First, I’d like to get the genre of this book out of the way. It is a YA book, but I’m listing it for older YA and also giving it a rating of NC-17. Not for violence or sex, although the characters get themselves into both situations. Not enough to tip it out of the R rating though. No, there are some VERY serious themes in this story. While I cannot get into it all without spoiling the story too much, I want to say that if you are buying this for a teen under the age of 17ish, read the story yourself first. I’m sure there are plenty of younger teens that would be fine reading this book, and there are plenty of 20 years old people who would be disturbed…we’re all different. I’m just saying to judge for yourself before gifting this one to a younger YA reader.

On to my review…

I love this author’s writing and I’m a huge fan of her Lords of the Underworld series. (Definitely NOT in the YA genre.) When I saw she had a YA story coming out I jumped at the chance to read and review an ARC. While I’m not huge into the princesses, I’ve always love Snow White. This seemed perfect for me. And when it comes to Gena Showalter’s writing talent, I have to say she came through big time on this one.

Here’s where I’m not going to do the thing so many people do. I’m not going to give this story a bad review or rating just because it ended up not being my cup of tea. Like I said, the writing is spot on. The storyline is intriguing and the main characters are fleshed out and sympathetic. This book made me realize that I have issues with “retelling” stories. Quite a few years ago I read Wicked by Gregory Maguire and couldn’t figure out what my problem was with that book. Again, I gave it a pretty good rating since I could see how it was a great book. Now that I’ve read another retelling type of story, I realize that my brain has a hard time staying on track with these books. I’m constantly looking for clues to who is who and what it all can mean. To the point that it’s distracting me from the story. Throw in the fact that there is a prologue in this book (which I don’t generally have a problem with) and my brain was being torn in too many directions. All the while I’m thinking to myself, “this is an amazing story and I think so many people will love this book.”

Everly is, by turns, easy to love and hard to love. But even when she was being difficult, I found myself rooting for her. Then there’s her connection to Roth. Everly and Roth have phenomenal chemistry and I was immediately rooting for them to become a couple. As with Everly, Roth is often hard to love. Probably harder to love than Everly at some points. But you just know his heart is in the right place, just as hers is. You can’t help but hope he gets his head out of his rump!

There are so many things happening in this story, and the author does a great job of keeping the story linear and cohesive. At the same time, with all of the characters, there’s anticipation of what other stories are going to be told in this series. Some I’d love to see get a HEA, some I’d love to see get their comeuppance, and maybe some will even be atoned.

While this is not the type of story I, personally, am able to read quickly and easily, I’m still curious as to what will happen next. When the next book comes out, I’ll just have to remember that I’ll need more than a day or two to read the whole thing. In the meantime, I’ll be recommending this story to a lot of people I think will enjoy the fairy tale retelling.

I knew right from page one that I was going to fall in love with this book. The characters were well written and the plot was complex. It was not your traditional fairytale and I loved that.

As a big fan of the Alice in Zombieland series I was pumped for this twisted Snow White retelling. For the most part it lived up to expectations. I would've like the story to start differently I think. That was my biggest problem. The first 100 pages or so felt kind of random to me. They definitely followed plot and served their purpose correctly but it just didn't feel like it quite flowed right. I still can't put my finger on why. Maybe the story didn't need the prologue? I don''t know. But I loved Everly's character. Even when I was slightly bored in the beginning I loved her. She embodied her destiny a little too closely for comfort but I actually found that to be a positive. Why should we be comfortable with the Evil Queen? Watching her story unfold, I really couldn't look away. All of the characters made me feel something--good and bad--and I just wanted more. More! From a 500+ page book! I love a good, lengthy book and yes I would've read it even if it was another 200+ pages. The only reason this is not a 5 star review is because the beginning started so slow. Gena Showalter fans should rejoice because she did it again.

I've enjoyed Gena adult novels and was excited to see a YA by her. This novel is a retelling of the classic Snow White. It centers around Everly and her twin Hartley. Everly is an outcast and misfit but her character was relatable. Throughout the story Everly had the best character development. I felt there was a ton of telling instead of showing how characters felt/ reacted. I also wanted more backstory to better understand the overall relationship between the characters.
Thank you to Netgally for the advance copy

Gena Showater has an unique ability to write stories that are so engrossing, so entertaining, that you never want to put them down. Once you start them, you are hopelessly trapped in the imaginative worlds that she is able to create. Worlds that are so far out there, so far fetched, you can't help but fall in love with them and want to go there and visit them yourself.

Add irresistible characters that are completely relatable (even the bad guys) and you can see what I mean about not being able to put one of her books down as soon as you start it.

I am always irrevocable transported into another world and darn if I don't want to escape it.

This time Showater transports us into the very heart of a fairy tale, but this time, it isn't your classic retelling. Nope. With twists and turns and things you will never see coming, Showater adds not only a new twist on an old tale but blows it out of the water and makes it completely her own.

Where nothing is black and white or what it seems to be. When you can't help but care for those you never thought you would and despise those you shouldn't. Showater once again creates something unlike any retelling I've read before. Totally engrossing, totally enchanting, and completely hard to put down.

This memorized me and held me captive from the first page down to the very satisfying last.

I couldn't of asked for a more perfect, twisted tale of love and passion and wrong and right and overcoming and rewriting destiny until it fits what you want to be. Who you were always meant to be, good or bad, devil or angel.

From the first sentence of Chapter 1, I was hooked and could not put the book down. The Evil Queen is a masterful, contemporary retelling of The Snow White fairytale (Grimm and Disney) and has appeal to its intended young adult audience as well as an adult audience who appreciates fairy tales in all their incarnations.

What I Loved:


The story took a fundamental good versus evil tale and made it multi-layered and complex, reflecting reality more accurately. Though the characters in the novel are destined to be characters from Snow White, by story’s end they discover that each of them holds part of Snow White, the Evil Queen, the Huntsman, and the dwarves within and that life is made up of choices, some of which reflect our good qualities and some of which reflect our less than noble proclivities .

The novel is an exciting look at nature versus nurture debate. Are people born inherently good or evil or does their environment influence what they become? If the Evil Queen had been the daughter of Snow White rather than the stepmother, would she have turned out differently? This is always an interesting debate, and the novel explores it in an enlightening way for the YA mind who is learning that the world is full of different shades gray.

Building a new world for readers takes a great deal of vivid imagery, and The Evil Queen delivers. Enchantia is a multi-faceted world full of fantastical creatures as well as ones the reader is more familiar with, and I loved every nuanced descriptor contained within the pages. Based on reviews I perused, some readers felt that there was too much description to the point of boring them, but I felt like I could see, hear, and smell the enchanting world of Enchantia and it made me love the novel even more.

Everly Morrow is a complicated teenager full of angst, devotion to family, and cynicism about the world around her. She is Everygirl. I would be happy to read book after book to experience how Everly grows and develops into the woman she is meant to be. In this novel, she is a normal teen girl plagued by typical teen girl problems that translate in an exciting yet surprisingly fun way to the fairy tale world. This approach enables the reader to see a classic tale through new and knowledgeable eyes and brings a whole new layer to even the original story from which the novel is based.

What I Wish:

I wish I had not tripped and stumbled when reading the prologue. It is out of context, which makes it confusing and in worst cases experiences, off-putting. Once you get past the prologue though, the book reads fast and is gripping to the point you will read so much at one sitting that your eyes will go bleary.

The teenage jargon had not been used. The dialogue does not flow well with it, and teenagers will not feel a kinship to the book because of its use. It makes the novel read as less than genuine, whereas the issues are legitimate and should be given proper respect by the reader.

To Read or Not to Read:

The Evil Queen will enthrall you, entertain you, and make you believe in fairy tales once again. This novel should be a must read on your summer list!

This book was phenomenal! Showalter's abillity to so masterfully weave such an intricate story and bring Everly's world to life was breathtaking! Each part of the story felt well thought out and was very detailed. Some people get bored by the all the details, and it seems like some reviewers may have here too, but they actually engross me into the story more. I thought she did a fantastic job of providing great detail, but not too much.

Everly lives with her twin sister, Hartley, mother Aubrey, and step father Nicholas. Everyone at school does not like her and fears her because they think she is odd. The one boy who paid her any attention only did so in private because he worried about what others would think and eventually dropped her. She has a rather pessimistic view of life in general and people, besides her sister Hartley, whom she adores and protects at all cost. I found her negative attitude in general to be a bit annoying and hard to connect with at the beginning. She has a family that loves her dearly and she treats the people who treat her badly pretty terribly too so I didn't have a lot of sympathy for her. However, I realize she is a teenage girl whose emotions may be a little unstable at that age.

The girls find out they are princesses and have unique powers and eventually end up in Enchancia, the dimension their mother came from in order to save them and herself when they were just babies. Everly is separated from Hartley and meets some individuals along the way who become central to the story. The adventure they have together is extremely engaging and I found I could not put the book down. As Everly realizes they are all tied to the Snow White prophecy, like her, she continually tries to place each character depending on their actions and characteristics at that point in time.

The prologue was actually from the end of the book, which kind of threw me for a loop and gave me some preconceived notions about the main character. I did not care for her from the start and everything she said seemed snarky or cynical. However, as I continue through the story, my views on her changed and I felt the she was more and more relatable. It was really quite ironic because I formed these opinions of her from the supposed ending of the story, however, they weren't accurate and people constantly do this to Everly throughout the story! They all assume she is the Evil Queen and she is shunned and treated horribly by all but a select few. Yes, she makes some poor decisions, but so the supposed heroes of the stories! However, their choices are deemed necessary to defeat evil while when she makes the same choices to save herself or loved ones, it is seen as evil.

This quote from the beginning and ending of the story really sums it up:
"Every hero is a villian, and every villian is a hero. It just depends on who you ask." In part, much of the prophecies came to fruition because of their obsession with it and trying to convict Everly of crimes she had not even committed. By no means did she commit the worst crimes that were committed in the book, but some of her parallels with the Evil Queen lead most to assume it is her and the she must be dealt with. They forget that they all have their free agency to choose with they can do and be and deem the prophecy as already being written in stone. Tragically, her own mother shunned and ordered her execution because of this. As time passes, Everly realizes that perhaps they are not just each assigned to one character, maybe they all act the part of various characters at different points in the story.

As far as character development in the story, I was really impressed with Everly. While she still kept her snarky and somewhat brash personality, she learned to feel and acknowledge her emotions and to learn from her mistakes. She gave into her dark side in the heat of the moment, but she also realized the error of her ways later and how emotions had blinded her. Yet, her emotions and feelings also gave her strength.

Roth, Everly's love interest from their first meaning, is a very interesting character. He is said to have a somewhat icy demeanor but we don't see much of it as it seems to thaw almost immediately for Everly. He is sweet and caring, but also brave and fearless. The chemistry between Roth and Everly is palpable and I found myself rooting for them from beginning to end, even when it seemed against all odds. He is not afraid to fight for what he loves and cares about and it is adorable when Evely is at the center of that trait.

There are many other vital characters to the story, some of which I loved, and some of which I despised. However, the remarkable writing and plot line is what drew me in enough to feel such strong feelings either way. The story keeps you guessing up until the very end! I can't wait to see what the next book brings! This is going to be a series I will be coming back to again and again!!

From the moment I read the summary of the book, I felt like this was going to be the next best thing, and I am really glad that I wasn't wrong about it. Especially considering the fact that I didn't really enjoy Firstlife, I was a bit skeptical and I didn't have high expectations, but I'm glad The Evil Queen had nothing to do with the other series written by the author.

Because to me, The Evil Queen was something like Forest of A Thousand Lanterns meets Once Upon A Time, and if you've been following me for some time now, you probably know that I can't say no to a good retelling.

Before going any further into this review, I would like to thank Lia Ferrone, the publicity assistant at Harlequin Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this beauty.

So first things first, the main idea of seeing how the Evil Queen came to be was truly fascinating to me. I loved how the book took us straight into action, straight into this fascinating new world, straight into the mind of the Evil Queen herself. What I loved even more is that in this book, or at least at the beginning of it, Prince Charming wasn't in love with Snow White; he was in love with the Evil Queen!  Now, that's a twist I would've never seen coming!

On to the story itself, at the beginning, it felt a bit confusing that we were taken from Enchantia and straight into the modern world, but I really enjoyed seeing the plot unfolding through Everly's eyes. I really enjoyed learning about her as a character, how she always wanted to protect her sister, whatever the costs, and how hurt, betrayed even she felt when everyone in her family admitted they believed that she would end up being the Evil Queen.

It was really fascinating to me (and truth be told, I always feel that way) to see how the actions of a character cannot always be determined as good or evil. There are so many grey shades and the complexity of the antiheroes never stops to bewitch and mesmerise me.

Another thing I truly loved about this book is that it talked a lot about familial love, it had complex, human relationships and interactions mentioned throughout the story, it had references about racism and sexism, which is always something like a wake-up call, and as for the romance, this one added to the story as a whole.

What I didn't like though is that sometimes the dialogues felt a bit cringy and few of the characters felt underdeveloped, at least in my personal opinion. But it's a good thing this series gets a sequel, because this is where I will manage to see them evolve and become who they're supposed to be.

Overall, I enjoyed this YA thrilling fantasy novel so very much, that I ended up rating it with 4 out of 5 stars.

Everly has been living a normal teenage life when she begins to communicate with mirrors. She doesn’t know if what she sees is real or not, but some of the images shake her to her core. She soon finds out the truth … she is from another realm and destined to become the Evil Queen. Or is she destined to be Snow White? No one seems to have the final answer, but Everly is determined to find out. She travels to Enchantia to confront the prophecy head on, even if it means she must push through her internal battle between good and evil.

The Evil Queen is the first book in The Forest of Good and Evil series. Showalter has taken many beloved fairy tales and has included some modern day twists. Since most readers are already familiar with fairy tales in general, it appears that Showalter decided to spend only a minimal amount of time on world building. That is great for us because there is more story for us to enjoy. I am a huge fan of fairy tale re-tellings and this one was a fun example. I recommend this book and look forward to the next volume in the future.

WOW! This book is a big one and may not be for everyone but I LOVED it! As per usual Gena Showalters whitty writing helps you to really connect with the characters. I laughed, I cried, I screamed. I will absolutely be recommending this to all my friends. This particular re-telling was so unique and I loved the complexity of the characters, it made the story unpredictable and kept me hooked. I am really hoping she does more re-tellings as they are mentioned to be taking place in this universe. I will be posting a full review on my blog soon!

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. The Evil Queen is the first book in new The Forest of Good and Evil series and I loved getting to meet Everly Morrow and Roth Charmaine. This book was just so easy to get lost in and I felt so much for these characters. I had so much fun learning more about each character and all they had gone through. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this author.

The Evil Queen but Gena Showalter is a retelling of the fairy tale Snow White and the Evil Queen. In the book the fairy tale is a prophecy that is playing out in real time and the characters are trying to figure out which roles they are to play. The story follows Everly Morrow who is believed by most to be the Evil Queen in the prophecy. However, as the story progresses that role can be played by any of the characters. Turns out the choices the characters make change up their roles in the story.

I love books that make you think about what is good and what is evil. Why are the evil actions by characters such as Farrah justified just because she is believed to be the prophecy's Snow White, while Everly's actions of retaliation are considered evil even though she is defending herself and her loved ones? Everly says time and time again how if they just let her go she will leave them alone and live her life. What they do instead is imprison her in a tower with a metal collar around her neck to keep her from using magic. What did they expect to happen as a result of her mistreatment? Two wrongs don't make a right but it definitely teaches us that there are consequences to how we treat others.

It takes some time to build up to the action of the book but it is worth the effort. I look forward to reading further books in this series. It is mentioned how other fairy tales are playing out along with Snow White and the Evil Queen. It will be interesting to see how they are incorporated.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the summary, I was very excited about the book. I loved the TV show "Once Upon A Time," and I thought this would be somewhat similar. Sadly, that wasn't the case. I had a terrible time with the book, and I was never really able to fully engage with it. I just felt like I was listening to someone narrate a story, which kept me at a distance. There didn't seem to be much character development or "meat" to the story. The dialogue was lacking, as well.. It surprised me when things went from a fairy tale world to a mortal one, as I wasn't expecting that based on the blurb. I've heard great things about Showalter over the years, but I've never read any of her books. I'd consider reading others in the future. This one, however, just didn't work for me.

So after reading the summary, I was so excited to read the book. There was so much promise in the concept, and I love evil queen retellings, so I was all for it. Then I started reading and I almost stopped reading at least 12 times. I couldn't stand Everly as a character and because she narrates the entire book, I had such a hard time connecting to her and the way the plot was moving forward. I read other reviews and everyone said that things picked up and got so much better at the 30% mark, so I pushed through and got to the 30% mark, and nothing was better. I kept going, and things honestly just never got better. If I had liked Everly or been able to connect to her as a character at all, I'm sure my review of this book would have been totally different. 

I'm giving this book 3 stars because of what it could have been and my hope for future books in this series. There were also some aspects of the book that I did enjoy- for example, I love the cover. It's so cool and the mirror breaking is great. I also liked Everly's original power and how the evil queen's obsession with mirrors was explained through that. The explanation of how sorcerers and sorceresses get their power by syphoning it from others was pretty interesting too.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded like a great book. The concept is fantastic - I'm a huge Disney villain fan, and retellings of fairy tales can be really fun, especially when told from the villain's perspective. Alas and alack, this one felt like reading a rushed first draft of a book. It was full of childish dialogue, whirlwind speed scene changes with very little substance, and little to no real character development.

I understand that it's a YA, so it's going to be written to appeal to younger readers, and the prose will be at a different level than a book written for adults, but honestly, it felt like a middle schooler wrote it.

I feel like it was a great concept with poor execution -- lots of potential, but never quite lives up to it.

All in all, I felt like it was appropriate to give this one two stars, the extra star because of the interesting concept and relatively neat magic system.

The Evil Queen was like the movie Enchanted in reverse: while in Enchanted, the main character leaves the fairy realm and enters our world, the main character grows up in our world and then enters the land of fairy tales, Enchantia.

Everly, the main character, grows up listening to her mother tell her fairy tales like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In high school for some reason, the kids dislike her. She has one boyfriend, Peter, who's embarrassed by her in front of her friends. This causes her to become cynical about people in general.

One day, she discovers that she has magical powers, but she's a particular kind of magician called a sorcerian: they don't make magic on their own, but have to take it from other people. For that reason, they're universally disliked. When she arrives in Enchantia, Everly begins to believe that she's the Evil Queen, although she doesn't want to be.

This story was a lot different than a lot of other stories I've read (it feels like half-contemporary, half fantasy) but it has romance, action, and the overall message that we can choose our own destinies. I enjoyed it, and will probably read the next book in the series when it comes out.

Thank you Netgalley and Harpercollins for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book started out very slow to me, I had a very difficult time connecting to the story and the characters. At 30% I debated DNFing it. It just didn't seem like a story I could get invested in.

However, I decided to sit down and power through until 50%, if I still wasn't invested I would DNF that book. This book got so good so fast, it gave me whiplash. I managed to connect with all the characters and see their trials and tribulations. I wanted them all to succeed, even though I know the story of The Evil Queen and know that that is not possible.

There is some romance in here, however, it is cute and well placed. It didn't take over the story nor did it affect that theme of the novel. It added to the story more than I initially thought it would. I was rooting for the characters the whole time!

The ending of this novel did seem rushed. With that said sometimes a rushed ending is perfected and executed brilliantly. This novel did just that! The book left off exactly where I think it should have, with that said I would still like to learn more about the characters and how they continued on with their lives!

This book is a 4 star review!

Gena Showalter never disappoints. She took a well known fairy tale and twisted it into something magnificent. The story of Snow White and the evil queen this story changes the game and questions is the evil queen really evil and if so, what happened to bring her to that point. The story mentions other fairy tales being lived in neighbouring kingdoms, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast etc and I’m hoping that the author continues with these in other books. This particular story is left with an ending but also open so that there is the possibility of seeing our characters again. I have a feeling that Everly and Roth will be playing their parts in other stories to come. I just love a good fairy tale, especially one that’s been turned on it’s head. I highly recommend this if you love retellings, romance, secrets coming to light, and intelligent sassy characters.

Gena showalter is one of my favorite writers! It started with her Lords of the underworld series, and then came her young adult series! I’m so so glad that I had the chance to read this version of the story you can never go wrong with a retelling or different points of view for classic stories! Cover is also fantastic.

When Everly is thrown from the real world into an alternate fairy tale universe, she spends her time trying to determine whether or not she could be the evil queen but so could every other female character that she encounters - given the right set of circumstances. Add to that a handsome prince, an evil step-mother, and a host of villains, and this fractured fairy tale about the Evil Queen from Snow White had all of the elements needed to be a good book.

But, something was missing from this book that unfortunately kept it from missing the mark. The plot was extremely slow-paced at several points throughout the story and our MC was sometimes a bit annoying. This wasn't a great read but it was entertaining enough to keep me engaged.