Retellings and the new Sherlock episode

So…I don’t have a cute little quote or saying for you this Monday, instead I’d like to gush about season two of Sherlock. Did you guys see it last night? GAH Benedict Cumberbatch is the PERFECT Sherlock. He plays the character so well, it’s definitely my favorite retelling of the Holmes mysteries. I have been WAITING for season two like a deranged groupie. I LOVE what the writers have done with the series.

This is the exact sort of thing that I really enjoy while reading a retelling of a popular story. It’s that essence of the character brought about in an entirely new (and exciting) way that makes you fall in love with the story all over.

For Sherlock, I love the modern-day setting and the neurotic behavior of this forensic genius. Intelligence definitely is the new sexy.

The first novel that comes to mind that I read recently is CINDER by Marissa Meyer. If you haven’t read that yet, you seriously should add it to the top of your TBR pile. It’s one of the best fairytale retellings I’ve read.

Here’s the blurb:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. .  

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

The second novel that I immediately think of is EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton. In EVERNEATH Ashton brings a lovely modern twist to the ancient myth of Persephone. (Which happens to be one of my all-time favorite myths.)

Here’s the blurb:

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld… this time forever. 

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s…

And because I can’t get enough Sherlock, I’m going to leave you with a little video. Enjoy!

Sherlock Season 2, episode 1 clip