Set after the events in A Spindle Splintered, A Mirror Mended is a direct sequel, following Zinnia Gray, who has taken to giving other Sleeping Beauties choices in what would otherwise be their story's preplanned ending. It doesn't take long for something to go amiss, though. Zinnia finds herself firmly in a Snow White story but not with Snow White.

A Mirror Mended is all about the person behind the story and the story behind the person. People in these stories aren't just their roles, but everyone still fits into a broader story.

I would say that this is a half step down from A Spindle Splintered. That's not to say this is bad, but I feel like we get less development of Zinnia here. The plot's also a bit fuzzier, and I'm not certain for the best.

That being said, I really enjoyed the queen. Her actions, realizations, and choices were refreshing. I also enjoyed how this brought the duology to an end. It wrapped the entire package up nicely.

As for the narrator, I enjoyed what they brought to the table. No complaints there.

I really loved Harrow's A Spindle Splintered but this one just fell a little flat...I wasn't particularly attached to the new characters introduced and it just felt like our MC was running away from her issues for no real reason, since she had been doing so for 5 years. I will be happy to read more in the series but I hope the next story grabs me a bit more.

I loved A Spindle Splintered in all its weird glory. Novellas tend to be a little off the beaten path and strange, I think it just comes with the territory of it being a shorter read.

So I was super excited to listen to the second novella in this series. The voice was well done, and had the punchiness I am coming to love from Alix E. Harrow. I've enjoyed all her work thus far and I think she's a great newer voice in the industry.

This one did lag a little bit compared to the first novella, however. I felt like some parts went so quickly that I didn't have time to embrace the characters. Especially when it came to the romantic elements. I know it's a novella, but there just wasn't enough time on that particular part for me to feel super connected to the characters.

I did love the consistency of the main character from where we left off in the first book, though.

3.5 Stars (rounded up!)

A Mirror Mended is a continuation of this fantasy-meets-reality twisted fairy tales series, and after reading and enjoying A Spindle Splintered therefore having high hopes, it did not disappoint!

Zinnia has spent the last five years zipping in and out of various fairy tale worlds on her mission to ensure a happy ending for all, except herself. In an unexpected twist of crossed magical wires, Zinnia ends up face to face with the Evil Queen from a dark version of Snow White. However, the Queen is not what she seems, and Zinnia ends up winding a tale of her own to determine what matters to her in life, love, and happiness.

What I appreciated was that, even though I knew it would be a re-telling, I did not anticipate this storyline coming! A unique twist on the tale with a blend of fantasy and reality, I genuinely enjoyed the story and appreciated her ability to take fantasy and bring it home in a meaningful way. Harrow's prose is always enchanting, and the narrator spoke to it beautifully. I also appreciated how she built the characters and their connections, as it really made me feel invested on their happy endings!

What I found a little challenging was the way the storyline jumped a bit, and how the bad things just quickly wrapped up with smooth endings, but without really any effort to get there. It is a short story, though, and some parts I'm sure just couldn't be elaborated on. I felt that this was more character/relationship than plot driven.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio/Tor Books for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review! Full review to be posted on my IG @manis.and.manuscripts on 6/8/22 just before publication week!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan – Tor/Forge for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Harrow's writing and enjoy tales that are told from an unexpected perspective. I did not read the first book of this duology before receiving the audiobook (I had requested it based on my respect for Harrow) and while that didn't completely take away from it, I do think there would have been more depth had I read both.

With that being said... I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I had a hard time really connecting to the characters (again, perhaps reading the first book would make this different). I didn't really buy into some of the plot points due to the lack of depth (which to be fair, is always hard in a novella). It also felt unclear who the audience was to me. It felt too young for young adult and slightly too old for middle school/teens.

But unto the good... The characters are likeable enough and it's fun to see the different interpretations of fairy tale worlds and the multi-verse. There's some sweet moments in the mix as well. It unfolds as a twisted fairy tale would be expected to, but not in an unpleasant overly predicted way.

For those considering the audio, I enjoyed the narrator.

What a pair Alix Harlow and Amy Landon are! The writing is sharp and dark. Whether ut is aiming for humor or horror. It is does both a unique and definitive way

Zinnia continues to be a character worth investing in and rooting for. She isn't perfect (but none of is are). She isa messy and those are her most poignant moments- dealing with her inside turmoil, the context of her life.

The main villain is one you feel guilty for almost completely getting behind because she is ruthless, complex,, and driven by something true to her core.

The character arcs and connections, how characters change over time, is deftly written with each character begrudgingly coming to grips with these changes in their own unique ways- funny and poignant.

Amy Landon is a Goddess of Nareation. She brings both characters to life, giving each the unique perspective, and personality necessary to bring A Mended Mirror to life. Her intonation and cadence are spot on for each situation, line deliverance and ability to emote to the resder.

What happens when you mix a dimension-hopping Sleeping Beauty with the Evil Queen from Snow White and throw in a massive, fairy-tale multiverse? You get Alix Harrow's amazing Fractured Fables series! I love love love love these books - I love Zinnia's snarky narration, I love the idea of fairy tales existing in a multiverse to rival anything Marvel could ever create, and I love how Zinnia just hops from one version of Sleeping Beauty to the next like Loki and Sylvie. This series is just plain awesome, and both books are fairly short, so do yourself a favor and binge read (or listen) to both! The audiobooks are delightful, and Amy Landon manages to capture the pain hiding beneath Zinnia's snark perfectly. 5/5 stars, do recommend, go read A Spindle Splintered now if you haven't.

Such a good read! The narrator was great and I loved this take for an adult story. It was well executed and an engaging short read

I loved how feminist this book was and the f/f relationship. It also had awesome and relatable quotes. The different variants of the Snow White take were interesting and the commentary on the way we usually treat beautiful powerful woman was amazing also. But I feel like we were missing something more… it was a fun book but it would have benefitted from being a bit longer to dove deeper into certain areas.

A quick and entertaining read that turns the story of Snow White that you know on its head.
Our lead Zinnia is a strong female character who doesn't let her terminal illness stop her from accomplishing what she wants in life. Her illness, GRM, is a fictional one so you won't be getting any rep for a specific illness. Also Zinnia is a strong female character in that over-the-top snarky way, so prepare yourself for that.

Zinnia is spending her last year alive traveling through the magic mirror to other “Happy Endings”. She’s seen almost 50.

This novella focuses on Snow White. I love the Zinnia/Evil Queen (Eva) interaction. The message I got was … take control of your life. Make better choices. Be happy.

I enjoyed the Eva/Snow White’s grimdark juxtaposition & the slow realization that they’ve sorta switched demeanors in this version of the story.

Fun quick listen! I can’t wait for book 3!! Perfect length & narration.

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan audio for the advance copy! Pre-ordered the print book. This would make a great series for special edition compilation hardcovers. Hint hint

This is a quirky read and a very different twist on traditional fairytales. There were a lot of fun aspects I enjoyed listening too and I appreciated the very modern take on relationships and love. It actually felt very YA to me and I would’ve probably enjoyed it more going into it with the right mind set.

I also really loved the reference to the “hot nerd” on the Good Place. I’m here for all the topical references! The narrator did an excellent job on this and I think anyone who enjoyed her previous book will enjoy this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the alc in exchange for an honest review!

In the second book of the Fractured Fables series, Zinnia Gray, professional fairy-tale fixer and lapsed Sleeping Beauty, is over the whole rescuing sleeping princesses thing. I mean, there are only so many times you can rescue a damsel in distress, and burn the spindles, before it just gets to be too much. Just when she thinks she can't stand to do it another time, she looks into the mirror, and instead of her face, she sees a shockingly gorgeous face of evil, asking for her help. She gets pulled through the mirror, into the tale of Snow White, where the evil queen wants Zinnia's help getting her out of her own narrative.
This series is so much fun, and this book gave a satisfying and delightful conclusion to Zinnia's story. I love Zinnia's humor. The narrator did a great job with all of the voices, and it was very enjoyable to listen to. It kept me laughing, and there was enough action that I often got to the end of a chapter and decided I had to listen to "just one more". If you are a fan of fractured fairy tales, you will LOVE this!

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow
Narrated by Amy Landon

In the second book of Harrow’s Fractured Fables series, Zinnia has been hopping from universe to universe saving Sleeping Beauties. The last book, A Spindle Splintered, left our heroine with a second chance at life, and now she is spending it running throughout the multiverse barely present for her friends and family at home. On her 50th mission, she finds herself in unfamiliar territory, not in a Sleeping Beauty tale but in a strange version of Snow White. She’s called there not by Snow White but by the “evil queen” of the tale. Which leads to the question: Who is she supposed to be saving?

I absolutely love these series, they are short and humorous, yet able to touch on serious topics. Zinnia studied fairy tales in depth in her college career, so she analyzes her own story from that lens. Plot devices and plot holes abound. Especially poignant is the discussion of agency, the freedom to make ones’ own choices. Zinnia really grows as a character in this second installment and also gets a little romance of her own.

The audiobook was well narrated and well-paced. Because the book is short and fast-paced, I found that I had more trouble following on audio than I would have in book format. This is simply because a minute or two of mind wandering, which usually doesn’t matter with longer books, could make me miss something vital. I also wish I could refer back to some of the parts that talked about story-telling so I could give an example for the review! I enjoyed the illustration and format of the physical version of A Spindle Splintered and missed that aspect this time around. I’ll definitely be finding a physical copy to thumb through when this book is released.

This book wasn’t for me. I didn’t dislike it exactly, but I never got totally into it. The tone is very snarky and meta, the voice felt similar to a character Ryan Reynolds would play oddly enough. That works really well for some people but didn’t land for me.
I appreciated the queer and chronically ill representation. I just didn’t feel connected to Zinnia and the romance storyline felt forced to me. In general, I’m not sure that I would recommend this book often. The voice feels sort of middle grade to me but it has adult content in it that would exclude it from even a YA classification. It is short and funny. It was clearly written by a true lover of fairytales and folklore. I appreciate that. The audio reader was great and made the story really engaging. It was a fun short listen. Just because it wasn’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean that, for the right reader, this book wouldn't be really enjoyable. I just think the audience for this one is really specific and so I won’t find myself recommending it often. I do think for an irreverent adult fairy tale lover, this would be a great recommendation.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ARC.

Loved it! If you liked the first book you’ll love this one too! Enemies to lovers? Everyone’s morally gray? Excellent moral lessons. Fractured fairytale dimension hopping craziness!

If any of the above appeals to you, read these books right now!

You can’t keep running from your story.
Evil queen meets sleeping beauty and they embark on a quest to run away from their stories. This book was very sweet. I loved the dynamic between the two main characters. Also the relationship between Zinnia and Charm and the struggles they go faced when one friend is going through a rough time and how friends can often forget that their friends issues are just as important even if their’s feel bigger. The challenges in the story keeps you very interested but it’s the messages about living your life and not running from you circumstances that really stand on. This is almost an inspirational fantasy book, filled with lots of blunt quotes.

I rated three stars but it’s more like 3.5. I will be continuing the audiobooks in this series.

Thank you to Macmillan publishing and the author for sending me this ARC and audiobook ARC through netgalley

I loved this one more than I did the first one. I especially loved the evil queen cross over. Part of me wished these were longer though.

Zinnia fixes fairytales – she travels through the multiverse to make sure that princesses and damsels in distress get their happy ending. But sometimes when she looks in the mirror, she sees a face that surely doesn’t belong to a princess: it looks more like the face of an evil queen. Zinnia soon finds out that it’s not just the princesses who are trapped in stories they didn’t choose and begins to wonder if it’s ever possible to find a happily ever after for everyone.

This was a fun read that focused on the side of fairytales that isn’t traditionally explored. I really enjoyed the “evil queen” as the anti-hero, as well as the way she was portrayed by the author. The author included some meaningful commentary on traditional fairytales, gender roles, and archetypes of female characters that added interest to this short story.

I felt that the plot was a bit contrived in this work – things just happened to work out or fall into place in ways that didn’t make sense. It felt like this was to get the story where the author wanted it to go, which was a little disappointing. There was some romance included in the work, and while I liked the idea of it between the two characters, it didn’t feel well written to me. It was lacking any sort of real connection or relatability and felt like it was included just for the sake of having some romance.

The narrator of this audiobook did an excellent job. This was a short, easy listen that included some interesting, original ideas. I read this as a standalone work and only felt like I was missing a little bit of backstory, so this could be read on its own.

I received a complimentary copy of this work through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Audiobook received for free through NetGalley

I absolutely loved this book and enjoyed the entire story along with the interesting storyline, setting, characters, and viewpoint. I didn’t realize until 75% through, when looking the author up on Goodreads, that this was the second book in the series showing, I guess, that the book is absolutely understandable as a stand-alone too. Overall a great listen.