
author: Melanie Cellier
series: The Four Kingdoms #2.5
published: 11.2.2016
publisher: Luminant Publications
genre(s): folklore, reimagining
pages: 121
source: Kindle Unlimited
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | BookBub | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:


the blurb
Sometimes a fairy tale ending is only the beginning…
Sarah and Evelyn have already risked everything to help Ava win a crown. But they soon learn that a coronation is a beginning, not an ending. Not everyone in Rangmere is happy to see the young queen on the throne, and intrigue and danger lurk all around.
The cousins find themselves fighting not only for their new kingdom but also for their own survival in the royal court. When a new threat emerges, the two girls must defeat it to both save the crown and secure their own Happily Ever Afters.
- a few notes
- my review
- the good & the bad
POV: 1st person; dual
setting: Rangmere
keywords/phrases: fairytale, retelling, betrayal
tropes: hero’s journey; medieval-adjacent setting; evil villain; powerful artifacts; good versus evil;
spice: 0🔥
language: 0🤬
read this if… sweeping stories of good versus evil and fairytale settings.
the good
- The plot was good with some interesting elements.
the bad
- Sarah often felt too juvenile for her position as a protector for the queen.
- There was a lot of instalove, which I suppose happens when there are two romance arcs in a single novella.
- The pacing for the first half was very slow, but the last half quite active.
- I saw no sign of the Snow White/Rose Red retelling that it was supposed to be.
This novella was touted as a retelling/reimagining of the Snow White and Rose Red tale. That being said… the only reason I know this book was supposed to be that was that the cover told me so. There was nothing about the novella that spoke of that tale.
The plot was good, but there wasn’t enough information withheld from the reader to add any excitement. The villain was known from the first pages, eliminating any big climatic reveal. The story was fine; there just weren’t any twists to add to the anticipation.
In reality, I think more attention was placed on the two characters’ romantic arcs than on anything else. The rest was just there to support that. I would have liked it more if the romantic arcs were less dominant.
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reading challenges:
- 2025 52 Books Reading Challenge
- 2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
- 2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge: Author Edition
- 2025 Beyond the Bookends Reading Challenge
- 2025 Fairytale Reading Challenge
- 2025 Linz the Bookworm & Logophile Reading Challenge
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