To Capture a Beauty: A Snow Queen Retelling

by Kimberly Pearl

An enchanted mirror in the woods. Maidens going missing. An intriguing farmhand who could easily capture her heart. Lydia knows she isn’t the most beautiful Rolnik sister. She tries not to be bothered by the fact, focusing instead on her sketches and helping on the family herb farm. But as her feelings for the handsome new hire grow, so does her dread that her sister’s beauty will outshine her own. When she discovers a mirror in the woods that shows a flawless version of herself, its beckoning calls are hard to resist. Especially when the silvery voice tells her she could step through and make the reflection a reality. Will she be able to resist the call, or will the promise of perfection prove too strong to ignore? If she’s not careful, she may end up going missing herself.

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retellings, Retellings, Clean Romance, Romance, Fairy Tales, Young Adult

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 19, 2023

About the author

Kimberly grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona and Wildwood, Missouri, the baby of seven children in a fun-loving and creative family. She got her first bachelor’s in Liberal Arts with a minor in Spanish at Utah State University, and returned for a second bachelor’s in Communicative Disorders. She loves ancient history, old stuff, and all things speech and language. She loves hiking in the woods and singing at the top of her lungs while doing the dishes, and hopes to someday become the old lady in the cottage who may or may not be a witch. She also loves to write. 
Kimberly lives in Utah with her husband, Rob, their four lively kids, and two questionable cats.

Reviews

[Jacquelyn 💐 {This Rapunzel Reads} [Jesus Christ, my · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting retelling of the Snow Queen. The cover is so pretty! I liked it, but I didn’t love it. Mainly because of the miscommunication trope which I hate and the magic with the plants was very odd. It really didn’t feel like a Snow Queen retelling until towards the end. I liked Lydia even though she was stupid at one part. Rune was a sweetheart! The two of them were so cute together! Overall, I did enjoy it. I thought it could’ve been better.

[TaniaRina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beauty in art and in nature
Lydia with her sketching and Rune with his herbalism pair well with the nature motif. The author certainly went back to her roots with this (yes, pun intended).

We need more of this:
‘People like discussing shared passions.’
Readers get a taste of old skool career guidance when Rune describes how he was introduced to his current profession by a neighboring villager. We also need more people like Rune who want to ensure that medicine and healing are available to everyone.

I’ve loved fairy & folk tales since I was a really young child and retellings have probably been my fave since I entered my teens. I’ve recently discovered that gender-switching the characters adds more layers and completely different nuances. Without going into details (no spoilers), the author did a great job combining feminine envy with mirrors. A sad commentary on society that this scenario is all too true IRL.

I think my favorite part is the loving family. Solid foundations and strong bonds lead to healthy self-esteem. The traditional family structure was very refreshing.


For me, this was an excellent end to the series and introduction to this author. I look forward to reading more of her works.

[Rosina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this book pretty fast and my love only got deeper the more I read. The two main characters, Lydia and Rune, were a delight from start to finish, and I had the grossest, sappiest smile on my face reading their interactions that made me so glad I didn't read this in public. The other characters were all endearing and likeable too, and I really grew attached to them. I'll miss them a lot. I also really loved the themes around beauty. Although the concept of beauty being more than appearance is nothing new, I was still moved by how it was expressed in this book and as someone with a long struggle with body image, it really helped, even if my silly brain will do its best to reject it now I've finished the book.

I will say, the book was quite slow-moving and not heavy on action. For me, this was fine, and I wouldn't change a thing. I really loved getting to know these characters and seeing those small moments that on paper, might not seem the most exciting but are actually beautiful and poignant. So yeah, if you're someone who needs constant twists and turns and cliffhangers, this might not be the book for you. But if you want a moving, tender, gentle book that simmers along and gets you absorbed in the characters and romance, I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to the author for kindly gifting me an ARC

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this! It had such a sweet romance; their chemistry was AMAZING. I loved the familial drama and tension that brought so much depth to the story. The way that Kimberly has retold the Snow Queen was so inventive. I especially loved the cottage core vibes with a lovely pastoral setting.
Such a sweet read!
Content: Clean

[bea k · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

[Kayla Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of the Shattered Tales Series and this story was fantastic! This Snow Queen retelling was thrilling and magical! Full of intrigue, danger, magic, and love. I could not read this story fast enough and at the same time I didn’t want it to end.

Lydia Rolnik loves her family and tries her best to help the family farm stay afloat. When girls start going missing her parents hire Rune to keep their girls safe. Lydia sees the beauty all around her and sadly doesn’t count herself among the beauty she sees.

Lydia and Rune come upon a mirror in the woods and Rune senses danger, but Lydia feels drawn to it and avoids the mirror for a while just for Rune’s sake, until she thinks it could be just the thing to help their town get some answers. Once she looks into the mirror everything changes.

Things to Love:
🪞Funniest/Sweetest Meet Cute

🪞Instant Attraction

🪞Magic Mirrors and Magical Beings

🪞Protection from the pack of Wolves

🪞Dancing together

🪞Cooling off in the river

🪞Cloud Gazing

I loved everything about this story. I was very connected to the characters and their lives and loved when each would open up about past hurts. The way things that happened in the beginning came full circle in the end was beautiful.

[Marina Bair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will start by saying I hope she’s going to write more books in this world, because I really enjoyed it! It sure feels like Kimberly is leaving the possibility open! ❤️ Okay, so Lydia and Rune are so cute! I loved them together. Sweet Rune 🥰.
Because of past experiences Lydia feels like no guy will ever look at her when her more beautiful sister is around. There is this persistent thought that beauty is the most important thing to get a guy. And since Lydia has a hard time seeing her own beauty, she finds it hard to believe that Rune might like her.

It’s a great story about seeing the beauty around us in all its forms not just physical appearance and that love it a risk worth taking. I adored this book! 💕

💕 Retelling of the snow Queen
💕 Multiple POVs
💕 Clean Sweet Romance
💕Love is worth the risk

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting tale of the snow queen. This was my first fairytale about the snow queen and book from this author. I was intrigued until the end and would recommend this book. The message of the story was great, especially in our world where beauty and being perfect is constantly thrown at every girl. Definitely a fun read!

I received a copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a review. These are my own honest thoughts.

[Mary Ann Bulloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book to read. It showed how you can let jealousy poison you if it's unchecked. Seeing the way the world was changing by magic was interesting. I enjoyed the story! I've read most of the stories from this series and look forward to reading the rest.

[Sandralena Hanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Snow Queen retelling bookends this tale, beginning and ending. The main story is one of insecurity, such as we've all felt at one time or another.

Lydia is pretty, smart, kind, and a talented artist. She has everything going for her, including a loving family. But she is haunted by the Thing That Happened. The details are never given, but the reader can guess that it is when she introduced a previous boyfriend to her family. Rosalee is her extremely beautiful and sweet older sister, who inadvertently charmed the young man away from Lydia.

So when Lydia's father hires a young man to help on their herbalist farm, Lydia refuses to see who Rune is truly attracted to.

Lydia is a bold yet loving FMC. Her desire to be accepted for herself is very relatable. And Rune is a total cinnamon roll that you want her to hug.

This book is totally enjoyable, except for the parts where you want to shake Lydia. Yet there wouldn't be an interesting story if the romance went smoothly.

I received a free arc of this book. My opinions are my own.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this Snow Queen retelling!

Lydia and Rune were a cute couple and well-balanced. I felt the family relationships were all well-written especially between Lydia and her siblings Rosalee and Leif. The frustration is real, but also the immense love you have for your siblings no matter what. I also really like the message/theme of the book. It was handled really nicely. Finally, the world-building was super intriguing. It was developed enough that I didn't feel lost, but left enough a mystery that I'm now excited to read whatever comes out in this world next.

This was my first book by Kimberly Pearl but I hope it won't be my last!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um, the ending? It just stops.
My first read by Kimberly.

[Elliana Maselli (The Real Count St. Germain) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should have been great.

Great family dynamics, a sweet romance, a magic system involving plants being sentient and communicatory, the most Epic Villain Origin Story Ever... this book should have been great.

But I just couldn't bring myself to love it.

I read Pearl's other books, the Alayan Series, earlier this week and absolutely adored them. (If you want to see my reviews for those books, you can read them here.) So naturally, when I saw that Pearl had another book, and that it would take me just one three-hour plane ride to finish, I was thrilled.

But this book did not hold a candle to Pearl's other works.

Like I said, this book had a great premise: Lydia, the daughter of an herb farmer, stumbles upon her father's new farm hand on her way home from town and is immediately smitten. Over the next couple of months, she and the farm hand grow closer—he teaches her how to "hear" plants, and she shares her love of art with him. But old wounds cause Lydia to be insecure of her beautiful older sister, Rosie, and when a strange mirror in the woods offers to make Lydia beautiful, the temptation may be too great to bear. But all wishes come with a price, and the thing within the mirror is far uglier than Lydia could ever imagine.

I was constantly looking for beauty, trying to capture it. And my own reflection was one place where I would never find it.

This book started strong. The prologue was captivating foreboding and tragic and I was really excited to learn more about the mirror, this new world, and the magic system. And my interest in these things never really diminished: the magic system, the world, and the mirror all remain some of my favorite elements of this story.

Then, we were introduced to Lydia and her family. I love stories about large, loving families. Rune seemed like a sweet love interest, and I was hopeful that this was going to be a great book.

And then I heard it. In one voice at first, then four, then an innumerable amount in a harmony that played on my heartstrings, the wheat whistled my tune back to me. My eyes glazed with emotion as nature sang to me the song of my youth, the song of a mother's love, as the last rays of the sun lit up the world.

But the more I read, the more disappointed I got.

Honestly, I think more than anything, this book suffered from being so short. It's only 200 pages, which makes it an objectively Little Book. This world has a deep magic system, and the fact that Lydia came from a big family meant that there were a lot of characters to introduce and set the stage for. There were a lot of interesting dynamics that could have been explored, that we simply did not have time for. Rosalee's love story, for one thing, could have handled significantly more page time. Leif's irresponsibility and maturing into manhood could have also been explored more. Lydia's relationship with her mother and with Rosalee also would have been wonderful to see fleshed out. More than anything, time with these other plots would have given Lydia and Rune's romance time to breathe, so that it did not feel so rushed and insta-lovey.

Her kind of beauty was deep. It was soft strokes down my hair with a brush. It was a beauty I both saw and felt. And that feeling of beauty suddenly seemed a lot more important.

I really wanted to love Lydia and Rune. The romances were my favorite part of the Alayan Series (Maggie and Hugo have my whole, entire angsty heart). But something about Lydia and Rune just didn't click in the same way for me. They had chemistry, but it felt like their feelings just didn't have much time to ferment. While we had some great scenes between the two of them (I'm looking at you, Water-Fight Scene), they still only managed to be Just OK.

All-in-all, this book could have been great, but ended up just being a convenient way to entertain myself during a three-hour flight and beef up this year's reading goal.

Bottom Line: Sometimes, size does matter.

pre-review

I’m beginning to wonder if I read the same book everyone else did.

currently-reading update

After reading some of the reviews for this book, I'm remembering the gross, sappy smiles I had reading the Alayan Series and suddenly I'm very nervous about the fact that I'm reading this book on a commercial flight.

[Kayt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Kimberly Pearl's book To Capture a Beauty gripped me from the beginning with a very strong hook and the tale of a girl who lost everything by dropping her magical facade for a second. However, the book then switched to the POV of another female character sixty years later, and I spent most of the book wondering when and if the girl from the prologue would ever reappear. I'll be totally honest and tell you that this did detract from my enjoyment of the story, even though when that girl did reappear (as the evil Snow Queen) the wait made perfect sense. However, the story was extraordinarily well written and well deserving of 5 stars!

Lydia (the FMC) is obsessed with beauty and can see it in everything but herself. She is a talented artist, kind and sweet, and Rune (the MMC) falls in love with her pretty fast, leading her younger brother to be rather hilariously overprotective of her. I adored getting to know all of Lydia's family, especially her adorable younger sister, and seeing things from Rune's perspective every now and then (through his diary) was extra special! He taught Lydia to listen to the flowers and all of nature, and I found the idea of plants being semi-sentient extremely intriguing! This was especially wonderful when the trees saved their lives not once but twice in the book! I haven't seen magic like this before and I must admit I'm pretty tempted to go and sing to the flowers here in Joburg to see if they sing back! lol.

Fantasy is an incredibly hard genre to write in as it involves a great deal of in-depth world-building and each world is completely unique to that particular author. Kim did a great job mixing magic with normalcy and showing how not all magic can be trusted! The way Lydia tried to convince herself that the magic in the mirror was beautiful and therefore it must be good, reminded me of how we can convince ourselves that sin is good because it's beautiful in the moment. It showed me the importance of resisting temptation and to find our worth in who we are rather than what we look like!

Near the end of the book, Lydia stepped through the mirror and in the ice castle she became even more obsessed with all things beautiful and especially with the idea of becoming that beauty permanently. She kept wondering what could be better than to be an ice statue so she could be exquisite for eternity. I kept wondering what could be worse and wishing I could shake some sense into her! Thankfully Rune did that for me! - Or at least he tried to.

However, what made Lydia wake up to the true importance of life, was seeing the REAL beauty in everyday things! Beauty that comes from love and care: her mother brushing her hair; her sister mud-stained and distraught in the woods, determined to save Lydia from whatever evil had befallen her; Rune telling her she was the only one for him ….. she began to realise that true worth is not in appearance but in character. That she was beautiful not because of her looks but because she was loved. That she was special because she was herself! And with this realisation the ice within her began to thaw and she saw the castle through new eyes: dull and lifeless, not shiny and beautiful. She realised that the Snow Queen had been stealing the energy of young girls for decades and it was up to her and Rune (and the trees!) to save them from certain death.

Thankfully, the girls were saved (I won’t tell you how, I’ve spoiled enough already!) and the Snow Queen was defeated. Lydia returned to her old life with the new knowledge that external beauty isn’t everything, and that what truly matters is love and finding beauty in the everyday.
To Capture a Beauty was a very accurate but extremely original, exciting, poignant and entertaining retelling of the Snow Queen and I highly recommend it to any fantasy and fairytale afficionados!

*I received an ARC for this book. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I was not able to review it anywhere near the release date, nonetheless all opinions are my own and I will most definitely be reading more of Kim’s books in the future, as she is an exceptionally talented author who is well-able to bring the imagination to life in vivid colour!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. This is the first book of the author's that I've read and I would like to read more from her. This is the twelfth and final book in The Shattered Tales collection, which is made up of 12 standalone books by 12 different authors. The book's blurb gives you a good idea of what to expect. It's a captivating Snow Queen retelling told through Lydia and Rune's pov.

The Snow Queen is a retelling that I'm vaguely familiar with so I can't say how close this retelling follows the original. However, from what I could recognize, I liked how the author used the familiar elements in a way that still felt like her own. From the start of the story, I was drawn in to the world and by the characters. It was easy to want to get to know them and their stories.

As the main character, Lydia is relatable for those of any age. She has her talent yet struggles with feeling like she's enough when she compares herself to others, specifically her family members. However, though she experienced those feelings and jealousy at times, she wasn't hateful and loved them deeply. That's part of what made her likeable. She also had a curious nature that led her to befriend Rune. Being new to town, Rune has a mysterious air around him but he's trustworthy. He's attentive and notices things about Lydia that she doesn't realize. As they spend time together, their different passions - hers drawing and his studying herbs- allow them to form a bond.

Though they had a mutual pull to each other, their romance is a slow burn. But, readers will be satisfied with the development or Lydia and Rune's relationship. Their first meeting gave them no choice but to become friends and it will make readers chuckle. Their tasks may force them together but they like spending time together getting to know each other. In particular, I liked seeing how Rune slowly opened up to Lydia and felt safe to share his thoughts and hopes with hers. Their romance was a clean one consisting of only kissing and no foul language was used. Aside from Lydia and Rune's relationship, I liked the dynamics of the family. The world building was also something that wasn't difficult to follow but rather made you want to stay in it. I liked the author's description of things and what an important message the story had. While the story had it's ending, it appears the author has plans to continue on in this world she created and I look forward to reading more from her.

[Meagan Myhren-Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

To Capture a Beauty:
A Snow Queen Retelling
Shattered Tales #12
By Kimberly Pearl

Lydia knows she lives in the shadow of her older sister's beauty. And as far as the young men in the area go, she'll always be an afterthought or a distant memory once they catch a glimpse of Rosalee. Even her mother's insistence that Rosales was destined to capture the heart of a man of wealth and prestige showed how inferior Lydia was to her sister. So when a young man stops to actually talk to her and get to know her, she's more than a little surprised and doubtful that his attention will last. And when she learns that he's her father's new apprentice she's pleased at the prospect of more time together.

When Leif meets Lydia on the road to Moonrose, Lydia's family's farm, he's surprised how easily he can converse with her. Their shared interest in plants gives them a point connection as they work together, gathering the herbs and plants her father needs.

But there is danger in the area. What the danger is no one knows, but young women are disappearing. Finding himself not only an apprentice but an unofficial guard for Lydia, Leif shares with her secrets about plants that he alone knows. Secrets that show her just how affected the area's vegetation is by magic.

When the pair stumble upon an enchanted mirror, they avoid it, but Lydia's brief glimpse reveals something. It showed her heart's desire - perfection. Caught in its siren call, she is tempted to take what it offers perfect unending beauty. Can she withstand its call?

This was a delightful read. Can the unintended rivalry between sisters drive them apart? Lydia's sense of inferiority drives her, damaging her past friendship with her sister. But she is fiercely loyal to her family.

If you are someone who skips prologues, don't as it sets the whole mood and tone for the book. Deep-seated hurt, feelings of unworthiness, and inferiority that must be overcome. This is an excellent twist on the Snow Queen that will leave wanting more. The book was more than a little engaging; it was, in fact, unputdownable! Highly recommended for any reader over the age of 12 years who is looking for a clean reading, fairytale retelling.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

[Riella Cristobal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inventive retelling of the Snow Queen! Lydia knows she isn’t the most beautiful Rolnik sister and she tries not to be bothered by the fact. She focuses on her sketches and helping on the family herb farm, but as her feelings for the handsome new hire grow, so does her dread that her sister’s beauty will outshine her own. Her discovery of a mirror in the woods that shows a flawless version of herself is hard to resist, especially when the silvery voice tells her she could step through and make the reflection a reality. Will she be able to resist the call, or will the promise of perfection prove too strong to ignore? If she’s not careful, she may end up going missing herself.
This was a lovely story! Lydia is so relatable, so many understand the feeling of others’ being more lovely than they are. Her POV was engaging and easy to follow. I enjoyed seeing things through her perspective, especially the magic! What lovely magic within this world! It was charming and something I would love to see more of! Rune was also a sweetheart. They really enjoyed spending time with one another and I loved how their interests complimented one another. I liked seeing a bit of his perspective also created a more full story,
I enjoyed seeing the story unfold. It was an interesting take inspired by the fairytale, but unique! The message of the dangers of jealousy and focusing on external beauty is so relevant. It also hints at more stories to come in this world, which I would be so excited to see! This is a fairytale inspired romance with a magical world and only kissing!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, I was not required to write a positive review.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve books. When this journey started that seemed like a lot and here we are. The last book in this series. Some were amazing, some were not entirely my thing. I reunited with a few favorite authors and I discovered some new favorite authors. It has been quite a journey. And I was glad I could end it with this arc, a Snow Queen Retelling.

The tale of the Snow Queen is a complicated and hard tale to retell. It's impossible to incorporate each and every element and yet this author did an amazing job. The magical flowers and trees are there, the disappearing children are of course present and there is a Snow Queen luring young children into her ice castle.

The first half of the book I was really wondering what the author was trying to do with this tale. I loved the touch of magic, I loved the blossoming romance, I loved how she translated the magical garden from the fairytale into something new and still magical and yet I didn't really know where this was going and how the Snow Queen was gonna make her appearance.

But all the building up was eventually totally worth it. The finale of the book, from the moment our heroine has her heart broken, was so pure, emotional and heartfelt. I had to blink away a few tears and I really really loved how every element of the story came together and played an important role in solving the mess.

I will certainly keep an eye on all these authors and their future releases!

[Charley · Rating 4 out of 5]

To Capture a Beauty is the final book in The Shattered Tales. I am not sure why these books are labeled as ages 12 to 18. They should be labeled 12 until you die. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these books as an adult.

This is another Snow Queen retelling. Parts can be recognized from other books and parts are all new by the author, Kimberly Pearl. She gives a good synopsis of her story so I won't add it to my comments. What I liked about it were all the characters, her mom and dad are loving, her brothers and sisters remind me of my siblings, and her older sister is beautiful both inside and out. However, the main character, Lydia, can't see that. This is a good story for people who are obsessed with their looks, especially teenagers, and us adults who worry over our weight. Lydia almost loses everything until she realizes that she can be loved for herself, regardless of how she looks. For it is what's inside that counts. This is again a clean fairytale and the last page gives a very happy ending. There is an epilogue that indicates the author may continue the story. I did receive an ARC copy but this is my own comments. I do recommend this book to everyone.

[Abigail]

I’m not going to rate this book because I am conflicted. I honestly don’t know what to think. Writing was decent world building was decent. Plot was decent ( for the most part). It definitely held my interest but fell a little flat for me. I liked Lydia - she was very sweet and relatable. But I never really cared that much for Rune. He never did anything wrong but for some reason he kinda creeped me out. Therefore I was unable to really ship them. That pretty much ruined the book for me. The plot was fairly predictable but not bad by any means ( especially when one considers Melanie Dickerson 🤢). Celeste was… odd. Her reaction to Tavish’s rejection was weird. Like the betrayal should probably have been a little more cruel. Also if I were her and could get my hands on magic, I would be focused on revenge not beauty. All in all though, Celeste wasn’t as cruel as I thought she should be. I mean this is the Snow Queen we’re talking about, she is supposed to be pure evil. Celeste was selfish but not scary, the Snow Queen is supposed to be terrifying. So those are my thoughts. Allera was super interesting and I would totally read a book about her. Also, will no one ever make me happy and write a Frozen retelling ?

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Plot- This felt more like a cautionary tale than a novel. Like, probably perfect for a middle school English class to read and discuss.
The plot starts out with a sweet YA romance and then the FMC becomes addicted of sorts to a conniving magic that sells the illusion of beauty. She falls prey to this predatory magic until she is rescued by the love interest, coming to the realization that beauty isn’t as important as what’s inside.
The lesson is nice and written in a way that is geared for tweens. Although obvs everyone can benefit from this reminder. Esp in our current day and age where women are embracing a lot of fake-ness in our never ending search for increased beauty. Instead, we should embrace our age and our individuality with grace… and focus on WHO WE ARE INSIDE.

Characters- The two main characters are endearing and sweet.

Writing - Sweet and simplistic.

Romance- Sweet and innocent.


Content-

Language- no swearing.
Spice- one chaste kiss at the end
Violence- none
Cover- ok
POV- dual POV, first person
Cliffhanger- The romance is concluded at the end but the threat still persists, which sets up for the next book. I feel completely satisfied, tho.
Format- KU

[Laurie Lucking · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 Things I LOVED about this book:

1. The Romance
Lydia and Rune were just so perfect together! *happy sigh* I loved how they shared vulnerable moments and encouraged each other's interests and talents. Add in some banter and a few swoony moments, and I was totally hooked!

2. The Family
They had their problems (as all families do!), but I really enjoyed the dynamics between Lydia and her siblings as they squabbled, weathered misunderstandings, and ultimately stood up for and supported each other.

3. The Theme
The message of this book really hit home for me! Like Lydia, I've struggled with comparison and wishing for a more "perfect" appearance. Her powerful journey will come to mind whenever I need reminders about true inner beauty.

This was my first book by Kimberly Pearl, but it won't be my last! Highly recommended for fairy tale fans looking for a creative, beautifully written Snow Queen retelling.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.*

[Karen Daliath · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book in The Shattered Tales. What a great story! I loved this Snow Queen retelling! Even though I expected it to be the story of the Snow Queen herself, Lydia didn't disappoint me. Nuh uh! Not even a little.

I adored the chemistry between Rune and Lydia! Gah! They were so cute! Lief was a amazing, (not-so-protective but) protective younger brother, Enora (I hope I got her name right?) was a cute little pie, Felix was sweet, and Rosalee was... Well, I better not spoil anything here, lol.

This book weaved together romance, mystery, and the inspiring message about where true beauty lies. There were so many uplifting quotes too, and Lydia's character was so relatable. I felt connected with her, and the magic of the plants almost made me believe it was real in real. *Looking at you Rune*

Highly recommend this book!

All opinions are solely mine.

[Lj · Rating 4 out of 5]

To Capture a Beauty is a retelling of the Snow Queen although it does take rather a long time to get around to the Snow Queen part of the story. Aside from the prologue, the first three quarters or so of the book is basically a sweet romance between a herb farmer's daughter and the farmer's new apprentice. It's only when a misunderstanding leads to heartbreak that the element of the Snow Queen tale really comes into the story. The world the author has created is interesting with only a little of the magic explored which makes me wonder if the author is planning to write more set in this world. Overall, it is a sweet, interesting story.

I received an ARC and freely offer an honest review.

[Rose Seals · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, full of drama, intrigue, romance, emotions, action, jealousy, chemistry, magic, twists and turns. What a wonderful way to end this series. The beginning is just as good as the ending. Lydia is very obsessed with her looks and feels that her older sister is better looking then her. Strange things are happening so her family hires Rune to work on the farm and protect the girls . Lydia and Ruan are in the woods one day and find a looking glass mirror. He wants to stay away from it but Lydia feels drawn to it. You can feel the feelings between them. Would recommend.
I am an ARC and leave this unbiased, honest review.

[Martha Braebuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an incredible Snow Queen retelling with such profound truths. I loved Lydia and how sweet and compassionate she was and, despite her jealousy of her sister, she still loved her. I absolutely loved Rune and how sweet and kind and strong he was. They were so perfect together. I felt really sorry for Lydia as she didn't know how beautiful she truly was and that her beauty was on the inside and it was amazing how she reached the conclusion that inner beauty was more important that outward beauty. I really felt sorry for Celeste as well, she was hurt and she chose the wrong way. I'm wondering if there is going to be a sequel or new series set in the same world. Excellent story!

[Victoria Pring · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a bit in the middle of this book that dragged a little for me but the rest was amazing. The one thing that annoyed me was the sibling relationships, Lief was supposedly worried about his sister getting hurt but at no point had a discussion with rune about it. Lydia thought Rune and Rosalie had a secret relationship yet at no point considered giving her sister the heads up that he had also tried to kiss her? Amazing sibling energy there. On the other side of things though I loved the magic and some of the images conjured up by the last third of the book will be in my mind for a quite some time.

[Renee Marski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lydia is an artist who lives on a herb farm. Rune is hired to help out and protect her. As she develops feelings for him, she fights her insecurities that he will choose her sister over her. While in the forest they find a tree with a mirror that draws her to it, no matter how much time passes. After a misunderstanding, she runs to the tree, losing herself in a castle of ice and beauty. But its not real and Lydia needs to go home.

Such a fun story full of love and sweetness. Very much enjoyed it.

[Bethany Aich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This story held me captivated. It’s a unique twist on the Snow Queen and I really enjoyed it. It’s also chock full of enough reality and truth that I think makes the story more impactful. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, but for a fairytale, it felt real.

Romance: a bit warmer than I would maybe prefer in terms of descriptions of feelings, but not bad. It is clean physically.

Violence: Kidnapping. Wolves. Emotional manipulation.

While I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, the thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy reading retelling of stories we all grew up to know of. This in particular was written with uniqueness and it captures your attention the more you get to know Lydia and Rune. Can’t forget the others included, they add a lot of character to the story.

I loved how the story was created. You got magic and bliss. You get this familiar feeling from Snow White, in it’s unique way. You get the story of Lydia and Rune and how their romance develops. Theres nothing more enticing than a magical romance.