
How is it May already?? April flew by in a blink. I’d like to say I accomplished a lot with isolation going on but that would be a lie. Instead, I got caught up in books and procrastinated my uni work. To add to this, my TBR seems to be growing this week with the Top 5 Sat theme of: Retellings. This meme was created by the lovely Mandy over at Devouring Books.

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales – SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA meets CLUELESS in this boy-meets-boy spin on Grease. I mean… just that description has me already saying YES, YES, YES. Who wouldn’t want to read a boy-meets-boy ‘summer loving’ Grease retelling??
Hunted by Meagan Spooner – Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them. When he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. This book sounds amazing. I love strong female characters and this one seems sure to deliver!
A Heart so Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer – I wasn’t such a fan of the first book in this series but I ADORED Grey. His prominence in this book has it firmly placed on my TBR.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden – With Russian fairy tales and (apparently) beautifully descriptive writing, this story has been high on my TBR for years now. Having just finished an MG fantasy with Russian fairy-tale influence I’m keen to compare the tales to TBATN.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer – I’ve read so many good reviews for The Lunar Chronicles over the years and yet I still haven’t read it. Here’s to hoping I give this series a read sometime this year!

The Lunar Chronicles is one of my all-time favorite series! I hope you adore all of these💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Kaya! I hope so too 😊 I’m looking forward to them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh I love The bear and the nightingale and Cinder! I hoep you will as well!
(www.evelynreads.com)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Evelyn! I have the bear and the nightingale up for next months book club and can’t wait!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] Source: Top 5 Sat: Retellings on my TBR – nen & jen […]
LikeLike
I read A Curse so Dark and Lonely for OWLs last month, and… it was meh. Lol I wasn’t expecting to like it, but I really didn’t like it. However, you’re right, Grey was probably my fav character of all, and the way things ended in the first book made me curious to see what’s going to happen next.
The Bear and the Nightingale is my favorite trilogy of all time. I also finished the last book in April and I’m so sad that it’s over… You need to pick it up soon! Although, I’d recommend reading it during wintertime. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad it wasn’t just me! I really tried to get in to A Curse so Dark and Lonely but just couldn’t seem to. The cover and reviews for Bear and the Nightingale are so positive and good I honestly can’t wait to try it! Especially as (in Aussie) we’re headed in to our Wintertime. Although that’s normally just a case of (slightly) less heat than normal 😂 someday I’m hoping to see snow and read indoors by a fireplace (it only seems appropriate!). Thanks for the comment Alex 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cinder, The Bear and the Nightingale & A Heart so Fierce and Broken are all amazing! I think you will enjoy AHSFAB if you liked Grey because it’s pretty much his book. You’ve got some great reads ahead of you 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m hoping so too, Becky 😊 I’m waiting until the libraries open back up here as I’ve got AHSFAB on my reserved list. Fingers crossed it will be soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed Hunted and The Bear and the Nightingale! I hope you enjoy them when you get to them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Joanna, I hope so too! I have the bear and the nightingale as my book club pick next month so I’m excited for that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved Lunar Chronicles. I hope you can read Cinder soon and enjoy it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Yesha, I hope so too! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
A friend recommended me The Bear and the Nightingale. Can’t wait to hear what you think of it. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Lu! I’m excited to give it a try 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can’t wait to read your thoughts on this one 😉🥰
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Lu! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
These all sound great! I’ve been meaning to read The Bear and the Nightingale for ages! Lovely list! 💛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! 🙂 I’ve been meaning to read the bear and the nightingale too. I have it coming up next month for book club and am so excited!
LikeLiked by 1 person
oooh I love the Lunar Chronicles (though the books get better as the series goes in imo) such a great series though I loved the unique retelling!! Hope you enjoy your retelling reads! 😀 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks KitKat 🙂 I’m hoping to get to the Lunar Chronicles sometime this year!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome! Ooh can’t wait to see your thoughts on them – love the series!! 😊💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t know the Bear and the Nightingale was a retelling. It has been on my TBR for a while now and I definitely want to read it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I only realised after having read Nevertell that there were similarities between the stories and then looked it up. The Bear and the Nightingale is a retelling of both the story of Father Frost and Vasilisa the Beautiful. I hope you enjoy it too Susan 🙂
LikeLike
Ohhh ok! I don’t feel so silly then. I’m sure I will. I am getting to more backlist books this year so I have hope!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A heart so fierce and broken sucks. I liked the first book. But this second… nope. Sucks. Grey was the best character in the first but in book two he basically acts like an emo teenager and everything I loved about Grey was just… well it disappeared. … but you know maybe you’ll like it… *half hearted thumbs up* 🙈🙈🙈
LikeLike
Oh obvs I’m going to read the third because *logic* 🙄😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh no, I was hoping Grey would come across as he did in the first book. I trust your judgement though. I’ll still give it a read but my expectations are lowered (which might dispel some future disappointment, haha). Also, I admire your commitment! After trudging through two books, why not finish the series off? At least I hope it will be the end at book 3 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read the first book with my book group and the consensus was that we liked it, thought Grey was the best. Then a bunch of us read the second together as a buddy read. One DNFd, one rated it two stars and two of us rated it one….. 🙈
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] Nen & Jen @ Nen & Jen —Top 5 Sat: Retellings on my TBR […]
LikeLike
I tried to focus on non fairy tale retellings for my post, but if I had focused on fairy tale retellings The Bear and the Nightingale would have been on it!! I love fairy tales from other cultures and have focused on more irregular retellings lately!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it’s great that you’ve done irregular retellings as your take on this week’s theme. There are an abundance of fairy tale retellings and not much exposure for others. Great topic this week Mandy! 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks! I love all sorts of retellings but I wanted to talk about retellings that arent super common! It’s a fun theme!
LikeLike
I’ve only read one of these! I have not heard of Only Mostly Devastated but now I want to read that one, thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Only Mostly Devastated has such an interesting retelling theme – Grease! – it was a no brainer to add it to my TBR. I’ve just recently bought the Kindle version and am excited to give it a try. Thanks for the comment Lisa 🙂
LikeLike