Scan barcode
A review by ashkiryn
Fairest by K.S. Trenten
3.0
I came for the promise of queer princesses in love with each other and that didn't end in tragedy or a Bury Your Gays trope (and thankfully, there was a happy ending, and I really did like the lines the book ended on, so that was good). Unfortunately, the queer lady romance was severely underwhelming for me. The main protagonist (who I guess I'll call the Sleeping Beauty/Aurora analogue, bc she never got named) is just.....in love with the Snow White analogue (or Briar, as she gets named). The reader is never shown why SB is in love with Briar, we just get told that over and over again, and it never feels genuine to me. I can't muster up any emotional investment in these characters and their romances, because the audience is never shown any real emotion from them, and just get told about it instead. Basically, it was all telling, and never showing. Plus, the story was far too short for it to feel like the characters got any genuine development.
Also, the whole "dark romance" elements of the story, and the main character 'passionately' telling Briar that she would embrace her darkness, all of that just made me roll my eyes.
Surprisingly, the thing that I did get out of this story, and the reason I gave this 3 stars instead of 2, was the fairy tale re-imagining aspect. In particular, I thought it was absolutely fascinating how each princess became the next princess's villain. Cinderella turned into Snow White's Evil Queen Stepmother, and then Snow White turned into Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent/evil fairy who cursed her at birth. I thought that part was the book's highlight and the strongest point in its narrative. Other elements like the origins of the poisoned apple and the green smoke were also fascinating, and I love that it was one of the dwarfs who awoke Briar from her cursed sleep.
But apart from that, the story really didn't have much to offer, especially in regards to queer romance. Plus, there were a ton of other problematic elements, like the hand-waving the protagonist and the narrative gave towards the abusiveness of the good witch/Cinderella analogue towards the end. If I was going to recommend this book, it would only be for the fairy tale re-imagining aspects, and with hefty trigger warning for abusive and toxic relationships.
Also, the whole "dark romance" elements of the story, and the main character 'passionately' telling Briar that she would embrace her darkness, all of that just made me roll my eyes.
Surprisingly, the thing that I did get out of this story, and the reason I gave this 3 stars instead of 2, was the fairy tale re-imagining aspect. In particular, I thought it was absolutely fascinating how each princess became the next princess's villain. Cinderella turned into Snow White's Evil Queen Stepmother, and then Snow White turned into Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent/evil fairy who cursed her at birth. I thought that part was the book's highlight and the strongest point in its narrative. Other elements like the origins of the poisoned apple and the green smoke were also fascinating, and I love that it was one of the dwarfs who awoke Briar from her cursed sleep.
But apart from that, the story really didn't have much to offer, especially in regards to queer romance. Plus, there were a ton of other problematic elements, like the hand-waving the protagonist and the narrative gave towards the abusiveness of the good witch/Cinderella analogue towards the end. If I was going to recommend this book, it would only be for the fairy tale re-imagining aspects, and with hefty trigger warning for abusive and toxic relationships.