A Tale of Ice and Ash: A Snow White Retelling by Katherine Macdonald Review

Katherine Macdonald is one of my favorite authors of all time. Her books are so enthralling. Full of well written characters enticing plotlines and swoon-worthy romances. So it goes without saying I was very excited when I began reading her Snow White retelling A Tale of Ice and Ash. However, upon starting the book I was surprised (and a little saddened) to discover it was set many years into the future where most magic has disappeared. However, once I got passed the fact that the fairy Ariel would not be making an appearance (although there is a brief mention of her) I found myself enjoying the story just as I had with the previous two.

The story opens five years after Eirwen's stepmother Queen Bianca tried to assassinate her. Eirwen is living with her dwarven adoptive family and has grown into a strong and capable fighter but still retains her kind pure heart. One day while searching for a certain treasure in the abandoned dwarven underground city she comes upon Cole her stepbrother. Cole had always been a thorn is her sides when they were children and despite his promises that he won't reveal her secret to his mother she is reluctant to trust him. While delighted to find her alive Cole at first refuses to believe her claims that his mother was responsible for his stepfathers death and the attempt on her life but when the truth comes out he is ready to secretly help Eirwen in any way he can. He doesn't want to kill his mother but with the kingdom on the brink of dying out under the Evil Queens thumb he will do what he can to help Eirwen take back the crown that should have long ago been hers. Will Eirwen succeed in her quest to reclaim her rightful place on the throne? Can she do so without losing her heart to the son of her greatest enemy? And can she discover the mysteries surround a mysterious talking mirror and its connection with the destruction of the former dwarven kingdom?

A Tale of Ice and Ash has got to be my favorite Snow White retelling I have ever read even beating out Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. Although to be fair I haven't read too many other books based off Snow White so I don't have a lot to compare it too. Either way this book was just such an enjoyable read.

Eirwen is such a fitting version of Snow White. She is a strong and capable fighter similar to some of the recent movie adaptations (such as Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman) but still retains her kindheartedness. Despite all the suffering she has been through she has a pure heart which becomes very important towards the end. I also liked the detail that her name means snow. Cole calls her that throughout the story (much to her annoyance) which I found was a nice nod to the stories original source.

When Cole was first introduced I was unsure if he and Eirwen would have a hate to love romance. While there is definitely tension and uncertainty between them at first (mainly on Eirwen's side) the story thankfully didn't have them at each others throats most of the time. Their romance is beautiful and enticing to read about. And to anyone who says they shouldn't have been a couple because their stepsiblings let me just inform you that they were separated for many years as kids before meeting again as adults. They are not related by blood and because they didn't got along during their childhood they never developed a brother and sister relationship. Cole also grapples with grief upon learning his mother murder her second husband (who had been much kinder to him than his real father) and tried to do the same with Eirwen. He doesn't want to see his mother die but knowing she must be stopped. My heart went out to him throughout the story knowing how much he struggled.

Queen Bianca was a well written villain. She is evil but you also get the sense throughout the book that she is being manipulated. We learn early on that she is not under a magic spell and her actions such as killing Eirwen's father were completely her own. It can never be said that she was ever a morally good person. She kills and imprisons her subjects without a second thought and has neglected her kingdom to such a state that her people are not likely to survive another winter under her rule. However, she is capable of loving her son showing that she is capable of caring for someone other than just herself. And as the story unfolds and the reader learns more about her magic mirror they get the sense that it influence a great many of her actions. While her crimes are still her own it is possible that without the mirrors influence she might have turned out better.

The seven dwarves are not seven brothers this time around. Two of them are but both are married and one has two children. The final dwarf is not related to the family at all and similar to Eirwen is somewhat of an adoptive member. They are all loyal supporters of Eirwen just like in the original story but they take it a step further by helping her reclaim her kingdom. Onyx the dwarves leader had an interesting backstory that has a connection to the sinister magic mirror. The dwarves are immune to magic which prevented the magic mirror from knowing Eirwen's location while hiding from her stepmother. While Onyx was the only dwarf who had character development each member of the family was still a delightful to read about. 

The one character that was disappointing was the Huntsmen. He plays a similar role to the Disney movie with him sparing Eirwen's life and warning her about her stepmothers evil intentions, but unlike the original story he secretly visits Eirwen and the dwarves to bring news. He is loyal to Eirwen's cause and helps her out in battle. However, even though it was nice to see the huntsman as a close ally who didn't just disappear from her life I still think he was underdeveloped. With a bit more personality he could have become more interesting. 

Overall this was an amazing book. It has a touching love story with a good does of action and a few surprising plot twists that are not so east to predict. I highly recommend this book to any fairy tale lover. For those who thought Snow White was too helpless in the Grimm's fairy tale and wanted to see her fight for herself while still showing kindness to other than this is the book for you. I give it five out of five stars. Until next time. Emma