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beastreader's review
4.0
Me like many other readers are familiar with the classic story of Snow White and the evil Queen. Yet, what do we really know about the evil Queen. In this book, author, Hailey Jade takes readers on a journey into the reimagined tale of Snow White. Only this story is all about the evil Queen aka Rhiandra.
I liked this reimagined story. I felt that it was different enough that I was not doing any comparing to the original story. This is a great sign when this happens as it means that the author has done their job when there is no comparison going on. I was emotionally attached to Rhiandra. Yet, that was about the only person I was attached to other than Draven. Sadly, when this happens, it makes the story seem to drag on.
The ending does hint that this will continue, and we will see how the story plays out and if Rhiandra becomes the evil Queen or takes a new path. Overall, I did like this book enough that I would read the next one.
I liked this reimagined story. I felt that it was different enough that I was not doing any comparing to the original story. This is a great sign when this happens as it means that the author has done their job when there is no comparison going on. I was emotionally attached to Rhiandra. Yet, that was about the only person I was attached to other than Draven. Sadly, when this happens, it makes the story seem to drag on.
The ending does hint that this will continue, and we will see how the story plays out and if Rhiandra becomes the evil Queen or takes a new path. Overall, I did like this book enough that I would read the next one.
ammonoids's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
More women doing crimes, good fun.
thaliaohh's review
2.0
"They called me the Whore Queen. Some even called me the Evil Queen.
But they could call me whatever they wanted. I was still queen."
A snow white retelling with the Evil Queen being our villain FMC. CHECK TW'S before reading
Rhiandra, is our evil queen. She works as a 'women of the night' where looks is literally the reason why she gets paid. She ends up getting disfigured by a group of men after insulting their ego (like really dude?! you're gonna get mad at her because she helped a co-worker of her & tried to get her away from your unwanted advances?!) After having to suffer through that ordeal she wanders along the streets penniless until she mets Draven. The same mysterious man she had seen in the bar where she worked. Draven offers Rhiandra a chance to be beautiful again in exchange for something that he wants.
So when I saw this book and read the blurb (which honestly I rarely do, I like to go into stories BLIND BLIND! lol) I got hooked. I saw the words Dark Romance & said say LESS.
Unfortunately, that's also how I felt.. that it was less than what I was anticipating.
This story took me about 3 days to read, and it's not because I had the lack of time, it just didn't appeal to me after awhile. It was a really rough 10% then I had to push through and got to 50% and honestly, was about to DNF it but I AM NO QUITTER! and finished it. The cliffhanger at the end also added to my already BLAH feeling towards the book.
It's not all horrible though and that's why it's a 3 star rating.
So although the Rhiandra & Draven's relationship seemed pretty 'insta-loveish', there WAS chemistry. not a lot BUT nevertheless, there was. Granted, we don't know much about Draven, he still seems as mysterious as when we first met him but again this book, is just part 1 of the series (ergo the cliffhanger at the end)
It's a great adult fantasy book but as a 'adult romance' book, it wasn't exceptional to me.
I was sent this copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
But they could call me whatever they wanted. I was still queen."
A snow white retelling with the Evil Queen being our villain FMC. CHECK TW'S before reading
Rhiandra, is our evil queen. She works as a 'women of the night' where looks is literally the reason why she gets paid. She ends up getting disfigured by a group of men after insulting their ego (like really dude?! you're gonna get mad at her because she helped a co-worker of her & tried to get her away from your unwanted advances?!) After having to suffer through that ordeal she wanders along the streets penniless until she mets Draven. The same mysterious man she had seen in the bar where she worked. Draven offers Rhiandra a chance to be beautiful again in exchange for something that he wants.
So when I saw this book and read the blurb (which honestly I rarely do, I like to go into stories BLIND BLIND! lol) I got hooked. I saw the words Dark Romance & said say LESS.
Unfortunately, that's also how I felt.. that it was less than what I was anticipating.
This story took me about 3 days to read, and it's not because I had the lack of time, it just didn't appeal to me after awhile. It was a really rough 10% then I had to push through and got to 50% and honestly, was about to DNF it but I AM NO QUITTER! and finished it. The cliffhanger at the end also added to my already BLAH feeling towards the book.
It's not all horrible though and that's why it's a 3 star rating.
So although the Rhiandra & Draven's relationship seemed pretty 'insta-loveish', there WAS chemistry. not a lot BUT nevertheless, there was. Granted, we don't know much about Draven, he still seems as mysterious as when we first met him but again this book, is just part 1 of the series (ergo the cliffhanger at the end)
It's a great adult fantasy book but as a 'adult romance' book, it wasn't exceptional to me.
I was sent this copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
teaand_tomes's review
5.0
This was everything I was hoping for and more.
I have never cheered so hard for the villains before.
I have never cheered so hard for the villains before.
underscorekate's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
ofmadnessandmagic's review
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.
To me, this falls in the category of "great idea, poor execution".
My main issue was that it lacked depth, plot points seemed unconnected and to me, it just felt like we only scratched the surface.
I love female villains and I love a good corruption arc, but this just did not work for me.
First of all, the plot was so predictable, yet Rhiandra, the FMC, had no idea what was going on.
A stranger offers to make you queen, and you seriously don't realize he might be acting out of self-interest, and not because he thinks that you, a random woman from the streets, should rule the country? Really? It was obvious to me what his goal was from the beginning, yet it felt like it was supposed to be a big plot twist towards the end.
Speaking of the ending, there is a different between a cliffhanger and leaving a book unfinished. To me, this book was the latter. I had to push myself to finish this and then, right when I expected things to get a bit interesting, it just ended. I honestly felt betrayed at the end, I assumed it was building up to something and then... nothing.
The plot was both boring and slow, yet at the same time the book felt too short. Things weren't explained properly, interesting scenes were cut short, and there was a bunch of nothing between the few key scenes. There were also some plot holes and things that just didn't seem to add up.
The character arcs went from 0 to 100 very quickly, both Rhiandra and the king suddenly completely changed with what felt like the snap of a finger.
The worldbuilding was okay, though I wish we had gotten more information on the magic, as I still have some unanswered questions about that.
I also wish we would have gotten more romance, as that was one of the things I was most excited for. There wasn't a lot of chemistry between Rhiandra and the love interest, which is mostly due to the fact that the love interest rarely made an appearance, and when he did, they were busy with working their scheme instead of.... romancing. I don't NEED romance in every book that I read, but I would have really needed it in this book, as that probably would have saved it for me.
Overall, the book would have profited from more depth, both for the characters and the plot.
I will not be continuing this series, but I might give the author another try in the future as I definitely see some potential.
To me, this falls in the category of "great idea, poor execution".
My main issue was that it lacked depth, plot points seemed unconnected and to me, it just felt like we only scratched the surface.
I love female villains and I love a good corruption arc, but this just did not work for me.
First of all, the plot was so predictable, yet Rhiandra, the FMC, had no idea what was going on.
A stranger offers to make you queen, and you seriously don't realize he might be acting out of self-interest, and not because he thinks that you, a random woman from the streets, should rule the country? Really? It was obvious to me what his goal was from the beginning, yet it felt like it was supposed to be a big plot twist towards the end.
Speaking of the ending, there is a different between a cliffhanger and leaving a book unfinished. To me, this book was the latter. I had to push myself to finish this and then, right when I expected things to get a bit interesting, it just ended. I honestly felt betrayed at the end, I assumed it was building up to something and then... nothing.
The plot was both boring and slow, yet at the same time the book felt too short. Things weren't explained properly, interesting scenes were cut short, and there was a bunch of nothing between the few key scenes. There were also some plot holes and things that just didn't seem to add up.
The character arcs went from 0 to 100 very quickly, both Rhiandra and the king suddenly completely changed with what felt like the snap of a finger.
The worldbuilding was okay, though I wish we had gotten more information on the magic, as I still have some unanswered questions about that.
I also wish we would have gotten more romance, as that was one of the things I was most excited for. There wasn't a lot of chemistry between Rhiandra and the love interest, which is mostly due to the fact that the love interest rarely made an appearance, and when he did, they were busy with working their scheme instead of.... romancing. I don't NEED romance in every book that I read, but I would have really needed it in this book, as that probably would have saved it for me.
Overall, the book would have profited from more depth, both for the characters and the plot.
I will not be continuing this series, but I might give the author another try in the future as I definitely see some potential.
albloomy's review
4.0
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am loving alternate fairytales, the stories from another perspective, at the moment. This story, gives depth and background to the Evil Queen. I’m loving it and it’s particularly great that it’s an Australian author!
I am loving alternate fairytales, the stories from another perspective, at the moment. This story, gives depth and background to the Evil Queen. I’m loving it and it’s particularly great that it’s an Australian author!
mysticforestcrafts's review against another edition
3.0
I was given access to a copy of this book for review but instead accessed it through kindle unlimited.
Pros:
It’s really nice to get a backstory for the Evil Queen, a figure everyone is aware of but usually gets looked over as a villain. I’ve wanted someone to give her more like they did with Maleficent.
The change to the magic with the mirror is beautiful. It makes it important and explains the creepy face within without having a person or soul trapped within.
Cons:
I found some of the formatting choices very annoying and difficult to adjust to. Specifically, using ‘single quotes like this’ instead of “actual quotation marks” to indicate talking is unheard of. I started off thinking that all the single quotes were supposed to be internal thoughts which didn’t make sense but neither did not using something which is a commonly understood indicator of speech.
I felt the main female character was still difficult to connect to. I don’t know if that was to keep her more true to the known stories or not but I was hoping she would be more than she became.
If you like retellings this is definitely a good one to add to your TBR list!
Pros:
It’s really nice to get a backstory for the Evil Queen, a figure everyone is aware of but usually gets looked over as a villain. I’ve wanted someone to give her more like they did with Maleficent.
The change to the magic with the mirror is beautiful. It makes it important and explains the creepy face within without having a person or soul trapped within.
Cons:
I found some of the formatting choices very annoying and difficult to adjust to. Specifically, using ‘single quotes like this’ instead of “actual quotation marks” to indicate talking is unheard of. I started off thinking that all the single quotes were supposed to be internal thoughts which didn’t make sense but neither did not using something which is a commonly understood indicator of speech.
I felt the main female character was still difficult to connect to. I don’t know if that was to keep her more true to the known stories or not but I was hoping she would be more than she became.
If you like retellings this is definitely a good one to add to your TBR list!
libraryofabibliotaph's review against another edition
4.0
This Snow White retelling starts where it really began: with the evil queen's story.
From the beginning, the story is fast paced. You get to know Rhi, what happened to her and how she gets involved in the big scheme (does somebody want an apple?
From the beginning, the story is fast paced. You get to know Rhi, what happened to her and how she gets involved in the big scheme (does somebody want an apple?