Ep #117 – LUST & FOUND

“ONCE UPON A ROMANCE”

This week Ana hosts the podcast with guests Sil and Margrethe as they introduce our January theme: romance retellings

EP 117 HOST

> ANA COQUI (she/her) A lifelong genre reader, Ana grew up reading fantasy, sci-fi & mystery novels in Puerto Rico, before finally wandering into the romance section of the library in search of HEA’s after bawling through one too many dystopian novels. When she is not reading, knitting, writing about romance for Love in Panels or running #RomBkLove on Twitter as @anacoqui, Ana is a school librarian

EP 117 GUESTS

> SILVANA REYES (she/her) is a Mexican book blogger. She enjoys all types of sub-genres, but romance fiction is her heart and joy. She contributes to sites like Book Riot and Frolic, and you might find her screaming about book releases on Twitter @TheBookVoyagers

> MARGRETHE MARTIN (she/her) is a reviewer for Love in Panels. Her favorite romance subgenre is historical romance and her favorite subgenre to complain about is historical romance. She is also obsessed with her dog. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @MargretheMartin

EP 117 DISCUSSION

> The two Pride & Prejudice film adaptations mentioned are the 1995 BBC version starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy and the 2005 Focus Features version starring Matthew MacFayden as Mr. Darcy, and there are several others that go unmentioned

Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112130/

Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414387/

> Margrethe mentions she’s reading Longbourn by Jo Baker which is a Pride & Prejudice retelling from the perspective of the Bennet family’s servants, and while it does have romantic elements it is not a romance

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17380041-longbourn

> Margrethe mentions author Eloisa James who is well-known for her fairytale retellings and is also a Shakespeare scholar teaching at Fordham University

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/86778.Eloisa_James

> Margrethe mentions Jane Eyre retellings including Rose Lerner’s upcoming retelling The Sea May Burn, due sometime in 2020

Link: http://www.roselerner.com/coming-soon/

Link: http://thebookvoyagers.blogspot.com/2019/07/cover-the-sea-may-burn-rose-lerner.html

> Prom Queen Perfect

Author: Clarisse David

Relation to Theme: Inspired by Emma, Gossip Girl

Representation: Fillipina author, Fillipino MCs

Content Warnings: none identified

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29331371-prom-queen-perfect

> Title: Pride

Author: Ibi Zoboi

Relation to theme: Pride & Prejudice retelling

Representation: Black author, Haitian-Dominican MC, black MC

Content Warnings: mentions of revenge porn

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068632-pride

> Margrethe recommends the audio book narrated by author Elizabeth Acevedo

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36589831-pride

> Hold Me (Cyclone #2)

Author: Courtney Milan

Relation to theme: Inspired by You’ve Got Mail/The Shop Around the Corner

Representation: American-Chinese author, bi MC, trans MC, Southeast Asian MC, Latinx MC

Content Warnings: Past transphobia, sexism

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32672889-hold-me

NOTE: This book was also discussed in RBP ep #101

> Title: Peter Darling

Author: Austin Chant

Relation to theme: Peter Pan retelling

Representation: Queer/trans author, queer MCs, trans MC, white MCs

Content Warnings: transphobia, violence

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33358438-peter-darling

NOTE: Peter Darling is currently out of print but may be available through your library

> Margrethe mentions the trailer for the new Wonder Woman film which was released right before this recording, and if you haven’t seen it link below

Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7126948/

> Sil mentions Rebekah Weatherspoon’s new book A Cowboy to Remember due Feb 2020 which is inspired by the Sleeping Beauty fairytale

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46128399-a-cowboy-to-remember

> Ana briefly mentions Rebekah Weatherspoon’s recent book Xeni which is not a retelling, but will be discussed in one of our February episodes about marriage of convenience

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48359637-xeni

> Sil mentions the Maleficent movies, which of course are Sleeping Beauty retellings

Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587310/

Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4777008/

> Margrethe mentions My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh as possibly being inspired by Pygmalion

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42872108-my-fake-rake

> Margrethe also mentions Lady Claire is All That by Maya Rodale as possibly being inspired by Pygmalion

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29772436-lady-claire-is-all-that

> Title: My Fair Concubine (Tang Dynasty #3)

Author: Jeannie Lin

Relation to theme: Pygmalion retelling

Representation: Asian-American author, Asian MCs

Content Warnings: none identified

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13263350-my-fair-concubine

> If you’re curious, the Georgette Heyer romances Margrethe and Ana mention in their non-book-club digression are Venetia and Slyvester

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11432520-venetia

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11056493-sylvester-or-the-wicked-uncle

> Title: The Warlord and the Nightingale (The Gunpowder Chronicles #2.5)

Author: Jeannie Lin

Relation to theme: The Nightingale retelling

Representation: Asian-American author, Asian MCs

Content Warnings: murder, abuse

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25862928-the-warlord-and-the-nightingale

> Title: A Rogue By Any Other Name (The Rules of Scoundrels #1)

Author: Sarah MacLean

Relation to theme: Hades/Persephone myth retelling

Representation: White author, white MCs

Content Warnings: gambling, broken engagement

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10428803-a-rogue-by-any-other-name

> Ana briefly mentions reading Sarah MacLean’s latest book, Brazen and the Beast, which is a Beauty and the Beast retelling

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40221961-brazen-and-the-beast

> Title: Hot as Hades

Author: Alisha Rai

Relation to theme: Hades/Persephone myth retelling

Representation: South Asian-American author

Content Warnings: none identified

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12386784-hot-as-hades

NOTE: This book is currently out of print but may be available through your library

> Title: Salt Magic, Skin Magic

Author: Lee Welch

Relation to theme: Inspired by the selkie myth

Representation: Queer MCs, white MCs

Content Warnings: imprisonment, domestic violence, magic violence

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40722060-salt-magic-skin-magic

> Margrethe mentions Priddy’s Tale by Harper Fox, which is not a retelling, but does involve mermaids and “magic penis”

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30635592-priddy-s-tale

> Margrethe references the 1975 Japanese anime retelling of The Little Mermaid which hews closely to the original Hans Christian Andersen fairytale and does NOT have a happy ending

Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070326/

> Title: Wintersong (Wintersong #1)

Author: S. Jae-Jones

Relation to theme: Inspired by the film Labyrinth (1986)

Representation: Korean-American author

Content Warnings: kidnapping, coercion, cliffhanger

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24763621-wintersong

> Title: Perfect Day (New Milton #1)

Author: Sally Malcolm

Relation to theme: Persuasion retelling

Representation: Queer MCs, white MCs

Content Warnings: homophobia