A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen by Melanie Cellier
Fairy Tale. 323 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
An unexpected gift from her godmother will give Celine enough fire to take on an entire kingdom of snow and ice. But first she needs to melt one frozen prince.
Rumors have long swirled about the strange kingdom of Eldon. The only thing more frozen than its mountains are the inhabitants themselves. But Princess Celine has never backed away from a challenge, so she eagerly accepts an invitation to visit.
Yet the situation in Eldon is even worse than Celine feared. And if the kingdom is to have any hope of freedom or a future, she’s going to have to call on new skills and new allies—including the crown prince, Oliver. But against an enemy stronger and colder than ice, all her fire may not be enough.
In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, The Snow Queen, one princess is ready to burn down everything in her path to save those she loves and their kingdom with them.
My Review:
I have loved the Snow Queen since I was a little girl. Honestly, I blame the picture book I had as a child. But truth be told, I still love it–and not just for nostalgia. It’s a fascinating tale with themes of good vs. evil, love vs. hate, and sibling relationships!
This rendition of the Snow Queen was well done. I loved how Cellier touched some of the classic elements of the tale and incorporated them seamlessly into her world and plot. The plot felt really quick to me; not like, it’s-moving-too-fast quick, but like I-looked-up-and-I-was-already-almost-done quick. I wouldn’t say it was a page-turner, but then again, I’ve always gone through Cellier’s stories pretty quickly. They draw me in and I don’t come out til I finish most times. This one was no different.
In this story we get to follow Celine! She’s always popping up here and there and it’s cool to finally get to see her story. I loved the contrast of fire and ice and the clash of her culture with that of Oliver’s. I thought the distinctions were very well done and made the world even richer. Lanover is warm and tropical, flat and floral, while Eldon is far from it. We see secret tunnels, shops, and even homes built into the very face of the mountains. We have to deal with the very real possibility of snow ins and blizzards. Cellier’s world is so diverse and full, and yet, I’ve never had difficulty keeping track of the places–which is a feat for me, let me tell ya!
I do wish the tunnels had had more significance in the story. It seemed like we kind of blew past those, whereas I thought they would come up again later in the story–especially the writing on the walls! That was such a cool touch! I just knew the language would provide some crucial detail at the last minute! But alas, it was not to be. I also sort of expected Celine’s ankle to be more important–not because of the Tourney, but because it was mentioned a few times. Not sure exactly what I expected, but I just got the feeling it would come into play for some reason, though it never did.
Also, the way the Snow Queen climax and resolution came about was really neat, but it was all over very quickly. I liked how it happened very much! So much so that I wasn’t super bothered by the fact that it was over almost as quickly as it had begun, but it still kind of stood out to me. I mean, we built up to this point and spent the whole book trying to figure out what was going on and this figure was kind of thrown in last minute, but she wasn’t a shock cause it was sort of foreshadowed, but then everything ended in a pretty quick confrontation.
The plot was well paced, and I never bored of it. The change in scenery, even within the land of Eldon kept things moving and fresh. The challenges the characters faced–both internal and external–kind of intrigued me. I loved how Celine dealt with the snowshoes and the journey up the mountain. That was just awesome! I also really loved the whole enchantment over the people. I thought it was a very clever way to do the Snow Queen and made for a great contrast and struggle for Oliver. I liked him a lot. He was a fun character and getting to know him was something I think I was a little surprised by.
Overall, great story! Gorgeous cover! Clean story: no foul language, very mild violence (non-graphic), and clean romance (nothing more graphic than a kiss). Easily recommendable to middle grade and up.
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 4 is A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White (4 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 and A Tale of Beauty and Beast
Also, don’t forget to check out the original series, The Four Kingdoms!