Goose Girl Retellings

For 2025 I wanted to give my Fairy Tale Retellings board on Pinterest some extra love. And nothing is better than a book recommended by another reader with similar preferences so each month I've been asking the Champions on social media to help me update a different section with more books. In January we did Goose Girl (since my version of the story was free in December) and here's what they came up with!

We tried to limit these to no spice and mild language only but as always we recommend you check the reviews if you have content concerns.

Special Goose Girl side note: In the original fairy tale the talking horse owned by the princess dies. :( I greatly dislike that part so I changed that plot point for my version of the story but some of these stick close to the original so be warned.

List of Goose Girl Fairy Tale Retellings:

A Goose Girl by K.M. Shea

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Goose Princess by Tricia Mingerink

Lady or Maid by Emily Deady

A Noble Princess by Saraina Whitney

Feathers of Snow by Alice Ivinya

Betraying Korth by Mary Mecham

The Secret Princess by Melanie Cellier

Poppy's Peril by Allison Tebo

A Royal Masquerade by Allison Tebo

The Goose Girl by Alicia Chumney

Curse of Silence by Erin Halbmaier

Identity by Camille Peters

Crown by Madisyn Carlin

A Secret Hope by Scarlett Luna Strange

The Secret and the Shadow Bride by Jodie Seibert

Arabella's Song by Meagan Myhren-Bennett

A Stolen Heart by Selina R. Gonzalez

Illusion's Reign by Sarah Pennington

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

The Noble Servant by Melanie Dickerson

Blood in the Snow by Sarah Pennington

A Disguise of the Worst Sort by Sarah Courtney

The Itsy Bitsy Liar by Abigail Manning

Feathers of Fate by Laura Greenwood

The Princess and the Handmaid by Lucy Winton

Enspelled by Arisa May

Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Robin Hood Retellings

If you love the myth/legend of Robin Hood then you will definitely find a book in this list to be your next favorite read! And these were all recommended by readers for readers just like you!

Before I jump right into the long list of books there are two I want to call out specifically:

Robyn Hood: A Girl's Tale (and Fight For Freedom) - These are my historical retellings where I reimagined the traditional legends and ballads if "Robin Hood" was actually a girl named "Robyn" who got roped into the role of outlaw by her friends and her compassion for the villagers.

The Wicked Prince by Celeste Baxendell - This fantasy book gets honorable mention because it was the most popular suggestion from the reader Facebook Group and many mentioned it is their favorite Robin Hood retelling!

Now for the full list! I asked my reader community for their top suggestions (I asked for no spice and low language but check reviews if you have questions about the content). The readers came up with a mix of everything from YA, to historical adventure, to fantasy romance so you probably haven't read all of these yet and there is sure to be something you'll like!

The Outlaws of Sherwood - Robin McKinley

The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest - Melanie Dickerson

Marian and the Elf - Anabelle Raven

Bluebeard and the Outlaw - Tara Grace

Crown Duel - Sherwood Smith

Robin: Lady of Legend - R.M. Arcejaeger

Hood - Stephen R Lawhead

Scarlet - Stephen R Lawhead

Tuck - Stephen R Lawhead

Rowan Hood - Nancy Springer

The Masked Fae - Shari L Tapscott

The Swindler's Daughter - Annette K Larsen

Dauntless - Dina L Sleiman

Mercury Rises - Scarlett Kol

Hawksmaid - Kathryn Lasky

A Daring Sacrifice - Jody Hedlund

Ilyon Chronicles - Jaye L Knight

A Bird in the Snow - MC Kennedy

Protecting the Poor - Amanda Tero

Honor: A Quest In - Kendra E Ardnek

Robin's Hood: A Tale of Sherwood Forest - Jacque Stevens

By Wingéd Chair - Kendra Merritt

Outlawed (Sherwood Outlaws series) - Hayley Osborn

Robin Hood - Henry Gilbert

Sherwood - Meagan Spooner

Scarlet - A. C. Gaughen

Arrows and Gems - Erin Halbmaier

The Hood - Frost Kay

Did you know I have a whole series of these blog posts featuring book recommendations, popular retellings, and lists of books vetted by readers? Click here to start reading or use the Book Lists category to filter them.

Sleeping Beauty Retellings

I’m not going to lie, putting together this blog post made me a little nervous. Because let’s be real for a second and admit that some of the original Sleeping Beauty stories are really, really dark and definitely not safe for you to read to your kids (or to read at work).

Most modern writers tend to skip over those aspects of the original story (thank goodness!) and I did work extra hard to scrub the list of books below. Luckily, Sleeping Beauty has been blessed with a Disney movie retelling so it has inspired plenty of stories that focus on the lighter aspects of the original fairy tales!

Let's start things out with some special call outs for my favorite retellings of this fairy tale:

Spindle’s End – by Robin McKinley – I’m assuming you’ve read one of Robin McKinley’s retellings of Beauty and the Beast, but did you know she has written a Sleeping Beauty retelling as well? It has McKinley’s trademark beautiful world building and descriptions combined with some fun twits. I think the best part is the fact that the main heroine is not some passive princess waiting for everything to get solved – she’s a woman of action!

The Healer’s Apprentice – by Melanie Dickerson – Melanie Dickerson has written a whole series of fairy tale retellings mixed with historical fiction, and this book is the first one in her series. I personally like books I read to have a touch of magic in them (which these do not) but I have to admire how seamlessly Dickerson can blend the historical aspects with the original fairy tales to come up with a story that is both entertaining and realistic!

The Castle Behind Thorns – by Merrie Haskell – Ok, I did not like this book as much as Haskell’s other book, The Princess Curse. But this is still a great book with an interesting spin on the Sleeping Beauty tale (both how she ends up in the situation and what she and the main male character do to fix things).

Sleeping Beauty  – by K.M. Shea – For my retelling of Sleeping Beauty I knew I wanted Briar Rose to be a bit more fiery (she had to be to go through what I had planned for her)! Sometimes she gets a little carried away with herself but that is why Isaia is there to steady her and hold her back when necessary.

A big shout-out to everyone who commented on my Facebook post with extra book ideas! These are all reader recommendations so think of them as a friend rec! (I asked for no spice and low language but if that is a concern for you be sure to check the reviews.)

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

Sleeping Beauty’s Daughters by Diane Zahler

Rose & Thorn by Sarah Prineas

The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

Curse of the Thirteenth Fey by Jane Yolen

Awaken by Camille Peters

Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell

The Princess Game by Melanie Cellier

Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep by Gail Carson Levine

Alora by Morgan Dawson

Sleeping Beauty by Jenni James

Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey

Kingdom of Slumber Deborah Grace White

Cursed by Kaylin Lee

Mistress of All Evil by Serena Valentino

The Awakened Prince by Alora Carter

Ice and the Elves by Anabelle Raven

Thorns at Sunrise by Janeen Ippolito

A Gracious Hope by Robyn Sarty

Sleeping Dragon by Amberlyn Holland

A Lady Most Engaged by Audrey Glenn

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

Dagger's Sleep by Tricia Mingerink

The Silent Night by Sarah Beran

Spindled Slumber by Kayla Eshbaugh

Bria & the Billionaire's Kiss by Catelyn Meadows

Upon a Dream by Laura Burton and Jessie Cal

Did you find a book you want to read? The list includes everything from middle grade, YA, Fantasy, historical, and contemporary. So it has a bit of everything and I hope you found your next great book!

If you are looking for more, I have a whole series of these blog posts featuring book recommendations, popular retellings, and lists of books vetted by readers! Click here to start reading or use the Book Lists category to filter them.