Review: The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter is a YA fantasy fairy tale retelling of Disney’s Snow White. The Evil Queen centers around Everly Morrow. A teenage girl who goes to high school and is the opposite of her twin, Hartley. Everly loves looking at herself in the mirror and is more closed off from others. However, Hartley is very bubbly and loves animals.
Soon, Everly discovers her connection to the mirror is anything but ordinary. She is a sorcerian born in Enchantia. Everly learns she is part of the Snow White prophecy, and there is a very good chance of being the Evil Queen.
But is Everly Morrow the Evil Queen?
After a tragic event, Everly leaves Hartley behind and escapes into Enchantia for answers. She meets Prince Roth Charmaine, with whom she immediately has a connection both physically and emotionally. He is also part of the Snow White prophecy, but he is the handsome Prince? He is engaged to Princess Truly, who Everly discovers she knows more about than she is willing to admit. Saxon, Vikander, and Reese are also other magical beings in Enchantia that Everly comes face to face within her journey.
When Everly learns they want to kill sorcerians because they siphon magic from others, she hides her identity. Do they uncover her secret? If they do, what happens to Everly? Find out when you read The Evil Queen.
On Everly’s journey of finding answers, she soon sees that the prophecy’s roles are constantly changing. Does it matter if Everly is The Evil Queen? Is her handsome Prince Prince Charming? It is a continuous guessing game that also sweeps us into the world of Enchantia. One thing is for sure, Everly is no regular teenage girl. She is strong, powerful, and willing to do whatever it takes to protect Hartley. But can she be everywhere at all times?
The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter is a great book. The fairy tale retelling is spot on and so original. I have read so many fairy tale retellings, and none of them have compared to The Evil Queen. My favorite part is the worldbuilding in this book and the characters. Enchantia is a great place to set The Evil Queen. It feels so authentic and original on its own. When you combine that with the Snow White tale, it makes this book that much better.
The characters are great too.
Each one is well developed and suits their roles. However, it is the steamy romance between Everly and Roth that got me. I LOVED IT. Gena Showalter knows how to write a romance and keep us rooting for the couple until the very end. I definitely continued to root for Everly and Roth. Their chemistry is unlike any other fairy tale retelling.
One thing I would change is the length. I did find it a little long, and parts I felt like dragged on. For example, there is a section having to do with a tower. If you have read this book, you know the part. I felt like if we got rid of that section, the book would have flowed better. What do you think?
Even though I did find it long, I still give this book 5 out of 5 stars because of its originality.
It truly is a fairy tale book I will be reading again and again. The characters, the plot, and the tone of this book are something you need to check-out if you haven’t already!
My Star Rating of The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter is:
Fairy tale Retelling FAQ’s
Fairytale retellings are story’s the reimagine how the original fairy tale was told. For example, The Evil Queen reimagines Snow White with all new characters and plot. The main thing in a retelling is to keep the original plot points.
Some famous fairy tales are: Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Hansel and Gretel, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and more.
The most popular fairy tales are: Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, and Bluebeard.
Moana is not a fairy tale. It is a Walt Disney animated feature made in 2016.
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