A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White by Melanie Cellier
Fairy Tale. 298 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
Snow has always lived under the shadow of her cruel stepmother, with only her beloved father and her childhood friend–the huntsman, Alexander–to make life bearable. When her father dies, she should be crowned queen, but instead she finds herself fleeing for her life. With no allies, no skills, and no food, her future could be over before it has truly begun.
But there’s more at stake than just one life. If Snow can’t claim her throne, her kingdom faces destruction. Snow has to make a choice: focus on her own salvation or put everything on the line–even those she loves the most. And if she’s going to succeed, Snow must fight the hardest battle of all, against her own doubt and weakness, and gain new skills and strength she never imagined possessing.
Alexander is ready to help her. But if she lets him, the consequences might be more than she can bear–because her heart is in as much jeopardy as the kingdom.
In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Snow must find her inner strength in time to fight for her throne before it’s too late.
My Review:
Melanie Cellier, folks! I am so glad I stumbled upon her retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses, goodness, nearly two years ago now. I’ve been wholly suckered into KU and she’s entirely to blame. Every time I am afforded the opportunity to step back into her Four Kingdoms world, I relish it.
Snow White, as many of you know by now, is not my favorite fairy tale. It never has been. And, frankly, I’ve enjoyed the retellings of it far more than the original tale. This particular retelling was quite straightforward. It didn’t really have any particular twists to the plot or anything like that, but the presentation was endearing. I’m enamored by the world as it is, and seeing a new kingdom is always fun. Though it didn’t feel like we saw so much of the kingdom as in other tales, I still really enjoyed the forest bits.
Despite the rather simple nature of the retelling, I did really like the characters and some of the filling out of the story that Cellier did. Alex is, well, he’s everything a dreamy huntsman ought to be. I loved his interaction with the dwarves (I won’t reveal that particular depiction, but know that it was one of my favorite parts of the story!! The whole sideplot was precious!)–and Tarver’s too!! I do kind of wish there had been a little more resolution with Snow and Anthony–whom I finally pegged as Grumpy near the end of the story! Haha! That almost went over my head! And the Duke of Lestern was…possibly one of the deepest and most unique parts of this version of the story. The themes and plot lines surrounding him made it all Cellier’s.
The book was clean with no foul language, nothing more explicit romantically than a kiss, and very mild violence. The story does involve a rebellion against a treasonous queen, but the most graphic it got was a dagger stabbed into a shoulder. There were a few enchanted items that wreaked a little havok and a primarily off-screen villainess who was “ruthless.” I’d feel perfectly comfortable giving this to a preteen.
More:
Book 1 in the Beyond the Four Kingdoms series is A Dance of Silver and Shadow: A Retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses (5 Stars)
Book 2 is A Tale of Beauty and Beast: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (5 Stars)
Book 3 is A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen (5 Stars)
Book 5 is A Captive of Wing and Feather: A Retelling of Swan Lake (5 Stars)
Book 6 is A Princess of Wind and Wave: A Retelling of The Little Mermaid (5 Stars)
I have rated and reviewed the above on Goodreads. Click the links above to find out more, scroll down, and you’ll see my reviews among the others.
This series doesn’t have to be read in order, necessarily, but I would anyway cause there might be minor spoilers between stories. They stand on their own, but the characters carry over from book to book.
On GraceBought:
If you missed it, check out my thoughts on the previous books here! And stay tuned next week for my thoughts on the next book in the series!
A Dance of Silver and Shadow, A Tale of Beauty and Beast, and A Crown of Snow and Ice
Also, don’t forget to check out the original series, The Four Kingdoms!