The Best of the Best Cinderella Retellings

This gender-swapped sci-fi reimagining of Cinderella takes place on a far off planet where a princess fleeing an arranged marriage is forced to team up with a commoner when she steals a spaceship where he was stowing away. A runaway princess and a thief — it’s an unlikely pairing. But when the two discover a rebel plot that threatens to destroy their home planet, they find something more important to fight for.

Tiến loves fairytales, but real life doesn’t resemble them very much. He’s searching for the right words to tell his mother he’s gay, but unsure what that might be when he doesn’t even know the words in Vietnamese. Language and cultural barriers create a gap between them, but they fill that gap with stories. Through a series of gorgeously illustrated fairytales retold by various characters as a way to share their feelings, Tiến and his mother share their love — and understanding — for each other. A graphic novel that is just stunning in every sense of the word.

A young dressmaker is called upon to help a prince who is hiding a double life. By day, he tries to put off his parents insistence he finds a bride. By night, he wears Frances’s beautiful creations and takes on the town as Lady Crystallia. But nobody else knows he sometimes wears dresses. How long can he hide his true self — especially when doing so means his best friend isn’t getting the recognition she deserves? A Cinderella story with a genderfluid prince and the talented seamstress who has seen the real him all along.

This upcoming reality show take on Cinderella from Julie Murphy checks all the boxes for me. Author I love? Check. (She also wrote Dumplin’ and Dear Sweet Pea, among others.) Unique, modern take on a fairytale? Check. Fat-positive rep? Check. Swoony romance? Check and check. Cindy is a shoe designer trying to make it in the world of fashion. When a spot opens up on her stepmothers beloved reality show, Before Midnight, she offers to fill in. Maybe it will finally bring some much-needed attention to her work. But it turns out being the only plus-sized contestant on a reality dating competition makes you a bit of a body-positive icon. She can work with that. What she doesn’t expect is to find actual love along the way.

Release date: August 3, 2021

A one-night stand and a mix-up with their swag bags at a Hollywood after party leaves Sam Pleasant’s recent Oscar win in Amanda Queen’s hands. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing if that means they’ll have to meet up again. Amanda may just be a struggling personal assistant to a Hollywood diva trying to sell her screenplay, but Sam sees her for who she really is. And a trip to his family’s ranch gives them the opportunity to see each other without the veneer of stardom and Hollywood getting in the way. A smart and sexy modern take on a Cinderella romance.

What happens after the royal wedding and happily ever after? Thirteen years and two children later, the fairytale ending has lost its charm. Her husband isn’t exactly who she thought he was. How does Cinderella find herself searching out a witch, not for a love potion, but for poison? This is that story. Dark and twisty and full of malicious magic.

A girl is transported to the world of Cinderella after accidentally destroying an enchanted picture book. But she doesn’t show up as the eponymous character. No, Kat is Katriona, one of the ugly stepsisters. Suddenly, she has to learn to survive high society life, hoop skirts and all. Her only hope of getting home is to complete the story, complete with its happy ending. Easier said than done with a couple of gorgeous sisters by her side, a missing fairy godmother, and a prince who openly loathes balls.

Everybody knows the story of Cinderella, but what about the stepsisters? How does it feel for your perfect, pretty sister to get the guy you’ve been crushing on since you were nine? Not so good. But that’s exactly what’s happened to Mattie Lowe. Her mother won’t stop belittling her, the school mean girl has set her eyes on Mattie, and the guy of her dreams, Jake Kingston, is dating her stepsister. But instead of sitting around and waiting for her fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to take fate into her own hands and run for student body president against Jake. Forget getting the guy, Mattie’s going to run the school. It’s time for the ugly stepsisters to step up.

Isabelle is about to win the prince. But she’s not the perfect girl with the missing glass slipper. She’s the stepsister who cut off her toes to fit the slipper, and now it’s filling with blood. When the prince discovers her deception, she’s banished. Isabelle has always tried to fit in, but she’s a plain and feisty girl in a world that only values beauty and compliance. Being forced to change herself, always cutting away pieces to fit in, has made her hollow and mean. But now Isabelle finally has a chance to prove it takes more than heartbreak to break a girl. She’s more than strong enough to survive.

While not strictly marketed as a Cinderella retelling, Cole’s whole Reluctant Royals series (and new Runaway Royals series) have some major fairytale vibes. Especially her first book in the series, A Princess in Theory. As a former foster kid, Naledi Smith has no time for fairytales, much less fake African princes claiming she’s their long lost betrothed. Sure. She’ll stick to science and facts, thank you. But Prince Thabiso really is a prince. And he’s determined to get to the bottom of why the girl he was betrothed to as a child was whisked away to American by her parents — the ultimate betrayal to the throne of Thesolo. Naledi has no interest in princes, though. And the more Thabiso gets to know her, the more certain he is that she’s the one for him. Even if she has no idea who he really is. Trust me when I say this is a swoon-worthy tale.