Who doesn’t love a good retelling? No matter how many times I’ve read some version of Beatrice and Benedick being set up by their friends to admit their feelings for one another, I will automatically add any Much Ado About Nothing retelling to my TBR. The Love Remedy author, Elizabeth Everett loves a good retelling too and is here to share three modern versions of old classics that she thinks you need to read.
So, what are Elizabeth Everett’s three favorite modern retellings of classics?
I am a sucker for a re-telling. When my kids were little, I would read them fairy tales, but instead of repeating the traditional endings, I’d put a modern spin on the happily ever after. Ask any of my children what did Cinderella ask of her fairy godmother. They will give you a revised version where she doesn’t ask for new dresses, or to go to the ball. She wished for entrance to a good college and to get a job with health insurance.
In this vein, let me introduce you to three romance novels I love that re-tell a classic story, but have been updated for our reading pleasure (and are a heck of a lot sexier than health insurance)!
Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne
Nikki Payne’s retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is sexy, smart, and delightfully funny. Our heroine, Liza B., is out to thwart the machinations of a soulless corporate CEO Dorsey Fitzgerald. Dorsey, happily, turns out to be anything but. Liza is the stand-in for Austen’s prejudiced Darcy, and learns her lesson not to judge people based on stereotypes or the company they keep. Payne skillfully creates hilarious modern day counterparts to Austen’s eccentric cast of secondary characters and Austinites will adore how Payne has updated the settings and conflicts. While addressing current issues of sexism, racism, and classicism, Payne never strays far from the observational humor that is the hallmark of Austen’s romances.
Marry Me By Midnight by Felicia Grossman
Felicia Grossman’s retelling of Cinderella set in 1832 is a romance I can get behind. Grossman gives us a gender-swapped tale whose characters are members of London’s Jewish community. The sympathetic underdog in this tale is the kind and handsome Aaron Ellenberg who longs for the dream of marrying the beautiful heiress, Isabelle Lira. Isabella faces the choice of marrying a man of stature who will help her run her business and the appearance of Aaron in the moonlight the very night she must choose is one of the best Cinderella re-makes I’ve read.
Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese
Chloe Liese takes on Shakespeare in this contemporary retelling of Much Ado About Nothing. Benedict and Beatrice are now Jamie and Bea. He’s a pediatrician who favors wrinkle-free slacks, she’s a tattooed artist who designs a line of erotic greeting cards. In Two Wrongs, not only do we get a fresh take on banter and swoon, but Liese, as she has in her other works, includes neurodivergent and mental health representation. A romance that finds its inspiration in Shakespeare’s wit yet leaves behind the -isms that can ruin the play for some people.
All three authors deliver fresh —and steamy—re-tellings of classic stories. You’ll never look at the classics the same way again!
The Love Remedy is available now in trade paperback, e-book, and audiobook.
Elizabeth Everett author photo credit Asa Shutts, Featured image designed by Jon Negroni. Read more articles by Brianna Robinson here.
Brianna Robinson is a book publicist and Sarah Lawrence College alum. She lives in New York with too many books and two enthusiastic dachshunds. You can find her on twitter @blrobins2.
