Alix E Harrow quickly became one of my favorite authors after The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and I was so excited to see a new installment in her Fractured Fables series. While A Spindle Splintered can stand on its own, A Mirror Mended explores “Happily Ever After” in an innovative way. I love when authors dig further into fairytales, and look at the lesser known versions (I’m constantly on the hunt for more books like Seanan McGuire’s Indexing series).

Using these variations in fairytale versions, Harrow challenges our perception of hero and villain in this novella. While A Mirror Mended is short, I was constantly impressed by how much was packed into its pages. Eva was such an intriguing character, and I loved seeing more of Zinnia. I think some readers may not like the ending, but I absolutely adored it.

Like A Spindle Splintered, A Mirror Mended was just straight up fun to read. There’s magic, mayhem, and maybe just a little bit of murder. Oh, and a pretty excellent love story. I’d recommend this one to fantasy fans! One note - you really do need to read the first one to fully understand this one.

A Mirror Mended is just what the doctor ordered. Alix E. Harrow is reliable in delivering a beautifully written, humourous, and at times tender fairytale. The audiobook was wonderful as well and I feel like the narrator did a great job of bringing these characters to life.

I think that the shift from saving the princesses to saving the villain was fantastic--I was rooting for the Evil Queen without a doubt and loved the story between her and Zinnia Gray, our resident sleeping beauty.

As I've said before, I would happily devour a multitude of stories set in this universe and I hope that Harrow at least considers it! I loved this story so much. 4 stars.

Beneath Zinnia’s sarcastic, knowledgeable voice, A Mirror Mended—just like Spindle—keeps up a serious critical engagement with the tropes of Western fairy tale, and puts its characters through exacting arcs while keeping to novella length. With more complexity in fleshing out the different worlds’ settings, or a wider range of characters with their own folkloric subplots to fulfil, each book could have been a novel on its own. As novellas, both tell Zinnia’s story—and convey just enough of the critical framework she applies to these tales which have shaped her—to suggest that there would be much for her to fix in the worlds’ other tales, too.
--Catherine Baker

A Mirror Mended is another strong story from Alix E. Harrow continuing her version of well-known fairy tales. Instead of another princess, however, Ms. Harrow chooses to focus on the Evil Queen, which is a clever twist as we get to question just what makes a person evil. I love these Fractured Fables so much. They upend these well-known fairy tales, giving them back some of the grittiness and depth lost once they were made into a Disney movie. Plus, they allow readers to fall in love with Ms. Harrow's writing as much as I have.

I liked what this book had to say about agency and not running away from your own story, but overall it felt a bit lackluster compared to 'A Spindle Splintered'. I'm glad I read it though, and I'm genuinely curious as to whether this series is going to continue or not.

Thank you to Tordotcom for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved A Spindle Splintered so I was really excited to get an ARC of the sequel, and I was not disappointed. I really liked that even though Zinnia went through a lot of character development in the first book, it was very clear that she had further to go, and we got that in A Mirror Mended. I also loved the gritty, much darker exploration and subversion of the Snow White story!

this novella did not disappoint, especially as a sequel to a spindle splintered. i just love fairytale retellings.

this novella follows zinnia gray, who is now a pro at rescuing people from her previous adventures. when she finds herself looking in the mirror, she falls into snow white's fairytale, and is faced with dueling with the evil queen herself. it's nonstop excitement, with a very insane ending. and as an avid once upon a time and regina mills lover, digging into the layers within snow white's story and the evil queen was so much fun, and quite rewarding. 3.5/5 stars, rounded up!

thank you to both netgalley and macmillan-tor/forge for an e-arc. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow is a retelling of Snow White. It follows the protagonist from A Spindle Splintered, the first book of the Fractured Fables series. From the world of Sleeping Beauty that she has learned to frequent, Zinnia Gray is summoned to another world by the evil stepmother of Snow White. However, this storyline clashes with all her cliched assumptions about the characters. This short, quirky, yet powerful tale implores us to forgo preconceived notions and take a deeper look at everything. With unique twists and a distinctly sapphic bend, it is an inclusive book that will be a perfect read for anyone who loves fairy tale retellings.

An enjoyable queer twist on a classic fairytale. Bringing it into the modern age. Very clever and well thought out. Very well executed job

Alternate titles for this book include "So There's Something Fucky Happening to the Multiverse: Ten Implausible Theories" and "So You're a Little Bit Hot for the Villain: We've All Been There but This Isn't the Time, Babe." And this trademark humor is one of the novella's best attributes. It's meta, it's (literally) philosophical, and it pairs jokes with severe situations. In that vein, I give The Good Place reference 10/10. It's one of many excellent pop culture mentions that co-exist with high-brow literary or life musings for an intentionally choppy but clever delivery.

A Mirror Mended is a follow-up to the Sleeping Beauty retelling, A Spindle Splintered. As the title hints, this story takes a stab at Snow White elements. We get a sapphic romance for the Evil Queen, a cannibal Snow White, and a poly Snow White/dwarf situation in different versions of the fairy tale crossing the multiverse. Aka it's very gay and very fun when it's not dark and alarming (re:cannibalism).

My main complaint here is pacing. I can see how novella-length keeps things punchy and puts more on the reader to think for herself and make her own interpretations. However, emotional arcs, relationships, and character growth felt too abrupt for me to care about. So while I had a lot of laughs reading this and was called on to think, it didn't hit me in the feels even when moments seemed to call for it. For that reason, I liked this read but didn't love it. More time with the characters and a gradual build of the plot would have suited me better, but I had a good time with this one and found it a smooth, engaging read from start to finish. Thanks to Tordotcom for my copy to read and review!

3 stars (I think). I'm on the fence on whether this is a solid 3 star or lower. This is a sequel and a novella. I didn't like the first hour of the audiobook which is not promising for something already so short. Eventually the story found its pacing and I became more invested, but the beginning was such a slog. I am not sure how I feel about it. It's been over a week since I finished it and I'm still unsure of the rating. I am sure that it pales in comparison to its predecessor.

Alix E Harrow is a fantastic storyteller and a creator of beautiful prose. I love her take on the fairy tale genre. The pov character for this one is a fabulously snarky, snappy and sarcastic person who has absolutely refused to let life conquer her. This was brilliant and funny.

The second book in the Fractured Fables series. Zinnia can travel between Sleeping Beauty stories. She does this while trying to forget she will probably still die. This time after the wedding at her most recent Sleeping Beauty while staring in the mirror someone else stares back. And then she’s in another story, but not one that she expected. Zin has slipped into a different fable, Snow White’s. But she ends up with the Queen, who is asking for help. Zin is conflicted as she’s usually fighting the evil queens not helping them. Then they start jumping through her magic mirror. An unexpected friend shows up with a warning for Zin. Zin and Eva (as the name the Queen is given) have to get out of a dungeon and Zin has to decide if she’s going to keep inter-universe traveling or stop. The books in the Fractured Fables series may make you want to read all the versions of the stories you can, even the horror ones. Short and quick, this is a great weekend read.

Enjoyed this sequel! Felt like an end to the series but not sure if it will be. I always enjoy a good fairy tale retelling, especially with the villains.

Lesbians, fairytales, a snappy mc who will tell you like it is, dark themes with bright backgrounds, and a return to the Grimm tales we know and love. A Mirror Mended, much like the first in the series - A Spindle Splintered- brought a fresh look to fairytale retellings as we know them today and broke down barriers by making them sapphic. I am a sucker for a good retelling and picking up this sequel was like a breath of fresh air.
It was dark, it was witty, it was fast-paced, it was different, there wasn't much to dislike in this book. Zinnia Gray is the type of protagonist you want in a book, she makes it all so gritty and real.
I don't want to say too much because half the fun is how spontaneous this book is, just know you're in for a ride. If you like twisted fairytales with a hint of nostalgia and some sapphic romance, this novella is for you.

I love the multiverse that Alix E. Harrow created in A Spindle Splintered and I loved being back in it in this book, I just didn't connect with the characters as much this time around.

A Mirror Mended is clever and entertaining sequel in this creative series. Alix E. Harrow presents a strong follow up to her “modern” fairy tale, which reminds her audience how much these tales have continued to impact all of us. The author reintroduces us to her characters from "A Spindle Splintered," and continues their story in the sequel, "A Mirror Mended," so that her audience can experience who is living out their “Happily Ever After.” "Fractured Fables" is another example as to why adults continue to create such tales. Harrow reminds us that we’re never too old to desire (new) fairy tales.

A revisit of the Snow White myth told from the perspective of someone who has revisited their fairy stories over and over again, and knows all too well the power of interpretation.

I hadn't read A Spindle Splintered before reading this (and still haven't), but now I really want to! My enjoyment of the plot didn't suffer, but references to earlier parts of Zinnia's story clearly showed me I'd missed out on a lot. Initially, I thought Zinnia's voice, and the first-person perspective would annoy me, but I think that's because I'm used to a certain tone or style of fairy-tale narration, her world-weary perspective and modern voice grew on me, as I realised it was the perfect way to dismantle some of the more tired tropes, or even just to view them through a different lens, while still including the fairy tale feel, and fantasy peril that is required from every classic tale.

The 'misunderstood', or ''maybe-not-all-that-bad' stepmother is becoming a bit of a theme in itself, to the point that it's not the most original way to twist a tale, but loved that as well as being on the receiving end of the stepmother's wickedness, our heroine is also drawn to her, loved how the queer romance element of the story plays out, after all aren't all villains kind of hot in a way? Like this if you agree so I know it's not just me!

I will go back and read A Spindle Splintered, especially knowing that these are such short quick reads, which, in some ways feels unsatisfying because it tries to pack a lot into such a short novella, but looking at it another way, wow it packs a lot into such a short novella! Love Alix E. Harrow's writing in general, she has a great turn of phrase, this part was quoted by a fellow reviewer called Britt, but I laughed out loud at this while reading it, so I'm going to quote it too, and it sums up the tone of the novella perfectly:

"I would tell you what kind of animal it was, but I have no idea, and looking at it made my brain cramp. So I'll just say it was bad. Like, if a snake fucked a tarantula and their babies died in a tar pit, only to be reanimated by a necromancer who graduated at the absolute bottom of his class."

The review of A Mirror Mended by Alix E Harrow is in the September 2022 issue of SFRevu and is exclusive to them until October 1st. You may read the review using this link:
<http://sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=19854>

Hmmm. I am really grateful for the chance to read this ARC (belatedly!) but I don't think this series is for me. I often struggle with novellas because, for example, this one took me less than 30 minutes - so I don't have time to care, and I don't get invested.

This one was also a little bit confusing, multiverse things often go WAY over my head.

I do like the wit of Zinnia, our protagonist, and of course the sapphic vibes slap!