Blood in the Snow - Sarah Pennington (Release Day Review!)

“Though it is with great regret that I bid farewell to my stepdaughter—” the empress did not sound regretful— “her departure is undoubtedly the will of the Divine. So His prophecy commands: ‘As the river unites land and sea, so the fairest of all shall unite those that have been divided and make them one.’ The Dragonglass, which cannot lie, declares Princess Baili fairer than any in the land. Therefore, she shall wed Prince Liu Xiang of the Kingdom of Three Peaks and seal between our lands a bond ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity.”

When I first read the paragraph above, I knew that I was going to love Sarah’s story—and I did.  It has wonderful historical detail; a sweet, humble heroine; a satisfying romance; and high stakes, as the rulers of two great nations contend for the future of their lands.  Although it draws from the European fairy tales “Snow White” and “The Goose Girl,” it is set in a magical version of Asia, with the Mandarin, Japanese, and Mongolian peoples (as well as others I didn’t recognize) struggling for peace and prosperity.

Baili is the princess of Seven Rivers, heir of the royal Bloodgift which yields power over water and air.  As the fairest of them all—surpassing even her stepmother, Empress Yawen—she will be sent to marry the prince of Three Peaks in order to reconcile the two kingdoms.  But the marriage plans do not proceed smoothly.  As she journeys north, Baili is replaced by her maidservant, and barely escapes with her life.  Providentially, she finds refuge with a group of peasants and POWs who live near the Three Peaks capital.  But her maidservant has already claimed her place in the palace.  How can Baili prove her identity to Prince Xiang and his father?  With the true architect of her downfall still free to plot, will Baili survive to reclaim her place?

High Points

Honestly, this story is all high points.  Baili is such a sweet person.  I was really rooting for her throughout the story.  The “dwarves” are a lot of fun—especially Chouko, who challenges Baili in so many ways.  Prince Xiang, with his kindness and healing gift, was the perfect match for Baili.  I loved the historical and linguistic details, and the fact that Sarah was committed to showing the multi-ethnic society of ancient China.

Caveats

The only thing that bothered me was that the story wasn’t longer.  I think this storyline, these characters, and this world could easily have supported a story twice or three times this length (it’s only 62 pages long in my PDF version).  Sarah hints at many fascinating things in her Asia-esque world… I really wanted to see these fleshed out.  What is the Dragonglass exactly, and where did it come from?  What’s the deal with the Bloodgifts?

Bottom Line

I adored this story.  Even though I already have it as an electronic file, the paperback is going on my wish list!  If you’re a fan of Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Golden Daughter, you’ll enjoy Blood in the Snow as well.

Sarah's Bio

Sarah Pennington has been writing stories since before she actually knew how to write, and she has no intention of stopping anytime soon. She is perpetually in the middle of writing at least one or two novels, most of which are in the fantasy and fairy tale retelling genres. Sarah's first published work, Blood in the Snow, received a perfect score and Special Unicorn status in Rooglewood Press's Five Poisoned Apples contest. When she isn't writing, she enjoys knitting, photography, and trying to conquer her massive to-be-read list. Find her online at: Website || Blog || Second Blog || Facebook

Links

Find Blood on Amazon here.

Add it on Goodreads here. 

The first chapter is available for FREE here!

Magic Mirrors

Sarah’s story is part of the Magic Mirrors co-release—a group of seven Snow White stories by six different authors, all becoming available the last week of October.  Watch this space for more Magic Mirrors reviews!  Navigate over to organizer Kendra's blog to join the Rafflecopter giveaway!

More stops on Sarah's blog tour today:

Knitted By God's Plan: 7 Reasons to Read

Light and Shadows: 5 Reasons to Read

Dreams and Dragons: Mega Spotlight

Heather L.L. FitzGerald: Guest Post - Snow White: A Story of Change

Ink Calamities: Review

Jenelle Schmidt: Review

Literature Approved: Review

The Labyrinth: Review

The Page Dreamer: Review

Sparks of Ember: Review

Unicorn Quester: Review

Selina J. Eckert: Interview

Reality Reflected: Interview

Dragonpen Press: Interview

The Princess and the Invisible Apple Tree - Meredith Leigh Burton (Release Day Review!)

“I didn’t mean to kill mother.  Truly I didn’t.”

The first line of Meredith’s story pulled me right in.  I read the novella in a day, enchanted by this tale built from the lesser-known elements of “Snow White,” as well as elements from fairy tales like “The Wild Swans” and “Rumplestiltskin.”

This is a story about two girls.  One, Snowdrop, was born a princess.  She is consumed with guilt after she kills her mother, giving her the poisoned tart that was meant for Snowdrop herself.  She tries to tell her father about the poisoner, but he doesn’t believe her, dismissing her words.

The other girl, Rachel, is an innkeeper’s daughter who struggles with feelings of inadequacy as well as an eating disorder.  After her mother marries the king (one of the less convincing bits of the story…) she meets Snowdrop.  Although they have much in common, they find themselves in conflict when Rachel won’t give up an important object—the magic mirror given to her by a mysterious peddler.  A peddler who sounds a lot like the one who gave Snowdrop the tart that killed her mother.

High Points

I was impressed by how Meredith addressed the difficult themes in this story while keeping a fantastic fairy tale quality.  She manages to bring the girls closer to one another and to God in a very convincing way.  She also constructs a complicated plot that includes a lot of moving back and forth through time as well as incidents that seem random but later prove to have been part of a larger logic.  Since I can’t do complex plots terribly well, I always admire the authors who can.

Caveats

While the dialogue is warm and convincing, the narration doesn’t always reflect the voices of the POV characters.  I also found the climax of the story to be a little confusing.  How exactly does the thing with the invisible tree work?  I realize that this is a fairy tale and fairy tales don’t usually explain how their magic works, but they get away with this by trading on well-known tropes and processes that the Grimm Brothers’ informants would have understood.  So I got a bit lost.  I felt that the character beats in the midst of the climax felt rushed (especially Snowdrop’s sudden affection for Rachel).

Bottom Line

I enjoyed this story.  While it’s short on dwarves and handsome princes, it has two wonderful heroines and an exciting plot with many twists and turns.  If you’re a fan of C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, I think you’ll enjoy Princess as well!

Links

Find Princess on Amazon here.

Add it on Goodreads here. 

Find Meredith’s fairy tale collection, Blind Beauty and Other Tales of Redemption, here.

Meredith's Bio

Meredith Leigh Burton is a voracious devourer of fairy tales. She is a motivational speaker, teacher and writer. She attended the Tennessee School for the Blind and Middle Tennessee State University, where she received a degree in English and theater. Meredith hopes to convey through her writing that people with differences can contribute much to the world. "Snow White" has always been her favorite fairy tale. Meredith has written another fairy tale based on "Snow White" entitled Hart Spring, which can be found in her anthology, Blind Beauty and Other Tales of Redemption. She resides in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

Magic Mirrors

Meredith’s story is part of the Magic Mirrors co-release—a group of seven Snow White stories by six different authors, all becoming available the last week of October.  Watch this space for more Magic Mirrors reviews!  Or navigate over to our organizer Kendra's blog to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

More stops on the Princess blog tour:

Knitted By God's Plan: 7 Reasons to Read

Light and Shadows: 5 Reasons to Read

Dreams and Dragons: Review

Ink Calamities: Review

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke: Spotlight - Rose

The Labyrinth: Guest Post - Why Magic Mirrors

Reality Reflected: - Guest Post - What is Snow White

Red as Snow - Kendra E. Ardnek (Release Day Review!)

Snow needs a husband in order to claim her throne, but it’s hard to compete with a younger, prettier stepmother.

Isn’t that just the greatest tag line?

When the old king dies, his ambitious nephew digs up a law that requires Princess Snow to be married in order to hold the throne.  If she remains single, she forfeits her claim and rule devolves on nephew Charmel.  But it’s not easy for a no-longer-young princess to find a husband when her pretty stepmother is nearby… and her own history makes her unwilling to give her heart away.

High Points

The most unexpected thing about this story was the POV.  It’s not Snow but stepmother Rose who is the true heroine of this story.  I loved the relationship between Snow and Rose, the way Rose was trying to help without having a clue what was really going on in Snow’s mind.  Snow’s stepmother is her best ally… and Prince Charming is her worst enemy.  He’s always working two or three angles while he aims at the throne.  Fortunately, he’s not as smart as he thinks he is.

Caveats

I can tell that this was rushed to press… but getting two stories ready for release in the same week is quite a challenge!

Bottom Line

This is a fun short story—definitely a “twisted” retelling!  I’m excited to read the rest of the series!

Find Red on Amazon here.

Kendra has written a LOT of fairy tale retellings in multiple series.  Find the other “Twist of Adventure” stories here and here.

Kendra’s story is part of the Magic Mirrors co-release—a group of seven Snow White stories by six different authors, all becoming available the last week of October.  Watch this space for more Magic Mirrors reviews!

Navigate to Kendra's own blog, Knitted by God's Plan here, for her post and links to other blogs participating in the Magic Mirrors blog tour.