Ayleth has been broken by the loss of her beloved sister Rhea, the only one to love her entirely for who she was, the one who protected her, fought for her, taught her, knew her; the betrayal of her lover, Jacquetta; and the cold indifference her mother gives her now that her heir, her favorite daughter is dead. “It should have been you,” hangs in the air between them … unspoken and, at times, spoken. Ayleth is a failure, a disappointment, and alone.

Soon, Ayleth will step into the coven fire and become an ascended witch, sworn to her ancestress, and stand as her mother’s second. Unfortunately, Alyeth doesn’t have any magic. She has no way of knowing if the flames will call to her magic, or cause her death. When she does finally step into the fire, it’s neither her magic nor her ancestress she sees, it’s her sister, Rhea, her spirit reaching across the veil and begging for Ayleth’s help.

Ayleth has no choice, she never did. Much as Rhea would have done anything for her, so Ayleth will do anything to get her sister back, including going to the White City — with its witch hunters and witch killing king — to find the bloodstones. The bloodstones, five of them, are what keeps evil out of the world, but when the White King took the bloodstones, he weakened the veil, and ever since, magic has been fading away … and evil coming in. By getting back the bloodstones, Ayleth might be able to fix the magic, but that’s not her plan. It’s not what she wants or why she’s going. With the bloodstones, she might be powerful enough to reach across the distance between life and death and bring her sister back.

The Crimson Crown is the first book in the Crimson Crown duology, and it’s an excellent story. There are witches, evil kings, and a mysterious religious order trying to replace the power of magic with its own mythology. There are dark portents, evil shadows, court intrigue, and cunning women who know how to use words with the skill and cruelty of an inquisitor. There is magic, animal familiars, magic mirrors, and enslaved dwarves toiling away in the mines. And in the middle of all this is Ayleth, reunited with Jacquetta, the girl she loved.

Ayleth is a wonderful character, deeply flawed, selfish, narrow minded, and foolish. She makes mistakes and she is cruel, though that’s more to thoughtlessness than any deliberate desire to cause harm. And she’s so lonely, so desperate for someone to choose her. She had her mother’s love while Rhea was alive, but when the glorious and powerful daughter was gone and only Ayleth left behind, Ayleth’s mother showed her true emotions, which weren’t kind. Ayleth, with her lack of magic, has been nothing but a failure. Even the girl she loved chose to leave her behind.

In the palace, she trusts the queen, women who are older, who are gentle, who see the young, frightened girl she is — not knowing that fear is because she’s a witch in a kingdom that wishes to burn her alive, thinking she’s simply afraid of the attention of the king. Which she is. Which they all are. The king has decided Ayleth will be his new toy, and no matter how she tries to avoid him, he’s always there, lurking around corners, trapping her into dancing, touching. He wants her, and makes it clear she has no choice.

Strangely, her protection is Jacquetta, though it’s a strange protection. Jacquetta betrayed her; she wants to kill the king and end the witch hunts, and Ayleth scoffs at her simplicity. Kings can be replaced, and who would the blame fall on but the witches? But no matter how they fight, it’s always Jacquetta there when the king gets too close, when the shadows start to close in, when she needs someone to talk to, to lean on, to trust.

This is a slow burn and things aren’t resolved for the couple at the end of this first book. In fact, they’re even worse off at the end of the story than they were in the beginning! It’s also a book with a great deal of world building and plotting, and this is where I have to say that the official blurb for the book does it no favors. It says that this book is a fairy tale retelling, and that takes away from the world the book is creating. This book is its own thing, with characters and plots and themes of its own. Yes, it has certain elements; yes, it is headed in a direction; yes, you’ll catch on quickly … but this is not a retelling, it’s its own thing. I think it’s infinitely better to simply accept this book for what it is rather than to lay expectations on it that it has not asked for. It’s a book about sisterhood, about trust and betrayal, love and grief. It’s about a young woman doing the best she can, only to find herself — again and again — backed into a corner with no options other than the ones other people have chosen for her. She has the best of intentions, the noblest of hearts, but how does that hold up when everyone around her is trying to pull her down, to limit her, to use her for their own goals?

Honestly, I loved this book. I love it for what it is, not what the blurb wants it to be. It’s a unique take on witchcraft with a complex, well done world that feels lived in and honest. I believe every character in here lives in this world, and all of them came with their own motives and ethics. No one felt forced by the plot or pushed by the narrative to do or say something just to make Ayleth’s story easier. In fact, they did everything they could to make it harder, and I cannot wait for the next book in this duology. If any of this sounds fun, please do give the book a try! And do your best to not look at the blurb.

Wow! Heather Walter you have done it again!! I absolutely adored this book from start to finish! I was absolutely over the moon to receive this arc as Heather Walter skyrocketed to being one of my all time favorite authors after her debut Malice, and all of her work since has been truly exquisitely done! She is always so talented at spinning such beautiful arcs for her characters and building such a unique and detailed world I am always immediately drawn in!

There is no shortage of fairy tale retellings out there recently, but Crimson Crown is one of the best that I have read in years! A retelling and origin story for the Evil Queen from Snow White, that takes place in a world of magic and witches and is bound up with courtly intrigue and politics. All of which is based on the Tudor Era, with a story inspired by the life of Anne Boleyn.

The worldbuilding here was truly beautifully executed and I adored every single drop of it! Walter manages to weave together an incredible and unique fantasy world that still feels so vividly rooted in the Tudor era of history. There are so many little details and descriptions that really bring the world to life and give it incredible depth and complexity.

There is a beautifully written sapphic romance, and true to the author’s style; the characters and the development of their dynamic is wonderfully complex and somehow delightfully messy and human. There is something that feels so genuine and real about these characters and their experiences no matter how fantastical the events of the story become. Every twist and turn, every victory and every heartbreak had me on the edge of my seat; cheering Ayleth on or sharing in her pain. Ayleth’s character development … and decent.. is some of the best writing of a “villainous” protagonist that I have ever read!

It's dark, witchy, beautifully written, with exquisite plot, worldbuilding and character development! And it will definitely have you shouting "Good for her!" by the end... at least it did for me! There is genuinely not enough that I can say about how amazing this book is! Not to mention, I'm always a sucker for making the villain also the hero and this is that to PERFECTION! Please, do yourself a favor and read this book! I know I will be reading it many more times to come!

Thank you to Del Rey for this e-ARC!

I really enjoyed this book and thought it did the Evil Queen justice in terms of her 'origin story'. The plot was perfectly paced and Walter's writing pulled you in from the beginning. Although the world and the magic system weren't the most original, I still felt Watler imbued them with enough of her own touch to make them worth reading. I think the twists for the most part were well thought out but weren't perfect.

Ayleth's coming of age was so incredibly heartbreaking to read. I don't want to spoil anything too much in this review. However, she learns that love isn't always enough to make a relationship and that what your taught as a child isn't always correct. I felt for her when she so desperately wanted someone to choose her over their duty just once.

And the ending was an absolute banger! It made the whole book for me.

However, the exposition dump towards the beginning of the book was not as well crafted as it could have been. I also wish there had been one more scene between Ayleth and 'Snow White' at the very end.

Lastly, Sarah J. Maas over used the phrase 'like calls to like' in her books. I don't think it was the right phrasing to use in this one as it really took me out of the story whenever I saw it.

I can't wait for the sequel!!

All reviews going live on 8/28 on Goodreads, Storygraph, Fable, Tik Tok and my blog.

I really enjoyed the beginning... but the main character was kind of insufferable as I read on. I didn't really care about the romance aspect and the story was just moving along too slow. I tried for awhile to keep picking this back up to read it but I was just bored. So I am DNFing.

Prepare to be swept up in the legend of a powerful witch who becomes a queen, and the heatless villain in Snow White's story. In The Crimson Crown, Heather Walter twines together the origin story of the Malevolent Queen, and the tragic life of Anne Boleyn. It is a story of power, what power truly means and empowerment, the lives of women and prejudice they often face, and finding your own power when you have been told you are powerless and stood in the shadows of others for your whole life.

Ayleth is a young woman who is just trying to live and while she does not know what exactly she wants, she knows *this*life isn't it. She has spent her life in the shadow of her beloved sister, who felt like the only person who truly saw her, and is now gone. At the mercy of her mother and her coven Ayleth struggles with what feels like a lack of power; the stress and frustration which sets her on a path to recover precious magical items that will restore the decaying veil keeping malum (dark magic) out, and in turn, hopefully return her sister. But her odyssey leads her to the white castle full of individuals with wandering, watchful eyes, and ulterior motives and her lost love interest, Jacquetta.

The Crimson Crown is suspenseful, there's a lot going on and a lot of history to cover, but Walter masterfully pulls it all together in an explosive ending that left me breathless and ready for the next book in this series!

Happy publication day to Heather Walter and The Crimson Crown!

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”Something is coming. And no amount of magic will be able to hold it back.”

You should read this book if:
- fairytale retellings are your favorite genre
- you’ve got a soft spot for villains & bad guys
- you think apple is superior to pumpkin as a fall flavor
- you’ve already preordered your tickets to the new Wicked movie
- you appreciate a good sapphic love story

Heather Walter earned all my love with Malice and Misrule, and she’s done it again with her newest story. This time, we learn the backstory behind Ayleth, the witch who grows up to become Snow White’s evil queen.

This atmospheric, witchy fantasy is a perfect fall read. It’s filled with covens, curses, rival kingdoms, ancient magic, and something evil lurking just beyond the veil. I enjoyed every minute of it! I especially loved the references to the dwarves, the origin of the Evil Queen’s magic mirror, and all of the carefully-placed Snow White details that the author added. Such ingenuity in her storytelling!

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A huge thank you to Heather Walter, Ballantine, and NetGalley for a digital copy to review!

The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter offers a fresh twist on classic a fairy tale! The world-building is lush, and the magical elements were interesting. I enjoyed the complex characters and the sapphic romance at the heart of the story.
However, the pacing felt uneven at times, with some parts dragging on while others felt rushed. Additionally, while the plot had potential, certain twists and resolutions didn't land as powerfully as I had hoped. Overall, it’s a good read with plenty of magic and drama, but it fell a bit short of the mark for me. If you’re looking for a unique fantasy with a darker edge, it’s worth a try!

We all know the story of Snow White, and but does anyone know the backstory of the evil queen? I didn't think so. This is her story. I would like to introduce you to Ayleth, a young witch who lives in the forest with her coven. The coven has to practice their magic in secret, ever since the White King began his war against witchcraft. The Royal Huntsman killed Ayleth's sister, who was supposed to be the next in line. Now Ayleth is next in line but she hasn't come into her powers yet, and fears she never will. To prove herself, she runs away from the coven, and winds up at the White Palace - having to hide in plain sight. Ayleth discovers the one person she never thought she would see again, the person she loved and lost, the witch named Jacquetta. Ayleth finds herself caught in the web of the White King, whose dark charisma is as dangerous as the sinister force that seems to be haunting the palace—and perhaps even Ayleth herself. With the threat of discovery looming, Ayleth and Jacquetta must set aside the wounds of their past and work together to survive. As she uncovers the secrets of the White Court—and those of her own heart—Ayleth must find the strength to transform into someone she never imagined she could be. A powerful witch, the very wickedest of them all

I love fairytale reimagining's. This one started as a bit of a slow burn, but once it picked up, I loved it. It was so out of character to see Ayleth as this meek and unsure-of-herself young woman versus the wicked queen that we have all grown up with. I really enjoyed getting Ayleth's backstory, and seeing her develop into the wicked queen she was destined to be. I liked seeing all of the layers to her. If you are a fan of fantasy fiction, or just like fairytale reimagining's like myself, you will definitely want to add this to your TBR pile!

In The Crimson Crown we follow Ayleth’s journey from a witchling to the Evil Queen. Ayleth was forever living in her sister’s shadow, held to a standard and forced into a box that just wasn’t her. She was never enough for those around her, and all the poor girl wanted was love and acceptance. As we follow her in her journey through betrayal and heartache, and SO many twists; we witness the birth of a villain who started out with good intentions.

I absolutely loved this book! You can see and relate to why she ends up going down the path that she does, and honestly you end up rooting for it. So many people in her life failed her.

I am so glad that this is a duology! I’m dying to know what happens next. I do hope that she keeps a soft spot for certain characters and I can’t wait to see her in her revenge era!

This was my first book by Heather Walter, and certainly won’t be my last. It is beautifully written and there were SO many twists that I didn’t see coming at all!

Read if you love:
•Dark fairytale retellings
•Sapphic romance
•Witches & Magic
•Villains
•Atmospheric world building

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Crimson Crown is the first book in the Crimson Crown duology by Heather Walter, it is supposed to be the origin story of Snow White it is about a woman and her two daughters in the woman is the head of the sanctum where the witches live but masquerades as a convent because the palace has made it illegal to practice witchcraft. Ria was supposed to be her mom‘s next which is like an apprentice but something happened and Rea is dead and or missing? So now Ayleath, Who is the younger daughter has to step up and she isn’t happy about it. Not only is she mourning the loss of her sister but her lover Jacquetta as well… Does it sound like snow white yet? I didn’t think so either. Despite having a big witch shindig at her home where all the witches have come from far and wide to attend and she’s to be her mom‘s next she decides to set off because she has a plan to get her sister back. As the story goes on you realized she really didn’t have a plan at all, because she almost starves to death loses her familiar nettles and has no idea how to get into the Palace which is where what she needs is. After getting over the fact nothing about this book except for the fact there’s a witch she’s given a magic mirror for her ascent and she a One point in the story almost eats an apple that’s not poison by the way does it resemble anyone from Snow White. Not to mention she has a big complex when it comes to her sister who she misses what is the fact I think that her mom liked Rhea Moore… IDK the book was OK I don’t know if I’ll read the second one but I may just see how it ties in to the beloved Snow White and the seven dwarfs because this one totally did not. #NetGalley, #TheCrimsonCrown, #HeatherWalters, #TheCrimsonCrownDualogy,

Quite honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of Walter’s first duology, which was focused on the villain from Sleeping Beauty. But I do enjoy a fun villain story, and Snow White is a classic, so I was curious to see what the Evil Queen’s story could possibly look like. With a bit of apprehension, I plunged into a world of forbidden magic, religious zealots, women who wish to be more than they are, and so many secrets. Where Malice followed Disney’s Sleeping Beauty too close for comfort, The Crimson Crown brilliantly offers a plausible backstory for the Evil Queen, though I felt it took too long for her to become the villain we all know.

Before she was the Evil Queen, she was Ayleth, a twenty-three-year-old witch living with her coven, waiting to Ascend and receive a greater power, which would be quite something as she’s still waiting for powers of any kind to come in. She’s also set to become her coven’s Second as the daughter of the Heir, the coven’s leader, since her older sister died when the Hunt swept through. It’s a fate she doesn’t want, and when things go horribly awry, she runs, determined to find the Bloodstones at the White Palace, stones imbued with powerful magic to keep the Veil intact and Malum out of the world. But the White Palace is no safer than her isolated coven. Jacquetta, the woman she loved and who abandoned her, is there, too, and Ayleth ends up tangled in the mad White King’s web. With an uneasy truce hanging between them, Ayleth and Jacquetta set off to hide the fact that they’re witches (otherwise they’ll be killed), find the Bloodstones, and bring back Ayleth’s dead sister. Except the king has an eye on Ayleth, the High Priest is watching since Ayleth foolishly saved his life, and Jacquetta is hiding something.

The Crimson Crown is fantastic in that it imagines a powerful backstory for Snow White‘s Evil Queen. It doesn’t try to retell the fairy tale (yet), but instead seeks to make the reader understand where the Evil Queen might have come from. Ayleth starts off as a bit of a wild child, skirting her lessons and duties and running off with Jacquetta as she pleases. After all her sister Rhea is meant to be Second and Ayleth is just the beloved younger daughter and sister no one expects anything from. But she’s suddenly thrust into a role she doesn’t want, ends up with her heart shattered, and desperately waits for her powers to come in now that she’s meant to be Second under a demanding and grieving mother. It’s certainly enough to overwhelm anyone, but it took a long time for her to start to walk down the path of evil. I thought her transition into Evil Queen was far too confined to the end, the story instead taking its time to really explore all the wrongs done to her so her transition is fully expected. I can’t say I was a big fan of this, but I loved that it didn’t try to mold itself into Disney’s movie as I felt Malice did.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of Ayleth. I adored her cat Nettle, though, and I loved her friendship with fellow lady-in-waiting Joan. She even manages to sort of befriend a Dwarf, though Roland was delightfully prickly and prone to only helping when he felt like it. Her friendship with Princess Blodwyn was fun, especially since the princess herself is an absolute delight. I adored her, and I can’t wait to see what happens to her in the next book. Ayleth, though, was a little frustrating to me since I know she’s going to become the Evil Queen. There just wasn’t much of an evil streak in her. She tried so hard to not be evil and instead prove her worth. She was often naive and selfish and, very often, single-minded. It made her feel younger than twenty-three, almost like an adolescent. For someone who grew up under the threat of being discovered as a witch and certain death, she really only managed to think in one direction. She felt more like she wanted to be the good heroine, doing acts of good to save and help people and keep Malum from returning to the world. I would have loved for her deeds and feelings to slowly shift towards evil throughout the story. Instead, I felt the shift was almost instantaneous towards the very end. I loved glimpsing that Evil Queen, but it felt at odds with much of her characterization until that point.

Jacquetta certainly did not help matters. It was so easy to distrust her the entire time, and I often found myself bothered by how she always managed to hang onto Ayleth. The two were almost always paired together, as though Ayleth could not do anything without Jacquetta by her side, and it wasn’t even always because the women wanted to be together. Certainly, Jacquetta was often using her, but there’s one part where I thought only Ayleth was favored, only to find Jacquetta was still hanging on. It’s not that I didn’t like her; she was a fine character on her own. She just kind of rubbed me the wrong way, coming off as stubborn and strong-willed, but also kind of reliant on Ayleth. Weirdly, I actually kind of liked their romance, but it’s easy to see through and, if Ayleth had really opened her eyes, she would have seen that a lot of things would have been a bad idea.

What was a lot of fun, though, was all the court intrigue. I loved how all the courtiers were at each other’s throat, and court was rife with gossip. I had so much fun watching all of them spin their lies and webs, and no one was spared. I did feel sorry for the queen, though, and I wish things had gone better for her. There was just so much going on, from the ladies trying to undermine each other and take sides to the Longest Night celebrations going on with all their tricks and pageantry to the pure goddess’s High Priest keeping some big secrets and having many eyes and ears everywhere. I loved being in the White Palace, I adored all the intrigue, and I was fascinated by all the machinations.

The Crimson Crown is something of a character sketch. It seeks to help readers really understand where the Evil Queen came from and how she transformed. It uses Ayleth’s sister and the hunt for the Bloodstones to showcase Ayleth and offered something of a mystery. But I sometimes felt it just served to either lengthen the story or prove Ayleth was forced into being evil because doing otherwise wasn’t helping her at all. I quickly found the hunt for the stones to be tiresome and the mere idea that these stones were keeping the Veil intact a little ridiculous. If the goddess Meira is so powerful and is keeping Malum from the world, then why is she letting things liked the dreaded Nevenwolves through? There’s a history to this world where the witches were the ones who sealed Malum, and yet the very things used to keep Malum locked up have been stripped and the women who feed their power into it are hunted. It just didn’t make much sense to me. Similarly, there are other countries out there who would also benefit from Malum being sealed, and yet they’re no help whatsoever to the witches. So it stands to reason that all the witches should want to burn down the world and turn into a coven of Evil Queens. But they don’t

That said, I did enjoy reading The Crimson Crown. I had a lot of fun with it and everything it had to throw at Ayleth. The supporting cast was wonderful, and even Ayleth managed to make me root for her now and then. Of course, that was also tempered by my desire to slap some sense into her now and then, but that also went for Jacquetta. There were things that made me ask some serious world building questions, but, if I just look at this as the rise of the Evil Queen, I think I can see it, and so I appreciate her story. I am certainly looking forward to how the second book will play out as I can neatly see how Snow White‘s story will unravel and I’m eager to see what Walter will do with it, and with Ayleth and Jacquetta.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

A delightful wicked queen origin tale, THE CRIMSON CROWN is the story of Ayleth’s rise from mere witch to powerful and evil queen. Chronicling her journey from childhood to now, we get a glimpse of her life and what eventually led to this phenomenal transformation. She meets quite a few people along her journey and I liked getting a glimpse of the events and the people who shaped her. ⁣
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The world-building in this one is rich and intricate and I loved the different layers to it. There’s also a really unique element involved that helps cast a foreboding pall to this world, and that was a really great addition to an already immersive world. The magic system is unique, the characters were interesting, especially Bloodwyn and her backstory, and all combined to make this a compelling and fresh take on a familiar tale. ⁣
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All told, THE CRIMSON CROWN is a wonderful addition to the world of dark retellings, and certainly one I recommend. The ending alludes to much more to come, and I’ll be patiently waiting for the next book in this duology. Definitely pick this one up if you’re a fan of:⁣
⁣
🪞Evil Queen/Snow White retellings⁣
🪞Dark fairytales with a bit of whimsy ⁣
🪞Sapphic romance with mild spice ⁣
🪞Villain origin stories ⁣
🪞Dynamic FMC who undergoes one heck of a personal transformation ⁣
🪞Dimensional and interesting side characters ⁣
🪞Immersive world-building⁣
🪞Witches and witchcraft

the crimson crown by heather walter is an immersive dive into a gothic fairy tale fantasy, complete with dwarves, beasts, quests, political intrigue, and, of course, witches. we follow Ayleth, a witch grieving the loss of her dear sister while trying to establish her place within her coven. Ayleth is sharp and determined, and this drive leads her far away from home in search of a way to bring her sister back, into messy entanglements with mortal royals, and even messier entanglements with the girl who once broke her heart.

this was magical and eerie, bloody and mysterious. this was incredibly well-paced. I remember telling my girlfriend that I somehow managed to fly through most of the 500-page page book in a little over a day because of how gripped I was by the plot. the leading characters are gritty and real, and the full cast of supporting characters is intricate and given their own space to develop throughout the story.

this was equal parts snow white and jude duarte from the cruel prince

needless to say, I loved this. the sapphic tension. the gothic royalty. the witch covens, the crowns, hearts, and hunts.

fantastic and beyond excited that this is the first installment in her new duology!!

Thanks to Del Rey for the ARC!

A villain origin story?? Sign me up! I adored the POV of this novel blended with the witchy vibes. It was a little too on the slow side for my personal taste, but overall this is a solid witchy novel with sapphic romance, enemies to lovers, and morally grey characters.

I adore Heather Walter's books and was so thrilled to get an early copy of The Crimson Crown! Fairytale retellings focusing on villains are always an easy sell for me. So I was completely in for a Snow White retelling focusing on the creation of the Evil Queen. Ayleth is a really great main character. She has strength but is also dealing with the devastating loss of her sister and a fairly abusive relationship with her mother. I found her relationship with Jacquetta so interesting and complex. The world felt so detailed and lived in. I also really enjoyed the magic system. That ending had me on the edge of my seat! I can't wait to get to the conclusion of this duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a Snow-White story like you have never heard before. This story is loosely based on the fairy tale that we all know. The writing in the book is beautiful and Ayleth’s journey throughout this book is captivating, dark, and just hits all the right notes. I think this is a book that would resonate with readers who are teens, adults, or anyone who loves a fantastic fairy tale retelling. This book is fresh, enchanting, and I am hoping that there will be more to Ayleth’s story, or that we might get another villain’s story.
Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Del Rey, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

4⭐️

The Crimson Crown, a loose retelling of Snow White, gives a gripping backstory to the witch, Ayleth, who would one day become the Evil Queen in Snow White’s fairytale. Heather Walter does a beautiful job of spinning beautiful imagery and intriguing world building, creating a well thought out world for Ayleth to interact with.

After the death of her sister, Ayleth is now her mother’s heir and intended Second. But during her Ascension when her powers still haven’t manifested, she reaches out for her sister beyond the veil and is marked by Malum. This adds just one more example of her proving to be a disappointment to her mother and earns her an extra layer of scrutiny from the other covens. Ayleth’s solution is simple- find the lost Bloodstones to bring back her sister and strengthen the veil that is beginning to crumble. Her sister can reclaim her position as Second and Ayleth is free from her sister’s shadow. But what will happen when her plans lead her to the White Palace and in court with the very king responsible for her sister’s death, and the witch who broke her heart?

While I found this book intriguing from the start, it was a little difficult to get into for reasons I don’t quite understand. I enjoyed Ayleth’s character, though at the beginning before leaving the Sanctum she did come across as a bit childish. I absolutely loved the imagery throughout the book which was descriptive and steeped in lore. This book is definitely more of a political intrigue kind of book, not a romantic one like I thought. The romantic relationship between Ayleth and Jacquetta was lacking. The slowburn did not have a satisfying payoff, and the twist at the end spurring Ayleth’s descent into villainhood did not have the shock value it needed because I just didn’t feel invested in their relationship. It felt as if the relationship was only there to serve as the final push into Ayleth’s newfound power.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. The last 30-40%, I could barely put the book down. I’d recommend if you love all things witchy and enjoy political intrigue with queer representation. Thank you to everyone at NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm not sure what's up with me, but it's definitely me--this book is well written and I love the idea of the story! But I just didn't vibe with this when I picked it up. It's definitely a mood reader problem. Based on the story and a flip through, I would probably give this about 3.5-4 stars, so that's what I'm giving it for now. If I pick it back up, I'll update my review! I love a backstory and I'm absolutely a villain lover, so I expect I'll like it when it hits at the right time!

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House, and Heather Walter for the ARC.

I loved Malice, so when I heard that Heather Walter was releasing a villain origin story for the evil queen I was so excited!

Like Malice, this is a book where we support women’s rights, but we especially support women’s wrongs. Well, some women’s. Jacquetta knows what she did.

It took me a few tries to get into the story, but then I read the last 80% in a day, so it definitely hooked me. If you’re going into this expecting a Snow White retelling, you’re going to be disappointed—but if you like your retellings to be more loose inspirations, then this is definitely for you. Personally I would have preferred to have had a few more nods to the inspiration.

Nettle 100% stole the show (as is only right and proper for a cat). And Blodwyn was easily my favorite human character because who doesn’t love a terror of a princess?

4.25/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC.

I love a good retelling, but one from a villian's P.O.V with a Sapphic twist? I had high hopes for this book and Heather Walter exceeded my expectations with this story!

While this story focuses on Ayleth, (Snow White's witch) it also has immersive world building which draws you into the story and helps to keep you there.

I really enjoyed Ayleth's character though I did occasionally find myself wanted to scream at her for some of the choices she made.

Overall, if your looking for gothic witchy vibes to add to your TBR this fall, I definitely recommend picking up this book! But be warned, your going to wish the second book was out already!
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me a chance to review book!