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Books like Kissing the Witch

Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue reads as lyrical, subversive. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.

What Kissing the Witch is like to read

A cycle of female-to-female storytelling that excavates desire, power, and forbidden truth buried beneath classical fairy tales. Donoghue's signature psychological intimacy and tense unveiling reshape iconic heroines as agents of their own reclamation. Best for: readers of literary fantasy, feminist retellings, queer-inflected speculative fiction, and psychological character study.

Boy, Snow, Bird cover
Boy, Snow, Bird
Helen Oyeyemi · 2014
A close literary relative — matched on how it reads, with unhurried, immersive pacing.
The Bloody Chamber cover
The Bloody Chamber
Angela Carter · 1978
Familiar fairy tales retold in lush, gothic prose that turns their menace sensual and their sensuality menacing.
high heatcreepy, not gorycomplete story
Deathless cover
Deathless
Catherynne M. Valente · 2011
A folklore-steeped tale of a woman drawn into an ancient, magical war between life and death, set against a haunted Soviet landscape.
creepy, not gorydeep cut
Spinning Silver cover
Spinning Silver
Naomi Novik · 2018
A wintry, multi-voiced fairytale retelling that braids six perspectives around bargains, silver, and sacrifice — layered and atmospheric rather than fast.
mildly eeriedeep cut
The Seas cover
The Seas
Samantha Hunt · 2004
A close literary relative — matched on how it reads, with steady pacing.
Through the Woods cover
Through the Woods
Emily Carroll · 2014
Five chilling illustrated tales that lure the reader into gothic woods where dread accumulates through image as much as text.
intensely scarycomplete storydeep cut
Briar Rose cover
Briar Rose
Jane Yolen · 1992
A fairy tale and a Holocaust history braid together as a granddaughter unravels what her grandmother's Briar Rose story really meant.
complete storydeep cut
Where the Wild Ladies Are cover
Where the Wild Ladies Are
松田青子 · 2020
A close literary relative — matched on how it reads, with steady pacing.
Fiabe italiane cover
Fiabe italiane
Italo Calvino · 1956
A scholarly yet intimate collection that transforms Italian oral folktales into literature through Calvino's distinctive voice, balancing erudition with playful accessibility.
deep cut
In the house in the dark of the woods cover
In the house in the dark of the woods
Laird Hunt · 2018
A close literary relative — matched on how it reads, with unhurried, immersive pacing.
Cinderella Liberator cover
Cinderella Liberator
Rebecca Solnit · 2019
A philosophically grounded feminist reimagining of Cinderella that privileges self-discovery and chosen community over imposed destiny, delivered in Solnit's characteristic blend o
deep cut
The Seventh Bride cover
The Seventh Bride
T. Kingfisher · 2015
A darkly atmospheric gothic fantasy where a bride must uncover the supernatural trap waiting in her marriage and find a way to survive—and perhaps break—the curse.
deep cut

About Kissing the Witch — what the genome says

Who is Kissing the Witch for?

readers of literary fantasy, feminist retellings, queer-inflected speculative fiction, and psychological character study

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