep crossing, and they each start to see a different side to the other. Their tentative friendship is soon tested, but will they realise how they really feel?

The Story of Lizzy and Darcy is a modern day, same-sex adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Alex at Alex Reads Books and Edith at Shadow and Books.

Goodreads

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley PostonThe Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston (The Prince and the Pauper)

The Prince and the Pauper gets a modern makeover in this adorable, witty, and heartwarming young adult novel set in the Geekerella universe by national bestselling author Ashley Poston.

Imogen Lovelace is an ordinary fangirl on an impossible mission: save her favorite character, Princess Amara, from being killed off from her favorite franchise, Starfield. The problem is, Jessica Stone—the actress who plays Princess Amara—wants nothing more than to leave the intense scrutiny of the fandom behind. If this year's ExcelsiCon isn't her last, she'll consider her career derailed.

When a case of mistaken identity throws look-a-likes Imogen and Jess together, they quickly become enemies. But when the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, and all signs point to Jess, she and Imogen must trade places to find the person responsible. That's easier said than done when the girls step into each other's shoes and discover new romantic possibilities, as well as the other side of intense fandom. As these "princesses" race to find the script-leaker, they must rescue themselves from their own expectations, and redefine what it means to live happily ever after.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: C. G. Drews.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Ballet:

A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams by Dax MurrayA Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams by Dax Murray (Swan Lake)

How many half-truths could loyalty shoulder before it broke from the weight of deception on its back?

A sweeping LGBTQ and polyamorous retelling of "Swan Lake"!

Strange things can be said of the forest that spans the border of two kingdoms long at war. An evil sorcerer has made it his dominion, or an elegant enchantress has claimed it as her domain and grants wishes to those who chance upon her, or maybe the forest is guarded by an ancient and wrathful spirit.

Katya calls the forest home, living a life of magic and charms with her partner Ivan. But a threat looms over their forest, some darkness and danger that Ivan swears to protect her from. Katya finds herself caught up in a web of grudges and deception spanning generations, but most dangerous of all is the beautiful princess who stumbled into their woods. A princess who sets Katya’s heart fluttering with both desire and fear.

As forces rally to rescue the princess or go to war, Katya must take measure of her own powers and decide what she is willing to sacrifice. Will she retreat to the safety of what's familiar or give up everything she knows to spread her wings and fly?
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Lynn E. O'Connacht.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Legends:

Once & Future by Capetta & McCarthyOnce & Future by Capetta & McCarthy* (King Arthur)

I’ve been chased my whole life. As a fugitive refugee in the territory controlled by the tyrannical Mercer corporation, I’ve always had to hide who I am. Until I found Excalibur.

Now I’m done hiding.

My name is Ari Helix. I have a magic sword, a cranky wizard, and a revolution to start.

When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to be the newest reincarnation of King Arthur. Then she meets Merlin, who has aged backward over the centuries into a teenager, and together they must break the curse that keeps Arthur coming back. Their quest? Defeat the cruel, oppressive government and bring peace and equality to all humankind.

No pressure.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Jemma @ Fantastic Books AWTFT

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Novis by Rachel Tonks HillNovis by Rachel Tonks Hill (Beowulf - f/f/f)

Novis Colony has a reputation for being cursed. *Something* is killing the colonists, and every single mercenary team that has been sent to protect them.

Ros Lamarr is the best mercenary captain in the Commonwealth and even she thinks twice about taking the job. But she's sick of low paid jobs and bored of sitting in a station bar pickling her liver and getting into fights.

Breaking the curse on Novis Colony is going to ask more of Ros than any other job she's ever done but if she can do it the rewards will be bigger than even she can imagine. But she can't do it alone. Ros is going to need all the help she can get from the colony's assistant governor, Isobel Devereux, and from Gabby Hernandez, her long-suffering best friend and comrade-in-arms.

With the help of these two women, and the support of the rest of her mercenary crew, the Erebus Station Irregulars, Ros might just be able to break the curse, but at what cost?
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: Lynn E. O'Connacht.

Goodreads

Historic People:

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamaraThe Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara* (Mary Read)

A clever, romantic novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack—and fell in love with Anne Bonny.

There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mum, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where no girl can be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s livelihood—and her safety—depends on her ability to disguise her gender.

At least, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and in the midst of the gang of cutthroats, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate.

The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain, earning herself the chance to join the account and become a pirate alongside Calico Jack and Anne Bonny.

For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Breathlessly romantic and brilliantly subversive, The Unbinding of Mary Reade is sure to sweep readers off their feet and make their hearts soar.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Anthologies/Short Story Collections Featuring F/F Retellings:

His Hideous Heart ed. by Dahlia AdlerHis Hideous Heart ed. by Dahlia Adler (Edgar Allan Poe retellings)

Thirteen of YA’s most celebrated names reimagine Edgar Allan Poe’s most surprising, unsettling, and popular tales for a new generation.

Edgar Allan Poe may be a hundred and fifty years beyond this world, but the themes of his beloved works have much in common with modern young adult fiction. Whether the stories are familiar to readers or discovered for the first time, readers will revel in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales, and how they’ve been brought to life in 13 unique and unforgettable ways.
From Goodreads.

Recommended by: LGBTQ Reads

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Tanglweed and Brine by Deirdre SullivanTanglweed and Brine by Deirdre Sullivan* (Fairy Tale Retellings)

Tangled tales of earth, salty tales of water

Bewitched retellings of thirteen classic fairy-tales with brave and resilient heroines. Tales of blood and intrigue, betrayal and enchantment from a leading Irish YA author.

With 13 stunning black and white illustrations by new Irish illustrator Karen Vaughan.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

Proud anthology, ed. by Juno DawsonProud anthology, ed. by Juno Dawson* (LGBTQ* Antho.)

A stirring, bold and moving anthology of stories and poetry by top LGBTQ+ YA authors and new talent, giving their unique responses to the broad theme of pride. Each story has an illustration by an artist identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Compiled by Juno Dawson, author of THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN.

A celebration of LGBTQ+ talent, PROUD is a thought-provoking, funny, emotional read.

Contributors: Steve Antony, Dean Atta, Kate Alizadeh, Fox Benwell, Alex Bertie, Caroline Bird, Fatti Burke, Tanya Byrne, Moïra Fowley-Doyle, Frank Duffy, Simon James Green, Leo Greenfield, Saffa Khan, Karen Lawler, David Levithan, Priyanka Meenakshi, Alice Oseman, Michael Lee Richardson, David Roberts, Cynthia So, Kay Staples, Jessica Vallance, Kristen Van Dam and Kameron White.
From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

You might also like:

My Most Anticipated YA Retellings From Jan - June 2019 My F/F February Reading Challenge TBR

Over to you graphic

Have you read any of these? What did you think? Any you're now going to pick up? Do you know of any other sapphic retellings? Do let me know in the comments!

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1 comment:

  1. Awesome list! Extensive, and great variety. I'm going to look into Robbergirl and Great.

    ReplyDelete