It’s always fun to read a different take on a well known fairytale. This author uses their obvious passion for the original tale to create a detailed world that feels familiar and at the same time, exciting and unpredictable. The story’s lore is expansive, which at times can work against the reader because there are so many threads to keep hold of. The author has a distinctive writing style that felt overwritten at times, especially when it did more telling rather than letting the reader experience the actual moment. I loved the setup of the relationships but it was a bit confusing what the author wanted to say about them. In other words, I was confused on who I was rooting for. Basically, I loved all the elements of this book, even if they sometimes stepped on each other for attention. I would definitely read another if this becomes a series of retellings!

Oof, no one likes a DNF this early in the year, right? Well, I had one, friends. And extra sadly, it was from an author I usually really enjoy. But sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay. I made it to 27% before I called it, and I did so because I was just bored. There was a lot of info-dumping, especially about past stuff that meant nothing to me because at that point, I only knew the one character (Snow) and frankly, I didn't care much about her one way or the other. So, it had to be done. Retellings and I are always hit or miss anyway, so I think others may have a better time with this than I did.

Delightfully macabre, this YA fantasy takes the classic story of Snow White and twists it into one deliciously eerie tale.

We get poisoned forests, carnivorous chipmunks, creepy-cute bunnies, a kick-ass princess, and so much more. I was honestly shocked by how dark it got at points, especially considering it’s YA! But my goodness, was I HERE FOR IT 🖤

What really pulled me in was the incredibly detailed world. Infused with nature-based lore, it features four separate regions each ruled by a specific season to keep all living things in balance. While a tad complex, the magic system is thoroughly explained, so just stick with it if you feel lost at first!

One more thing I loved: the character arcs! Each MC, from Snow White to the Evil Queen’s daughter, is complex—no one is “just good” or “just evil.” They all have believable motivations that drive the plot forward, exploring everything from generational trauma to the patriarchy. You feel for everyone…even the villains...and it’s so satisfying.

Is the darkness calling to you yet?? 😈 If so, then get this one on your TBR pronto!

𝗔 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
🍎 This isn't mentioned in any official synopsis, but The Wildest Things is the first book in a duology. So don’t fret if you get to the end and are like, “WAIT…WHAT?? WHO?!” 😉

🍎 While marketed as a sapphic romance, this first installment is more about world-building. There’s an obvious attraction between our two FMCs but my guess is we’ll get more romance and queer rep in the second book 🏳️‍🌈

🍎 Please check the content warnings 💔 Like I mentioned, this one gets dark.

I tried to like this book as I love fairy tale re-tellings and most of them are pretty good. However, this one fell a bit flat for me as I felt no investment in any of the characters. I appreciated the chapters from the perspective of the magic mirror but even that failed to capture my interest. TBH Snow White is a good tale (especially the Grimm version) but it's not my most favorite. I thought maybe this one might get me a little more into the empowered character that is promised in this version of Snow White but alas, it did not.

This is a failure of wanting to be too descriptive of the environment. The author paints an excellent picture of the barren wasteland that has become of Snow's kingdom but she often takes the picture a little too far, sometimes to the point of just weird.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I quite loved Andrea Hannah’s Where Darkness Blooms so I had high hopes for her sapphic retelling of Snow White in The Wildest Things.
Snow White is wakened, not by a prince, but by the shattering of her glass coffin. It is twenty years later, and her land is rotting. Her beloved animals have mutated. It seems that the land of Roanfrost never took to her Stepmother as the Seasonkeeper even though the woman had put Snow White into a poisonous sleep. If she is to save her kingdom, she must take on the full power of the Seasonkeeper and one person is standing in her way: her stepmother’s daughter. Luckily, this time, the Huntsman is on her side.
The book lost a whole star because it claimed to have lesbian representation. This is taken from the official synopsis:
“In this sapphic Snow White retelling, if Snow is to save her kingdom from being ravaged by the Blight, she’ll have to kill the Evil Queen’s daughter…if she doesn’t fall in love with her first.”
But there isn’t any real true attraction or love included. While Snow has a moment or two of questioning her attraction to the new Queen, most of the kisses or talk of marriage are used for convenience; there is nothing sexual about them. And when there is one kiss that isn’t used for poison, they are awkward and make no sense. For me, it felt like bait and switch, and I feel bad for those who wanted to see themselves in Snow White.
There were also some writing issues. The story went too long with too many side quests. There also wasn’t much of a conclusion with no indication that a sequel is coming. But there were things I liked. Snow struggles to overcome the way she was raised. She came to understand that she didn’t have to be “fair” and be held down by men which was very powerful. I also enjoyed getting the point of view of the mirror. I did enjoy the world Hannah created.
The Wildest Things isn’t one of Hannah’s sharpest works though I enjoyed the dark version of Snow White. I would suggest anyone wanting to see a queer Snow White skip this book as this is not a true sapphic tale.

Publication Date February 25
I received an ARC for review; all opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book at all. It was really boring and did not grab my attention at any point. The characters were flat with little to no development. This could’ve been so good, but sadly fell short. This is marketed as a sapphic retelling and there was zero of that present in this book minus some random kiss? There was no romance at all. Snow White was better off ending up with the male main character. They had a good relationship going.

LOVED THIS. everyone needs a sapphic snow white retelling in their lives and this was the perfect book 💫 from the first chapter i was hooked and i loved this unique take on a classic tale, i highly recommend reading this!

~ 3.5 stars ~

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review
Expected publication date: February 25th, 2025

𓈒⟡₊⋆∘ Plot
A sapphic Snow White retelling with a dark twist.
When Snow White wakes up from her 20 year long slumber and pries herself out of her shattered glass coffin, she finds that the world she knew has become a nightmare. The animals she grew up with have become bloodthirsty mutants, the forests are gnarled and rotten, and her closest friends are shadows of themselves.
To save her home, Snow must take on the role of the Seasonkeeper and battle her darkest desires in order to kill the new evil queen.

𓈒⟡₊⋆∘ Review
Compared to other fairy tale retellings, I enjoyed the darkness of this one - it maintained the heart of the tale yet added something new.

I liked the writing style, I love extensive descriptions because they bring the scenes to life, but (and I can hardly believe that I'm saying this) there were TOO MANY descriptions. This made the book extremely slow and difficult to get through, especially towards the middle. I found myself invested at the beginning and slowly losing interest as the chapters went on - there was too much narration and not enough action.

This book is primarily marketed as a sapphic and gothic romance, which it is, but just barely. Iliana and Snow hardly interact in the book and they don't get together at the end. Perhaps this is because of the implied second book, to lengthen the slow burn, but thus far there isn't enough tension between the two characters for me to be invested in their relationship.

Unfortunately, I don't believe this was the book for me. It has an interesting premise but the execution didn't match my expectations.

This was such a fantastic Snow White retelling. Being a huge fan of Snow White I’ve always wondered what would have happened with Snow never woke up from her eternal slumber. In this sapphic retelling we learn just that.

That was what immediately caught my eye to this story, twenty years have passed since Snow White bit into the red apple the Evil Queen gave her. As she awakens, and her glass coffin is finally open, she doesn’t recognize the kingdom before her. It has change for the worse, the land is rotting, and the animals have transformed into heartless creatures. As she runs for her life, she learns of what happened to her friends and what the Blight is. This had so much political intrigue and suspense I couldn’t stop reading. I was fully immersed in the story, not only she’ll have to find her true power within her, she’ll have to save her kingdom from the Evil Queen’s daughter. Definitely read if you love action packed retellings.

I loved this retelling. It's sort of a coming of age, as Snow White discovers the truth of her own power, both literally and figuratively. I liked having the perspective of the mirror, and the ending intrigued me.

The Wildest Things is billed as a sapphic Snow White retelling, which it is, but author Andrea Hannah’s setting is the star of this novel.

Hannah’s world-building is exceptional. You truly get a sense of the rot plaguing not only the land, but the plants, creatures and people who inhabit it. It’s dark and twisted and truly sets the tone.

The magical system, too, has a sort of dark tone. It’s almost as if Hannah treats it like a character unto itself, so it’s only as you progress as a reader that it starts to make sense.

I really wanted to fall in love with The Wildest Things but the “romance” element just falls flat. There’s a lot of telegraphing early on that feels forced. I would have been fine without those spots at all. The biggest problem is that when the two love interests meet, it’s an instant connection — there’s no growth, no getting to know each other.

I wish that Hannah had made The Wildest Things into a dual character study between Snow and the Queen. The moments where this happens, Hannah’s prose shines.

The Wildest Things is a queer reimagining that isn’t perfect but still has merit. I suggest checking it out from the library prior to purchase to make sure it’s a good fit.

A dark, gut-wrenching retelling of Snow White, one of my favorite fairytale characters.
The author revamps the story from the point of Snow White waking up and escaping her glass coffin.
You’ll recognize some characters and she’s added new ones to the decaying and dangerous world where Snow is forced to reinvent herself.
Not for those who enjoy the typical fairytale ending, but still an interesting read.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press / Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the arc.

I loved this bleak take on the Snow White story. And it's sapphic?! Perfection! Fans of fractured fairy tales and LGBTQ romantasies will greatly enjoy this new YA retelling!

This is a retelling of Snow White that takes place after she wakes up from being poisoned by the apple. While she's been asleep, her land has deteriorated with woodland creatures malformed and no longer gentle. At first, Snow takes refuge with the tree-like men who are a replacement for the 7 dwarves. But she soon realizes nobody in this new world can be trusted, especially the new queen who is the daughter of Snow's step-mother.

This book is well written and well-plotted plus the world building is very well constructed. The book provides a hint of a Sapphic pairing but really doesn't follow through with it. I would have appreciated an epilogue.

I was provided an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley.

I'm a massive fan of fractured fairytales so I knew I had to pick this one up! I loved the dark take on the Snow White story. It was fun to see Snow White cope with the betrayals she experiences in the original story and be more of an active participant in reclaiming her kingdom. The author gave Snow more complexity than she gets in the fairytale. Getting to see more of Snow's dark side was my favorite part of the story. The author tried to give more complexity to the Evil Queen's daughter too but that part was less successful for me. We only got glimpses of her character in the interlude chapters and didn't really get to know her as well as Snow. I would have liked to see her get more attention and depth. This might also be a case of mismarketing. The synopsis makes it sound like Snow is going to be conflicted about her feelings for the Evil Queen's daughter but that wasn't really the case. There was a hint of a sapphic arc if you squint at the very end but this is very much about Snow's story. If you're looking for a darker, more complex take on the Snow White story then I definitely recommend checking this story out! The darker vibes definitely fit with the grotesque nature of Grimm's original tales which I love in my fractured fairytales.

excuse me please don’t leave me hanging like that….this was so thrilling. I loved the retelling and wished it never ended. I also now want a bunny named Blueberry. Your writing is so fantastic and your use of imagery is spectacular. I can really picture what is going on. I can’t wait to see what happens next (if there is a next). 10 🌸 out of 5 🌸

“The Wildest Things,” by Andrea Hannah

I was excited to read a darker spin on snow white retelling. It was a good book but not really what I was expecting nor my vibe with pacing. I found chunks of the book on the boring side and had a bigger build up till most of the plot stuff that I really wanted. I wish the characters were as dynamic in the first part as they were at the end of the book. All in all, I would give it 3 stars out of 5.

-Snow White Retelling
-Magic

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I always find dark fantasy interesting, and this was no exception. With a premise that’s basically anti-Disney fairy tale, it promised some very dark and twisty action. And it delivered, at least to some degree, a degree I liked, but did not love.

I liked the warped nature of the world, along with the characters, especially Snow White. Everything and everyone, even her, is in some way affected by the blight scouring the land. But she finds ways to survive the nightmarish landscape, make some new friends along the way, and exhibit astounding resilience and growth. She isn’t the bravest person, by her own admission, but she still strives to do the right thing even under the most dangerous of circumstances.

However, the side characters felt a bit flat. I found them intriguing, but a bit underdeveloped. This book seemed to be setting itself up for a sequel, so I hope this is remedied there.

And if that sequel comes to fruition, I would enjoy learning more about this world’s magic system (which had a good set-up here), as well as getting further explorations of gender dynamics, powerful women, race, and class. I will be watching for Book 2.

DNF'd after chapter five. Five chapters in and nothing had really happened yet. Just a lot of confusing lore/vague backstory. I'm sure it would've all come together if I'd stuck it out (I found the lore in Where Darkness Blooms confusing until it all clicked, but at least in that one things were happening) but after slogging through the first five chapters I totally lost my momentum for reading this one.

Snow White is one of my favorite fairy tales and I typically love retellings, but this one really didn’t work for me. The author tried to give Snow more of a dark side and gave her magic powers which was cool, but she still ended up being the stereotypical damsel with the plot constantly happening “to” her, rather than her being an active participant in the story. Snow showed very little agency and was always in peril or being spoon-fed information about her new powers.

I loved some of the new magical elements introduced like the Mossfolk, but overall the magic system felt very muddled and like the rules kept changing.

I was also really disappointed with the romantic elements of the story. I thought the romance would be a much bigger subplot but the two love interests spend almost no time together and when they do, they just experience insta-love. I wish we had more opportunity to see them interact and grow their attraction over time. I think the romance just didn’t get near enough time devoted to it and almost wish it had just been cut if it wasn’t going to get fully fleshed out.

I am still interested in these characters and this world so if there is a sequel, I would like to read it, but I don’t think my expectations will be nearly as high as they were going into this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!