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booksaremysoulmates's review
2.0
The story had so much potential but sadly the whole thing felt a little rushed. The characters were too bland and the ending was confusing and too fast. The middle of the book felt unnecessary long and then the ending was too short and rushed. I really wanted to like it but it was lacking too much for me, the characters needed more depth and the story needed a little more too. But we‘ll see how the second book in this series will be, there is room for improvement.
aliciaceasar's review
5.0
First off, huge thank you to Rose and Star publishing for allowing me to be a member of their arc team and giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early.
Snow White by Jeanette Rose and Alice Callisto is a fantasy story following our main characters, Snow White and Azura. This is book one in the Ever After series.
This sapphic book was just what I needed to kick off pride month! I’m not sure if the butterflies in my stomach are from the book or the turbulence on the plane I read it on but either way, this was such a good read. It had the darkness that you expect from Snow White’s story but spun in a new light to make it very fresh.
I would not say this book is a retelling of the Snow White story as the main premise is very different but it alludes to the classic fairy tale several times throughout the book.
Snow White is very sheltered and innocent in this book. Very pure, she is a character we know and love and can get behind. The chapters from her pov capture that innocence without making her seem like too childish, which is a hard line to not cross. She is trying to deal with everything going on around her. Her father needs a new wife and has decided to have a competition (think The Bachelor) to find a new wife. Snow White begins to grow close to one of these women but can’t figure out if it is friendship or perhaps something more?
Azura is a dark force. Single mindedly focused on the mission at hand, her plan is to secure the throne at any cost. Manipulation and quick witted resourcefulness being only a few of the tools in her arsenal, Azura can practically feel the crown on her head. That is until she decides that getting to know the king’s daughter may give her a leg up in the competition. Azura is faced with the possibility that her cold heart could be warmed by the sweet princess.
And the story continues from there. There are some magical elements to this story as well as a few appearances from characters we know in other stories. I really loved reading this because it was a fresh take on the very over saturated retelling market. My only complaint is I wish this book was about fifty pages longer. I feel like some parts of the book, we just got the bare minimum and I wanted to learn a lot more. People on this world can become Vessels for the elements and I wanted to explore more of that aspect.
I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of spicy fairy tales, morally gray characters, and a fresh take on Snow White’s story. I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars overall.
Snow White by Jeanette Rose and Alice Callisto is a fantasy story following our main characters, Snow White and Azura. This is book one in the Ever After series.
This sapphic book was just what I needed to kick off pride month! I’m not sure if the butterflies in my stomach are from the book or the turbulence on the plane I read it on but either way, this was such a good read. It had the darkness that you expect from Snow White’s story but spun in a new light to make it very fresh.
I would not say this book is a retelling of the Snow White story as the main premise is very different but it alludes to the classic fairy tale several times throughout the book.
Snow White is very sheltered and innocent in this book. Very pure, she is a character we know and love and can get behind. The chapters from her pov capture that innocence without making her seem like too childish, which is a hard line to not cross. She is trying to deal with everything going on around her. Her father needs a new wife and has decided to have a competition (think The Bachelor) to find a new wife. Snow White begins to grow close to one of these women but can’t figure out if it is friendship or perhaps something more?
Azura is a dark force. Single mindedly focused on the mission at hand, her plan is to secure the throne at any cost. Manipulation and quick witted resourcefulness being only a few of the tools in her arsenal, Azura can practically feel the crown on her head. That is until she decides that getting to know the king’s daughter may give her a leg up in the competition. Azura is faced with the possibility that her cold heart could be warmed by the sweet princess.
And the story continues from there. There are some magical elements to this story as well as a few appearances from characters we know in other stories. I really loved reading this because it was a fresh take on the very over saturated retelling market. My only complaint is I wish this book was about fifty pages longer. I feel like some parts of the book, we just got the bare minimum and I wanted to learn a lot more. People on this world can become Vessels for the elements and I wanted to explore more of that aspect.
I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of spicy fairy tales, morally gray characters, and a fresh take on Snow White’s story. I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars overall.
carolinate's review
3.0
A great retelling of a classic fairytale - with a twist! I loved the fact Snow White was POC, and it wasn't made to be part of the plot, it just was. The different characters from other fairtales intertwined was also a lovely touch.
I did think it was very fast-paced, and some of the plot could have been stretched out, to create more tension and suspense and just explained in a little more detail, not just spanning over a couple of pages. It all happened too quickly and part of the plot was lost because of that. I also feel like Snow was too naive for my taste, it was overplayed a bit too much. The plot was great I just wish it had been drawn out a little more.
I did think it was very fast-paced, and some of the plot could have been stretched out, to create more tension and suspense and just explained in a little more detail, not just spanning over a couple of pages. It all happened too quickly and part of the plot was lost because of that. I also feel like Snow was too naive for my taste, it was overplayed a bit too much. The plot was great I just wish it had been drawn out a little more.
spoodlyphoenix's review
3.0
I received a free copy of Snow White thanks to NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
I generally enjoy modern takes/retellings of classic fairytales, but this one missed the mark for me. On a positive note, I did enjoy the idea of some individuals being Vessels for certain kinds of magics, and I absolutely adored that this was a F/F pairing, with Snow not being a damsel in distress who's waiting for her Prince Charming to save the day.
The plot of the book was extremely predictable, and I saw items that seemed almost as if they were taken from other fantasy realms. An example of this would be mixing in other Disney princesses/villains (such as Belle & Maleficent) and even the changes to Snow's story. I've seen very similar in other books and TV shows, so it didn't feel original.
Beyond that, Snow seemed incredibly childish and immature for someone who is 18 years old. None of the characters seemed particularly complex, and anyone outside of our main stars seemed like throwaways at best.
Finally, the end seemed rushed, and also left off at a very weird point. I'm not sure if the author intended for the ending to be so abrupt, or if this is a series and the next book will pick up right from that point.
I generally enjoy modern takes/retellings of classic fairytales, but this one missed the mark for me. On a positive note, I did enjoy the idea of some individuals being Vessels for certain kinds of magics, and I absolutely adored that this was a F/F pairing, with Snow not being a damsel in distress who's waiting for her Prince Charming to save the day.
The plot of the book was extremely predictable, and I saw items that seemed almost as if they were taken from other fantasy realms. An example of this would be mixing in other Disney princesses/villains (such as Belle & Maleficent) and even the changes to Snow's story. I've seen very similar in other books and TV shows, so it didn't feel original.
Beyond that, Snow seemed incredibly childish and immature for someone who is 18 years old. None of the characters seemed particularly complex, and anyone outside of our main stars seemed like throwaways at best.
Finally, the end seemed rushed, and also left off at a very weird point. I'm not sure if the author intended for the ending to be so abrupt, or if this is a series and the next book will pick up right from that point.
vampire_renee's review against another edition
4.0
Think of all the best parts of fairytale even those mouse house ones together in a jar, add some spice, and pride you get this crazy story that feels nostalgic and new. I love all the characters that come together like in the Once Upon a Time show but not in the modern realm but in their own. The little twist of all the characters make them familiar but fresh while still being endearing and fairytale like. This is the first book in a while that I have read in a day because I really wanted to know what was gonna happen while also opening a whole new world for more books to come. Which I can’t wait! I would recommend this book for anyone wanting that balance of fairytale comfort and spice moments. Almost a nice transition book for those that don’t want a lot of spice but want a retelling of a fairytale. A more approachable version of the Sleeping Beauty series by Anne Rice. This will be one that I will anticipating the next book - so when is that?
(ARC given from NetGalley for honest review)
(ARC given from NetGalley for honest review)
art_books_chemistry's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was intrigued by the blurb for this book and subsequently sorely disappointed by the time I made it to the second chapter. The quality of the writing simply didn't hold up to what it could have been. There were attempts at making the characters multi-dimensional but they all still felt very flat. The plot for most of the book was the "contest" set by the King and yet the resolution of this contest is stuck in at the end of the last chapter as a "oh yeah hey she won". I was expecting a Snow White retelling but what I found was a Once Upon A Time fanfiction. Every other chapter we are introduced to another character from a different fairy tale.
I will admit that I found the erotic scenes to be fairly well written and evocative. The trope of women "tasting" like fruit and such is overused but I can forgive it a bit more in a fantasy/magic setting. I also liked that Snow wasn't "white as snow" in this retelling and was instead the exact opposite. It was a nice play on the standard theme.
I don't recommend and won't be reading the subsequent books.
I will admit that I found the erotic scenes to be fairly well written and evocative. The trope of women "tasting" like fruit and such is overused but I can forgive it a bit more in a fantasy/magic setting. I also liked that Snow wasn't "white as snow" in this retelling and was instead the exact opposite. It was a nice play on the standard theme.
I don't recommend and won't be reading the subsequent books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
smartie_chan's review
2.0
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
1.5 / 5 Stars
Content Warning(s) for this book :
Attempted Suicide, Non-Consensual Touching, Self-Harm, Mindcontrol, Graphic Violence, Depression
I'm also very tempted to put Lots of sexual content in the Content Warnings list, because boy oh boy, was this smutty. You see, I was told, that this would be a 3 out of 5 on the steam level and I thought, well, I'll just skip the smut parts. But BOY OH BOY was I wrong in assuming so. Because there is no skipping. Azura is thirsting for Snow 24/7. And when she isn't thirsting, she's telling us how evil and horrible and e v i l she is. I didn't mind the super duper mega evil speeches at first, because I was aware that the Evil queen would be - who would have thought - evil. What I did mind though, were the intrusive sexual thoughts. Some of them made me laugh actually, because that's usually what happens when I read smut.
I'm either having a good time, because the smut is just funny to me (sex-repulsed ace here :P ) OR I'm highly uncomfortable. And let me tell you, this book actually managed to fulfill both of those things.
But anyways, back to the extremly sexual thoughts.
I'm not a fan of love at first sight, but honestly, I would have been thankfull if this book had been that, because what we got instead was lust at first sight and that's one of my most unliked tropes of all time. I'm aware that that's a completly subjective opinion and maybe you will read the book and have a good time, but I for my part, didn't. It was just too much. Because Azura finds Snow EXTREMLY SUPER HOT the second she sees and and it's all downhill from there. I can't tell you how often I had to read either of them talk about how Snow's/Azura's boobs jiggled as they did literally anything - like walk, or breath and a lot of other crazy things. (The book doesn't actually use the word jiggle, but that's basically what it's saying)
Especially when the book included non-con elements and really really uncomfortable smut scenes.
There's two in particular that I'd like to bring to your attention.
Scene 1
Snow is suffering from depression and intrusive thoughts. That's a fact. A fact that she's telling Azura about. Which means, she's very vulnurable, emotional and very open. It's an important, intimate moment ... until you remember that Azura is half naked, and VERY horny when Snow comes in, WHILE Snow talks and after she leaves. The same goes for Snow. I had to pause for a second, put the book aside and read something else. This scene made me feel horrible. If you want them to be horny, fine, whatever, but PLEASE can't they have one normal conversation inbetween those horny moments? It just felt all kinds of wrong to combine the horny and painful talk with each other.
Scene 2
Azura has passed out because of Spoiler reasons and Snow's very first plan of action is to start kissing her. Just no. I don't care that she would have probably consented to it if she were awake. That's not how consent works. You can't just ask someone "Oh yeah, by the way, were you even interested in having sex with me yesterday or did I rape you lol"
If you talked about it BEFORE and this is some weird kink you share, then sure, go for it. If it's not, then touching an unconcious party is assault. End of story.
It's made even worse by the fact that Snow DOES feel bad after, but it's written and presented in such a way, that the feeling of guilt is something she should not be feeling. The book makes it sound like "No, don't worry Snow, it was totally fine to start making out with a passed out person, you're fine, honey"
If the book was trying to depict an unhealthy, toxic relationship, I wouldn't even be as mad as I am, but the sad part is, that the book is not trying to go the "They shouldn't be together" route. In fact, it's going the "Happily Ever After" route and that started to make me feel not so great as well.
It's not as bad at the beginning of the book, but the farther you get into it and the more you learn about the cast, the worse it gets.
You see, I don't think Snow should be dating anyone to beginn with. Because she's mentally very unstable. The book calls her naive, but I'm not sure I'd use that word. She's very emotional, insecure and faking it, till she's making it. She's also victim of toxic positivity, by herself and those around her. As someone whose actually suffering from depression herself, I couldn't help but be uncomfortable with some scenes. Because, we don't treat Snow with the respect she deserves. We TELL her to be Better and then she is. We TELL her to tink quote "happy thoughts, happy thoughts" and then she does. We gaslight and manipulate her, worsening her self-hatred in the process. Which would have beeen - again - fine, if the book hadn't pushed the Azura X Snow ship.
The thing that's finally pushing Snow into suicide is Azura. Do they have talk after that? No of course not. Because that would require actual communication. Which they don't have. Not any that matters.
The sad part about this is, that the book IS capable of showing realistic distress. There is a scene where Azura is having a semi-panic attack/PTSD moment that has actual consequences on hair emotional state.
The characters themselves are fine, for the most part. Azura is vague and mystical and it gets to a point where I'm like "Just tell me, please, what is it you want" I do feel like her motive made sense at the end, but since we only learn about it in the last 10% of the book, it feels a little ... rushed, out of nowhere maybe. Same as the villain. Those were done dirty. Because no, Azura isn't the viallain. At least not officially. I'd still argue that Snow would be better off without her, but oh well, we can't have everything I guess.
Snow herself is - personally - the best character in the book. Partly because the writing style compliments her simple, cinnamon role, sunshine ways. The style is very simple, at times repetetive and VERY different from Azura's - at least at the start. I found this a very intersting choice, and learned to love it the farther we got into it.
The book is very creative when it wants to be, which makes it even sadder that I didn't like most of the execution.
The main story itself is cool, but ignored for most of the time. Because the book didn't really care about who would actually be the new queen. There's a lot of stuff the book wants to do, but everything feels only half-baked.
If it were up to me, I would have cut the whole fairy part of the book and given Malecifent more page time and development.
I think I've made it clar that I thought the Azura x Snow pairing to be toxic, but I just wanted got give you one more gem before I finish this review.
Snow, while talking about the Evil Queen: I can fix her.
Some stuff that I loved:
+ Opposite Attract / Grumpy x Sunshine
+ Snow White is POC
+ Snow White Retelling
+ Smart Fairytale References
Final words: Not my cup of tea, would not reccomand.
1.5 / 5 Stars
Content Warning(s) for this book :
Attempted Suicide, Non-Consensual Touching, Self-Harm, Mindcontrol, Graphic Violence, Depression
I'm also very tempted to put Lots of sexual content in the Content Warnings list, because boy oh boy, was this smutty. You see, I was told, that this would be a 3 out of 5 on the steam level and I thought, well, I'll just skip the smut parts. But BOY OH BOY was I wrong in assuming so. Because there is no skipping. Azura is thirsting for Snow 24/7. And when she isn't thirsting, she's telling us how evil and horrible and e v i l she is. I didn't mind the super duper mega evil speeches at first, because I was aware that the Evil queen would be - who would have thought - evil. What I did mind though, were the intrusive sexual thoughts. Some of them made me laugh actually, because that's usually what happens when I read smut.
I'm either having a good time, because the smut is just funny to me (sex-repulsed ace here :P ) OR I'm highly uncomfortable. And let me tell you, this book actually managed to fulfill both of those things.
But anyways, back to the extremly sexual thoughts.
I'm not a fan of love at first sight, but honestly, I would have been thankfull if this book had been that, because what we got instead was lust at first sight and that's one of my most unliked tropes of all time. I'm aware that that's a completly subjective opinion and maybe you will read the book and have a good time, but I for my part, didn't. It was just too much. Because Azura finds Snow EXTREMLY SUPER HOT the second she sees and and it's all downhill from there. I can't tell you how often I had to read either of them talk about how Snow's/Azura's boobs jiggled as they did literally anything - like walk, or breath and a lot of other crazy things. (The book doesn't actually use the word jiggle, but that's basically what it's saying)
Especially when the book included non-con elements and really really uncomfortable smut scenes.
There's two in particular that I'd like to bring to your attention.
Scene 1
Snow is suffering from depression and intrusive thoughts. That's a fact. A fact that she's telling Azura about. Which means, she's very vulnurable, emotional and very open. It's an important, intimate moment ... until you remember that Azura is half naked, and VERY horny when Snow comes in, WHILE Snow talks and after she leaves. The same goes for Snow. I had to pause for a second, put the book aside and read something else. This scene made me feel horrible. If you want them to be horny, fine, whatever, but PLEASE can't they have one normal conversation inbetween those horny moments? It just felt all kinds of wrong to combine the horny and painful talk with each other.
Scene 2
Azura has passed out because of Spoiler reasons and Snow's very first plan of action is to start kissing her. Just no. I don't care that she would have probably consented to it if she were awake. That's not how consent works. You can't just ask someone "Oh yeah, by the way, were you even interested in having sex with me yesterday or did I rape you lol"
If you talked about it BEFORE and this is some weird kink you share, then sure, go for it. If it's not, then touching an unconcious party is assault. End of story.
It's made even worse by the fact that Snow DOES feel bad after, but it's written and presented in such a way, that the feeling of guilt is something she should not be feeling. The book makes it sound like "No, don't worry Snow, it was totally fine to start making out with a passed out person, you're fine, honey"
If the book was trying to depict an unhealthy, toxic relationship, I wouldn't even be as mad as I am, but the sad part is, that the book is not trying to go the "They shouldn't be together" route. In fact, it's going the "Happily Ever After" route and that started to make me feel not so great as well.
It's not as bad at the beginning of the book, but the farther you get into it and the more you learn about the cast, the worse it gets.
You see, I don't think Snow should be dating anyone to beginn with. Because she's mentally very unstable. The book calls her naive, but I'm not sure I'd use that word. She's very emotional, insecure and faking it, till she's making it. She's also victim of toxic positivity, by herself and those around her. As someone whose actually suffering from depression herself, I couldn't help but be uncomfortable with some scenes. Because, we don't treat Snow with the respect she deserves. We TELL her to be Better and then she is. We TELL her to tink quote "happy thoughts, happy thoughts" and then she does. We gaslight and manipulate her, worsening her self-hatred in the process. Which would have beeen - again - fine, if the book hadn't pushed the Azura X Snow ship.
The thing that's finally pushing Snow into suicide is Azura. Do they have talk after that? No of course not. Because that would require actual communication. Which they don't have. Not any that matters.
The sad part about this is, that the book IS capable of showing realistic distress. There is a scene where Azura is having a semi-panic attack/PTSD moment that has actual consequences on hair emotional state.
The characters themselves are fine, for the most part. Azura is vague and mystical and it gets to a point where I'm like "Just tell me, please, what is it you want" I do feel like her motive made sense at the end, but since we only learn about it in the last 10% of the book, it feels a little ... rushed, out of nowhere maybe. Same as the villain. Those were done dirty. Because no, Azura isn't the viallain. At least not officially. I'd still argue that Snow would be better off without her, but oh well, we can't have everything I guess.
Snow herself is - personally - the best character in the book. Partly because the writing style compliments her simple, cinnamon role, sunshine ways. The style is very simple, at times repetetive and VERY different from Azura's - at least at the start. I found this a very intersting choice, and learned to love it the farther we got into it.
The book is very creative when it wants to be, which makes it even sadder that I didn't like most of the execution.
The main story itself is cool, but ignored for most of the time. Because the book didn't really care about who would actually be the new queen. There's a lot of stuff the book wants to do, but everything feels only half-baked.
If it were up to me, I would have cut the whole fairy part of the book and given Malecifent more page time and development.
I think I've made it clar that I thought the Azura x Snow pairing to be toxic, but I just wanted got give you one more gem before I finish this review.
Snow, while talking about the Evil Queen: I can fix her.
Some stuff that I loved:
+ Opposite Attract / Grumpy x Sunshine
+ Snow White is POC
+ Snow White Retelling
+ Smart Fairytale References
Final words: Not my cup of tea, would not reccomand.
belenmontes's review
3.0
I think the story had potential but was kind of rushed especially towards the end
I don't usually mind dual pov but Snow came off extra childish at times and veered between being very aware of what she wanted from Azura to being ashamed kind of randomly imo. The sex scenes were well written but the jump to both of them being in love with each other didn't feel realistic to me. I would've preferred a slower build up
Also the "dripping" was a little much for my tastes and just had me questioning why they wouldn't be wearing underwear under their gowns lol
I don't usually mind dual pov but Snow came off extra childish at times and veered between being very aware of what she wanted from Azura to being ashamed kind of randomly imo. The sex scenes were well written but the jump to both of them being in love with each other didn't feel realistic to me. I would've preferred a slower build up
Also the "dripping" was a little much for my tastes and just had me questioning why they wouldn't be wearing underwear under their gowns lol
justabloob's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
0.25
nobeliumreads's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.5
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital copy.
A short, fast paced sapphic Snow White retelling that was entertaining enough to keep me reading despite the issues I had with it.
I was drawn in by the premise of this book because of course I’d be down for a sapphic Snow White retelling and I was also super intrigued by Azura as this evil, dark witch and really wanted to see how the romance would form between her and Snow.
And whilst yes, Azura is definitely this very evil witch, I just didn’t believe it. We are told, time and time again from Azura’s perspective how empty and terrible she is and how she must stay away from Snow to keep her ‘pure and innocent’, but we don’t see her do anything truly evil until about 80% through the book, and even then I was more excited about the plot finally kicking in than shocked or appalled. I think we are told many things throughout the story instead of shown it, which is my issue with the book. I forget that Azura’s mission is to become queen because she spends absolutely zero time with the king and we don’t really get a sense of what Azura’s plan was in the first place, other than to use Snow to get to him. So whilst I did like Azura and Snow's moments, I would not have minded if we’d swapped some of their scenes together out for some plot and action, especially earlier in the book.
In terms of the plot, everything kicked in at around the 80% mark which was just too little too late for me - I would have liked some more buildup to everything that happened, especially as you really had to suspend your belief for some of the stuff that happens like Snow, who barely knows how to use her magic, undoing a spell cast by Azura, who’s been practicing magic since she was like a kid or something. Or when Snow was just beginning her journey to Azura’s castle and the next chapter, which was Azura’s POV, Snow was suddenly already there which had me checking to see if I’d missed a chapter. I genuinely thought Azura was dreaming because we really just skipped Snow’s entire journey which would probably have been a great opportunity to show some character development without Azura. AND when Azura gave an apple to the king during the showcase and I was super excited to see where that would go because it’s an apple and that has to mean something in a Snow White retelling, right? But it just didn’t go anywhere. At all.
As for Snow, it’s not hard to see how 'naive' and 'pure' and 'innocent' she is because unfortunately she felt more like a child to me than a young woman at times. I did like her character, but I would have loved more of Snow by herself, as it felt like all of her chapters were with or about Azura.
Overall, the writing and plot weren’t amazing. It was just barely decent at best and there was practically no worldbuilding, which is a shame because I think it has a lot of potential and I am genuinely interested from little we are told. I was a bit shocked to see the self-harm and suicide attempt, mostly because I was really not expecting it because of how light the book seemed earlier on. Also, there is one non consensual kiss (kissing while asleep) and although it is reciprocated when they wake up, it did still take me by surprise (partially because of the circumstances surrounding it; out of everything you could do, you kiss her instead???).
Anyways, despite my grievances with this book (which I know seem like a lot), it was entertaining and I did enjoy the ride. It was a quick, easy, fast-paced read and I am always down for more sapphic retellings. Just go in expecting something fun and slightly spicy (because Snow and Azura were horrendously down bad for each other), not quality craftsmanship or worldbuilding and you’re set.
(Also that Veronica princess who sleeps with men and then steals their money? Iconic honestly.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Death and Toxic relationship