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!

Yeah, this is just a huge no from me.

This book is such a slog; I was legit bored to tears. This slowness primary stems from the long-winded, multi-chapter worldbuilding dump. You can't just tell the reader everything about your world like that. I wasn't even invested in the main character yet, so why should I care anything about this world? And all of this was before Snow got told what happened to the world after she died. The mossfolk (AKA the original seven from the story) telling her was fine, but Snow revealing everything that came before that out of dialogue killed any interest I initially had in the story.

The characters weren't any better. Snow had some interesting things going in her character, as her arc is basically deconstructing what "fairness" is and growing from that dainty, innocent persona she had for her whole life. This arc should have captured me in theory, but this girl's nonsensical attraction to the evil queen, who is her stepmother's daughter by a father that wasn't Snow's. Their interactions are mostly contained in the last third of the book, and the only thing they seem to have is that they both think the other is hot. But Snow should know better because the queen is, as stated many times throughout the narrative, a replica of the stepmother who abused her! It's just so weird that this is the romance of the book. Not as bad as it could be, but even if there was solid, well-written chemistry, there would still be some lingering weirdness.

The rest - I couldn't care less. The woodsman stand-in was a prop to keep Snow alive until she could wield magic, the mossfolk weren't as explored as they could have been, and the rest of the story, when the info-lore dumping slowed down, just felt like a waste of time.

I think it's safe to say my journey with Hannah's solo books ends here, but I will be reading her co-authored fantasy with Rebecca Mix. Hopefully, that will turn out better than what I got here.

The Wildest Things is a sapphic, dark Snow White retelling and I couldn’t get enough of it. Trigger warning to animal lovers, there are many creatures that were affected by the blight, almost like they are eaten away in places. I loved this take on Snow White, the kingdoms power comes from the king and his SeasonKeeper (usually the wife or passed down) which nature has to accept. After twenty years of the deep sleep Snow White wakes up to a whole new world she has to figure out. The forest and nature are characters in their own right throw the story. You have this darkly poisoned forest that is almost beautiful its own awful way. Snow White the fairest of them all has to find out what that means to her and how she get her kingdom back! Full of curious creatures, love, friendship, and detestation. The magic of nature is so well done, it gives you hope when the world feels like it’s falling apart for Snow White.

4.5⭐️

Thank you to Wednesday Book and NetGalley for my gifted copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for allowing me to read this book!

I feel... well, yes, i was attracted to this book because of the sapphic snow white retelling, and I knew it was going to be enemies to lovers. Still, I felt like the......

It is enemies, of a sort. Death is the intention each each to work on the other. And, there's an immediate attraction between them, which feels kind of... strange to me. I mean, yes, I'm a lesbian, but someone trying to kill me, I don't get distracted by how beautiful they are, and their eyes don't stick in my mind.
There also didn't seem to be much of a connection between "snow" and "heart" while the other 'parts' to magic seemed to have a little. Every human also seemed to be white? Which felt strange, given that an emphasis was put on patriarchy keeping women small and molding them a certain way. The way the mossfolk were characterized seemed a little messy as well, as if stand-ins for many different things.

There also seemed to be a lot loose ends, as if waiting for a (small) sequel, even. For the book's sake, I hope there is one!

This jumped out at me because of the sapphic romance (obviously) and the deliciously creepy Snow White cover (though girl needs to ease off on the peach blush with her skin tone). I loved the beginning premise: Snow White wakes up in her glass coffin decades after she fell asleep, alone. No prince ever woke her up.

There were a lot of interesting elements to this: a sort-of post-environmental-apocalypse fantasy dystopian setting; the seven dwarves as enslaved miner "mossfolk", beings with bark skin and leaves as hair that could turn into actual trees; the magic mirror having its own POV chapters. There were some worldbuilding information dumps, but it had a lot of potential and the climax was exciting.

But wow did I hate the "love interest" Iliana. She's the daughter of the Evil Queen/Snow White's stepmother (she and Snow White share the same last name because of that, but I'm happy to report that they are NOT related). I have absolutely no idea why Snow White would be into her other than she's apparently really hot, because the only other distinct thing about her is that she's powerhungry. Iliana's trying to kill Snow White at first, then they meet in person for the first time and she steals Snow's job, at the end they meet for the second time, she commits unforgivable murder, and then they're kissing?? The mirror would've made a better love interest. As it was, the friendships between Snow and Henrik and Snow and Dunn (and between Snow, Henrik, and the bunny Blueberry) were the real love in the book. If there was to be a sapphic romance in this, Henrik should have been female. But at least there isn't a lot of romance. Snow and Iliana just stare at each other a few times and share a couple pecks.

I wasn't a huge fan of Snow herself at first. She starts off VERY useless and cries a lot, though that drops off once woodland creatures stop randomly appearing and trying to eat her.

The prose wasn't the smoothest to me, and mixed with some of the plot beats made this feel almost like a debut novel. I grew used to the prose as the book progressed, but there were descriptive phrases that reminded me a little of The Stars Are Dying (🫣). A girl was described as "buoyant", an apple was "bulbous" and then compared to the moon, tree branches were "nimble." Maybe I just don't like poetry and the problem is me.

Is this to be a series? The ending didn't wrap up much. What's happening with the twins? Pomeroy? Briar? I'm left with many questions, but maybe we're meant to imagine the rest ourselves. I can vibe with that.

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

I received a free EARC of this book from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

There were some really great storylines in this book and I really liked that it flipped the idea of Snow White on it's head. There was no prince coming to save her and wake her or whatever. It wasn't really a romance either, which I had though it might be a bit more than it was. However, it had strong female empowerment throughout and I LOVED that.
Henricks death was sad, and felt unnecessary, and made it very hard to overcome when Iliana reawakens.. I get the point of nurture vs. nature, and how she became what she was supposed to be, even though at the end she seemed to hate it (or maybe just accept it?). I'm not super sure. That's where the problem with this book lies with me. The ending felt abrupt and confusing and not fully wrapped up. It hints at a sequel which is great, because ... um, what? I get cliffhangers, but this felt more like the author just stopped writing in the middle of a chapter and called it good. I also didn't love that they shared the same last name, and even though they weren't blood related, it still felt almost a little icky to me. Otherwise, I think it would have been five stars.

The Wildest Things is more than just a retelling—it’s a powerful meditation on the wildest parts of ourselves and the dreams that drive us. Hannah has crafted a story that resonates with anyone on a journey toward self-acceptance, making this a must-read for fans of magical, character-driven tales that aren’t afraid to confront life’s messier truths. This book is a celebration of courage, identity, and the beauty found in embracing our own complexities.