White as Snow

The Sleeping Kingdom #1

by Veronica Bonn

When young Schneewittchen, Princess of Allemand, meets her new stepmother Elspeth, she believes she finally has the maternal figure her life has been missing. But when her father dies of a sudden illness, Schneewittchen finds herself at the mercy of Elspeth's wrath. Turned from princess to a servant, she does all that she can to please her stepmother in hopes that one day, she will love her like she was her own.

Elspeth wants nothing to do with Schneewittchen. She can't even properly pronounce the girl's name and resorts to using the Common Tongue's variant: Snow White. When her crown becomes jeopardized with the king's death, an unsettling jealousy towards her stepdaughter consumes her.

But the crown isn't the only thing on Elspeth's mind. Locked in a tower on the outskirts of the kingdom is Elspeth's daughter, just one of the many secrets she is desperate to keep from coming to light. And when an unexpected visit from a prince threatens to unravel everything she has worked towards, Elspeth knows there is only one solution: kill Snow White.

As Elspeth conspires to destroy the princess, her daughter Rapunzel begins to feel neglected. Hidden from the world because of the black markings on her arm, Rapunzel contemplates her purpose and whether her life is worth living. Little does she know that she is one of nine keys crucial to lifting a curse her mother is hellbent on keeping alive…

Genres: Fantasy, Retellings, Ebooks, Fairy Tales, Magic, Romantasy, Romance

433 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2022

Reviews

[ReadwithEmm · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a Disney lover, fairy tales, back stories to popular known stories, then this is your book!
Told from the POV of the evil step mothers and side characters while also intertwining the popular Disney stories and how each one relates to the other! Well written and excellent description!

[pretty princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

fairytales retellings

4★ - this was so well written im still a little shocked

• i love me a good retelling fairytale where EVERYTHING is connected
• even though there are some chapters that i felt were not particularly necessary from some characters point of view, i LOVED this book
• it's so freaking well written which was a breath of fresh air compared to what i've been reading lately
• you can def tell the story is a resemblance of the original but w things changed but always for the better
• peter pan i have my eye on you. in more ways than one
• it was just way too good and now im sad i have to pay to read the second one, but i will BC NOW I HAVE A FUCKING KINDLE AND IT'S CHEAP

that's the 🫖 y'all, bye bye

[Courtnie-Gina Manning · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one, I just couldn't get into it. I found it very repetitive.

[Kaitie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this one a 4.5, the story building is wonderfully done and it's refreshing to find a well written classic retelling with a twist!
I have seen other reviews where people said it was repetitive, but I think if you step back and look at each character and the importance of their individual stories it kind of all just comes together.
I can sense there is something big brewing here and I am so excited to see where this goes!

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a series. This is a take on several fairy tales, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Rapunzel and Cinderella.

[Natalia Pedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Usually most fairytale retellings are either confusing or are just not good. But this book kept me hooked and I loved how they combined all of my favorite fairytale characters to be living in the same reality but in different kingdoms. This book is definitely a must-read for those who love fairytale retellings with a bit of world building. I am definitely going to read the next two books in the series as well.

[Brianna’s Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read if you love fairytales

This isn’t your average fairytale retelling, this is all your favourite fairytales in one as their stories collide with one another. It is a page turner as you see how one beloved character meets another and wonder how their story impacts the rest. Highly recommend you read! Heads up ends on a cliffhanger but book 2 is already released!

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting

Do you like fairy tales? Do you like retellings of fairy tales? What about mashups of fairy tales? Then you should read this book!

The fairy tails encountered so far in this book and series are Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and a small hint of Beauty and the Beast.

[Magda]

Nothing is really happening that's different from the original story, hence why I don't see the point to continue. I've read 190 pages and still we're introducec to new caracters. There's so many POV and so many different story lines - and I cannot see why. We follow Peter Pan, captain Hook, Cinderella, Snow White, Snow White's stepmom, Rapunzel, Belle and Ariel. Why??

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not exactly what I was looking for, but the little twists and connections are grabbing my attention.

I wasn't liking Snow White, but I guess an unfiltered child would annoy me. But I don't dislike her as in the beginning. I do, however, not like Peter Pan and Wendy, ever since I was a kid, too. So we'll see where it goes.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn’t get into the book, it’s very repetitive and at times confusing. They kept talking about needing to kill the Reincarnates but then at one point saying they needed to keep them all alive?

I finished the book because I don’t like to DNF books, but I doubt that’ll pick up the rest of the series. You’ve heard it all before in all the fairytales we grew up with in Disney.

[Uraveragemuggle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book completely blind as a W book for my alphabet reading challenge.
I didn’t realize it would be multiple fairytale retellings which I love the idea of, however I feel like as soon as the stories started connecting the book was over. There are more in the series.
I feel like it took 400 pages to get through the set up of the story.

[Jennifer Platt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edge of your seat

This was another amazing fairy tale mashup. I loved the Disney movie shout outs. That was fun. There was no foul language. One kind of graphic sex scene.
Ended on a cliffhanger

[Allison Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives a very ‘Once Upon a Time’ vibe and the story is interesting but this first book is just laying the ground work for the next one. It felt very drawn out to just be a set up for the next book.

[Kristin Love · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it hard to follow and not particularly engaging. Too many separate threads. Nothing gets resolved.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have used another pass from an editor, but I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.

[Kristen Haddick · Rating 1 out of 5]

DO NOT FINISH!!!

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

[Marion Linke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very dissappointed by this book. I liked the idea of retelling farytales and connecting them all together, but the stories were not well presented and I was waiting for something to happen ... and then the book ended on a cliff hanger. But unfortunately in a way that made me think "Okay, it doesn't matter then". I will not continue this series. There was no character, I fell in love with, no story that I felt was worth following beyond this book. The only reason I didn't DNF was the hope, that there would happen something towards the end, that was worth it. But there wasn't.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

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