Review by annagerg - Hemlock & Silver

annagerg 's review for:

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

4.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

T. Kingfisher is an auto-read author for me, and I’ve loved all but one of her books that I’ve read so far. It was an absolute honor to receive an ALC of the Hemlock & Silver audiobook, and the author absolutely delivered in this twisted tale!

Poison expert and healer Anja is hired by the king to help solve the mystery as to what (or who) is poisoning his eldest daughter after a tragedy befalls the royal family. The story gives the vibe of a Snow White and Alice Through the Looking Glass hybrid with mysterious magic and touches of horrific elements.

Anja is such a delightful narrator, and Jennifer Pickens captures her essence beautifully in the audiobook narration. Anja is a snarky, dry-humored, autistic-coded, thirty-five-year-old, plus-sized badass. Some of her inner monologues and observations were often laugh-out-loud funny or painfully relatable, and they added so much depth to the plot and world building without being completely overbearing.

Did it get weird? Yes. Did I understand everything about the magic system and setting? No. Were there loose ends? Yes. Did I love it, and would I recommend this story? Absolutely (especially the audiobook). I’m grateful to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for my thoughts.

Content Warnings