Queer Retellings Of Classics And Fairytales Across Genres

Hungerstone takes the story of Carmilla, a vampire fiction novel that predates Dracula, and gives us a sapphic romance retelling full of vampires. In this retelling, though, Lenore experiences a queer awakening. 

Over the last ten years, Lenore's and Henry's childless marriage has not been particularly happy. While on their way to a country home, the pair comes across a woman during a storm and ends up taking her home with them. What transpires is an awakening in Lenore as she falls for the mysterious (and gothic vampire) Carmilla.

The atmosphere of this gothic horror reminds us that while the characters might be dead, the genre is thriving. Creepiness abounds as Kat Dunn weaves her tale with the finest of languages, culminating in a finale that you can't look away from.

Everyone knows Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glassand What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll. To borrow a quote from the original, 'We're all mad' here describes Off With Their Heads so well that the quote is used on the book's cover. 

This Korean-inspired retelling introduces us to Carousel (Caro) Rabbit and Iccadora (Icca) Alice Sickle, two witches who were once in love with each other. We follow the pair after they're sentenced to the grotesque and evil Wonderland woods for a crime they didn't commit, and along the way, we watch the two as they manage to break each other's hearts.

Zoe Hana Mikuta elevates her sapphic horror story with moments that will leave you wanting to cover your eyes (or ears), while peeking through to see what transpires next. Her prose, which reads like poetry, lends itself to creepiness as much as evil saints and things that lurk around each corner.

Lou is just your typical ace teenager who doesn't quite feel like she fits in with her family in Not Good for Maidens. But when her best friend, her teenage Aunt Neela, goes missing, Lou embarks on a family journey she never expected.

Weaving original elements of Rossetti's Goblin Market (and Simon and Garfunkel's 'Scarborough Fair'), Tori Bovolino interconnects events from Lou's mother and other aunt seventeen years ago with those of the present day. The goblins have taken Neela, and it's up to the three other women to rescue her. 

With a sapphic romance and bisexual representation too, the  body horror and gritty details work together and leave you wondering if you should run or maybe stay for just a few more minutes. After all, the goblin market can't be that bad, right?

When people think of The Little Mermaid, they think of someone so in love with a prince that she gave up her voice. But what if the stories got it wrong? Instead, the prince kidnaps a mermaid and forces her to eat her tongue, but the prince is then devoured by their shared offspring. Mermaids, after all, have teeth and claws and the ability to consume whole kingdoms in The Salt Grows Heavy.

The mermaid and her nonbinary Plague Doctor are on the run, having escaped the despair wrought by her children. With their own darkness within them, they slowly learn more about each other and fall in love. They come across saints, and children abused and killed for religious reasons, and a mermaid determined to save them along with her Plague Doctor. 

The words used may cause visceral reactions, but Cassandra Khaw knows how to spellbind us with this horror-filled fairytale retelling of The Little Mermaid.

Take everything loved about Pride & Prejudice, but with Elizabeth Bennett replaced by a transmasc person named Oliver. 

Oliver just wants to survive and not be forced to marry and be a wife. After meeting Mr. Darcy as 'Elizabeth' (Oliver's deadname), even though the two don't initially get along, Oliver finds that he can be his authentic self around Mr. Darcy more and more.

Oliver feels more and more trapped as the threat of marriage looms closer, but maybe, just maybe, he can find happiness as Oliver with Mr. Darcy.

This story contains every beat of the classic novel fans expect, while making the story unique with a character who simply wants to live authentically as himself. 

Finley is not excited about moving into a McMansion with his new stepfather. After his father died, Finley got used to the life of him and his mother in their poorer neighborhood. Plus, he's pretty sure his stepfather doesn't like him and is homophobic, so his enthusiasm levels dip below zero. 

When Finley meets his stepbrother, though, his opinions slowly change, even if his stepfather wants to keep his son away from Finley and his gayness.

As the two stepbrothers slowly fall in love, they have to navigate homophobia, distance, and the knowledge that this could irrevocably change their lives and outside relationships. 

Mansfield Park gets a makeover in Finley Embraces Heart and Home, with two male love interests in the modern era. Plus moments that cause you to laugh, cry, and perhaps even yell at Finley's stepfather.

Meet Cynthia, the unloved stepsister forced to a life of servitude, drudgery, and no escape in sight. One day, when she spots the royal procession, while her stepsisters swoon over the prince, she makes eye contact with the Princess, Ammalia. Imagine her surprise when the princess ends up at her house, and suddenly Cynthia is waited upon by her family at the princess's order.

Her Princess at Midnight has a happily ever after that will leave you swooning. This retelling foregoes a fairy godmother and instead allows Cynthia to rescue herself with the help of the princess. Expect to cheer throughout this novella.

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) gets a modern dark romance retelling in Queen Takes Rose. Aurora has been biding her time over the last twenty years to destroy the woman who killed her mother, by signing over her freedom to Hades for safety. Malone wants two weeks with Aurora to get the blue-haired ebony beauty out of her head. 

When Hades signs Aurora over to Malone for two weeks, will she fulfill her plans of murder, or will she find herself falling for the enemy — and perhaps even sinking so completely into Malone's bones that Malone won't let her go?

With a sex club, kink, and violence, this version of Sleeping Beauty vibes more with the darker aspects of the original tale than anything Disney might show. 

Katee Robert doesn't hold back on emotions, words, or a love story you won't know whether to root for, but will either way.

Take  Macbeth, add some ghosts, spirits, two gay couples, modernity, and lo, and you'll get  As I Descended.  

All Maria wants is to be valedictorian and top of her class, so she and her girlfriend, Lily, can attend the same college and live together for another four years. The only person standing in her way? Delilah. 

One night, Lily and Maria decide to frame Delilah for drug use, knowing that it will ruin her future. What transpires are the main plots from Macbeth, and no less tragic.

Robin writes as though she and Shakespeare discussed how to modernize one of his most famous plays. The creepiness, the characters, and the varying points of view make up a well-rounded story you won't be able to put down until you finish reading it.

Peter Pan, but make it a throuple with two bisexual males. Devour the Dark, the sequel to Devourer of Men, follows Hook, Roc (the Crocodile), and Wendy Darling on their journey back to Wonderland. As they rush to save Roc, with the help of his brother, the three realize there is nothing they won't do for each other.

Nikki writes well-known characters in such a fresh way, complete with a throuple still coming to terms with how they can be in a three-person relationship. 

This refreshing take on well-known Peter Pan characters breathes new life into them. You'll squeal at every spicy scene while hoping against hope that a happily ever after is in store for the trio.

T. Kingfisher uses her whole arsenal of wit, charm, and humour to take you on a rescue mission in The Raven and the Reindeer, her retelling of The Snow Queen. 

When Gerta wakes up to see the Snow Queen kidnapping her best friend, she knows she must go and save him. Although she doesn't know how far this adventure will take her or what dangers she might face, Gerta knows nobody else will try to free him. 

Along the way, she ends up getting kidnapped by a witch, befriends a raven, and eventually uses a reindeer skin to become one. But most importantly, she falls in love with a lovely girl who joins her on her adventure.

This atmospheric and sapphic fairytale retelling leaves you smiling at how sweet Gerta is and how brave she becomes with each passing day. By the end, you'll want Gerta to succeed for herself, no matter what happens to her childhood friend.

The Darkest Part of the Forest gender bends Snow White. In the woods where Hazel and her elder brother Ben live, everyone knows about the fairy boy in the glass casket. 

When Hazel, without any memory, awakens the boy, their town will never be the same. With help from Jack, Ben's changeling best friend, they must battle to save their town and maybe find love along the way. 

This story offers a truly refreshing take on first love. Holly Black writes a world so uniquely hers and engaging that by closing your eyes, you'll be transported into the world within The Darkest Part of the Forest.