Honestly, I feel like this just lacked something that would keep me invested. The only reason I even continued reading is because I wanted to know how this version of the story would change the glass coffin, waking Snow up scene. While I think the setting was well done and the changes to the original fairytale were unique, every time I put the book down it was pretty easily forgettable for me and it just didn't hold my heart like I thought it would.

I think for me it was the writing style that didn't draw me in. Usually slower paced stories like this are perfectly fine for me but it just felt so simple and it sort of lacked the depth I needed to keep me engaged. I think this will definitely find the right audience because the ambiance and characters were interesting enough, but sadly it just wasn't the right fit for me.

If you say "fairytale retelling" I say "give me". Added to the fact that this is part of the Cinder and Glass universe, I was sold before I even realized it was about Snow White. I'm obsessed with this series, obsessed with Melissa's retellings, and obsessed with these covers. Suffice to say, I recommend this stunning book to everyone. i loved the magic, the story, and Claudia's character of the Evil Queen. I thought Sophie and Philip's romance was so cute and their chemistry was to die for ever since their first dance. The nods to the original tale made my heart so happy and I seriously hope there are more books to come.

Fun to see a fresh and more historical take on Snow! Will be interesting to see if this is what they base the new movie off of or not.

A new retelling of Snow White! The story follows Lady Sophie, also known as Snow White. Lady Sophie has lived a sheltered life and when her father remarries it is also the time Sophie will make her debut. Sophie is excited to meet the new woman who will become her stepmother and to meet her potential suitors. One suitor in particular catches her eye, Prince Philip, heir to the Spanish throne. Yet their love was never meant to be as the King of Spain has other plans for Philip and the more Philip fights back the more at danger Sophie’s kingdom is at. It reaches the point where the King of Spain has finally ordered Sophie to be killed, now Sophie will have to rely on her own wits and the help of seven children in order to survive and save her home. This was definitely an interesting retelling as it felt a bit more grounded with the whole Duke and princess etc, aspect as well as it involving Spain, England, and other real places. The romance however was just not for me, I really didn’t feel their chemistry or anything but I did enjoy the fact that there is no evil stepmother and that Sophie had an actual relationship with her new stepmother. If you enjoy fairytale retellings definitely give this one a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was a really good Snow White retelling. If you are a fan of the Disney movie or the show Once Upon A Time you will like this one.

3.7, but i'm rounding up because this could have gone wrong in so many ways but always managed to hold itself together. I didn't like that basically everyone except snow is hiding something, with varying degrees of resolution, and I felt snow should have made it into the woods considerably sooner in the story. But. For all that, the rest basically works.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this one! I really loved the last book so I was really looking forward to this one and it lived up to my expectations I think! It was an interesting take on the Snow White story. I liked not being able to tell if certain characters were actually good or not and being suspicious. It made for a very entertaining reading experience.

Snow & Poison

Likes:
Relationship with Claudia
7 orphans as the 7 little dwarves
Fast read

The story lacked development.
The Witch character was interesting & deserved more development.
I was left with questions like: How did Sophie and Phillip help the village?

Relationship:
Sophie and Phillip’s relationship also needed to be developed. I did not buy into the Insta-love.
I’m not sure the target age range for this story, but since the sex scene didn’t fade out, I’d say go ahead and add more details. How is the reader supposed to be believe Sophie’s first time was pain free and she found her pleasure without foreplay?

Snow & Poison was a wonderful retelling on an old fairytale! I loved Sophie and her relationships with the other characters in the book especially with her stepmother and Phillip. While I do read much YA and I did enjoy this book , it seems to be written mostly for the younger age of the YA spectrum.

EXCERPT: "For as many of them as there are, it seems like there’s no such thing as fairytale retellings becoming 'overdone.' Even as such retellings remain popular, there always seems to be a new angle from which they can be explored. Melissa de la Cruz’s Snow & Poison is an example of that. Similar to de la Cruz’s previous Cinder & Glass, there’s nothing that feels original or extraordinary about this rendition of the Snow White tale. For fans of retellings that stick closely to the plot, however, there’s just enough tribute to the Snow White story and interesting elements to give Snow & Poison the entertainment it demands."

Full review published online at Asia Pacific Arts Magazine.

Certainly an interesting take on the Snow White tale. It was also interesting to learn in the authors note that there is a small historical basis for the story.

The little cultural aspects that were woven into the book were a nice touch.

I really loved seeing the elements of the story and how they could’ve been twisted over rumor and time to resemble the story we know today.

In some aspects Claudia and Sophie were strong characters while in others they felt very weak. And their moments of strong and weak just seemed to depend on the scene.

There was a very slow point from in the middle of the book where just nothing seemed happen and I was wondering if we were even to see any of the Snow White elements.

I loveeee Melissa’s books and would love you interview Melissa for Raise Your Words. Snow & Poison is an incredible retelling on Snow White.

I adored this version of Snow White!! It had a more realistic twist with a tiny bit of magic and it was amazing. I was hooked after reading the first chapter. The antagonist isn’t the traditional “evil step mother”, but someone you wouldn’t have expected. At the end of the novel, the author states that this story was inspired by the REAL story of Snow White that took place in Balvaria. I had no idea so that was a nice touch!