I was fortunate to receive an eARC for this book from the publisher!

I had a really good time reading this. I thoroughly enjoyed the magic system and world building that Andrea Hannah did in this book. The take on Snow White was one I hadn't read before; although it's not one I have read many retellings for.

The main cast of characters were interesting and the way they all interact and connect to the others was interesting and can definitely be built upon in a sequel. Which this book should definitely have!

I'm excited to see where this story will continue in Roanfrost.

DNF

After at least the 10th time tears flooded Snow’s eyes, I searched in the book, and 50 times she’s brought to tears in this. She is weak and boring. I can deal with unlikable characters if the story is good, but I’m bailing at 50% because there is nothing Sapphic about this yet and it’s going nowhere.

What a captivating retelling of Snow White! The author’s fresh and original take on this classic tale had me hooked from start to finish!
The story begins after Snow awakens from a twenty-year slumber, only to find that the forest is nothing like it was before the incident with the poisoned apple.

The seven dwarves are replaced by mossfolk, each connected to a different tree. Twenty years after Snow White eats the poisoned apple, she awakens to find the land drastically changed, cursed by blight. Her evil stepmother is dead, and her stepmother’s daughter, Iliana, has ascended to the throne. Iliana is more powerful than her mother in some ways, but she lacks the ability to control nature enough to restore the land. To do so, she must become the Seasonkeeper—and for that, she needs Snow White or at least her heart.

As Snow White evades capture by Iliana and the mossfolk who once cared for her, she also faces the dangers of the feral beasts that now roam the land. Along the way, she will discover her deep connection to nature and slowly realize that her past complacency and passivity have kept her from unlocking her true power.

Overall, this was a gripping, well-written book with memorable characters and a setting that leaps off the page. Andrea Hannah has a way with words that I LOVE, and I can't wait to read more of her work!

“The Wildest Things” is billed as a sapphic retelling of Snow White in which Snow awakens after twenty years to find her land in ruins, her friends irrevocably altered, and must fight to regain her power. Working against her is of course the evil queen, and her daughter, the main love interest; however, this love interest was more of a presence than an actual character until nearly halfway through the book. The whole things reads like a sequel to a book that should have been written first, but since there is no first installment, the reader must mire through paragraphs on paragraphs of poorly timed exposition and worldbuilding, and guess at the rest. I also didn’t find anything about the fantastical world or characters here particularly original or creative. There is the occasional red herring and plot twist, but it’s a fairly straightforward story without much satisfactory character development or nuance added to the known fairy tale.

I love re-telling stories especially when the author makes the bold choice to turn the story down a dark avenue. The world building in this book really adds to the storyline. The characters in the book are flawed but come to terms with the darkness that they are dealing with. Love the slight nods to the classic Snow-White vibes but really enjoy the variations.

Okay, now this is good.

I've read many retellings which tend to be such a hit or miss for me, but damn was this one good.

I've read a few Snow White retellings and this one has to be the most unique one yet and I'm here for it.

Snow White, the princess we all know has a bite of a posion apple and that's how her story ends. With this Snow White, the story is the same, except she has freed herself from her glass coffin. Rising from it as if she has been been in it for mere hours.

Need more of a twist? It's been 20 years since Snow died. Now alive, she must figure out what has happened and how to bring this kingdom back from such a nightmare.

Old friends betray Snow, a new friend comes along to save and help Snow. An evil queen looking to take her heart. Its everything know but in a whole new twisted way that keeps you hooked until the very last word.

Sometimes a book just works incredibly well, and this book was that book. It is such a great retelling of Snow White. Snow White has always been my favorite fairytale so when I heard of this book, I jumped at the opportunity to read it, and it was just so good. Making it sapphic was just the icing on the cake. Our main character in this book was fantastic. She really embodied everything that I imagined Snow White would be and then some. There is so much going on in this book with her waking up years later and dealing with her life and what the world has become. I would say she goes on a great self-discovery mission figuring everything out and I loved every minute of it. The mossfolk were fabulous as well. This one ended in such a way that I will be thinking of it for a long time.

Oh, and I do want to say that the cover art is just phenomenal. Love it.

If you’re looking for a sapphic retelling of snow white that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then check this one out.

Let me start off by saying I love that this is a sapphic romance. I can’t get enough of them. Secondly I love that it’s a Snow White retelling because I need a fantasy world instead of my own right now. I loved the true words of romance in this book and how much they would sacrifice for each other.

I completely lack the understanding of any reviews under 5 stars for this sapphic retelling of Snow White. The only reason I’d accept a lesser rating is if it’s because it’s too “dark” for some people, but honestly I absolutely loved it! I am a person who loves retellings I all their magic…and decay in some instances. This story was amazing. It begins where most retellings may end with this story, but it’s absolutely spell binding and the author did a fantastic job of genuinely revamping the story into something entirely new, yet comfortably known. If you haven’t read this, please do!

Snow White retellings are not nearly as popular as her other fairytale companions, but Hannah's sapphic retelling proves why they shouldn't be overlooked! It is as enchanting as it is gut-wrenching, weaving a spellbinding tale of love, power, and redemption. Snow’s internal battle and the decayed world she navigates are front and center, but it’s the exploration of her darker impulses and inner conflict that will blow you away! More than a fairy tale, this is a powerful journey of self-discovery that will stick with you for sure!

4.5 stars

I had difficulty focusing on this book. I tried very hard to like this one because I enjoy reimagining tales such as Snow White. The world building was good, I think the different descriptions of each character was brilliant, but not entirely sure what it was that I just couldn’t enjoy it was much as I thought I would. Very sorry. Thank you anyway for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Perhaps I need to read it again.

Actual Rating 2.5

This work is told from dual POVs – one is Snow, the second is The Mirror. The Mirror’s chapters were mostly used to provide insight into what the Evil Queen was doing as well as background/history of the story. While this was helpful in some instances, it did certainly slow down the story. Something the author did quite well was incorporating the setting and various details that helped to bring the world to life. This ranged from little things such as how something smelled to different types of berries to wildlife. Similarly, I enjoyed the way that the author incorporated elements of the original tale but still made them new, such as with the mossfolk. The effort put into these aspects was evident and added much to the book. I also liked the magic

But this work is very YA. It was predictable (yes, I know it was a fairytale retelling) in almost every aspect (e.g., of course she’s going to find the evil queen hot, of course she’s going to be insta-besties with dude but there’ll probably be a misunderstood “betrayal” thrown in to add some tension, etc.) It was surprisingly slow for a YA read and it did drag in several spots while still managing to end on a cliffhanger with very little resolved.

If you’re interested in a YA fantasy based on Snow White, then you’ll likely enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for allowing me to read this work, which will be published 25 February 2025. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Book: The Wildest Things
Author: Andrea Hannah
Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars

I want to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC. I could not get into this one. It is not the book’s fault, but rather my problem. It has a lot going for it, but I found it very difficult for me to get into the story. It might be because Snow White is not a favourite fairytale of mine.


Twenty years after biting the poisoned apple, Snow White awakens to a kingdom in ruins. The once-vibrant land of Roanfrost is now a decaying wasteland, ravaged by a mysterious plague. Determined to restore her kingdom and uncover the truth, Snow embarks on a perilous journey that will test her strength and unravel everything she thought she knew about herself. Old friends turn into enemies, new alliances are forged, and the Queen with blood-red lips will stop at nothing to claim both Snow’s heart and her power. To save the kingdom and all of Garedenne, Snow must become the Seasonkeeper, the key to unlocking the life-giving magic that can heal the land. But the path to becoming the Seasonkeeper is fraught with danger—and as the wild things awaken, Snow's darker instincts might be the very thing that saves or destroys them all.

The setup for this one is very interesting. We have Snow White, who the world thought was dead comes back. She left a harsh world and comes back to find that everything has changed. All that she has ever known is gone. Those who she thought she could trust have turned their backs on her. She is alone and has nowhere to turn. Plus, a plague has infected the wildlife, making even a simple journey through the forest rather dangerous. This alone should have been enough to pull me in right away. Yet, I found myself quickly losing interest in what was going on. It felt like something was missing. I feel like all of this could have been expanded on.

Snow’s character did not keep me engaged either. She is lost and confused, which is expected given that she was asleep for twenty years. She has lost everything. Yet, her actions did not fit what we were told about her. We are told that she is supposed to be a nature lover and not a killer. However, she does things that don’t make sense.

The writing was okay. Some of the words and sentence structure that the author used did not fit and made for a rather awkward read. There is info dumping, which is fine. However, when and how it was used made the plot very jarring. It took away from the overall story.

Overall, this was a miss for me. If you enjoy dark fairytale retellings, you will probably enjoy this one.

This book comes out on February 25, 2025.

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 ⭐️
The Wildest Things has an extremely intriguing premise that immediately made me go to NetGalley and put in a request for the ARC. Sapphic Snow White?? Um…Yes, please! I did enjoy my time with this book and I definitely want to continue on with the series.

The writing is this is extremely atmospheric, complete dark magical forest vibes. I loved how the author took certain small details that were part of the original tale and twisted them into this retelling. It added another cool layer to the already really cool take on Snow White. The actual world was also really interesting and, again, I like how it is still tied back to the original story but it’s a fresh take which I do believe is so necessary for a retelling. They can be extremely one-note if not given their own true twist.

I also really like that Snow and Iliana do not end up together, happily ever after at the end of the book. Sure, it definitely seems to be leaning that way for the sequel but the slow burn of their relationship is a rare instance of true enemies to lovers. They are infatuated with each other pretty quickly~~HOWEVER~~they never stop being enemies while also being infatuated with each other which I think is delicious.

This is a YA book, and I think you can tell that but it’s definitely not in a bad way! My only complaints, and the reason I did not rate it a full five stars, is that I felt like the pacing was a bit off and I can see that being a problem for some people. It sometimes felt like we were going in circles and there wasn’t a clear understanding of how much time was passing, although it’s clear time WAS passing. It was definitely not a deal breaker for me though!

All in all, I did enjoy this book and it was the perfect dark fairytale atmosphere to start my December off with!

The Wildest Things is a dark retelling of what happens to Snow White when she wakes up. Where most narratives end Snow White's story with a kiss, and her emerging, Hannah started her tale there, and took readers down a darker path full of surprises and delightful horrors. While it wasn't my favorite book, it was still a good read, and is sure to captivate readers.

An interesting and engaging take on the Snow White story, complete with fascinating worldbuilding and exquisitely written characters! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Wildest Things is a re-telling of Snow White. I liked some of it but other parts were kind of strange. It had a lot of the elements of the classic Snow White with a little twist. I did see some reviews where others say they felt like Snow White had some things forced upon her with out her consent and I did see where they were coming from in the end even Snow White is confused about her feelings. So if anyone is expecting it to be a full lesbain love fest, that's not really the vibe.

What a captivating retelling of Snow White! I loved the author’s original take on this classic story and I was hooked from start to finish.

This story starts after Snow wakes up from a twenty year slumber and the forest is nothing like it was prior to incident with the poisoned apple.

I really loved the atmospheric feel of the story and the world the author created. The characters were well developed and interesting as well.

I loved the seven dwarfs characterized as mossfolk… how they were creatures and each had their own nature based characteristics much like how each dwarf had their own unique trait in the classic story of Snow White.

I also really enjoyed getting the mirror’s point of view from time to time throughout the story. This helped some of the missing elements make sense.

Overall, this was a solid read and found it to be quite enjoyable.

Thank you @wednesdaybooks for sending me a gifted copy of the book.

Reimagined fairy tales are always great reads. The amount of world building necessary to carve out a singular interpretation leads to wonderful work like Andrea Hannah's The Wildest Things. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Thank you Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the eARC, these opinions are my own. A thrilling retelling! Snow White wakes up to a world rocked by a plaque. The animals have mutated and the land has wilted. Snow must go on journey to find out what happened and how to stop it. But with a new Evil Queen in her way, one who she can’t help but feel an attraction to, the journey will no be an easy one. Can she stop the plague and return the land to what it once was? I really enjoy retellings especially when they’re queer! I loved the imagery and world building! Also I’m always a fan of enemies to lovers! A fast paced, intriguing story, about self-discovery and courage!