Summer is the perfect time to kick back, soak up some sunshine, and relax with a refreshing drink and a good book (but then again, I feel the same way about curling up under a blanket with a hot drink in the winter, so I guess I just think any time is good time to read – are you really surprised?).

And I know that summer is coming to a close, which makes this list a little oddly timed, so I’m trying to keep it concise. A quick look at four fairy tale retellings with summer vibes that I love, and four that are on my TBR list (though whether I’ll get through them this summer is anybody’s guess).

So, let’s dive in!

(This list is very subjective, both in the books themselves and how they fit as summer reads. Mostly these are books that take place in the summer, have beachy settings, or just have a warm quality about them that makes me think of sunshine.)

1. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

This is a book that will probably make the cut on any list of favorites I make. I read this book for the first time in middle school, and I’ve been a fan of it ever since. It retells, as the title suggests, The Goose Girl, which follows a princess, fleeing from a treacherous maid, who takes up a job as a goose herder. So a lot of the book takes place in the fields and under the sun. It might not always be technically in the summer, but the story feels very warm and pastoral, which makes it a summer book in my mind.

2. Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

Six Crimson Cranes covers a large span of time. Shiori, the only daughter of Kiata’s royal family, discovers a dangerous secret about her stepmother, which leads to her and her six brothers being cursed. Her brothers are turned to cranes, and Shiori has a large bowl stuck to her head, obscuring her face, and magic keeps anyone from recognizing her or believing she is royalty. Furthermore, she’s told that if she speaks, one of her brothers will die for every word she says. She embarks on a months-long quest to break the spell, with a majority of the story occurring over the winter. But the story opens with a summer festival, and Shiori spends a good deal of time along the coast. Maybe it’s just because I read the book this summer, but it still feels very summery to me.

3. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Another read from my school days, Wildwood Dancing is a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, following the second eldest daughter, Jena, as she and her sisters explore a magical world that only appears on nights of the full moon. I think the reason this feels like a summer read for me is less about sunshine-y warmth and more the late-night-dancing-under-the-stars. Again, if memory serves me, at least part of the story takes place in the winter, but a lot of these stories cover a significant stretch of time, so I didn’t see the need to confine myself to stories that only take place in the summer. Also, this book feels very similar to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which only solidifies it as a summer read for me.

4. The Little Selkie by K.M. Shea

A true beach read, this Little Mermaid retelling also pulls from Scottish, Irish, and Icelandic folklore. Dylan is a selkie who has lost her pelt, which means she can change into her sea lion form – and can’t return to her home in the sea. To keep her captor from using her innate magic to control water, she desperately convinces a wandering enchantress to ‘steal’ her voice – the very thing that her magic relies on.

TBR Picks

In doing some research to put together my list of picks, I also stumbled across several summer-themed fairy tales that I hadn’t read and immediately added to my “To Be Read” list. I don’t know much about them other than their blurbs, but each one has caught my eye for a variety of reasons.

1. Foxgloves in Summer by Penelope Daniels

This Cinderella retelling is a short and sweet Regency romance, featuring a female lead with an amputated leg. She crosses paths with a duke’s inventive son and agrees to help him win a wager with his father: create something worthwhile by the end of summer, or choose a woman to court (and presumably put his inventions aside).

2. The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

This is actually the second book of a series (the first, being The Winter Sea, couldn’t make the list for obvious reasons). It’s a dual-time book with slight fantasy elements, following a woman named Nicola, who can touch an object and learn its history as she’s drawn into a quest around the mythical Russian firebird.

3. Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods

Another historical fantasy, this tale tackles Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. Luce dreams of leaving home and joining a ship’s crew, until the day she meets the handsome son of a wealthy ship-owner. Add to that the mysterious fae, and you’ve got a story I don’t think I can resist.

4. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

This gothic tale is another retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, but with a much darker bent. Annaleigh is one of twelve sisters – or she used to be. Now she’s one of eight, and she’s determined to find out if her sisters’ deaths were truly accidents or if they are somehow related to the mysterious midnight balls Annaleigh has avoided so far. It’s the seaside setting, I think, that would make this a summer read, but also, I scare easily, so if I have to read a spookier story, I prefer to do so on a bright and sunny day, when I’m less likely to jump at shadows.

If you want to see if I read these books (and what I think of them when I do), follow me on Instagram and Goodreads, where I share about my recent reads.

What are your favorite summer fairy tales?

Until next time, word nerds!