It’s funny. I say I have a love/hate relationship for fairytale retellings and yet here I am reviewing my THIRD in 2019. Maybe I like them more than I think? I first stumbled upon this book (dare I say it) by accident. I was at a book signing for Victoria Aveyard, Tahereh Mafi and debut author, Maya Motayne and they were giving away samplers of the first few chapters. And yes, I was definitely intrigued and even more ecstatic when I saw it on Netgalley! SO you know I pounced on it, hoping I would get the chance and I did!! I want to thank Netgalley and the publishers at Harlequin TEEN. This was my first ARC obtained through my blog’s merit and I’m eternally grateful for this opportunity!
“Hidden inside every fairytale is a prophecy of events to come, and I play my part to perfection. Not that anyone understands my endgame—yet.
But you will. Soon. I will set the record straight. Fair warning, my darklings. This tale isn’t for the faint of heart.
Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who will perish when I call?”
The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter took Snow White’s story and manipulated the events to suit an Evil Queen angle while still maintaining the integrity rooted at this fairytale’s core. So far I haven’t really seen many snow white retellings so I don’t have much to compare it to but I must say this one was a masterpiece.
“I looked to the stars, the jewelry of the sky. Pinpricks of light scattered across the inky blackness; the beauty took my breath away.”
Showalter’s writing blew me away. This is the first book I’ve read by her and it will definitely not be the last. It’s obvious she commits to her characters and maintains consistency in crafting them all. The dialogue and interactions between characters were executed with an authenticity that felt real and believable. It was as if she can predict what, you as the reader are thinking and simultaneously answer it in the next line. It was on point! All this made the story flow very easily. She doesn’t bog down the story with description either and that is definitely something you want to see in a fairytale retelling because we know the iconic forest setting loved by most, so there’s no need to go into great detail. Showalter recognized that and instead took time and built up her characters and the differences between her version and Disney’s! And it was a job well done!
“Anger followed the shame. How dare anyone make me feel bad about being me? I wasn’t perfect, but I had a lot to give.”
There were so many times that I was routing for the main character, Everly Morrow. People have deemed her the Evil Queen just because her sister couldn’t be. She’s constantly fighting an assumption and her determination to not give in is admirable. She is strong!
“I can stare at a mirror for hours, so of course I’m vain. I don’t always smile, so of course I’m grumpy and cold. I don’t always care what others think of me, so of course I’m a snob.”
And I definitely loved her sassy and fierce attitude because it made her so funny to read! She has character! And she’s just someone you can’t hate even if she does something that you don’t agree with, she gets you hooked! To me, I saw a lot of Regina Mills, alter ego of the Evil Queen in ABC’s hit show Once upon a time. They share a lot similarities including their destined future as the villain and their fight to knock it off course. I also loved how she wasn’t above doing the “evil” thing if that’s what was needed. The most important quality to Everly and Showalter’s execution is how much care she took to convey Everly’s thoughts because they showed how her intentions were true. It showed her compassion and fight!
“And how had I ever considered his eyes frosted? Those shamrocks smoldered.”
Ok, I must get this out of the way now. Comparing eyes to shamrocks was ingenius! What a great image! And then on top of that Showalter added frosty to the mix! I’m in awe over originality! But let’s move on to who she’s describing, the Prince and Everly’s love interest. I really liked him! He’s strategic and gritty and confident. And the chemistry between him and Everly was scorching! The way Showalter wrote it, readers were privy to all sorts of steamy thoughts from Everly and how much of a nervous wreck she was due to being blinded by hotness. It was funny because she always put on a brave face but we knew how she felt and it made their love story adorable to read! This is definitely a tale with dirty banter and steamy romance. You’ve been warned!
“Oh, that burned! ‘Boo-hoo. Poor you. You have the hots for a spectacular sorceress.’ I rubbed my fists under my eyes, mimicking tears. ‘The travesty!”
Like I said, there are definitely sparks in this love story! And to say that your relationship status is complicated is a definite understatement in this book! There’s an abundance love stories in here, not just this one!
This world also borrows other supernatural themes like the fey, winged creatures and mer-folk and I really liked that added layer to the world. Plus, I loved Vikander, the cocky and seductive fae. He was hilarious and seemed to break up some tension with his relentless stabs at flirting. He was hilariously inappropriate to a fault!
“He gave half a smile and said, ‘I am fae. The most magnificent in all the land, obviously. Have you looked at me? Go ahead, you know you want to…’
‘He’s good at everything, except modesty,’ Roth said. Harsh words were layered with affection. ‘And that’s because he’s exceptional at modesty.’
Vikander grinned a wicked grin. ‘By the way, mortal. If you hoped to seduce the prince, you should have worn a better dress. Or no dress.”
If you’re a fan of Sarah J Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series (ACOTAR), you might want to consider adding this book too, especially if you like Azriel because there’s a very similar character in here! And he’s just as adorable!
I had a lot of fun reading this book and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves fairytales and sassy heroines! Even if you’re like me and can’t seem to read many retellings, I urge you to check this one out because it was really good! It has a lot of elements that differ from fairytales that get you hooked! And because this must be addressed and may be just the thing to read this. Their dog is named after a certain god of thunder! Yep, you heard that right!
Another 5 star read for me. I might have to re-evaluate my stance on fairytale’s haha!