by David Meredith
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: David Meredith
Pub Date: October 2013
Genre: Young Adult
Format: eBook
Source: Author
Book Links: Goodreads Amazon
What happens when "happily ever after" has come and gone?
On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven's wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven's fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White's own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing:
The king is dead.
The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old.
It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what "happily ever after" really means?
Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White.
My Review: Who doesn't love a good princess telling? It's all about Snow White, but this isn't a Disney story.
So Snow White's daughter is getting married. It should be a wonderful time for everyone. The castle is perfect and ready. The people are happy. Most importantly Princess Raven is happy. So really Snow White should be happy to be aging gracefully and looking forward to the future. But she can't, the king is gone.
Happily ever after can happen again. Losing the one she loved is hard. Snow White isn't dealing well with it. Maybe going to the magic mirror can help. Even though its been used mostly for bad things, after all it did belong to her stepmom. Is there a mention of beauty and poison apple? Hmm, maybe there is or maybe there is no Disney reference at all. You'll just have to read it.
Snow will have to deal with these demons. Confront everything and find a way to a path of happily ever after. The details are amazing. You get to read about Snow in a whole new way. I've read all kinds of re-tellings. Snow White isn't my favorite princess, but I did always like her story. But overall, this has to be one of the best Snow White re-telling.
This is an author to watch and I hope there are more re-tellings by him!
My Rating:
✪✪✪✪✪
