A Dream of Ebony and White by Melanie Cellier Review

After the previous novel in the Beyond the Four Kingdoms series A Crown of Snow and Ice left off on a small cliffhanger, I was eager to continue on to the next book A Dream of Ebony and White a Snow-White Retelling. Titular character Princess Snow made a previous appearance in A Dance of Silver and Shadow as one the visiting princesses forced to compete in the Princess Tourney. She was worried about her dying father and fearful of her stepmother's guard Randolf who was accompanying her. By the end of A Crown of Snow and Ice Snow's father is revealed to have died and fearing for her friend's safety Princess Celine sent the huntsman Alexander (Snow's childhood friend) back to his kingdom to protect her from a dangerous criminal who was on the loose. With all that story build up I was eager to find out how the timid and quiet princess Snow rose up to become the strong leader her people needed.

The story opens with Snow mourning the loss of her father and feeling betrayed by her subjects who all seem loyal to her stepmother who is trying to usurp her throne. When her friend (the royal huntsman) Alexander visits her during the night and urges her to flee without any explanation she does so without question. Once in the woods he informs Snow of the horrifying truth he had overheard. Her stepmother had planned to have her guard Randulf assassinate Snow so there would be no obstacles to the throne. Alexander swears to protect her but the two are separated while fleeing palace guards and Snow finds herself alone in the woods not knowing where to go. She eventually comes to a little cottage who she assumes belongs to dwarfs only to later discover it is seven orphan children who reside there instead. Revealing nothing of her past Snow is welcomed into their family and is shortly afterward reunited with Alexander who begins teaching her combat and self-defense skills. Snow knows that her feelings for Alexander have grown beyond friendship, but he seems to have no romantic interest in her. When he goes missing while trying to find her supporters Snow knows she cannot remain in the cottage any longer. It's time to take back her kingdom and with the help her grandfather (her mother's father who she never visited court when her father remarried) and his growing army they might just have a chance. But her stepmother has recently met a dangerous fugitive who gives her twisted weapons of magical power making her more dangerous than before. Will Snow be able save the day and reclaim her throne? Or will Alida strike her down the moment she least expects it?

    Snow is a well written character who in the beginning is too afraid to speak out when her stepmother tries to usurp her throne but after fleeing, and seeing how her subjects have suffered she decides she must take back her crown. Alexander teaches her self-defense skills, but Snow knows she needs allies to further her cause and joins forces with her grandfather to gather support. It honestly never occurred to me that Snow White could have relatives since the original story presents her as having no family to turn to and was lucky to find shelter with the dwarves. A Dream of Ebony and White however, it turns out her mother's father is still alive and wanting to aid her. The two have an awkward relationship for most of the book since Snow believes she is the cause for why he never visited her as a child and gets mad at him when he speaks badly of her father. But as the storyline continues, they do their best to make amends and look to the future rather than being stuck in the past so they can grow as a grandfather and granddaughter. 

One of my few complaints is that the love interest Alexander and Snow don't have a lot of romantic growth. While his feelings are obvious, he spends most of the book denying he has any romantic interest in her whatsoever, which annoyed me greatly. That aside he is a likable character and his willingness to protect Snow was very endearing. 

A Dream of Ebony and White also had one of my favorite casts of side characters. Melanie Cellier's choice to turn the seven dwarfs into seven orphaned children was unique since Snow must protect them rather than them protecting her. Queen Alida seems like an unbeatable foe from the start but as time goes on you see how her hold on the kingdom is not as strong as it first seems. Her two underlings Randolf and Sterling were honestly more of intimidating then she ever was. And some of the servant characters surprised me in ways I wasn't expecting.

After reading this review there should be no doubt that I loved this book and give it five out of five stars. It is one of my favorite books written by Melanie Cellier and one of the best Snow White retellings ever made. I hope you enjoyed reading my review and will check out upcoming and past reviews. Until next time.