#mythretelling

[nicoleabraxen]

“Golden Aphrodite, who stirs up sweet desire in the gods and in all mortal men.” — Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite

[thegrimmlibrarian]

Hello! Do you love reading fairytale, folklore, and mythological retellings? I’m always on the lookout for new retellings to add to my TBR on Goodreads and review on my blog (links in bio). Please respond to this post or reblog with any recommendations you have.

Have you written a book that retells an old fairytale, folklore, or myth? I’ve done ARC reviews and interviews for other authors on my blog, promoting their books to fellow retelling lovers. If that’s something you’d be interested in, please send me a DM with a description of the book! I love supporting authors, be they self, indie, or traditionally published.  

[commiepoetartist]

The first several entries in my epistolary novel, Letters to Lethe, are up on Wattpad now!

Featuring a bisexual, polyamorous protagonist, haunted highways, the Renaissance Faire counterculture, and many, many nods to Greek mythology.

Letters to Lethe -- A modern day, American retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice--except "Orpheus" wants "Eurydice" to stay in the underworld...

Three years after her best friend's suicide, Ophelia is still haunted.

In the hopes of exorcising Eugenia's spirit and moving on with her own life, Ophelia joins a band of psychics at her local renaissance faire. They introduce her to Hayes, a handsome faire musician who likes to spend his downtime ghost hunting. He vows to help Ophelia find a way to put her friend to rest once and for all; in return, she agrees to help him hunt ghosts on America's most haunted backroads.

But Ophelia also meets Petronela, a reckless, born-and-raised "faire brat"-turned-artisan and Hayes' on-and-off-again girlfriend. She offers Ophelia another way to escape the dead: good ol' drugs, sex, and rock and roll, found at the legendary renaissance faire afterparties.

At first the alcohol and mind-altering substances are all just fun and games, and they really do help Ophelia forget the pain of losing Eugenia. But as the summer goes on and Ophelia develops an addiction, her ghost hunts with Hayes turn more intense and terrifying, until it's hard to tell what's real and what's not. If she doesn't get a grip and find a healthier way to cope with her grief, she might end up joining Eugenia in the underworld herself.

Told in a series of unsent letters, emails, poems, and other documents, this is a horror story about the lifelong effort it takes to come to terms with a sudden loss.

Trigger Warnings: discussions of suicide, anxiety, and depression, ghosts/exorcisms, alcoholism, drug abuse/addiction, language, and sex

[bookvibesandtarotcards]

Aphrodite by Phoenica Rogerson

goddess, liar, survivor, icon.

Pre-Reading Thoughts

From Herc to here, I’ve been waiting to see what Phoenicia Rogerson would do with a goddess like Aphrodite—misunderstood, mythologised, and more than just a pretty face. This was never going to be a love story. It’s a story about love as power, love as weapon, and the danger of wanting to be adored.

Post-Reading

As I thought...

Aphrodite owns her own narrative here—sarcastic, seductive, but always a few moves ahead. The writing crackles, the gods are dysfunctional and petty, and the politics of Olympus feel sharp enough to draw blood. This isn’t romance—it’s revolution with mascara and myth.

It surprised me by...

…showing us the quiet ache beneath all the beauty. She doesn’t just want to be worshipped. She wants to be safe. The story does slow a little in parts, but the emotional payoff is worth it—especially when Aphrodite finally decides she’s done playing nice.

Music Pairing

🎵 Featured Song: “The Archer” – Taylor Swift

🎶 Vibe Album: Reputation – Taylor Swift

🎧 Artist Rec: BANKS

Vibe Check

🎨 Colour Palette: Gold, oxblood, marble white

🎬 Soundtrack: Orchestral pop with bite

☀️ Season: Scorching summer with stormclouds gathering

🎭 Mood: Elegantly defiant

🌸 Scent: Myrrh, rose petals, and smoke

Tarot Pull – The Empress (Tarot of the 78 Doors)

She’s framed not as a ruler on a throne, but as a woman welcomed by children—open, vulnerable, and full of grace. For all her games and seductions, this Aphrodite longs to be held, not just admired. She wants love to mean home, not war. In this novel, her power isn’t just in beauty—it’s in her desire to belong.

For fans of:

📚 Circe by Madeline Miller

📺 House of the Dragon (but you’re rooting for the queen of hearts this time)

[bookvibesandtarotcards]

A Beautiful Evil by Bea Fitzgerald

She was made to love him. But what if she was made for something else entirely?

✦ Pre-Reading Thoughts

I’m always intrigued when authors tackle the myth of Pandora—especially when they give her more than just a box and a blame complex. Knowing Fitzgerald’s style, I expected a biting, myth-rich feminist twist with a slow-burn romance and divine chaos.

✦ Post-Reading

As I thought...

A sharp, emotionally layered take on Pandora’s story. She's clever, lost, angry, and so determined to find her own meaning in a world that keeps telling her she was made for someone else.

It surprised me by...

...focusing more on agency than romance. Yes, the connection between her and Epimatheos burns slow and deep, but the real fire is Pandora figuring out she was never meant to be obedient—she was meant to choose.

🎵 MUSIC PAIRING

Featured Song: Control – Halsey

Vibe Album: WAX – KT Tunstall

Artist Rec: Florence + the Machine (Dance Fever energy!)

✨ VIBE CHECK

🎨 Colour Palette: copper, indigo, and lightning-silver

🎬 Soundtrack: Clash of the Titans (but funnier) meets Fleabag

🍂 Season: late summer—golden but about to burn

🌀 Mood: “What if I wasn’t made to be good?”

🌸 Scent: scorched fig and storm air

🔮 TAROT PULL

The Tower – Storyteller’s Tarot

Pandora’s Box is the Tower here, with ghostly skulls, insects, and a pair of legs nearby suggesting someone didn’t survive what was released. It's destruction with divine fingerprints. She may have opened the box, but she’s not the one who filled it.

For fans of: Circe, Lore Olympus, The Sandman, and messy gods with even messier relationships.

[booknotesbyathina]

Hello everyone and Happy Monday!! How was your weekend? Did you read anything good? I started reading a non fiction book about Ancient Greece and Rome and so far is really interesting. Do you like reading myth retellings? I love them and the Greek myth retellings are my favourite because I like to see how the author interprets a known to me myth. (If you didn't know I am Greek). *** Mug topper by Whimsy Mug Topsies aka @canxdancexreads Use my code BOOKNOTES10 to save *** #retelling #greekmytholoy #mythretelling #mythology #lore #circe #thesongofachilles #booklove #readingisfundamental #bookstagrammers #readingcommunity #bookstagrammer #bookishlife #bookobsessed #readersofinsta #bookstagramit #bookrecommendations #greekbookstagram #instavivlio #vivlio #diavazo #eucitesc #mybookfeatures #bdstars  #booknotes_athina (at Káto Zákros, Lasithi, Greece) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ8vBvar50l/?utm_medium=tumblr

[adayinbookland]

March 31st, 2020 || 📚march wrap-up📚 i had a good reading month overall but the 22nd of march was the day i finished the last book of the month. i have been reading yes but only a couple of pages a day (thanks a lot anxiety...) . anyways, here is the list: 🌿The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan: 8/10 (reread) 🌿The Last Olympian: 9.5/10 (reread) 🌿Elantris by Brandon Sanderson: 5.5/10. 🌿Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray: 7/10. 🌿A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes: 7.5/10. 🌿Athena, The Story of a Goddess: 6.5/10 (this is perfect for children). 🌿If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio: 6.5/10. 🌿Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: DNF. i tried, i really did but it wasn’t working🤷🏻‍♀️. . i hope april is better in terms of reading because i’m taking part in the magical readathon (going for librarian which only has 5 OWLs) and i just want to be able to escape into literature again 🤞🏼how was this month for you? how are you dealing with quarantine? • • • • #readingwrapup #marchreads #literaryfiction #fantasybooks #mythretelling #yaliterature #graphicnovels #fortheloveofreading #unitedbookstagram #bookstagrammersunite #elantris #lairofdreams #athenathestoryofagoddess #ifwewerevillains #athousandships #wolfhall #thelastolympian #thebattleofthelabyrinth https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Z2jmsogqz/?igshid=1h2nv0ksj8blq

[themidnightbutterfly]

When you write your first ever DARK scene. Feeling like I need all the comfort and chocolate now. How did my mind come up with this? I don't even want to read it back to edit.

But I have to. It's due on Monday...