100 books like Wrath Goddess Sing

By Maya Deane,

Here are 100 books that Wrath Goddess Sing fans have personally recommended if you like Wrath Goddess Sing. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of A Dowry of Blood

John Wiswell Author Of Someone You Can Build a Nest In

From my list on showing the human side of monsters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I never outgrew the curiosity of wanting to know more about the things we fear. Plenty of monsters are just neat! But the more you learn about them, whether they’re animals like bears and sharks or figures of myth like werewolves and dragons, the more interesting they become. I wanted to take audiences deep inside a skin unlike their own so they could understand how it feels to be cast out and how much a monster might look down on us. Because the more you look at monsters, the more you recognize us in them.

John's book list on showing the human side of monsters

John Wiswell Why did John love this book?

The Brides of Dracula are a classic overlooked group. Most adaptations treat them like a sexy slideshow of danger, not allowed to do anything other than lust and hunger. They’re a flattened idea of feminine desire, put on Dracula’s leash.

S.T. Gibson breathes them to life (or undeath) by imagining what their long existence is like, constantly under a temperamental abuser’s thumb. Yes, they are angry and hungry, and they yearn, but it’s a deeply human yearning for more than companionship. You root for them to be the ones to plunge knives into the count’s heart.

By S. T. Gibson,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Dowry of Blood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

S.T. Gibson's sensational novel is the darkly seductive tale of Dracula's first bride, Constanta. 

This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark…


Book cover of Carmilla and Laura

Lianyu Tan Author Of Captive in the Underworld: A Dark Lesbian Romance Novel

From my list on queer stories inspired by myths, legends, and classics.

Why am I passionate about this?

I loved books as a kid, especially fantasy books, but could never find anyone like me within their pages. I’m a lesbian Chinese writer who adores stories about messed-up, complicated queer people. I’m thrilled by the range of books available now that feature queer, messy characters. We all deserve representation, and to me that means representation that’s complex, that encompasses the ugly and the beautiful. One of my goals as an author is to make you fall in love with monsters—brutal, flawed women who may not deserve love, but who demand it all the same.

Lianyu's book list on queer stories inspired by myths, legends, and classics

Lianyu Tan Why did Lianyu love this book?

This novella is a close retelling of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, which is the OG sapphic vampire story. It recasts the ending to give the leads a happy ever after, and ups the sapphic content to modern standards, adding a bit of steaminess. Simper’s version retains Laura’s initial ambivalence and horror towards Carmilla, the historical setting, and the gothic flair. It’s a must-read for fans of the original who are looking for a more modern interpretation.

By S. D. Simper,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Carmilla and Laura as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the late 19th century, Laura lives a lonely life in a schloss by the forest, Styria, with only her doting father and two governesses for company. A chance accident brings a new companion, however – the eccentric and beautiful Carmilla.

With charm unparalleled and habits as mysterious as her history, Carmilla’s allure is undeniable, drawing Laura closer with every affectionate touch and word. Attraction blossoms into a temptation Laura fears to name, a tantalizing passion burning brighter than the fires of hell. But when a mysterious plague begins stealing the lives of young women in her home and the…


Book cover of The Affair of the Mysterious Letter

Lianyu Tan Author Of Captive in the Underworld: A Dark Lesbian Romance Novel

From my list on queer stories inspired by myths, legends, and classics.

Why am I passionate about this?

I loved books as a kid, especially fantasy books, but could never find anyone like me within their pages. I’m a lesbian Chinese writer who adores stories about messed-up, complicated queer people. I’m thrilled by the range of books available now that feature queer, messy characters. We all deserve representation, and to me that means representation that’s complex, that encompasses the ugly and the beautiful. One of my goals as an author is to make you fall in love with monsters—brutal, flawed women who may not deserve love, but who demand it all the same.

Lianyu's book list on queer stories inspired by myths, legends, and classics

Lianyu Tan Why did Lianyu love this book?

I adore Sherlock pastiches, and this is one of my favorites with its high magic urban fantasy setting, pan sorceress Sherlock, and gay trans man Watson. Obviously, the leads aren’t romantically entwined. Instead, the plot revolves around Sherlock’s ex-paramour and current client, pan Irene Adler, whose impending marriage to a woman is being threatened by blackmail.

It’s joyously irreverent with a ton of literary allusions and dear Watson’s earnest and wholesome narrative voice. If you enjoy magic with your mystery, this book is for you.

By Alexis Hall,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Affair of the Mysterious Letter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters.

Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation.

When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham is drawn…


Book cover of The Witch's Daughter

Lianyu Tan Author Of Captive in the Underworld: A Dark Lesbian Romance Novel

From my list on queer stories inspired by myths, legends, and classics.

Why am I passionate about this?

I loved books as a kid, especially fantasy books, but could never find anyone like me within their pages. I’m a lesbian Chinese writer who adores stories about messed-up, complicated queer people. I’m thrilled by the range of books available now that feature queer, messy characters. We all deserve representation, and to me that means representation that’s complex, that encompasses the ugly and the beautiful. One of my goals as an author is to make you fall in love with monsters—brutal, flawed women who may not deserve love, but who demand it all the same.

Lianyu's book list on queer stories inspired by myths, legends, and classics

Lianyu Tan Why did Lianyu love this book?

The Witch’s Daughter is the third book in the Amendyr quartet, but can be read on its own. It’s a sapphic fantasy romance told from the point of view of Mother Gothel’s witchy daughter, Ailynn, who falls in love with Rapunzel.

It’s my favorite book of the quartet, possibly because Ailynn has a somewhat complicated relationship with Rapunzel, further harmed by an instance of betrayal (content warnings apply, although they’re also spoilers—seek them out before reading if it concerns you). The Witch’s Daughter is a tale of two damaged girls trying to grow beyond their trauma bond, with found family and major parental issues.

By Rae D. Magdon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Witch's Daughter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ailynn Gothel has always been the perfect daughter. Thanks to her mother's teachings, she knows how to heal the sick, conjure the elements, and take care of Raisa, her closest and dearest friend. But when Ailynn's feelings for Raisa grow deeper, her simple life falls apart. Her mother hides Raisa deep in a cave to shield her from the world, and Ailynn must leave home in search of a spell to free her. While the kingdom beyond the forest is full of dangers, Ailynn’s greatest fear is that Raisa will no longer want her when she returns. She is a…


Book cover of Memorial: A Version of Homer's Iliad

Erica Wright Author Of Hollow Bones

From my list on retelling classic stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

Before fan fiction was popular, I would often daydream about the lives of my favorite book characters. Did Jane Eyre gain more confidence from her inheritance? Did Ponyboy find a way to survive his tragic childhood? Decades later, I gravitate toward retellings, often picking them up simply because I like the source material. Still, when I started working on this list, I realized what a daunting task I’d set myself. There are so many! And I haven’t even read two recently lauded titles: Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead and Percival Everett’s James. So hat in my hand, I present these favorites ranging from serious to light-hearted. 

Erica's book list on retelling classic stories

Erica Wright Why did Erica love this book?

I saw Alice Oswald recite this entire collection after accidentally getting locked into the Carlos Museum at Emory University (a story for another day). To say that I was moved is an understatement.

This book-length poem memorializes the two hundred soldiers mentioned in Homer’s Iliad. Its unflinching portraits of the war’s sacrificed men are in Oswald’s singularly sharp, melodic style. 

By Alice Oswald,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Memorial as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this daring new work, the poet Alice Oswald strips away the narrative of the Iliad-the anger of Achilles, the story of Helen-in favor of attending to its atmospheres: the extended similes that bring so much of the natural order into the poem and the corresponding litany of the war-dead, most of whom are little more than names but each of whom lives and dies unforgettably and unforgotten in the copious retrospect of Homer's glance. The resulting poem is a war memorial and a profoundly responsive work that gives new voice to Homer's level-voiced version of the world. Through a…


Book cover of The Iliad

Richard Jenkyns Author Of Classical Literature: An Epic Journey from Homer to Virgil and Beyond

From my list on classical literature.

Why am I passionate about this?

I spent my career teaching Classics, mostly at Oxford University, where I was a fellow of Lady Margaret Hall and Professor of the Classical Tradition. I have worked on the influence of the ancient world on British literature and culture, especially in the Victorian age, and when being a conventional classicist have written mostly about Latin literature and Roman culture. I have also written short books on Jane Austen and Westminster Abbey.

Richard's book list on classical literature

Richard Jenkyns Why did Richard love this book?

‘Wrath’ is the first word, beginning European literature not with the whimper of infancy but with a bang. The Iliad is ferociously intense, the action remarkably compressed in time and place, despite the poem’s great length (most of it takes place on the plain of Troy over two or three days). It is the quintessence of tragedy, declaring that the quest for glory, the hero’s duty, is inseparably bound up with humiliation and death. But it is a high-spirited tragedy, immensely energetic, with a lust for the ordinary appetites of life. Life is so good: that is what makes the warriors’ deaths so terrible. The gods look on, both fascinated and detached, and through their eyes we see man as both small and great. I recommend Martin Hammond’s prose translation.

By Homer, Martin Hammond,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Iliad as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The best modern prose translation of The Iliad' Robin Lane Fox, The Times

The first of the world's great tragedies, The Iliad centres on the pivotal four days towards the end of the ten-year war between the Greeks and the Trojans. In a series of dramatic set pieces, it follows the story of the humiliation of Achilleus at the hands of Agamemnon and his slaying of Hektor: a barbarous act with repercussions that ultimately determine the fate of Troy. The Iliad not only paints an intimate picture of individual experience, but also offers a universal perspective in which human loss…


Book cover of The Silence of the Girls

Sophia Kouidou-Giles Author Of An Unexpected Ally: A Greek Tale of Love, Revenge, and Redemption

From my list on retelling ancient Greek myths.

Why am I passionate about this?

Born and raised in Greece, I have always been fascinated by the history and mythology of my homeland. My love for reading historical fiction and Greek myths has been drawing me into stories of ancient civilizations and their timeless tales. Visiting archaeological sites and museums, where history comes to life through the remnants of the past has been a lifelong passion and Is a source of inspiration. These experiences have shaped my love for storytelling and my desire to breathe new life into Greek myths and history. In my writing, I aim to bridge the gap between the ancient and the modern.

Sophia's book list on retelling ancient Greek myths

Sophia Kouidou-Giles Why did Sophia love this book?

I love the descriptions Pat Barker, a British author, uses as she delves into the cruelty and ugliness of war. This reframe of victors, the Greeks who are winners of the Trojan War is richly written; the characters of the captors are despicable as they live in the ruins of a glorious city, enslaving women, but punished by their gods who trap them away from their homes.

Revenge is in the air as the raped and degraded Trojan women, spoils of the war, conspire while living with their Greek captors. What I love about it, above all, is the bleak description of a brutal patriarchy.

By Pat Barker,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Silence of the Girls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY

'Chilling, powerful, audacious' The Times

'Magnificent. You are in the hands of a writer at the height of her powers' Evening Standard

There was a woman at the heart of the Trojan War whose voice has been silent - until now. Discover the greatest Greek myth of all - retold by the witness that history forgot . . .

Briseis was a queen until her city was destroyed. Now she is a slave to the man who butchered her husband and brothers. Trapped in a world defined by men, can she survive…


Book cover of Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of The Iliad

Kaitlin Bevis Author Of Persephone

From my list on mythology retellings of Helen of Troy's many faces.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by stories of myth, magic, and ancient cultures. I grew up devouring everything I could get my hands on, but it seemed like voices were missing in so many myths and legends. Persephone isn’t even the main character in her own myth. Aphrodite, Helen, and countless other women were painted with the same depthless brush. I wanted to know their stories, and as I grew older, I realized I wanted to tell them. The authors of the books in this list are kindred spirits. Countless hours of research and reading went into these stories, and their love for the subject shines through the text. 

Kaitlin's book list on mythology retellings of Helen of Troy's many faces

Kaitlin Bevis Why did Kaitlin love this book?

I can’t write a list of Helen of Troy's many faces without including the most famous source material. Though it’s marketed for children, it’s one of the most faithful and accessible adaptations of the Iliad that I’ve ever read.

I loved the illustrations and how the scenes stayed faithful to those written many centuries ago while still packing an emotional punch to a modern-day reader. The ancient classics that spread orally are all translated retellings, so while there’s definitely value in reading the more academic versions, those aren’t any more or less valid than an accessible text with modern language that pulls you into the story.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know the ins and outs of the original to better appreciate retellings. 

By Rosemary Sutcliff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Black Ships Before Troy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Frances Lincoln is proud to reintroduce the Greenaway award-winning Black Ships Before Troy.

Here is Homer's epic poem The Iliad, brought to life by Rosemary Sutcliff with all the skill of a master storyteller. Alan Lee's dramatic cover image hauntingly recreates the age of heroes in this introduction to the Greek classics--a book that should become part of every childhood.


Book cover of The Iliad of Homer

Steve P. Kershaw Author Of The Search for Atlantis: A History of Plato's Ideal State

From my list on Ancient Greece by Ancient Greeks.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was introduced to the fascinating world of the Ancient Greeks by an inspirational teacher at my Primary School when I was about 10 years old—he read us tales of gods and monsters and heroes and heroism, and I was entranced. My grandpa bought me a copy of The Iliad. I read it with my torch under the bedclothes and embarked on a magical journey that has seen me spend the greater part of my life travelling in the world of the Ancient Greeks, both physically and intellectually. Those characters, both real and mythical, have become my friends, enemies, warnings, and role-models ever since.

Steve's book list on Ancient Greece by Ancient Greeks

Steve P. Kershaw Why did Steve love this book?

Homer’s Iliad is a fabulously exciting tale of action and heroism, as the mightiest Greek heroes fight beneath the walls of Troy for the most beautiful woman who ever lived. But there is so much more to it! It’s partly the tale of one man’s anger, and partly a timeless tale about war and sacrifice for all humanity. Homer confronts some of the most significant human problems with amazingly contemporary power and nuance: the beauty and horror of combat; the inseparability of glory and destruction; the raw emotional power of reconciliation between mortal enemies; and the fact that there is more to life than revenge and more to being a man than slaughtering other men. Richmond Lattimore’s inspired translation makes you feel like Homer himself is reciting the tales to you.

By Homer, Richmond Lattimore (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Iliad of Homer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus / and its devastation." For sixty years, that's how Homer has begun the Iliad in English, in Richmond Lattimore's faithful translation-the gold standard for generations of students and general readers.

This long-awaited new edition of Lattimore's Iliad is designed to bring the book into the twenty-first century-while leaving the poem as firmly rooted in ancient Greece as ever. Lattimore's elegant, fluent verses-with their memorably phrased heroic epithets and remarkable fidelity to the Greek-remain unchanged, but classicist Richard Martin has added a wealth of supplementary materials designed to aid new generations of readers.…


Book cover of Hand of Fire

Amalia Carosella Author Of Helen of Sparta

From my list on retelling Greek myths.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been playing in the sandbox of Greek myth as a writer for two decades, and passionately absorbed by it for even longer. My mother raised us all to love ancient history, and I was further encouraged by my brother at age 7, who brought home a copy of Bulfinch and taught me the difference between Heracles and Hercules, cementing my delight and inspiring me to pursue a BA in Classical Studies. The result was not only my Helen of Sparta duology, by a plethora of other works exploring our relationships to the divine in the retelling of historically-grounded myths, some well-known, and some half-forgotten.

Amalia's book list on retelling Greek myths

Amalia Carosella Why did Amalia love this book?

Hand of Fire was one of the first books to truly win me over on Achilles as a real hero worthy of romanticism and admiration. Starkston’s exploration of Briseis’s character and her relationship to and with Achilles is so well-wrought, pulling both from the Hittites (the empire in which Briseis was born) and the Greek mythology and archeology. The way she weaves the two cultures together to create this story, priming Briseis for Achilles’s arrival to create a narrative that gives Briseis both power and agency is absolutely masterful. I loved that Starkston didn’t shy away from the supernatural hallmarks of the Iliad, either, allowing the gods and their direct influence to breathe inside her retelling of the Trojan War.

By Judith Starkston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hand of Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Briseis steps out from the handful of lines she gets in Homer's epic, and fearlessly tells her own story as healer, war prize, and partner to the famous Achilles—here a godlike hero who manages to be all too human. Recommended! –Kate Quinn, NYT Times Bestselling author of The Alice Network

A legendary war, an invincible warrior, a woman forced to defend her family and realm—and her independent spirit. Will she become the captive or the captor?

Briseis struggles to protect her city, an ally of Troy, from marauding Greeks and her husband’s arrogant violence. She finds strength in visions of…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Trojan War, the Iliad, and the Hittites?

The Trojan War 40 books
The Iliad 39 books
The Hittites 9 books