Tales of Fascination

May 6, 2021Everything Else

Review of The Wish Granter

C. J. Redwine’s The Wish Granter is the second novel in her Ravenspire series in which a popular fairy tale is reimagined into a more realistic (yet still fantasy) setting with serious consequences for the main characters. In this novel, she highlights the town of Sundraille where the royal family has recently died. The king’s bastard son, Thad Glavan, is next in line for the crown and becomes the king. Meanwhile Ari, Thad’s rebellious sister and best friend, struggles to learn how to become a princess.

Ari doesn’t realize exactly what Thad has gotten himself into until she encounters a strange and dangerous man who comes to visit her brother. Alistair Teague is the mastermind behind the criminal activity in Sundraille’s main town. Teague also happens to be the Wish Granter, an evil faerie banished from his home country for some mysterious reason. When he grants a wish, he collects a soul after a period of elapsed time. It’s up to Ari and a weapons master named Sebastian to figure out a way to defeat the Wish Granter.

If it sounds like I’ve given away most of the plot, don’t worry. The Wish Granter has a lot more story to unspool, and it twists and turns with real suspense and adventure. This is a long novel, yet much like the first novel in the series The Shadow Queen, it draws the reader in deeper and deeper until the final hundred pagers fly by. It’s a testament to the strength of the characters, the intricacies of the plot, and the vile adversary (Teague) that the book is so engrossing.

Ari is not your typical heroine. She likes to eat and cook, yet her mind is shrewd and she never backs down. Calculating and endearing, she learns the cost of risking a powerful villain’s ire. Sebastian is really one word at the beginning—stoic. In a sense, he’s the one with the largest character arc, and he makes for a dashing secondary character.

The book revels in the feeling of hopelessness it gives the reader as the inexperienced Ari and the street-smart Sebastian plot against the ancient Alistair. Success seems further away the closer they get, building both the suspense and the fun.

After praising The Shadow Queen, I bought The Wish Granter without hesitation. It sat on my shelf for a while for a number of reasons. One of them was I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the thrills of the first book. I’m excited to report it’s a worthy second story to the Ravenspire series. An entry unlike the first but full of surprises and exciting sequences of its own.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G1FFHF0

Also in this series: The Shadow Queen .

April 28, 2021April 28, 2021Everything Else

Review of Bingeworthy

Havok’s third anthology is based on themes that have been proven to make the world binge read story after story. With themes like “Strange New World” and “Super Duper,” numerous authors have constructed forty-six tales of one thousand words or less. A majority of the entries fall into the genres of science fiction or fantasy.

My son and I read these together, and we discussed a score, from one to ten, for each after we finished. We often had the same rating but we differed on a few. The range of tales satisfied both his need for more action-oriented stories and my preference for more introspective plots. Nonetheless, we often arrived at one score for most, but not all, of the offerings.

The quality of writing is high for this book, but the themes are hidden. I had to look them up on the website in order to understand the categories. I appreciated the prior collection because they sectioned the book into the six themes so I had a sense of what I was about to read. This is missing in Bingeworthy, and I hope Havok brings this back in the future.

We had a long list of high scoring entries. We liked the action and the premise of “Seven Canisters of Dark” (Tracey Dyck). I was struck with the creativity of “Tower of 1000 Doors” (J. L. Ender) and enjoyed its playful ending. The poignant “The Light Smuggler” (Zachary Holbrook) will be remembered for quite some time. The setting of “The Last Gateway” (Cassandra Hamm) made that story a winner. We both enjoyed the pulse-pounding narrative of “What Comes Next” (Andrew Winch) as well as its not-so-tidy ending. Whoever said great fairy tales were all written in the past never read “Flowers” (Hannah Robinson). And “Raiders of Magic” (Krysta Tawlks) is a skillful demonstration in speculative fiction. Finally, “Unexpected Encounters of a Draconic Kind” (Beka Gremikova) exemplified the best of how fantasy connects to the human condition.

At the very top of the scale, my son loved the hijinx of both “Why God Made Beer” (A. C. Williams) and “Santa’s Little Foes” (Michael Erasmus). It takes a lot to make my teenager smile, but both stories achieved that very reaction. “The Incendiary” (Abigail Falanga) had a clever premise, and we didn’t see the end coming. Finally, we were both moved by “A Healing Touch” (R. F. Gammon)—very insightful fiction in so few words.

I made my son choose his favorite. His favorite story was “The Fountain” by Teddi Deppner. He said he liked how it made him both think and feel. For me, I chose “Flew” (Pamela Love) which felt like poetry in prose form. Both entries packed a lot of emotion into flash fiction.

Bingeworthy is a great collection with a wide variety of tales. This father and son team look forward to the next anthology by Havok. I’m sure it will be Sense-sational.

Full disclosure: I am an author and have been published in Havok, however, I did not submit during the Bingeworthy run.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HHP1HCP

April 28, 2021Everything Else

Deliver Us – Delivered

Today is the launch of my fourth book and third novel-length book, Deliver Us. You can order it here

I have two pages of acknowledgements and all contributed greatly to this work of fiction. I remember coming up with the idea while writing my first novel. And I also remember wanting to return to it during the heavy editing periods of second novel, never sure if the day would ever come when I would get the chance to publish it. I remember talking to Dan Johnson, my illustrator extraordinaire, all about it in Starbucks and the phone conversations of what the cover would look like. November 2020 was real fun trying to get it into my editor’s hands when I was juggling publishing my first short story for Havok, an awesome online magazine. And, of course, I remember the hours I spent on Amazon trying to get the details right.

And now it’s yours. I’m pleased and proud to present it to you to review and purchase. I’ve been using the tag line: 5 fairytale queens, 4 exotic locales, 3 evil witches, 2 naive narrators, and 1 epic quest, and the countdown theme is appropriate today. Today is day 0, the day Deliver Us became a book. I know you have other choices and I recognize a lot of good books, movies, and games compete for your time, but Deliver Us is well worth your while checking out.

March 21, 2021Everything Else

Review of Fiona

Fiona, an American tale of growing up on a farm in the mid 1800s, is a charming example of historical fiction. Set on a farm, Fiona’s family have a sports team number of children with Fiona being the eldest. After five more girls comes the boys and then disaster—the death of the mother of this brood.

As Fiona is in her mid-teens at the time, she ends up assuming the role of mother. From there, the plot evolves into the children growing up and making their way in the world. From chores to dances, and occupations to translocations, the family’s life weaves in and out of various events all told through the eyes of the mature Fiona.

Fiona herself is a likeable character. At first, she comes across more pious than most until the reader gets to know she struggles with her kindness toward others who mistreat her. She’s especially a sympathetic character when describing her impressions on the people she meets and the trials she endures.

Her brothers and sisters are painted in lighter brushstrokes except one younger sister. They represent different categories of people—aspiring, coy, delicate—and are often grouped together. As with most period literature of this nature, the novel details how they make their way in the world through either the benefit of others or on their own. It’s engaging to read how each of them turns out.

Though it has adult themes and is written for adults, Fiona brought me back to the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder in many ways. With regards to language, it captures that period of Emma and Pride and Prejudice well. Don’t expect modern language in a stylized narrative or a period style with a modern influence. The author mirrors books written long ago with all its advantages and foibles, and the novel is stronger for it.

Romantic and dramatic, Fiona transports its readers back to a simpler and more idyllic, though still challenging, time. Those who seek a more pastoral story set in the nineteenth century of America are encouraged to give it a read.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1419641069

March 12, 2021Everything Else

Review of Jam and Jingle Bells

The third book in the Bells Pass series, Jam and Jingle Bells: A Small Town Diner Christmas Romance, starts with cosmetologist Addie Collop giving a haircut to the town’s newly arrived yoga instructor, Ellis David. Twenty-five-years-old yet white-haired, Ellis is mysterious yet charming, and Addie resolves to get to know him better.

Flash forward six months to November and the Addie and Ellis start seeing each other on a more regular basis. As with the first two books in the series, the narrative focuses not only on Ellis and Addie’s budding romance but other subplots of the people who live in Bells Pass. First and foremost, Jam and Jingle Bells is a romance, but the book also includes elements of small town living. Much of the time is focused on the Christmas season, providing a joyous and upbeat tone, but sections of the novel contain serious events within Bells Pass’s borders. This small town isn’t the utopia it seems to be on the surface.

Kudos to author Katie Mettner for introducing a character with a medical condition. This builds gravitas into what could have been a lightweight novel. True, many scenes depict people enjoying the season and a light-hearted atmosphere, but the book contrasts these segments with acts of violence, a medical emergency, and multiple characters struggling with a significant loss in their lives. Despite the highs and lows in the plot, the novel keeps a steady tone.

The highlight of the book comes in the middle with a Santa Claus character discussing a difficult topic with a child character. The imagery Santa uses to explain what is happening to the child is wonderful—not too sappy but sweet enough to be charming. This enchanting analogy continues through the rest of the book becoming an anchor point for the novel.

With so much going on, some elements are stronger than others. The sequence detailing with outsiders plaguing Bells Pass is perhaps the weakest and is resolved rather suddenly. Other subplots are more solid. They depict how love and loss intersect at times, surfacing much deeper themes.

Jam and Jingle Bells is a delicious helping of Christmas, romance, and bonhomie. This enjoyable novel will get the reader into the spirit of the season any time of year.

February 26, 2021February 26, 2021Everything Else

Review of Shadows On Snow

Starla Huchton’s Shadows on Snow is a retelling of Snow White but with males taking traditional female roles and vice-versa. Yes, this means that Snow White is a man in this story. He is Prince Leopold, the evil step-mother becomes an evil step-father, and the seven “dwarfs” become seven sisters. Clever, but the story is a lot more than its flipped premise.

Rae, or Raelynn of Bern is a young princess with a gift for being unobserved. She’s working in the stables at the start of the story attempting to complete a mission. During her quest, the young prince of Sericea, Leopold comes home to be with his ailing mother. Rae and Leopold exchange a few pleasantries, but Rae sees herself as a spy against the evil king, and avoids anything that would make her stand out.

While the story follows the traditional Snow White plot points, the book contains a fascinating narrative of its own of ancient, evil magic, kingdoms overthrown, and rebels with powers. Much more action than in a traditional fairy tale, Shadows on Snow is also part-fantasy and part-romance. The scenes between Rae and Leopold come together quite naturally.

Rae is the central figure in this story, not Leopold, and it’s told from her point-of-view. With a tragic (and very dark) background, Rae isn’t your traditional fairytale princess and often mocks being one. She’s a woman of action—that part of her character is believable. Harder to invest in is her romantic side. While her relationships with the other women in the story ring true, the tension between her and Leopold ebbs and flows a bit much. Her backstory is almost too much to overcome at times so when the inevitable does happen, it feels sudden.

One of the highlights of this novel are the seven sisters. Endowed with magic, the conflict between them and the evil king is delightful. Believing that they could challenge their nefarious opponent, Ms Huchton has written a powerful adversary providing the story adequate tension all the way to its climax.

How about the Snow White story points? If you’re familiar with the real story, you’ll find it all here (including the three attempts on Snow White’s life). But isn’t Snow White effeminate? How does that work with a dude? It works quite well, actually. Instead of passive and dainty, Leopold is compassionate and caring. He looks after his troops in battle, he cares deeply for his true love, and he is kind and charming to the seven sisters. All the core kindness of “the fairest maiden” exists in Leopold, making him a fitting tribute to Snow White as well as a solid character in his own right.

Stuffed with action, bursting with magic, sprinkled with humorous scenes, and enchanting from start to finish, Shadows on Snow is a great retelling of Snow White.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OLHRYIE

February 26, 2021Everything Else

Interview with H. L. Burke

I caught up with fairytale author H. L. Burke for a special interview on Tell A Fairy Tale Day. Her latest fairy tale is titled Ashen, a Cinderella retelling.

With regards to the inspiration of Ashen, did you start with the idea to write a fairy tale retelling of Cinderella? Or was Ashen an original concept that mirrored Cinderella and you adopted it as a retelling?

I came up with the story first and then kept on running into “oh, but if I do that, people will think it’s a Cinderella story” things … to the point that I gave in and actually went back in and added a few elements to make it even more Cinderella-esque. The “ball/dance” was not an element in my original plot. I upped the number of times I mentioned the ashes and created the glass shoe reference at the end. I have done fairy tale retellings before, but more often I write fairy-tale-style original stories. This one was supposed to be one of them, but that didn’t happen, obviously.

Would you ever consider a sequel or another story set in Lizbete’s world?

Probably not. I never say never for reasons, but Lizbete’s story ends right where I want it to, and there aren’t any other characters I can see carrying the world forward. While the world is cool, it’s very insular–one small, isolated village–so going back to it would be kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to find something else that could happen there … and if I left the village for the wider world around it, it would have a much different overall feel, to the point where there wouldn’t be a reason to keep them connected.

What primary emotion do you hope to evoke from your readers when they finish Ashen?

Coziness and the feeling of coming home. Lizbete as a character has the primary drive of wanting to connect in a meaningful way. Her “condition” has kept her an outsider, and even the people who love her have to be kept at arm’s length so that she doesn’t accidentally harm them. She’s not longing for “adventure” or great things. She wants small, domestic things. That is her ideal happily ever after, and it’s what I hope readers feel through her.

Fairy Tales

Do you believe all fairy tales ought to have a significant kiss or a significant death? Why or why not?

I’m not big on rules for … just about anything creative. There are plenty of fairy tales that don’t have these elements (Tom Thumb, The Bremen Town Musicians, The Brave Little Tailor just to name three). Even the more traditional romantic ones don’t necessarily hinge upon a kiss (Beauty and the Beast hinges on a confession of love/agreement to marry in most accepted versions, but not a kiss. Cinderella doesn’t have a kiss or a death, though her mom is already dead at the start and some people do lose toes … etc). So definitely not. There are a lot of varying aspects to fairy tales because they come out of a very broad tradition of spoken word stories across multiple cultures. I think we have kind of gotten used to the most basic of these that have been broadly shared by Disney, but it’s an incredibly varied genre.

Technique

If you could retell one of the more popular fairy tales without using magic or the supernatural, which one would you choose and why?

Not really an answer, but I just have to stop and say, writing a fairy tale without magic, to me, would be like baking a dessert without sugar … I’d just be like … sad. I can barely write other genres without some sort of magical element. I tried switching to contemporary romance once. I had to write it from the POV of a cat to keep myself invested, and even then I barely eked out a short novella before I lost interest and started writing about a ghost cat instead. I like my sparkly shiny magical stuff.

What is one trap you find other modern stories fall into when they retell fairy tales?

I feel there is a need to gritty them up or twist them around to the point where the original themes are lost. I’m not saying that you can’t write a version of a classic story where the villain is the hero and the heroes are the villains–but I’m saying that once it’s been done by someone as mainstream as Disney, it’s probably not the original, edgy twist you think it is. There needs to be more. Too often these sorts of stories get rid of the things people liked (the happy parts, the parts to look up to or look forward to) but neglect to replace them with anything and they feel a little empty.

Thanks for Reading,

H.(Heidi) L. Burke

www.hlburkeauthor.com

H. L. Burke is the author of multiple fantasy novels including the Dragon and the Scholar saga, the Nyssa Glass YA Steampunk series, and the fairy tales An Ordinary Knight, To Court A Queen and Coiled. She is an admirer of the whimsical, a follower of the Light, and a believer in happily ever after.

February 26, 2021Everything Else

Review of Ashen

Forget everything you know about fairytale retellings when you read Ashen by H. L. Burke. Most retellings either are a straight-up novel length version of a story you’ve read before, or they include some type of gimmick to make the narrative fresh. Reading these types of retellings are like playing connect-the-dots as you “recognize” something from the original tale. The reader may almost anticipate the next scene (“here comes the part where Cinderella’s godmother turns her into the belle of the ball.”).

And then there’s Ashen.

Instead of connect-the-dots, Ashen is more like a hidden picture puzzle. Ashen ties itself to the Cinderella legend in its marketing materials, but don’t expect this story to be either a straight-up or flipped novel of that famous fairy tale. This offering is a fantasy novel with a strong heroine at its center, a more realistic setting, and a highly creative backstory. This novel drew me in on the strength of its originality, not on the similarities to Cinderella.

Lizbete is not the glamorous yet oppressed maiden, but a girl with a real challenge in her life. Her stepmother isn’t wicked at all. Lizbete doesn’t really want to attend “the ball.” You’ll be hard-pressed to find a traditional prince and evil stepsisters here, although certain characters play similar roles.

Lizbete is a girl who has lived in the same town all her life but has never been accepted by its residents. Life has conspired to give her a number of disadvantages—the first one being she was abandoned on the doorstep by her parents. Still, she has found some friends in the place where she works. And then there’s a certain boy…

If you think you know this story, I promise you, you do not. If you read it, you’ll discover a tale of high fantasy that stands apart from Cinderella. Action, mystery, and a few deeply moving scenes await the person who picks up Ashen.

Naturally, some parallels exist between Ashen and Cinderella, but they don’t broadcast themselves. Just like the hidden pictures analogy above, you’ll come across a passage and suddenly realize the scene was remarkably similar to the fairy tale. The similarities are wonderful, yet they do not make the story. What makes this such a fantastic read are the original parts. You’ll associate with Lizbete and her plight, and enjoy the adventure she goes on.

Does your home library include books like Grimm’s Fairy Tales or Pinocchio? Does it also have novels like the space opera Cinder or the high fantasy of Prydain? Good. Add Ashen to the long pantheon of fairy tales. It deserves a place on that particular bookshelf.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CZZFKKX

February 26, 2021Everything Else

Review of A Dream of Ebony and White

For a long time, I’ve wanted to read a retelling by Melanie Cellier. She’s retold most of the popular fairy tales and a few of the ones rarely retold (e.g. “Swan Lake” and “The Princess and the Pea”). I wondered how she would approach a Snow White retelling after writing so many. A Dream of Ebony and White is the fourth retelling in her Beyond the Four Kingdoms series. And Snow White has, of course, been done so many times. How could she compare?

Turns out, A Dream of Ebony and White is a highly-engaging novel starring the one known as The-Fairest-Of-Them-All. Where it distinguishes itself, in my mind, is its lack of magic. While mystical artifacts and fairies appear within its pages, for the most part magic exists on the edges of this tale, not front and center where you’d expect it. This grounds the fairy tale with a more realistic tone than most other Snow White offerings, which helps to set Dream apart.

Young Blanche, whose nickname is Snow White, finds her mother-in-law has usurped her throne by sheer force of will. In order to ensure Snow White never becomes queen, her stepmother orders her killed. Snow White and a companion flee with the queens’ soldiers close on their heels. Starting the novel with a familiar plot point and turning it into an action-adventure was a wise choice.

The story continues in much the way you’d expect it, and at the same time, in completely unique ways. The “dwarfs” show up earlier than most other retellings, and their reimagining is brilliant. The scenes showing Snow White progressing from pampered princess to regent, and the misperceptions she must overcome, were also interesting. And is there a love interest, you ask? Of course, there is.

The entire original fairy tale is here. Cellier cleverly integrates the Grimm ending with the more well-known version. The way it comes together in the end is inspired.

Complex characters, bucolic settings, and exciting pace fill A Dream of Ebony and White with all the magic fantasy readers love even in a fantasy book even if the world has very little actual magic.

February 26, 2021March 17, 2022Everything Else

The Snow White Read-Off

I was writing a blog about the traditional fairy tales and my novel Kingdom Come. At the end I recommended some fairy tale retellings of that particular story. I suddenly had an idea. What if I read them to compare their treatment of the Snow White character? Not rate the books against each other for the “best,” but create different characteristics to compare and contrast how each book treats this fairy tale. Using the categories, readers could intuit a recommendation for which retelling they would like to pick up.

There are a lot of retellings of Snow White. I could read retellings for over a year and not run out, so I had a few rules when selecting which ones to read:

The Snow White character has to be present for a significant part of the book. Prequels, a character that is like Snow White but isn’t really that character at all, or any characteristic that really changes her character so she’s not Snow White anymore (no zombie Snow White).
1. As it turns out, a few of these books snuck into the list but not knowingly so
The Evil Witch character has to be present for a significant part of the book.
The plot has to resemble the Snow White story. A lot of novels put Snow White in the title but the synopsis I read has only the slightest resemblance to the story.
The story has to be over 50 pages. No short stories, but novellas and graphic novels are welcome.

Snow White’s Name (it’s often not Snow White)

Snow’s Sweetness factor: 0: Evil, conniving / 1: Flawed, fallen / 2: Flawed, redeemable / 3: Only minor flaws / 4: Sweet as pie

Evil Queen’s machinations: 0: Uninspired – she throws curses and does stuff with apples / 1: Meh – She’s got a bit of sizzle in her spells but she’s your basic sorceress / 2: Cool – Pretty standard, but has a few tricks up her sleeve / 3: Intense – Smiled every time she came up with something / 4: Wow – Didn’t see that coming at all, but it fits the legends perfectly!

Dwarfs (Note that dwarfs do not need to be present): 0: MIA / 1: They’re dwarfs without funny names / 2: They’re dwarfs with funny names / 3: They’re dwarfs with distinct personalities / 4: Forget the prince, hang with these dwarfs!

What did the author do with the mirror? 0: no mirror, / 1: blah-blah mirror, / 2: Minor personality / 3: Is at least snarky or interesting, / 4: The mirror was the best character. It should’ve wrote the book

Huntsman? 0: MIA / 1: Minor character, not much here / 2: Has a role to play / 3: Major character, extends beyond the legend / 4: About as important as Snow

Honored the source material (Grimm, in particular): 0: Ignored the source material, only showed a little references / 4: IS the source material

Actress that should play Snow White for this book (optional). Actress that should play Evil Queen for this book (optional). Favorite line from book (optional)

Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by the Brothers Grimm (All ages)
Author: Brothers Grimm
Snow White’s Name: Snow White
Snow’s Sweetness: 4
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 2
Dwarfs: 1
Mirror: 1
Huntsman: 1
Honored the Source Material: 4
Actress that should play Snow White: (Apparently) Adriana Caselotti (voice in the Disney version)
Favorite Line: “Looking-glass upon the wall/Who is fairest of us all?”

Summary: Grimm did it first, and Grimm did it best, but their story doesn’t match what most of us think of when we hear the name “Snow White.” Multiple attempts on Snow White’s life, unnamed dwarfs, evil stepmother’s cruel fate are usually unexpected for the first-time reader.

You should read this if: you have never read the original tale. If all you know is the Disney version, you’ll be amused at the differences. The story is far more entertaining than you remember it.

Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Animated Feature by Walt Disney Pictures (All ages)
Snow White’s Name: Snow White
Snow’s Sweetness: 4
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 3
Dwarfs: 3
Mirror: 2
Huntsman: 1
Honored the Source Material: 2
Actress that should play Snow White: (Apparently) Ginnifer Goodwin
Actress that should play The Evil Queen: (Apparently) Lana Parrilla
Favorite Line: “Whistle while you work.”

Summary: While not a novel, I included it as it’s the iconic version of Snow White for most of us. It’s full of measurable scenes and songs, and if you view it as a re-telling, it works. It certainly worked spectacularly as the first full-length animated feature.

You should watch this if: you’ve never seen it, surely. Watch it again with an innocent heart and enjoy the experience.

Title: Winter (YA)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Snow White’s Name: Winter Blackburne
Snow’s Sweetness: 4
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 4
Dwarfs: 0
Mirror: 1 (I’m counting the portscreen)
Huntsman: 4 (Jaycin Clay)
Honored the Source Material: 2
Actress that should play Snow White: Letitia Wright
Actress that should play Evil Queen: Lady Gaga
Favorite Line: “I am destroyed!”

Summary: Winter is the fourth book in Marissa Meyer’s excellent Lunar Chronicles and a fresh retelling of Snow White. An African-American Snow, it’s a completely unique take on the character. This book is the culmination of Meyer’s series so a lot of the plot doesn’t have anything to do with the Snow White fairy tale, and though Winter is the title character, she’s not the main character. But the way Meyer weaves in Grimm’s fairy tale on the moon—abandoned in the “forest,” and the glass coffin—is genius. And her ability to make Snow White sympathetic, heroic, and meek because of a noble choice that causes her to also be delusional is inspired. This Snow is one-of-a-kind!

You should read this if: you always wanted to read the Snow White story set in outer space.

Title: Poisoned Heart: A Snow White retelling (Emerald Realm Book #1) (YA)
Author: Abigail Manning
Snow White’s Name: Princess Arabella
Snow’s Sweetness: 2
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 3
Dwarfs: 3
Mirror: 3
Huntsman: 3
Honored the Source Material: 2

Snow White, with a dash of the Prince and Pauper thrown in for good measure, is the general narrative of Poisoned Heart. Most of the familiar elements from the fairytale have survived although not in a way the reader expects. A mystery, a romance, and a bit of magic all come together to build a gripping story of maturity and sacrifice. Full Review: Poisoned Heart
You should read it if: you want the fairytale to be more realistic, and you want a redeemable and charming Snow White.

Title: A Darkness Found (YA/A)
Author: T. K. White
Snow White’s Name: Snow White
Snow’s Sweetness: 2
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 4
Dwarfs: 0
Mirror: 0
Huntsman: 0
Honored the Source Material: 1

Summary: An interesting take on how the Evil Queen started off as a good woman and descended into the torrid character we all love to hate is detailed in A Darkness Found. While Snow White herself is only in a few passages in the book, the plot adequately hits the beats of the fairy tale from a different point of view. Review A Darkness Found

You should read this if: you always wondered why the Evil Queen was so upset by Snow White.

Title: Snow White (YA)
Author: K. M. Shea
Snow White’s Name: Snow White
Snow’s Sweetness: 3
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 1
Dwarfs: 4
Mirror: 1
Huntsman: 1
Honored the Source Material: 3
Actress that should play Snow White: Felicity Jones
Favorite Line: “…if you [Snow White] do not learn to forgive yourself for your past iniquities, years from now it will be you we are rescuing. Such thoughts open the doorway to darkness.”

Summary: While the queen and the mirror don’t rate high for this novel, it’s due to Shea’s clever twist on the retelling. In this story, the stepmother isn’t evil but possessed and Snow White is determined to restore her. You rarely get time with the evil queen or the mirror, but there are abundant scenes with the “dwarfs” here which makes this one stand out. This book feels more like high fantasy in many ways, and Snow White’s character, while true to her origins, evolves into the type of queen one would expect from such a gentle person. You don’t need to read the rest in the series, but I sense there’s more of a connectedness if you do. Overall, a delightful read.

You should read this if: you always felt wrong that sweet Snow would be part of the demise of her evil stepmother.

Title: Snow White (YA)
Author: Cindy C. Bennett
Snow White’s Name: Snow White
Snow’s Sweetness: 4
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 3
Dwarfs: 2
Mirror: 0
Huntsman: 1
Honored the Source Material: 2
Actress that should play Snow White: Millie Bobby Brown
Actress that should play Evil Queen: Anne Hathaway
Favorite Line: “You’re beauty is complete, Snow, from the blue of your eyes to the purity of your heart.”

Summary: I enjoyed this short re-telling of Snow White. I didn’t realize, before reading it, the unique hook the author had in the beginning of the novel. And when I thought I had it figured out, she went in a different direction. Every change was better than my expectations. Bennett did a superb job balancing a more traditional Snow White with a more modern personification. Though I wished for a bit more from the denouement, I finished it, wanting to read more in the series.

You should read this if: you always wanted someone to write a Snow White with modern sensibilities.

Title: The Shadow Queen (YA)
Author: C. J. Redwine
Snow White’s Name: Lorelia Diederich
Snow’s Sweetness: 3 (not “sweet,” but charming nonetheless)
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 3
Dwarfs: 2 (not dwarfs, something far better, but only a couple stand out)
Mirror: 1
Huntsman: 4
Honored the Source Material: 3
Actress that should play Snow White: Gemma Arterton
Actress that should play The Evil Queen: Emily Blunt
Favorite Line: “If she [Lorelai] becomes a threat? Do you have any idea whom you attacked? There isn’t a single moment she isn’t a threat!”

Summary: Review of the Shadow Queen

You should read this if: you enjoy high fantasy and thrilling action and don’t care how much of a retelling you get.

Title: Shadows on Snow (Mature YA, Adult)
Author: Starla Hutchton
Snow White’s Name: Leopold (This is a flipped fairy tale where Snow White is a man)
Snow’s Sweetness: 4
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 2
Dwarfs: 4 (one of the best for the “dwarfs”)
Mirror: 1
Huntsman: 1
Honored the Source Material: 2
Actress that should play Snow White: Andrew Garfield
Favorite Line: “Truth may be lost through retellings, but when the person they are meant for hears the story, no matter how diluted, they will know this truth as certain as they know the air they breathe.”

Summary: Shadows on Snow Review

You should read this if: you like the idea of a male Snow White yet still want the book to be written from a female perspective.

Title: Six-Gun Snow White (Adult)
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Snow White’s Name: Snow White (kind of)
Snow’s Sweetness: 1
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 2
Dwarfs: 1
Mirror: 2
Huntsman: 2
Honored the Source Material: 2

Summary: A post-modernist take on a mash-up between Snow White and westerns has little love for either. Here, the message is everything and characters and plot take second place. This can work in certain cases, but it doesn’t here. As a Snow White telling, superficially, it does the job. The Grimm version is followed, there is a character called Snow White, and it’s primarily set in the west. Unfortunately, it feels like, at the end, it hated its source material and made sure it poked its finger in the eye of expectations. I was left disappointed.

You should read this if: you like postmodernism and are more into technique than a hero’s journey.

A Dream of Ebony and White by Melanie Cellier

Title: A Dream of Ebony and White (YA)
Author: Melanie Celllier
Snow White’s Name: Blanche, also goes by Snow White
Snow’s Sweetness: 3
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 1
Dwarfs: 3
Mirror: 2
Huntsman: 4
Honored the Source Material: 2
Actress that should play Snow White:
Favorite Line: “These lands may have chosen to reject the High King and his ancient laws, cutting yourselves off from him, but that doesn’t mean he was cut off from you.”

Summary: A Dream of Ebony and White

You should read this if: you always thought everyone else saved Snow White and you wished she would save herself instead.

Title: Snow White (A Graphic Novel) (10+)
Author: Matt Phelan
Snow White’s Name: Samantha Snow
Snow’s Sweetness: 4
Evil Queen’s Machinations: 4
Dwarfs: 4
Mirror: 4 (my favorite for best “mirror”)
Huntsman: 2
Honored the Source Material: 3
Actress that should play Snow White: Claudette Colbert (if we could back in time)
Actress that should play the Evil Queen: Myrna Loy (again, back in time, she’d be so perfect in this!)
Favorite Line: “The same snow falls here.”

Summary: Marvelous. A graphic novel that retells the Snow White fairy tale set in the late 1920s with flappers and Wall Street. This is absolutely my favorite graphic novel. This book combines all the things I love into one offering. Snow White is a retelling that is more faithful to the Disney version than Grimm, but it retells it with panache. The use of color, the terseness, the pacing of illustration after illustration will leave you in amazement. This is Snow White as a black and white movie set in 1929 exactly when black and white movies were at the cinema. The lack of words recall silent movies also of that era. The genius of setting the novel in the past and using the style of the visual media (movies in this case) to tell it is inspired. And then the twists. Phelan nails changing the legend to update it to the “modern” (i.e. 1920s) elements one would see in New York City in that day. From Snow’s mother’s illness, to the “mirror,” to the dwarfs, to the “glass coffin,” every plot point has been accounted for, changed, and still makes sense. I’m in awe.

You should read this if: you’d like a completely unique take on a familiar tale, you like graphic novels, you don’t have time to read a novel and want something to read in one sitting, you like style and narrative complimenting each other, you enjoy retellings of Snow White. Heck, just go read this!