****Big thank you to Flatiron Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!****

This was a very unique and creative take on Snow White and one that I really did enjoy especially with the minor F/F romance and feminist themes! However, there was just something not there for me to rate this any higher than 3.5 unfortunately.

Plot

My biggest complaint about this book is the extremely uneven pacing because it would have me turning pages eager to know more or I’d set the book down and not pick it up for days it was so slow. This is a problem for me since it’s harder for me to want to finish a book when it gets super slow after being so good! I have to say the end and the middle is where it slowed down significantly for me and thought the first 40%-50% was much better.

The story is told in two different POVs one is Mina, the Queen and stepmother, and Lynet, the princess. In this way Mina is the “evil Queen” and Lynet is “Snow White”. The story revolves around Mina wanting to keep her power as Queen so she can be loved even though her heart is made of glass and Lynet is supposed to take her place but would rather spend her time climbing the castle walls and spending time with the new surgeon. Personally I found Mina’s chapters to be much more interesting.

As I already mentioned this book is a little slower with the pacing since it’s a very character driven story and doesn’t have an action packed plot by any means. I really loved the overall themes of feminism, family not being only blood, and being accepted for you who are and not who you “should” be. I also thought the general retelling of the Snow White fairy tale was done very well here, very creative and unique, and I loved seeing the twists on certain elements such as the enchanted mirror, huntsman, and poison apple!

The writing was also very well done and compelling…just saying. It really was wonderfully written and helped set the atmosphere for a fairy tale retelling.

I kind of stated already that I loved the themes in this book and I really appreciated that this is a book that focuses on female empowerment and women helping and supporting other women. Instead of Mina and Lynet fighting each other for the sake of power and the whims of oppressive men they stood against that and helped and supported each other. And that’s awesome.

Characters

Now to the characters which were the best part and what drove the story forward!

Mina was by far my favorite character, I really thought her chapters and flashbacks were the most interesting parts of this story. Her character had so much depth and development throughout the book and we really see so many layers to her. She was raised motherless and by a father who constantly tells her that with her glass heart she cannot love or be loved. In her desperation for love she makes some bad choices but ultimately she is a very sympathetic character.

Lynet is the main character overall but she wasn’t as interesting to me as Mina, probably since she’s younger and there isn’t as much complexity to her character. She is constantly being compared to her late mother and instead of allowing herself to be groomed for the throne she would rather spend her time climbing and getting into mischief. I found myself really sympathizing with her though since she just wants to be her own person and not be a version of her mother like everyone wants. Lynet does grow over the course of the story significantly though as she learns she can use her power as queen to help people and help her kingdom.

The only other characters of any importance in the story would be King Nicholas, Mina’s father Gregory, Nadia the surgeon, and Felix the huntsman. King Nicholas and Gregory the magician were probably my least favorite characters since they’re both men trying to rule over and pressure our female characters Lynet and Mina (their daughters respectively). Sure King Nicholas doesn’t go about ruling over his daughter Lynet in an abusive way like Gregory rules over Mina, but he still tries to force her mother’s image on her. As for Gregory….he is straight up an asshole….just saying.

Nadia’s character was very interesting and she does play the love interest for Lynet which was a very slow-burn and sweet romance. Nadia actually develops quite a bit over the story even though she doesn’t play a huge role in it.

Felix plays the role of the huntsman and he is….adorable. I thought the take on his character was very, very creative and he actually grew a lot considering he’s more of a minor character.

Romance

The romance does not play a central role in this book at all but it is there! It’s an F/F romance between Lynet, our Snow White character, and Nadia. I really loved the romance here since it didn’t overtake the main plot line and it was a nice slow burn romance, it was also very adorable!

In Conclusion

I did really enjoy this book and think it’s a very creative take on the Snow White fairy tale but the pacing was something I had a hard time looking past while reading. There wasn’t much action which I understand but it would have been nice to have a little more and a few more complex side characters as well! Minor complaints those last two though.

What I Loved:

F/F, slow burn romance
Great feminist themes
Fantastic characters that were well developed
The writing was done well
Creative take on Snow White

What I Didn’t Love:

Not a whole lot of action
Very uneven pacing (most of the time a little on the slow side)
Would have liked a few more complex characters

Recommend?

I do recommend checking this book out especially if you’re looking for a good Snow White retelling or even just a book that has some great feminist themes!

3.5 Stars

I loved the feminist vibes Girls Made of Snow and Glass had. It wasn’t what I expected when people kept referring to it as a “feminist fairytale”, but I really enjoyed it. This book isn’t for someone looking for a steamy f/f romance, but it is for those that want to read about women loving women and going against what is expected of them. This is a good retelling of Snow White. It stays true enough to the story that you are able to definitely able to relate the two, without feeling like a copy of the original.

I wanted SO MUCH out of the relationship between Lynet and Nadia that I was disappointed when their relationship was more of the slow burn type with little more that handholding. I was placated some when I realized about 2/3 of the way through, that Lynet wasn’t even aware that women could be in relationships with each other. Her life within Whitespring had only shown her men and women marrying and then having children. She wasn’t aware that there was another option. But still, I wanted more.

On the other hand, I did love the relationship Lynet had with Mina. It was refreshing to see a depiction of a stepdaughter/mother relationship that isn’t full of animosity. The evolution of Lynet and Mina’s relationship is probably one of my favorite things about this book.

This book was spectacular, I really loved the way all the different aspects of the book combined.
In this book we follow two storylines of two girls and both kept me interested in the book.
While the characters weren't my favorite part of this book, I did like them even though they didn't really stand out to me.
I really liked this book for its story and it's treatment of female characters, while also being a fantasy retelling (which I love). In all, I felt this was a great book.

3 “Snow White meets Frozen” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Flariton Books!

All I wanted from this book was a lot of Teen Snow and Queen Regina from Once Upon a Time being frenemies vibe.

And a lot of romance, because, yes, of course, I always want romance.

The thing is, while I got strong female characters, complex relationships and great feminist messages, these elements didn't make me feel half of what I expected to. Oh, and there was almost no romance.

The magic system was interesting and sort of unique, compared to what else is out there in YA retellings, so that's definitely a plus. But Girl Made of Snow and Glass was a slow, slow read, and I blame the pacing for my lack of overall connection with the story and the characters. Both Lynet and Mina had more than enough qualities to hook me and make me fall in love, but nothing seemed to happen for so long that I struggled to engage with them.

Overall, I think I'm slightly disappointed because I came into this book expecting it to have more action than it did. Or at least a lot more romance. Having said that, I'm in the minority here, and maybe if you go into it knowing you'll get a slow, character-driven story, you'll actually enjoy it a lot more than I did.

**Amazon review live**

I loved that this book was a retelling of sorts. I also enjoyed the fact that this book was a dual perspective because honestly I feel like if it hadn’t have been it would’ve been a weaker book. I loved the idea of the story and in the end I really found myself enjoying it…but…this book took so long to really get going and I felt like the vast majority of the book was a giant build up to something and it never really ended up going anywhere. It was just such a slow paced book that it made me not want to keep going back to it and picking it up. I did enjoy that it was full of really strong women characters.

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

I loved this fairy tale retelling!

One of my favourite things about this story, is that even though you can tell that it’s a retelling of Snow White, the story also has many original points. The story didn’t follow the typical plot of the Snow White story. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I won’t name them, but I liked that the story was unpredictable.

This is a modern, feminist story. The two main characters are Lynet and Mina, stepdaughter and stepmother. Again, if I say too much about the women in this story it would spoil it, but let’s just say there is a lack of a prince here (which enhances Lynet’s power and independence).

The chapters alternated between Lynet and Mina. At the beginning, it followed both of them through their teen years, jumping back in time to when Mina arrived at Whitespring. But halfway through, Mina’s story suddenly jumped many years and continued in the present along with Lynet. I liked the way it showed the ways these two different women acted during the same point in their lives at the beginning. But it was also important to give Mina’s perspective of the current events.

I loved this story! It definitely lived up to the hype for me.

This is a a feminist retelling of Snow White and the evil queen. I enjoyed the retelling portion of this book but I was not a fan of the pacing. I felt it took so long for the story to get going that I didn't care when things started to happen. I can see why people would like this book but I don't think it was for me.

This was (almost) everything I could have wanted in a retelling.

I loved the premise of this book when I read the description. Elsa is one of my favorite Disney characters. The ability to show everyone who you truly are is hard for even the average person, but having an extraordinary ability makes it that much harder. You're looked upon differently, whether its with envy, awe or horror, nothing is ever the same again. Much like the characters in this story, hiding their true selves for fear of being seen as different.

Mina's one want in life is something that should come naturally. All she wants is to love and have that love returned to her. After learning that she has a heart of glass, those aspirations suddenly seem so far out of reach. With that feeling comes her natural instinct to survive. Biding her time until she can change her fate and put herself into a position of power.

Lynette was definitely my favorite character is this book. She is so vivacious and alive. While everyone calls her delicate, the woman that leaps off those pages is far from it. Seeking adventure turns into a nightmare for her though. Testing herself in ways that she never imagined. Hoping that one day people would eventually stop seeing her dead mother and see her, Lynette, for who she truly is.

An intriguing story filled with hope, love and deception. Characters that you will love to hate, love and just plain hate. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a little adventure. Besides, who doesn't enjoy a good fairy tale?

Girls Made of Snow and Glass was probably one of the best fairy-tale retellings that I have ever read.

It is told from alternating points of view. Lynet (Snow White), an impetuous 15 year old girl being raised to be exactly like her beautiful, fragile, dead mother, who will one day rule her father's kingdom and Mina (stepmother), Lynet's beautiful stepmother who has always been told she will never be loved for more than her beauty.

This one is definitely character-driven, so of course I loved it. I loved how all of the characters interacted and how complex all of their relationships were. I also loved how each of the female characters in this book become strong (or realize their strength) despite the men in their lives, not because of them. I don't want to say too much here for fear of spoiling it :)

I also really appreciated how romantic love was not the main theme here but the little romantic subplot was super sweet, and I thought that for a f/f romance it was done so well, and it was so cute!

I am very impressed that this is a debut novel and I would like to thank NetGalley, Flatiron Books and Melissa Bashardoust for providing me with an ARC. I will definitely be purchasing it for the library and look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I loved this book so much! Had such girl power vibes, with amazing female characters and LGBT+ aspects. Overall I think it was a strong fantasy novel and felt that it had me hooked from page 1!

Girls Made of Snow and Glass was easily one of the best retellings I've read this year. Melissa Bashardoust worked magic in creating this story that was at once immediately recognizable as the classic fairytale while also spinning a narrative entirely its own. There were unexpected depths to this story that made it utterly enchanting. I'm definitely going to be picking up a finished copy of this beauty!

While I could be wrong, I believe that this book is based off both Snow White and The Snow Queen. Lynet is a princess made of snow and blood, built as a replacement for a Queen who died too soon. Mina is her stepmother, a queen with a glass heart, left unable to love by the process that saved her life. Girls Made of Snow and Glass chronicles Lynet and Mina's stories, from their respective childhoods to the ultimate conclusion. The story shifts back and forth between the present and the past, slowly revealing the entire story.

I was surprised by how character-based this story was. At first, it was a little too slow for me but then I was swept away and would have been entirely happy if it had been longer. I loved Lynet's journey, I could really relate to her struggles to define herself outside of other's expectations of her. Mina also went through a similar journey and there were moments when my heart broke for her. Both of the main characters were beautifully written and I absolutely adored them. Lynet's snow magic and Mina's glass magic were marvelous additions to the story, adding just the right touch of enchantment to the story.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass was a wonderful feminist retelling of two of my favorite fairytales. This fantastic debut combined magic, love, and family to make a story that was both captivating and relatable.

Did you ever not realize you were missing something until it was handed to you? Well, you are missing this book from your life and you don't even know it. I've been in a reading slump but I devoured this gem overnight. What's not to love? Powerful women, a familiar plot line with fresh life breathed into it, and witty writing. It's seriously fabulous.

The beauty of the relationships in this novel is worthyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2055454039 of a special note. Whether it is manipulation, curiosity, or struggle, the relationships are deep and complex while maintaining realism. The resolution of the book had silent tears streaming down my face in the middle of the night.

If you're looking for a satisfying read to keep you interested, characters you can identify with and care about, and just plain fun author style, look no further!

Girls Made of Snow and Glass is quite an outstanding debut. It is a fantasy retelling of Snow White with a dash of Frozen added in for good measure. There are plenty of strong feminist elements, as well as a queer romance. What more could you want in a YA fantasy? The writing is so lush and beautiful, it feels as if you're in a dream. The characters are well-developed and feel real. Oh and that romance will make your heart swoon. If you are looking for an original, character-driven fantasy, be sure to check this one out.

Tell me a book is a fairy tale retelling and I will want to get my hands on it immediately. Tell me it's about Snow White and I'll want to read it that much more, if only because it doesn't seem to be as popular of fodder as other fairy tales. I can only think of one other Snow White retelling I've read and given how many retellings I've read over the years, that's pretty sad.

Retellings can go in many directions but the best make it entirely their own. Such is the case with Girls Made Of Snow And Glass.

Bashardoust gives us the outlines of the Snow White story but reinvents the details and we are left with a stunning, magical tale, one which centers the female characters and their relationships. In fact, most of the male characters in this story creeped me out and for good reason.

In this version of Snow White, Mina is the wicked stepmother and Lynet is Snow White. Lynet adores her stepmother from the start, having been deprived of most relationships outside of her father. Mina doesn't really know what to do with Lynet at first but the two come to find their own rhythms and routine. This changes when Lynet grows older and societal forces begin to pit the two women against each other. The whole while the story asks us to consider who we know ourselves to be versus what others believe is true of us. The actions we take from this knowledge can drive our lives in different directions and that is precisely what happens to Mina and Lynet.

Take everything you know about Snow White's tale and throw it out the window because while the outline is there, this story is best experienced blind, each twist and turn becoming a revelation. My heart broke for both Mina and Lynet, for the ways they were limited by virtue of being women and for the ways people failed them and they failed themselves. I wanted Mina to make better choices and to experience the power of unconditional love. I wanted Lynet to grow a backbone and take charge of her life and decisions. I wanted them to find a way forward together.

See? Not your average Snow White story.

The magic elements were fascinating and served the plot well. I liked what it said about power and strength and the wisdom to know the difference. Bashardoust emphasizes some really important messages about women: that women are more than their parents' mistakes, more than society's limitations, more than shallow understandings of what beauty is. Mina and Lynet wrestle with these ideas in different ways but one of my most favorite was Lynet's burgeoning understanding of her sexuality. Instead of a prince, Lynet falls in love with a visiting female doctor and this leads to some of the sweetest, most tender moments in the story.

But the best moments were the scenes with Lynet and Mina. Their relationship is the driving force and we are never certain whether the characters will believe the best or worst about each other as we come toward the end.

Over and over we see how everyone deserves to be loved. The question is are we willing to accept that love? And what will we do to show our love for others?

I couldn't put this one down and I'm so glad the story swept me away.

This book is told from two points of view, Lynet and Mina, but told at different time frames, Lynet is during the present time where as Mina is told from the past leading up to the present.

The dynamic between Lynet and Mina is very interesting, Mina just want to be loved and Lynet just wants to be treated like a normal person, not a fragile treasure that may break.

The background of both Lynet and Mina are very interesting and creepy at the same time. I won’t go into much detail since it will spoil the book. But man do both of their fathers have some major issues.

I enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would. I didn’t expect the small twists of info about Lynet and

Mina to be what they were. I didn’t expect there to be a “Princess Charming” in here, and I loved it.

I liked how MIna and Lynet came into their own with their “abilities” and found a way to overcome their downfalls, which happened to both be tied to their fathers and find their own voices.

I feel that this is a great book to show the importance of feminism in a positive light, and how females can help each other to overcome barriers that are placed in front of them, and that they can live together peacefully without the need to kill each other.

Why DNF? The way the writing was set up (the two main characters stories paralleling each other) was confusing. So I would keep mixing up Lynet and Mina. Where are the fantasy elements? The story was slow going and barely had any fantasy which as a personal preference I do not like in fantasy unless the characters are really compelling.

Like: idea of the fantasy elements (glass heart), idea of exploration of snow white and evil queen relationship

I haven't been a big reader of fairy adaptions in recent years. I still have some favorites, in particular the Fairy Tales series that was edited by Terri Windling back in the nineties, featuring such fantastic writers as Charles de Lint, Pamela Dean, Kara Dalkey and Jane Yolen. The books covered the gamut of urban fantasy, historical, straight fantasy, and magic realism

Girls Made of Snow and Glass would fit into that series without any complaint, and is probably my favorite version of a Snow White story every.

Lynet, who is about to turn sixteen, is princess in a kingdom that is divided between the warm south and a north, where the king and his court lives, that was cursed by a previous queen to eternal winter. She looks just like her mother who died in childbirth, she is told. She idolises her step-mother, Mina, who came to the north with her wizard father when she was only sixteen. And both have something in common: the magics of Mina's father, Gregory. Mina's heart was replaced with one of glass to save her life, and when the queen died, Gregory made the king a daughter from snow, who would look just like his wife.

But unlike the fairy tale, Lynet loves her stepmother, and Mina, trapped in a loveless marriage to the king, cares deeply for Lynet. But with Lynet's birthday approaching, first Lynet becomes infatuated with the new court surgeon, Nadia, a young woman from the south who tells her the truth of her origins, driving a wedge between mother and daughter. And a decision by the king deepens the divide, leading to tragedy.

Snow White is transformed into the story of the love between mother and daughter, with a side of a lesbian romance, and every step of it worked for me. I loved the book.

2.5 stars?

I have seen nothing but high reviews and gushing and people losing their minds and I desperately wanted to love this.

I liked Mina and Lynet well enough. Neither one of them stood out to me and excluding the obvious age difference, their narrative didn't sound so different. Because I couldn't connect to the journey of either woman, I didn't quite care what happened.

Plot wise, it was so boooooooring. I did like the magic of how they were created, yet I found myself struggling to continue and constantly thought about DNFing. Every time I would decide that I was done, there was a bit of a morsel dropped that kept me going. Every time I thought THIS is where it would turn around and I would be captivated.

Overall, the idea is amazing. Sadly, I didn't see the spark that everyone else did.

**Huge thanks to Flatiron Books for providing the arc free of charge**