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indigoblue777's review
3.0
A decent Snow White retelling. I’m not a fan of this author’s other works, but I borrowed this from Libby for free, so I figured I’d give it a try.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
4.0
Ever since I moved out, which is half a life ago already, I've gotten used to reading in silence. It's therefore not always easy to read when I'm staying with my parents. So, last Friday I wanted something easy. I've read quite a few books by this author already and I know that her writing style is always to the point and not too hard to follow. This book was therefore perfect to read while surrounded by noises I'm not used to.
What I absolutely loved about this book is the historical setting. The author does a great job painting a picture of all the written and unwritten rules surrounding nobility and all the political games that were played when it came to love and marriage. It's clear from the start that Snow White and her prince will get their happily ever after eventually, but we also discover quite soon that they will have to fight for it. Quite literally.
Although there is no actual magic in this book, the book still does read like a fairytale. A dark fairytale at times, Snow White isn't a happy and light tale after all, but still a fairytale. I liked how all the elements of the fairytale we know were somehow incorporated in this tale. The corset, the poison, the princess in hiding, the kiss waking the princess up. However, all those elements are twisted to fit into the setting and the more realistic attempts at murder.
I also loved that in this tale the motive for murder is not jealousy of someone's beauty. I always disliked that about the original tale. It seems like such a vain motive to do so many bad things. The motive in this book is maybe not much better, but at least in this case I understand why someone would go this far and would step this low. Luckily our Snow White is a lot stronger than her enemy anticipates and does get a heartwarming epilogue.
I really hope the author will write more tales like this!
What I absolutely loved about this book is the historical setting. The author does a great job painting a picture of all the written and unwritten rules surrounding nobility and all the political games that were played when it came to love and marriage. It's clear from the start that Snow White and her prince will get their happily ever after eventually, but we also discover quite soon that they will have to fight for it. Quite literally.
Although there is no actual magic in this book, the book still does read like a fairytale. A dark fairytale at times, Snow White isn't a happy and light tale after all, but still a fairytale. I liked how all the elements of the fairytale we know were somehow incorporated in this tale. The corset, the poison, the princess in hiding, the kiss waking the princess up. However, all those elements are twisted to fit into the setting and the more realistic attempts at murder.
I also loved that in this tale the motive for murder is not jealousy of someone's beauty. I always disliked that about the original tale. It seems like such a vain motive to do so many bad things. The motive in this book is maybe not much better, but at least in this case I understand why someone would go this far and would step this low. Luckily our Snow White is a lot stronger than her enemy anticipates and does get a heartwarming epilogue.
I really hope the author will write more tales like this!
emilyyjjean's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This book was a bumpy ride. I got through it though, so I'm giving it a 2.5/5 stars.
Sophie (Snow White) was hard for me to connect to. I liked her sometimes, but I was neutral to her most of the time.She was so hot and cold with her step mother. I felt so bad for Claudia, cause I could see she was just trying to connect with Sophie, especially since she was uprooted from her home and knew no one in Bavaria. I'm also sure Sophie would've gotten some etiquette classes before her debut, and would've known it was a big problem for her to be with Phillip unsupervised. Don't even get me started on the scene where, after her father is in a coma, she starts to shake him and *slaps him in the face*. That was such an out of character thing for her to do. Up to this point, Sophie seemed like a rather calm and cool-headed person.
This was like Snow White, but had a different vibe. I like how the story tried to incorporate real world places into the story (I say try, because you don't want to cross-examine this with the actual time period). I'm not sure if the replacement of little people with children was the best move. I don't know why they'd force orphaned children to make their living off of working in the mines. It did help the plot point of her being like a mother to them though. I always found that weird in the original story when they were grown adults. By the way, we don't meet these children until 67% into. the. book.
The ending has a potential plot hole that was patched with duct tape; the tape may hold, but it's really flimsy. It also has some WTF moments sprinkled in.
Phillip reads Ferdinand's log of hiring assassins to kill Sophie, but then still doubts that his father wanted Sophie dead. Ferdinand wants her dead, but let's trick him into thinking she's dead--what's going to happen when she comes back to life? He's still going to want her dead. Oh, don't worry, a stray arrow kills Ferdinand as he's signing the peace treaty with England. Let's keep the Duke alive by magic, for him to just end up dying still. He could've just died after drinking the poison. Phillip and Sophie's wedding night...could've done without that. Claudia dies??? by a poison dress??? I don't really know why Claudia had to die too.
Like I said, I was able to finish the book. There were just some really weird moments and Sophie's character seemed all over the place.
Sophie (Snow White) was hard for me to connect to. I liked her sometimes, but I was neutral to her most of the time.
This was like Snow White, but had a different vibe. I like how the story tried to incorporate real world places into the story (I say try, because you don't want to cross-examine this with the actual time period). I'm not sure if the replacement of little people with children was the best move. I don't know why they'd force orphaned children to make their living off of working in the mines. It did help the plot point of her being like a mother to them though. I always found that weird in the original story when they were grown adults. By the way, we don't meet these children until 67% into. the. book.
The ending has a potential plot hole that was patched with duct tape; the tape may hold, but it's really flimsy. It also has some WTF moments sprinkled in.
Like I said, I was able to finish the book. There were just some really weird moments and Sophie's character seemed all over the place.
celestial_being's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jaccie's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
bridget_voisin's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25