I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust Published by Flatiron Books on September 5, 2017
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: the publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Frozen meets The Bloody Chamber in this feminist fantasy reimagining of the Snow White fairytale
At sixteen, Mina's mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother.
Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image, at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she’s ever known…or else defeat her once and for all.
Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything—unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.
Girls Made of Snow and Glass was SO FREAKING GOOD!!!!! I loved everything about it – the plot, the characters, and the writing. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017, and it definitely did NOT disappoint!
I absolutely loved Mina. I know we’re supposed to dislike her, as the Evil Queen, but you guys know I LOVE a good villain/villain origin story, so I was completely fascinated by Mina’s story. She was so strong and fierce! I hated how her father and the people of the north treated her, though. At times, you could see the scared, vulnerable little girl hiding beneath the crown. She wanted nothing more than to be loved, yet she couldn’t see the love that was right in front of her.
Lynet was an interesting character, but I found some of her scenes a little more boring compared to Mina’s. About 60% into the story, it really started to slow down and I got to a point where I only wanted Mina’s POV. But things definitely picked up as the book went on, and Lynet came to be a strong character with plenty of fight in her. I LOVED how her story ended!
I loved the relationship between Mina and Lynet – I know that’s weird to say, when we all know how the original Snow White fairy tale ended. But this book allowed us to see a different side to both girl and queen. It was a refreshing take, and always had me on the edge of my seat – always wondering how the author was going to get from where the characters were in this story to where they were in the original fairy tale. It didn’t seem possible, but the author pulled it off in an intriguing, masterful way!
I really liked Nadia, despite not fully trusting her. There was just something about her that made me feel suspicious – and then the revelation about her confirmed my suspicions. Yet I still liked her. I really liked the relationship between her and Lynet. It was a slow burn, but it was worth it – the way things ended, it was SO satisfying. And I loved the way Nadia’s story ended in general.
Nicholas was a complete and total ass. He didn’t truly love his daughter, he was just mourning the loss of his wife and trying desperately to recreate her via his daughter. I also hated the way he treated Mina. It’s one thing to mourn the loss of someone, it’s another to forget about the living – or treat them terribly – because of that loss. Gregory, also, was a disgusting ass – but that was less of a surprise, so the gross things he did were only mildly shocking.
The only character I don’t have a lot to say about is Felix. I was intrigued by him in the beginning, and then he lost my interest. He lacked a personality and despite understanding why, I just reached a point where I didn’t care for him or his story anymore.
I loved the way many things in this story mirrored (see what I did there?) the original fairy tale, but I also loved the creative liberty the author took – I was never a huge fan of the story of Snow White, but this book made me SO happy!
Overall, if you couldn’t tell from my super rambly review (seriously, sorry if this review is rambly and wordy and weird – I loved this book so much, I couldn’t really articulate how I felt about it), I absolutely adored this book!!! I can count on one hand how many books I TRULY loved this year, and this is one of them! I HIGHLY recommend it to those who love fairy tale retellings! I can’t wait to see what Melissa Bashardoust does next!
Favorite Quotes/moments:
“Lynet always saw Mina as a flame, something fierce and fearless and regal” (US Hardcover, page 74). This perfectly describes Mina.
“Cold as snow, sharp as glass.” (US Hardcover, page 205)