A review by srfrq
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
4.0
cw: death (child and parental), domestic violence, suicidal ideation, sexual assault, ptsd
amazing read! this was a truly captivating fantasy, and i'm really glad it was character driven rather than heavy on the plot or world-building. the story is told from two points of view: lynet, a princess, and mina, her stepmother. lynet is made of snow and her stepmother has a glass heart, and both of them have a difficult relationship with their fathers which impacts their sense of self worth. i really liked that there were no typical fantasy tropes like 'the chosen one' or weird and unnecessary love triangles. the first half of the book was really nice to read and you get to learn more about mina, but by the time you get to the middle of the book, her backstory and relationship with nicholas kind of became annoying. i loved reading her points of view though because she kept fluctuating between whether or not she believes in love, and if someone can ever love her if she doesn't have the capacity to reciprocate.
my absolute fave moments were between nadia and lynet and especially chapter 26 when lynet learns of her betrayal but they are able to get past it!! like there's communication and problem solving! i didn't see the connection to snow white at first but when lynet left and the huntsman came after her and mina started to really think about whether or not she's just a pretty face, it was easy to connect the dots. the twists near the end were really fascinating and kept me glued to my seat (literally, i was reading in the car while parked outside the house trying to finish it before i went in). it's really interesting that after they express their love to each other, lynet and mina are meant to return to their homes in some capacity because it's almost as if they're recreating themselves again.
overall, beautiful writing, amazing character arcs and an easy to understand fantasy world.
amazing read! this was a truly captivating fantasy, and i'm really glad it was character driven rather than heavy on the plot or world-building. the story is told from two points of view: lynet, a princess, and mina, her stepmother. lynet is made of snow and her stepmother has a glass heart, and both of them have a difficult relationship with their fathers which impacts their sense of self worth. i really liked that there were no typical fantasy tropes like 'the chosen one' or weird and unnecessary love triangles. the first half of the book was really nice to read and you get to learn more about mina, but by the time you get to the middle of the book, her backstory and relationship with nicholas kind of became annoying. i loved reading her points of view though because she kept fluctuating between whether or not she believes in love, and if someone can ever love her if she doesn't have the capacity to reciprocate.
my absolute fave moments were between nadia and lynet and especially chapter 26 when lynet learns of her betrayal but they are able to get past it!! like there's communication and problem solving! i didn't see the connection to snow white at first but when lynet left and the huntsman came after her and mina started to really think about whether or not she's just a pretty face, it was easy to connect the dots. the twists near the end were really fascinating and kept me glued to my seat (literally, i was reading in the car while parked outside the house trying to finish it before i went in). it's really interesting that after they express their love to each other, lynet and mina are meant to return to their homes in some capacity because it's almost as if they're recreating themselves again.
overall, beautiful writing, amazing character arcs and an easy to understand fantasy world.