Happy birth/death day to my favorite old white man, William Shakespeare! If you’ve been on the blog or talked to me for like 5 minutes then you’ll know that I absolutely adore Shakespeare, it’s maybe a little unhealthy.
Back in July of last year — yes, you read that correctly, July last year — I got the idea to do a ranking of every book I’ve read that is either a retelling, reimagining, or heavily inspired by Shakespeare. Some things I’m not including here are some of the graphic novels that I’ve read — I’ve read some that were the story told as is just in graphic novel format, graphic novel retellings are included in this list. I’m also not including plays, as I feel like that is its own category and maybe will do a post on those ones day.
This is gonna be a long one, besties, you know me once I start talking about Shakespeare related things…grab your favorite beverage and a snack, get comfy and let’s talk about all (well most) the Shakespeare inspired books I’ve read!
I’ve got 6 different categories that these are split into, and I will say that most of them were really easy to sort. We’re going to break the books down into categories, starting with my least favorites and working up to my top 5.
Let’s get the negative opinions out of the way and talk about what I thought were the worst Shakespeare related books I’ve ever read.
Listen, I’m aware that I have a very intense Shakespeare superiority complex, I’m aware of it and really if the only things I have really bad superiority complexes about are Theatre and Shakespeare, I think that’s okay. However, even with that superiority complex about Shakespeare, I don’t actually ask for a lot in a retelling or reimagining. Really, I just want the themes from the original story to be well explored.
All of these books had something that sounded very interesting to me, and some of them I had predicted to be new favorites, but unfortunately, they all fell very flat.
Let’s start with A Midsummer Night’s Scream by R.L. Stine. The idea definitely sounded fun, and it was short so I turned on the audiobook one night while working on my bullet journal. Firstly, I cannot tell you in what way this was at all a “modern reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream” like truly, where was any of the Midsummer inspiration? It was nowhere to be seen. Truthfully, I don’t remember much about it, but I do remember laughing a lot at how horrible it was. Safe to say, R.L. Stine and I do not mix.
Then there’s We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, which is inspired by King Lear. I remember seeing this book EVERYWHERE when I joined Bookstagram, and since it was inspired by Shakespeare, I knew I had to read it, and once I did I was like “…that’s what everyone is obsessing over?” personally, I found it incredibly predictable (I guessed the twist in like the 3rd chapter) and lacking any of the nuance that the inspiration piece has. This one was really not for me.
Ben and Beatriz by Katalina Gamarra – a Much Ado About Nothing retelling – sounded like it would be something that I would really enjoy and I was so excited to read it, but oh boy, I really hated this one. I was miserable reading this one; Ben and Beatriz were annoying, self-centered, self-righteous, and insufferable. Obviously, it’s enemies to lovers but once can only handle the two main characters getting into screaming matches about nothing so many times before it gets really boring. Shakespeare, bestie, I am so sorry.
Now we get into the ones that really hurt me. Let’s start with Roman and Jewel by Dana L. Davis. I had been so excited by this one since the book was said to be about a girl who loves Broadway making her Broadway debut in a musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet with a Hamilton twist to it and what happens behind the scenes. Unfortunately, pretty much everything about the book was bad. You can read my review here, but this one really disappointed me because it really did have potential.
Continuing with the Romeo and Juliet inspired/retellings that hurt my soul, we have Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons. I…I actually cannot talk about this book any more because every time I do I get angry. You can read my very long and ranting review to read all about why this didn’t work for me, but the biggest things that bothered me were the infantilization of Juliet and how Solomons actually removed any of the agency Shakespeare had given Juliet, and the way that the supposed Shakespeare scholar misused the phrase “wherefore art thou” once and then used it correctly again later…yes, I am aware that my superiority complex is really showing here but it makes me mad!
And now the book that takes top prize for the worst Shakespeare retelling/reimagining that I’ve ever read…Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid. Oh. My. God. I’m not sure if a book in recent memory has made me angrier. This really felt like a complete and total character assassination of Lady Macbeth, it was actually so upsetting how much Ava Reid f’ed up Lady Macbeth. I can’t even get into it, it’ll make me mad. Read my review to hear all my thoughts, but trust me when I say this is BAD.
These books I know I read, but honestly, I don’t remember much about them at all, like I can’t even talk to you about what I thought of them because I don’t remember anything. There are four books that fall into this category.
The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen. I truly have nothing for you. Even rereading my review on Goodreads does not ring any bells…
Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka and Dreamers Often Lie by Jacqueline West — funnily enough, I do remember the act of reading both Always Never Yours and Dreamers Often Lie. I was at work both times; Always Never Yours I read via audiobook while working in the office, and Dreamers Often Lie I read before rehearsal while listening to the Waitress OBC. Can I tell you really anything about the books? Nope! But I remember where I was when I read them!
Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor…besties, I honestly remember nothing. Shakespeare summer camp…that’s what I’ve got for you without looking at the summary (and even then I had to double check this before publishing this post). I wanna say that I enjoyed it, but I’ve got nothing to go off of except for my rating on Goodreads, so…who even knows.
It’s also interesting to me that I don’t even remember the general vibe that these books gave me. I rated all of them 3 stars? Okay; honestly they doesn’t tell me much because my 3 star ratings vary from “I didn’t actually like this, but it wasn’t a 2 star books so here, I guess it’s a 3” to “this book was actually really great and I enjoyed it and would reread it but it was missing something, it’s a 3-3.5!” But typically, when I rate a book 3 stars (or really with any rating) I can remember the way the book made me feel even if I can’t remember specifics of it, but for these ones, I truly have nothing. I guess the impression was not a very strong one 🤷🏻♀️
This category is kind of the purgatory of this list. They weren’t bad, they weren’t great, they were either mid, just fine or I need to reread them to make a more informed opinion.
Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid falls into the “totally fine” aspect, but that’s still not super accurate? I thought that for a 130 some-odd paged novella, it was really interesting and well written! Would I read a full length novel of this story/version of Lady Macbeth’s story? Probably not, but I was invested while reading and enjoyed the time spent reading it. You can read some more detailed thoughts that I wrote right after reading it in my Goodreads review.
King Cheer by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm and Jamie Green (Illustrator) was both mid and totally fine. I didn’t enjoy it as much as Twelfth Grade Night, but I did think it was fun and that the artwork was STUNNING. While this one was just okay for me, I do love the idea of the themes of King Lear explored through a high school cheerleading team, that plot is actually super interesting and I liked that aspect quite a lot.
Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig also falls into the mid category. Was it poorly written? No, it wasn’t at all and in general I thought the characterization wasn’t too bad and that it explored the themes of Romeo and Juliet well from the lens of a queer Romeo. However, nothing about it moved me the way that Romeo and Juliet does, and I do think that it was a real mistake to not make his love interest be a Capulet…that still doesn’t make sense to me. The love interest should’ve been a Capulet, Like, what actually would’ve been so much more interesting would be if Romeo had fallen in love with Tybalt and then Tybalt slowly falls in love with him too; that would’ve been really interesting to me. So, yeah, nothing overtly bad about this one, I just think it missed some really great opportunities that were kind of right there that would’ve made me enjoy it more. However, Juliet? Loved her. As always, I would lay down my life for Juliet Capulet.
I had an ARC of Chloe Gong’s adult debut, Immortal Longings and I actually remember really liking it; however, now I don’t remember too much of it. I remember the basics and a few of the plot twists, but I don’t remember the nitty gritty details. I’d also like to read Anthony and Cleopatra before rereading Immortal Longings. Anthony and Cleopatra is one of Shakespeare’s tragedies that I haven’t read, but I know the story. So, I’ll have to read Anthony and Cleopatra, reread Immortal Longings and then read the sequel Vilest Things.
Now we’re getting into the positives! This next category are the books that I read and remember really enjoying and would like to read them again soon.
As a Twelfth Night girlie, I think we are truly lacking in the Twelfth Night retellings, which is why I was so excited to read The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake. I’ll be 100% honest with you, I don’t remember too many details of this one since I didn’t write a review of it, but I do remember really enjoying the atmosphere, language and modern characterization. I would love to revisit this one sometime soon, but I do remember the positive feelings I had while reading it and thinking that it was a really solid Twelfth Night retelling.
If you’re looking for a good retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, then I’d say you want to check out Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George. Speak Easy, Speak Love is set in the 1920s — need I say more? The characterization in Speak Easy, Speak Love is definitely its strength, so if you enjoy character driven stories I think this would be the one for you. The relationships between the female characters really stood out to me, and were well developed. There were also some super fun Shakespeare references and shoutouts. You can read my review for all my thoughts after reading it for the first time here.
Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin is a WILD Macbeth retelling that is very much so a “good for her” story and you know what? I ate it up when I read it. It’s been a long time since I read it, but I remember being fully immersed in the story, invested in the characters and it being a real page-turner. I need to read it again, but it does standout as a well done YA Macbeth retelling.
Another Shakespeare play that I don’t think we give enough love to is The Taming of the Shrew (yes, I know, problematic, but I have a lot of thoughts on it and actually think that for our current political climate it’s a really interesting story to dissect and we should probably be looking into it a bit more. Anyway…) so I was really excited to read If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. I would say that if you like the way 10 Things I Hate About You adapted The Taming of the Shrew (which you should) then you’d probably like this one. This definitely was giving off 90s rom-com vibes and really was just a lot of fun! If you’re looking for an escapist YA read, I’d definitely recommend this one.
Exit, Pursued By a Bear by E.K. Johnston is loosely based on A Winter’s Tale, and takes its title from the stage direction in the play just before the death of Antigonus. Some of the characters in Exit, clearly represent characters from A Winter’s Tale, and there are some good nods/references to the original story that I really think you’ll only pick up if you’ve read A Winter’s Tale and know it well. Exit, Pursued By a Bear definitely stands on its own and is a very powerful and moving story of the aftermath of Hermoione Winters life after she’s raped during her last summer at cheerleading camp. This book was pretty gut wrenching and I remember it being a really emotional read and I find myself thinking about it often. I’d love to do a reread, but will definitely need to be in the right headspace for it.
If you know me, then you know I love Hamlet and most importantly, I love Ophelia. She’s my girl, I adore her. So, I was definitely curious to read Ophelia by Lisa Klein, especially since I wanted to watch the 2018 film adaptation starring Daisy Ridley. I read Ophelia in 2023, and I was really pleasantly surprised by it! I loved getting more backstory for Ophelia, especially her childhood and a deeper look into her relationships with her father Polonius and brother Laertes. The relationship dynamics in the book were really well explored and the dynamic between Ophelia and Horatio had me squealing; I loved them. This one really positively surprised me, and if you’re a fellow Ophelia fan, you should check it out!
Now onto our penultimate category! These are books that I really loved and just missed out on making the top 5! This category has the most books in it, so let’s get started!
Let’s start with Twelfth by Janet Key. Honestly, give me all of the middle grade novels about theatre kids. This was the most fun book, I just adored it! Twelfth blends three of my favorite things; Shakespeare (yay for more Twelfth Night inspired stories!), theatre camp and a mystery. Literally, what more could I ask for? I thought this was so much fun to read, had a really cool mystery and the overall themes of finding your people and accepting others for themselves was so heartwarming. I definitely want to pick this one up again!
After reading These Violent Delights, I was totally intrigued by Rosalind and wanted to know more about her, which Chloe Gong delivered on since she wrote the spin-off series, starting with Foul Lady Fortune. While These Violent Delights was a Romeo and Juliet retelling, Foul Lady Fortune is an As You Like It retelling, and I love it. Personally, I don’t think there are enough As You Like It retellings, and I was glad to see Chloe use that play as her inspiration. I have such vivid memories of reading Foul Lady Fortune and just the absolute wild ride that the book took me on, it was truly just so much fun and I think that Chloe has a brilliant way of weaving in Shakespearian inspiration into her stories.
If you’re looking for a beautiful and heartwarming Shakespeare graphic novel, you have to read Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm and Jamie Green (Illustrator). The art was absolutely stunning; so vibrant and colorful and the art is so full of life which I loved. It was so true to Twelfth Night and the changes that were made fit so perfectly. I also loved that it had some characters/inspiration from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it was so perfect for Shakespeare lovers. It was completely lovely.
Another Twelfth Night retelling that I’m obsessed with is Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Fullmuth, aka Olivie Blake. I truly loved everything about this book; the setting, the characters, the relationships, it was just such an enjoyable read. This is one of my favorite types of retellings because if you know Shakespeare you can clearly see the inspiration, but the book fully stands on its own merit. You can read my review here.
One of the most interesting Hamlet retellings I’ve read is The Death I Gave Him by Em. X Liu and I really loved it. This book is a locked-room thriller; locked-room thriller and Shakespeare? Was a book ever more perfect for me? It also has mixed media and there’s a book within the book, seriously, so great for me. The themes of grief, madness, doubt, revenge, uncertainty, mortality and power that are seen in Hamlet are prevalent in The Death I Gave Him. The true essence of Hamlet is in this book and that’s part of why it worked so well for me. If you want to read more of my thoughts, here’s my review.
Another Hamlet retelling that I love is Laertes by Carly Stevens, and what’s most fascinating about this one is that (as I’m sure you can guess from the title) this is about Ophelia’s brother Laertes. Grief is one of the main themes in Hamlet; most people focus on madness, which is obviously a central theme, but people tend to forget that the madness is caused by Hamlet’s grief over the murder of his father, and Carly Stevens did such a great job of really focusing on the theme of grief. Since we don’t know much about Laertes in the original story as we see so little of him, there’s a lot to play with there and I loved this portrayal of Laertes. It’s been 2 years since I last read it, and I definitely need to do a reread soon!
Even if you’re like “eh, anthologies aren’t my thing” I think you should check out That Way Madness Lies. There are 15 Shakespeare retellings in That Way Madness Lies written by some really fantastic YA authors including Joy McCullough, Dahlia Adler, K. Ancrum, and Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. There are so many great short stories in this anthology, and many of them I would’ve loved to have read full stories of. You can read my review here.
My most recently read Shakespeare inspired book was A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd and I LOVED it. This was SO much fun. How could I not love a book where Romeo and Juliet not only lived but had a bunch of children and focuses on their eldest daughter, Rosaline? This is campy and fun and if you love & Juliet and the movie Rosaline, you have to read this one. Luckily for me, this is a sequel and I have an ARC of the second book that I’ll be reading very soon!
Ahhhh we’re finally here, if you’ve made it this far, thank you! Let’s talk about my top 5 Shakespeare retellings/reimagining/inspired by stories. These are in no particular order, well, except for the last one, but none of you will be surprised about that one, I know.
Let’s start with the book on this list that is not a retelling/reimagining, but clearly inspired by Shakespeare, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. There are some obvious Shakespeare references, such as Prospero, who is named after the magician and exiled Duke in The Tempest. There’s also a moment where Prospero says to his daughter Celia that she should’ve been named Miranda. In The Tempest, Prospero’s daughter is named Miranda and she is an obedient and loyal daughter, which is what Prospero clearly wanted Celia to be. Additionally, the name Celia is used in As You Like It, and As You Like It contain the famous line “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players” which is also very fitting for the overall book.
Oh look, another Romeo and Juliet retelling is on my list? You’re shocked, I know. Y’all know me, I’m an Olivie Blake girlie, I just get her! I loved One For My Enemy and I have such vivid memories of reading it. I was flying to New York to see some shows (I was seeing & Juliet twice that weekend) and figured I’d start it on the plane and just see how much I read. I think between waiting at the airport for my flight to start and my arrival I read over half the book. I just could not stop reading it. I just think that her writing is so interesting and she creates such detailed and vivid worlds, and I loved the magic system within this story. Also the little like spin that she had on Romeo and Juliet was so good, honestly I ate this book up and need to reread asap.
Annnnnnnd another Romeo and Juliet retelling makes the top 5, it’s obviously These Violent Delights. Who else is entertained by the fact that Chloe Gong appears on this list in 3 different categories? Personally, I think that’s pretty funny. Anyway, if you haven’t heard me talk about These Violent Delights before, then you probably haven’t been around the blog much. I love this book. It’s still my favorite R&J retelling. I just think this book is so brilliantly done and so interesting; this will forever be an all-time favorite for me. You can check out my review here.
I love any sort of Shakespeare retelling that focuses on the women of his plays, so Enter the Body by Joy McCullough really felt like a book that was written for me. This was one of my anticipated releases of 2023 and I was so thrilled when I got an ARC of it. I pretty much stopped everything to read it and I read it so quickly; I could not put it down. The characterization, exploration of Shakespeare’s works and general prose were absolutely stunning. I think about this book all the time and desperately need to reread and annotate. My full review is here if you want to read more of my thoughts.
Alright, it’s time for my number one Shakespeare inspired read. Any guesses as to what it is? Anyone? It’s 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio! And now you all stare at me like “Yeah, girl, we knew this was coming” I cannot express the chokehold that this book has on me. I swear to God, when M.L. Rio was writing this she was like “I’m gonna write a book so perfect for Caitlyn that nothing she reads will ever come close to making her feel the way this book makes her feel” and she succeeded! The way that Shakespeare is not only what the students study, but also the 8th character in their group, and really, the main character of the story is absolutely fascinating. The Shakespearian references that are peppered throughout the entire story and are foreshadowing all of the events of the book is brilliant storytelling. I will never forget reading it for the first time; the reveals were brilliant, the writing captivating, the characters real and flawed and tragic. For me, it is a perfect book. You can read more of my thoughts in my spotlight post and my annotate with me post.
Wow. We did it bestie. A tier ranking of almost all of the Shakespeare retellings, reimaginings and inspired by books that I’ve read over the last few years. It was a wild ride but it honestly was so much fun to go through the books and remember (or not remember in some cases) these books and think about which ones I want to reread soon.
I also have a few other books that I was hoping to have finished before this post, like Smile and Be a Villain, but I haven’t had time to finish it, but I’ll be sure to let y’all know what I think of it and the other books that I was hoping to read before making this post!
If you’ve got any Shakespeare related books that you think I’d enjoy please let me know in the comments, I’d love to add them to the ever growing TBR! I’d also love to know if you’ve read any of these books and what you thought of them!
Until next time 💜
