Member Reviews

I really love fairytale retellings. This one was very different and unique. the different POVs were very fun. Azure was such a great main character. I love the sapphic romance. The smut was great. Overall I just liked this book. I look forward to the next book. I felt things were a little rushed. This created some of the plot to be missed in my opinion. I would read again though. Just wish it was a bit longer.
(thank you to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.)

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this novel. I am rating this book based the stars due to lack of time to leave a full review. #NetGalley #SnowWhite

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Thank you to NetGalley and Rose and Star Publishing for my arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

Another retelling of a classic fairy tale, Jeanette Rose and Alice Callisto's "Snow White" was honestly a lot of fun to read! I loved that Snow was not just a POC but also gay and I LOVED Azura. I also really enjoyed that this was a dual POV cause it really helped to build the tension between Snow and Azura. While this retelling fell into holes that I think is super common with fairy tale retellings (nods to other versions of the story, a clear desire to be "different" from other retellings, etc.) I still thought this was pretty enjoyable.

I will say that the wordy time it took for descriptions of appearances was just a bit too heavy handed for me. I think had these descriptions been more sparse and utilized only for emphasis, it would have worked better for me but I found them to be so often and so tedious that it really took me out. One other issue I had has to do with the main romance in this book; Azura is becoming Snow's stepmother and they have a pretty quick romance. While I loved it (and them), it IS incredibly weird and creepy at the heart of it. No one wants to think about a stepmother and stepdaughter having intimate relations. Another thing that bothered me was just how close this retelling stuck to the Disney retelling. I never loved the Disney movie and as an adult, it's my least favorite of any of the classic Disney princess movies. This story seemed to have borrowed a lot from that version and it really didn't need it to be honest.

All in all, this book was fun to read but in hindsight and as a whole, I probably wouldn't read it a second time.

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This is the first fairytale retelling that I have read, and whilst I enjoyed parts of it, in all honesty there were things about it that either irritated me or that I plain didn’t like.
It was interesting how it was told in POV rather than the traditional narrator style, but it would have been better and smoother reading if it were the POV of one character.
Snow White was too immature for me, constantly giggling, which made some of the romance and intimate parts of the story seem a bit off. I understand that her character needs to retain the innocence, but I don’t think this was achieved as well as it could have been.
However, I enjoyed the introduction of the LGBTQIA element of the story, that was a real twist.
Overall I think this story had the makings of a good book, but it just missed the mark by a little bit. But for some I’m sure it will really hit the spot.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

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A great retelling of a classic fairytale - with a twist! I loved the fact Snow White was POC, and it wasn't made to be part of the plot, it just was. The different characters from other fairtales intertwined was also a lovely touch.

I did think it was very fast-paced, and some of the plot could have been stretched out, to create more tension and suspense and just explained in a little more detail, not just spanning over a couple of pages. It all happened too quickly and part of the plot was lost because of that. I also feel like Snow was too naive for my taste, it was overplayed a bit too much. The plot was great I just wish it had been drawn out a little more.

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Snow White by Jeanette Rose & Alice Callisto.
Ever after book 1.
The Evil Queen in the Making…From the time she was a child, Azura was consumed with the need to consolidate power. Unlike those born as Vessels for Elemental spirits, Azura is forced to practice Dark Magic, her powers fueled by the remains of supernatural creatures. But the remains are finite, the Mystical woods not replenishing in the speed she requires, in order to fuel the dark spells she needs, she will need to marry into a Royal Bloodline. A Royal bloodline which drips with Elemental Power, which produces not just one Vessel, but two. The crown of Lithelle is hers for the taking, finally about to become the evil queen she was born to be.
Her touch makes you shiver…Born as the Vessel of the Ice Elemental, Snow White has always been kept apart from those around her. When her father announces he intends to invite all the eligible ladies and princesses from the surrounding kingdoms in the hopes of finding a new wife, Snow’s tender heart races with excitement. A chance to finally make friends, to no longer be alone, to be *warm.*Dark meets Ice…Azura is immediately drawn to the dark beauty with the scent of frosted apples, temptation wrapped in a perfect bow. Snow dreams of Azura’s touch and kiss, though feigns to only want friendship at the risk of losing her. Yet, something is lurking in the forest just out of sight, about to tear them apart…forever.
Absolutely brilliant. I loved it. Different retelling on fairy tales. Great story and characters. 5*.

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Snow White is the first book in the Ever After series and is a sapphic dual POV fairytale retelling *squeals in excitement*.

The perfect read for pride month!

Azura is the perfect morally grey villain we all know and fall madly in love with. A boss b*tch who knows what she wants, we love her. Snow is the perfect bubbly sunshine girlie I can’t help but love, she’s innocence and pure joy personified and she’s the perfect light to Azura’s dark.

I just love a retelling and especially a fairytale retelling, so it’s no surprise that I flew through this book in 2 days! 2 days!! It was fast-paced, spicy, action filled and the love story between Azura and Snow was so beautiful. And what about that smut?!?! Holy hell!! It gets steamy and I am here for it!! I also absolutely loved the little Easter eggs throughout the book, they’ve got me so excited for the next book in the series!!

The only thing that I wish the story had was more detail and longer more drawn out ending. It sort of felt rushed, especially towards the end of the book. There wasn’t much time to truly dove into all the amazing details within the book, such as the Fae or Azura’s mother. To me it just felt like I was left wanting more. More out of the characters and their growth, more from the plot and more world building. But this might just be me wanting the book to never end.

If you’re looking for a smut filled, fast-paced, sapphic fairytale retelling, then look no further!

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As always, I love fairytale retellings. This one was certainly interesting, and I enjoyed the nods to Disney specifically, but I can't say it was a favourite. While I know fairytales are known for insta-love, I just couldn't get behind it in this one. I craved more development for the two characters than what we got over the span of maybe a few weeks? (It was quite hard to tell how much time was passing and what that meant for the characters). There was also some inconsistency between characters I found. The whole Belle thing at the start...really not a fan, but I preferred how she was after. I am intrigued to read more of this series, just to see how the stories differ from the original but overall, the characters themselves let it down for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Since she was a child, Azura has been consumed with the need for power. The world is divided into those lucky few born as Vessels for Elemental Spirits, and those like Azura, who practice Dark Magic. Her powers are fueled by the lives of supernatural creatures, but the fuel is finite, the Mystical Woods not replenishing it fast enough to satisfy her needs. In order to complete her spells, she must marry into a royal bloodline. A royal bloodline dripping with Elemental Power that produces not just one Vessel, but two. If she marries the king, she will finally become the evil queen she was born to be.
A really good retelling of a good fairytale story with romance I couldn’t put it down totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Rose And Star Publishing LLC
I just reviewed Snow White by Jeanette Rose & Alice Callisto. #SnowWhite #NetGalley

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Azura is a woman in want of power, an evil queen in the making.
Snow White is an outsider, desperate to belong.

I adore fairytale retellings, especially when they take on new shape. (It'd be dull if we already knew how they were going to end, right?) So an LGBTQIA+ retelling definitely piqued my interest.

From the first page, Rose and Callisto's prose is strong, putting you in Azura's skin and making you root for her in the worst ways. For compelling writing alone, this book is a hidden gem. As a bonus, you can find subtle nods to other Disney works throughout. But at the end of the day what really matters is that Snow White leaves you rooting not for Azura or Snow, but for love.

The romance is sweet, albeit a little too quick-moving in my opinion and... odd?
It was extremely difficult in the beginning to look past the idea of a princess and the woman looking to become her step-mother finding chemistry. But alas, here we are.

For making you feel like an ooey-gooey underbaked lesbian chocolate chip cookie, this book might be just what the doctor ordered.

My biggest qualm is really how much time is spent describing appearances. I know the magic mirror and vanity are key components of the fairy tale this work was based on, but I really don't think I need to know four times in a single chapter how stunning a woman's violet gown looked on her.

So for giving me feels, I'll give this one 4/5, despite the usual detractors of instalove and unnecessary description.

[Thank you to NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

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I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Copy provided by Rose and Star Publishing LLC.

2/5 stars.

I think the one thing this book did really well was weaving together details of various fairytales seamlessly, without making it feel forced. Bits and pieces of familiar stories were woven in, making it feel like a cohesive world. My biggest issue was largely Snow White's personality. I feel like the author was intending for her to be older (like 18+) but the reliance on innocence made her come across as very juvenile and honestly annoying. And it's really hard to get into a romance when a character is described as constantly "giggling".

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I liked the twist on the classic story. The characters were interesting. Love that there will be more to come. At times the story got confusing between the 2 characters but overall I enjoyed the book. Am looking forward to more. Thanks #netgalley and #RoseandStarPublishingLLC for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

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This story would have been more enjoyable if it focused on only one character, Azura or Snow. Because the story is told from both characters there is a focus mainly on what is going on around them and their feelings.. This leaves little to no room for world building and throughout the entire book little is known about the characters other than what is revealed in the first quarter of the book.
Snow is meant to be a naive and innocent girl who has just turned eighteen. At the beginning of the book she reads very much like a child but soon after her pov contradicts that narrative.
Azura is meant to be an evil force, however it doesn't come across that way as her magic is not used often.
The story for the most part has a slow pace to it but the ending is very rushed with too much happening very fast. Despite the minimal world building it was interesting to see how the authors incorporated other fairytale characters into their book.

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I think I would've enjoyed the story more if it was single pov from Azura as Snow came off as overly childish at times in her chapters. They both also had some "not like other girls" moments but they made less sense coming from Snow and I felt like her personality kind of flopped around at times. The steamy scenes were well written but there were some questionable parts at times (like what felt like an excessive amount of "dripping"). The ending felt a bit rushed and I'm not too fond of cliff hangers

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The plot and story line were fantastic, and the characters were portrayed perfectly! It has just the right amount of spice, world building, and sapphic romance elements.

It’s definitely a more inclusive retelling/adaptation of Snow White, and I think that lots of people will find comfort in this book.

I also liked how magic was not presented as either good or bad. I thought it was interesting how it was shown to be something that comes at a price, something which lots of books tend to avoid.

Overall I would definitely recommend this,

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3.75
Pros: sapphic snow white and witch? Sapphic Belle???! The writing is so beautiful when especially when it shows how much Azura yearns for Snow White; Also to build a fantasy world in a 200-paged book is kinda amazing; there’s a sequel.

Con: the plot was somewhat rushed, confusing, and packed; some motifs are overused; there’s a sequel.

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** Received a copy for review.*
I love a retelling. Especially if it’s a mash up with new or different elements. This book definitely fits that bill.
There are some things I really .enjoyed in this story.
The various fairytale folk that are represented. The mixing up and restructuring of the characters. The different representations of familiar characters.
However, about 1/2 way through, the desire to be different starts to muck up the story. The competition for her father is the initial storyline but it gets pushed aside and then pulled back out. It messed with the continuity of the story.
I really liked the intent but the execution got in its own way.

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This is a fast-paced romantic fantasy and overall I enjoyed it, especially the main two characters! I would have liked to see more of pretty much everyone, and further expansion on certain events that moved very quickly.

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This was so entertaining and such a cool/interesting take on classic fairytales. It was so nice to see poc and lgbtq+ representation in a fairytale setting. I loved the opposites attract trope!! And this has some of the best wlw spice I have EVER read. Sometimes things felt a bit underdeveloped, but I will definitely be continuing on with the rest of the series!!

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Snow White by Jeanette Rose and Alice Callisto is a fantasy story following our main characters, Snow White and Azura. This is book one in the Ever After series.

This sapphic book was just what I needed to kick off pride month! I’m not sure if the butterflies in my stomach are from the book or the turbulence on the plane I read it on but either way, this was such a good read. It had the darkness that you expect from Snow White’s story but spun in a new light to make it very fresh.

I would not say this book is a retelling of the Snow White story as the main premise is very different but it alludes to the classic fairy tale several times throughout the book.

Snow White is very sheltered and innocent in this book. Very pure, she is a character we know and love and can get behind. The chapters from her pov capture that innocence without making her seem like too childish, which is a hard line to not cross. She is trying to deal with everything going on around her. Her father needs a new wife and has decided to have a competition (think The Bachelor) to find a new wife. Snow White begins to grow close to one of these women but can’t figure out if it is friendship or perhaps something more?

Azura is a dark force. Single mindedly focused on the mission at hand, her plan is to secure the throne at any cost. Manipulation and quick witted resourcefulness being only a few of the tools in her arsenal, Azura can practically feel the crown on her head. That is until she decides that getting to know the king’s daughter may give her a leg up in the competition. Azura is faced with the possibility that her cold heart could be warmed by the sweet princess.

And the story continues from there. There are some magical elements to this story as well as a few appearances from characters we know in other stories. I really loved reading this because it was a fresh take on the very over saturated retelling market. My only complaint is I wish this book was about fifty pages longer. I feel like some parts of the book, we just got the bare minimum and I wanted to learn a lot more. People on this world can become Vessels for the elements and I wanted to explore more of that aspect.

I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of spicy fairy tales, morally gray characters, and a fresh take on Snow White’s story. I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars overall.

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