Tell me a book is a fairy tale retelling and I will want to get my hands on it immediately. Tell me it's about Snow White and I'll want to read it that much more, if only because it doesn't seem to be as popular of fodder as other fairy tales. I can only think of one other Snow White retelling I've read and given how many retellings I've read over the years, that's pretty sad.

Retellings can go in many directions but the best make it entirely their own. Such is the case with Girls Made Of Snow And Glass.

Bashardoust gives us the outlines of the Snow White story but reinvents the details and we are left with a stunning, magical tale, one which centers the female characters and their relationships. In fact, most of the male characters in this story creeped me out and for good reason.

In this version of Snow White, Mina is the wicked stepmother and Lynet is Snow White. Lynet adores her stepmother from the start, having been deprived of most relationships outside of her father. Mina doesn't really know what to do with Lynet at first but the two come to find their own rhythms and routine. This changes when Lynet grows older and societal forces begin to pit the two women against each other. The whole while the story asks us to consider who we know ourselves to be versus what others believe is true of us. The actions we take from this knowledge can drive our lives in different directions and that is precisely what happens to Mina and Lynet.

Take everything you know about Snow White's tale and throw it out the window because while the outline is there, this story is best experienced blind, each twist and turn becoming a revelation. My heart broke for both Mina and Lynet, for the ways they were limited by virtue of being women and for the ways people failed them and they failed themselves. I wanted Mina to make better choices and to experience the power of unconditional love. I wanted Lynet to grow a backbone and take charge of her life and decisions. I wanted them to find a way forward together.

See? Not your average Snow White story.

The magic elements were fascinating and served the plot well. I liked what it said about power and strength and the wisdom to know the difference. Bashardoust emphasizes some really important messages about women: that women are more than their parents' mistakes, more than society's limitations, more than shallow understandings of what beauty is. Mina and Lynet wrestle with these ideas in different ways but one of my most favorite was Lynet's burgeoning understanding of her sexuality. Instead of a prince, Lynet falls in love with a visiting female doctor and this leads to some of the sweetest, most tender moments in the story.

But the best moments were the scenes with Lynet and Mina. Their relationship is the driving force and we are never certain whether the characters will believe the best or worst about each other as we come toward the end.

Over and over we see how everyone deserves to be loved. The question is are we willing to accept that love? And what will we do to show our love for others?

I couldn't put this one down and I'm so glad the story swept me away.

This book is told from two points of view, Lynet and Mina, but told at different time frames, Lynet is during the present time where as Mina is told from the past leading up to the present.

The dynamic between Lynet and Mina is very interesting, Mina just want to be loved and Lynet just wants to be treated like a normal person, not a fragile treasure that may break.

The background of both Lynet and Mina are very interesting and creepy at the same time. I won’t go into much detail since it will spoil the book. But man do both of their fathers have some major issues.

I enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would. I didn’t expect the small twists of info about Lynet and

Mina to be what they were. I didn’t expect there to be a “Princess Charming” in here, and I loved it.

I liked how MIna and Lynet came into their own with their “abilities” and found a way to overcome their downfalls, which happened to both be tied to their fathers and find their own voices.

I feel that this is a great book to show the importance of feminism in a positive light, and how females can help each other to overcome barriers that are placed in front of them, and that they can live together peacefully without the need to kill each other.

Why DNF? The way the writing was set up (the two main characters stories paralleling each other) was confusing. So I would keep mixing up Lynet and Mina. Where are the fantasy elements? The story was slow going and barely had any fantasy which as a personal preference I do not like in fantasy unless the characters are really compelling.

Like: idea of the fantasy elements (glass heart), idea of exploration of snow white and evil queen relationship

Melissa Bashardoust’s debut novel is a character-driven feminist reimagining of Snow White (there are no Dwarves though lol).

(Be wary of spoilers)

It alternates wonderfully between the POVs of Lynet, a fifteen-year-old princess, and Mina, her stepmother, who has a glass heart. Due to her cold father, a magician named Gregory, Mina believes that her glass heart prevents her from being able to love, and thus being loved in return for any other reason than her beauty. In the first half of the book, Mina’s chapters take place in the past, recounting why Gregory took them up to Whitespring Castle and how her desperate search for any sort of love lead to her efforts to become queen. The reader can truly see her progression to the character she is in Lynet’s chapters, which take place in the present.

Meanwhile, Lynet befriends the new Royal Surgeon, Nadia, who tells Lynet the truth about herself: she is made of snow animated by Gregory’s blood magic. What’s worse is that King Nicholas had asked Gregory to create her to be the mirror image of her dead mother, the beloved Queen Emilia. So now Lynet understands why her father has always attempted to raise her to be like Emilia and feels suffocated by the path set out for her. Throughout her arc, Lynet fights between her desire to please her father and her desire to be wholeheartedly herself, which her stepmother tried to encourage. I loved the ultimate revelation and decision Lynet comes to at the climax of it.

By the second half of the novel, both POVs align when a hunting accident leads to King Nicholas lying on his death bed while misunderstandings between Lynet and Mina fracture of their relationship. This is where the basic events of the original Snow White story start happening, with many of the twists that the very concept of “feminist Snow White” kind of just inherently imply. Do not take me saying that to be a bad thing, knowing the broad strokes of what may happen doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy reading all the details. Which I did, in this instance.

Mina and Lynet’s relationship is, of course, the vital heart of this type of story. I think most people will know that that’s the essential part, and thus expect it to be well done coming in. And, man, Bashardoust delivered. Both of them individually are, for the most part, complex and complete characters and together they just make you feel for them, in harmonious moments and in conflict. I enjoyed both their arcs (Mina’s a little more than Lynet’s though). Unfortunately, while Bashardoust writes characters very well, I found the world building and the magic system to be rather simplistic. There is a curse that never really gets an explanation for how it came to be/started, nor how it was broken at the end. Also, there’s some geography (as in the towns and other places the characters go to), but I never really felt like I could visualize much of it.

Ultimately, I give Girls Made of Snow and Glass a 4 out of 5 stars.

I haven't been a big reader of fairy adaptions in recent years. I still have some favorites, in particular the Fairy Tales series that was edited by Terri Windling back in the nineties, featuring such fantastic writers as Charles de Lint, Pamela Dean, Kara Dalkey and Jane Yolen. The books covered the gamut of urban fantasy, historical, straight fantasy, and magic realism

Girls Made of Snow and Glass would fit into that series without any complaint, and is probably my favorite version of a Snow White story every.

Lynet, who is about to turn sixteen, is princess in a kingdom that is divided between the warm south and a north, where the king and his court lives, that was cursed by a previous queen to eternal winter. She looks just like her mother who died in childbirth, she is told. She idolises her step-mother, Mina, who came to the north with her wizard father when she was only sixteen. And both have something in common: the magics of Mina's father, Gregory. Mina's heart was replaced with one of glass to save her life, and when the queen died, Gregory made the king a daughter from snow, who would look just like his wife.

But unlike the fairy tale, Lynet loves her stepmother, and Mina, trapped in a loveless marriage to the king, cares deeply for Lynet. But with Lynet's birthday approaching, first Lynet becomes infatuated with the new court surgeon, Nadia, a young woman from the south who tells her the truth of her origins, driving a wedge between mother and daughter. And a decision by the king deepens the divide, leading to tragedy.

Snow White is transformed into the story of the love between mother and daughter, with a side of a lesbian romance, and every step of it worked for me. I loved the book.

2.5 stars?

I have seen nothing but high reviews and gushing and people losing their minds and I desperately wanted to love this.

I liked Mina and Lynet well enough. Neither one of them stood out to me and excluding the obvious age difference, their narrative didn't sound so different. Because I couldn't connect to the journey of either woman, I didn't quite care what happened.

Plot wise, it was so boooooooring. I did like the magic of how they were created, yet I found myself struggling to continue and constantly thought about DNFing. Every time I would decide that I was done, there was a bit of a morsel dropped that kept me going. Every time I thought THIS is where it would turn around and I would be captivated.

Overall, the idea is amazing. Sadly, I didn't see the spark that everyone else did.

**Huge thanks to Flatiron Books for providing the arc free of charge**

Don't let this rating fool you, the book is good, there were just a few things that didn't work for me personally. I enjoyed this sometimes. I loved Mina's character from the start. I thought she was so fascinating. I was okay on Lynet. Not that she's annoying or anything, she's really a good girl, I just mean that she was pretty generic as far as YA heroines go so she bored me a bit. I wouldn't have read the book if not for Mina since I don't like spending time on reading books I'm not super into. In addition to that, the story lacks conflict so it feels like it's dragging a bit. I kind of felt like I was stuck in the book. I wanted to see how it ended but I was feeling sluggish trying to get there.

I originally was interested in this because I heard that it was a really feminist retelling and I totally agree with that. I liked how the two main women overcame what the men in their lives had always forced upon them. They were always told that they were enemies but they thwarted those expectations to love each other. The story was good. I think what hurt it to me is that Bashardoust is a new author so her writing style wasn't extremely compelling for me, but I think it's a fantastic book for a younger age group who won't be hampered by the novice style. I don't want this to sound like a ton of insults to the author. I think the story was a great one in general. I loved the twist on the Queen's character. For me, that's what was the best part of this book. Lynet's story was just like any other sixteen year old princess in a YA novel, but Mina was quite unique.

Another pro about the story was the LGBT romance. I think this book is pretty highly-anticipated, which is awesome since the central romance is LGBT. Diverse romances are becoming more common now but that statement really only holds for the M/M sphere. This book is anticipated and is a rare F/F romance that I enjoyed.

In sum, I think this will be well-received. It's feminist, twists the classic tale of Snow White in an awesome way, has good characters, and a cute F/F romance. I'd highly recommend this for high school students.

GIRLS MADE OF SNOW AND GLASS is a feminist retelling of Snow White. Debut author Melissa Bashardoust does an excellent job of weaving elements of the classic story (the mirror, the huntsman, the poison, and so on) into this new, creative version. Mina, daughter of a magician, is a lonely girl herself – plagued by self-doubt and fears about her supposed inability to love. Seeking adoration, she strives to become queen and stepmother to young Lynet. That innocent girl chafes at the pampering and protection insisted upon by her father, King Nicholas. As Lynet grows, she and Mina become close, but they do not share their most significant secrets: both are a result of experiments by Gregory, Mina's father. Mina's heart is made of glass and does not beat; Lynet was formed from blood and snow in the image of the dead queen.

Distorted perceptions and reflections of others' desires abound in this book. There is plenty of adventure, too, when Lynet eventually flees the restrictions placed upon her and the two girls – now women – learn more about their own histories, their own strengths and their own capabilities for independent action. Although it felt a bit slow in parts, I have already been recommending the very unique and original GIRLS MADE OF SNOW AND GLASS and I look forward to the likely movie. This newly published title received starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal.

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this young adult fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

girls made of snow and glass (Melissa Bashardoust)

Title: girls made of snow and glass

Author: Melissa Bashardoust

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publication Date: TODAY!!! (hardback/e-book)

ISBN: 978-1250077738

Source: NetGalley

This is one of those books hopping around the blogosphere due to the excitement of a retelling of Snow White with a queer twist and its feminist leanings. Aye, had to check this one out. Plus it has a simplistic yet evocative cover:

Overall I thought it was a likeable story. This is not a book heavy on action or suspense. It also was a little bit confusing at first due to the nature of the flashbacks. At its heart this book seemed to be about family betrayal, overcoming familial obligations, and women choosing how to embrace their future selves and overcome their pasts. Personally I didn't feel that the story was that feminist in tone because for the majority of the novel the three main women in the story seemingly have their entire lives and personalities dictated by the men in their lives. The women don't really seem to fight at all for what they believe in and how they gain control in the end was rather lackluster. Also the queer relationship, while lovely, was certainly not even the secondary plot.

While I found all three women to be somewhat unique characters with the potential for inner strength, I felt that the story telling did not really do them justice. The pacing was a bit slow, the world building a bit flat, and the magic system not nearly explored enough. The age of the characters also seemed off. All the women came across as young, inexperienced, and naive. The villain wanted power for power's sake. The loving father ended up being creepy. The flashback romance aspects of the novel were me least favorite portion. I wanted a fuller rendition of the world, characters, and the magic in particular. I didn't know it was a debut before readin' but some of these flaws seem in line with that fact.

That said I loved the huntsman and stepmother's relationship and history. I adored how the mirrors and their symbolism were used in the story. I thought the relationship between the stepmother and princess was lovely in its complexities. The author's mixing of fairy tale elements was clever. I am glad I read it but it is by no means a favorite. I wouldn't reread this novel but I would check out more of the author's work.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Flatiron Books!

The author's website has this to say about the novel:

Frozen meets The Bloody Chamber in this feminist fantasy reimagining of the Snow White fairytale

At sixteen, Mina's mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother.

Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image, at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she’s ever known…or else defeat her once and for all.

Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything—unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Melissa Bashardoust - Author

To buy the novel please visit:

girls made of snow and glass - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Girls Made of Snow and Glass was exactly what I was wanting in a YA fantasy. This character-driven novel completely engrossed me. The overall plot of this book felt a little slow due to lack of world building, but the character development really made up for that! The author really focused on fleshing out the characters in this story and it really paid off. Girls Made of Snow and Glass was a mesmerizing, addicting, and enchanting book.

The theme of friendships and family was extremely dominant in this book and I LOVED it. The author focused on the importance of relationships and how they can survive life's trials and tribulations. I also was so happy that the female characters were never pinned against each other over petty things like boys or looks. IT WAS SO WONDERFUL, MAGICAL, AND BEAUTIFUL TO HAVE WOMEN SUPPORT EACH OTHER. I NEED MORE OF THIS IN BOOKS, PLEASE!!!!!

The romance in this book made me SO FREAKING HAPPY. I was LIVING for the f/f romance. I NEED MORE F/F ROMANCES IN MY LIFE!!!! I thought the author did a wonderful job at developing a swoon worthy and delicious romance that never took over the plot of the story. I SHIP IT SO HARD!

I thought the author did a really great job at writing a retelling and making it her own story. This story had elements of the original fairytales, but there were so many elements that were completely new and surprising. There were so many creative little ties and nods to the originals that made my heart sigh with happiness.

I could go on and on about this book, but I don't want to spoil anything! If you are looking for a feminist fairytale retelling with magic, intrigue, romance, and incredible characters, then you need to check this book out! I cannot wait to see what this author comes out with next!

4 / 5 Fangs

*This ebook was given to me in exchange for an honest review. *

The beginning of this book was very strong. I liked the shifting of perspectives between Mina and Lynet.. I was very interested in both of their stories. The middle dragged a bit. I think that a lot of the story of Mina and Nicholas's courtship was irrelevant and needlessly repetitive. I thought that instead of this aside I would've rather read more about Mina or Gregory's magic or more about the curse that kept the North in snow. I almost didn't finish and I started to think maybe this was the first book of a series. The last 50 pages got much better and I quite enjoyed the ending. I would rate this 3.5/5 stars.

Frozen meets The Bloody Chamber in this feminist fantasy reimagining of the Snow White fairytale as you've never seen it before, tracing the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start: the beautiful princess and stepmother queen.

At sixteen, Mina's mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone—has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother.

Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image, at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do—and who to be—to win back the only mother she’s ever known…or else defeat her once and for all.

Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything—unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.
I received an eARC of this novel through Netgalley, courtesy of publisher Flatiron Books, in exchange for an honest review.

This book literally made my heart ache as I read it. I loved everything about this mix of Snow White, Frozen, and The Bloody Chamber.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass starts off really slow, and kept me guessing for the first half of it. I wasn't sure where the plot was going for a while, but I got completely wrapped up in the plot during the worldbuilding.

I particularly loved the family dynamics in this. I loved how very very different the dynamics were despite the many things that tied Mina and Lynet together during their childhoods.

I really hated Nicholas. Dude was more than a little bit abusive to both Mina and Lynet. For a little while, I was really worried that it was going to veer into the Donkeyskin fairy tale territory, but it didn't which was a relief. Don't even get me started on Gregory. That dude is the absolute worst to literally everybody and I hate every bit of his garbage guts.

I particularly loved reading from Mina's perspective - she was uncertain about herself but determined to make things better for the Southerners. She made the best of every situation she could, but it didn't always turn out as well as she planned, and I loved that.

I think I could have used a little bit more worldbuilding in the northern part of the country, but I understand why we didn't get it, given how sheltered Lynet was.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anybody. You can pick up a copy on Amazon or Indiebound.

Disclaimer: All links to Indiebound and Amazon are affiliate links, which means that if you buy through those links, I will make a small amount of money off of it.

I have to confess that Snow White has always been one of my least favorite fairy tales because I could never get into the idea of one woman deciding she needed to poison another woman just because she might have taken her place as “the fairest of them all.”  That said, as soon as I heard that Melissa Bashardoust’s Girls Made of Snow and Glass was being advertised as a feminist retelling of the Snow White fairytale, it immediately became a must-read book for me.  I just couldn’t wait to find out what a feminist retelling would entail.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass was everything I hoped it would be and more.  It’s a beautifully written, character-driven exploration of the relationship between two women who are doomed to be rivals.  Lynet is the Snow White character in the story.  She is the 15 year old daughter of the King of Whitespring.  Lynet is a free spirit who loves to run, climb, and have endless adventures.  She has no interest whatsoever in politics or in ever becoming Queen.  Much to her frustration, her father constantly reminds her how much she looks like her beautiful dead mother and how one day she will take her mother’s place and become Queen of Whitespring.  Lynet doesn’t want to hear it because she just wants to grow up to be her own person, not a mirror image of a mother she never even met.  If she had to choose to be like anyone else, she would, in fact, choose to grow up to be like her strong and fierce stepmother, Mina.

Mina is, of course, the stepmother/Evil Queen figure in the story, and she also very unexpectedly turned out to be my favorite character.  Bashardoust writes such a rich and intricate backstory for Mina that even though she eventually ends up on a similar path to the stepmother in the original tale, it’s easy to see how she ends up in such a predicament.  We meet Mina while she is Queen of Whitespring, but the story quickly takes us back to when Mina was about Lynet’s age and being raised by her father, a well-known, often feared, magician in the kingdom. Mina’s father is cold, controlling, and sometimes hurtful.  In a particularly spiteful moment, he tells Mina that she nearly died of heart failure at age 4, and that to save her, he used magic to replace her dying heart with a glass one.  He tells Mina that because she has no actual heart, she cannot love and cannot be loved.  He goes on to tell Mina that all she can hope for is to make people love her because of her beauty.

When Mina’s father uses his magic to help the King one day, the King decides to repay him by offering him a place to live on the royal grounds.  Once living there, Mina comes up with the idea that if she can make the King fall in love with her, she can someday become Queen and thus earn the love of all of those in the kingdom.  Mina’s plan starts to fall into place and she and her stepdaughter Lynet actually become quite close, that is, until Lynet becomes old enough to become a threat to the throne.  Even though Lynet swears she has no interest in becoming queen, the threat she presents to Mina, who is so desperate to be loved, still starts to drive a wedge between them.

Are Lynet and Mina truly doomed to be rivals or can they figure out a way for each of them to get what they most want?

LIKES

My favorite part of Girls Made of Snow and Glass is the complexity of the relationship between Mina and Lynet.  Their relationship is ultimately the driving force behind this story and it’s no simple battle about who’s the fairest of them all.  These two women, care about one another, and as Lynet grows up, have truly become like family.  When Mina comes to the realization that Lynet may be the greatest obstacle to her finding that love she is so desperate for, it absolutely guts her.  She doesn’t want to have to hurt Lynet in any way to get what she wants.  Their relationship is just beautiful and heartbreaking.

Equally glorious to the complex relationship between the two main characters is the magic!  Okay, so there’s no dwarves, no poison apple, and no kiss from a handsome prince to break a curse.  A bit of a bummer maybe, but the magic Bashardoust has given to her characters more than makes up for it.  It’s just so creative and well, for lack of a better word, magical, haha!

As I’ve already mentioned, Mina’s father used magic to save Mina by giving her a glass heart.  As you probably also gleaned from the book’s title and synopsis, if Mina is the girl made of glass, then there is another girl who is made of snow.  Lynet is of course that girl.  There’s a very good reason why the King keeps telling Lynet she looks just like her mother.  The King had called Mina’s father to him, desperate to save his Queen, who was dying.  Mina’s father was unable to save her, but at the King’s request, used his magic to create an infant girl in the Queen’s likeness.  Using snow, Mina’s father gave the King what he wanted, Lynet.

Mina’s father somehow transferred a portion of his magic to each girl when he used it on them, thus infusing both Lynet and Mina with powers of their own.  That’s all I’m going to say about the magic for now, but trust me, it’s important and it’s awesome and these two young women are just badass, especially when they start using these powers.

Another element of the story that was really a highlight for me was an unexpected f/f relationship between Lynet and a young female surgeon named Nadia.  The romance comes about and develops in such a natural, low-key way and doesn’t at all distract from the rest of the plot, and I just thought it was beautifully written.   

DISLIKES/ISSUES

I only had a couple of issues with this story, the main one being that the men in it are just so UGHHH.  The King was basically a good man and he meant well, but at a certain point, it really started to bother me how much he kept obsessing on how much Lynet reminded him of her dead mother and how she was destined to take her mother’s place someday.  I know he didn’t mean it in an incestuous way, but it was still a little creepy.

Don’t even get me started on Mina’s father.  If you’re one who likes to have characters to hate, he’s your guy.  Aside from the fact that he did save Mina’s life when she was a little girl, there’s nothing else redeeming about him. He’s just a selfish, manipulative jerk.  He also had a creepy obsession with Lynet since he “made” her.  I have to admit, I spent much of the book wishing something horrible would happen to him.

Aside from the horrid men in the story, I did think the pacing was a little slow early on in the story and that it took me a little while to get used to Mina’s narrative being told from a present-day perspective as well as one from when she was 16.  Once I got used to the way Mina’s story was being presented, it was no longer an issue for me.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Girls of Snow and Glass is a book I’d recommend without hesitation to anyone who enjoys stories that are character driven.  I’d also recommend it to those who love fairytale retelling and even to those who say they’re burnt out on retellings. Even though this story borrows the overall idea of a young girl being in the way of her stepmother, Bashardoust has crafted such a creative story that if I hadn’t known this was a Snow White retelling going in, I don’t know that I would have guessed it.  It’s a uniquely fresh take on a timeless tale.

RATING:  4 STARS

Thanks so much to Netgalley, Melissa Bashardoust, and Flatiron Books for allowing me to preview Girls Made of Snow and Glass. This in no way shapes my opinion of the book.

I unfortunately just couldn't get into this book, and I had to DNF it. Maybe later I will be able to get into it, but right now I can't see myself finishing it anytime soon.

Fantasy is not usually something I'm drawn to but when I heard that this was a feminist retelling of Snow White, I had to pick it up. I'm so happy that I did because this debut novel was phenomenal. 

Girls Made of Snow and Glass stars Mina, the 16-year-old girl looking for loyal followers and Lynet, the 15-year-old princess who's never left her kingdom. In a world that's divided into a perpetual summer vs. a perpetual winter, these two girls fight to figure out where they belong. The book does take place in revolving dual-POV, and Mina's POV takes place years before Lynet's story.

If you're wondering about how close of a retelling it is, I would say that it's not a typical retelling. I still call it a retelling though because it's clear that Mina, the stepmother figure, has a connection to mirrors and Lynet is meant to be the innocent princess who's never travelled out of her kingdom. The plot doesn't have the Seven Dwarves plot which I loved because I thought it'd be out of place if it was included. This retelling doesn't concern the plot but rather the characters, but even so, the interpretations of the classic characters is unique and wonderful.
The writing of Girls Made of Snow and Glass was also lovely, though it does take a bit for readers to really get into it. I loved the writing and even thought it was 3rd person POV, I felt like I really knew the characters. I loved that both Mina and Lynet were so well-rounded and I really related to both. Lynet really struggled to figure out who she was, after spending her whole life being expected to follow in the footsteps of her mother. Mina, on the other hand, really struggled to accept herself and channeled that struggle into working hard to make others accept her. Both characters were really unique and fleshed-out and I loved reading about them. 

There's only a minor romance in this one but it's between Lynet and her royal doctor (a woman her age who she quickly becomes entranced by) and it was the loveliest thing.

Overall, I highly recommend Girls Made of Snow and Glass even if you aren't a fan of fantasy or retellings because it's just a lovely well-written feminist novel.

I was super excited when I first heard about this book. I mean, it was pitched as a feminist Snow White retelling? Sign me the heck up!

I was not disappointed. Bashardoust's writing is absolutely gorgeous and evocative, perfect for a reimagined fairytale. (Plus, I legitimately felt cold while reading!) This was a truly unique retelling, and I loved what the author did with the story. It felt a bit slower at the beginning, especially with Mina's flashback chapters, but it wasn't too disruptive, and was certainly forgivable in light of the strong character arcs. The romance wasn't heavily explored, but what we did see on the page was sweet - honestly I could have used a bit more, and wouldn't mind a sequel to explore that. But I appreciate that the focus was more on the relationship/conflict between Mina and Lynet. Complicated family stories are my kryptonite, and I really enjoyed seeing it in a fantasy setting.

I just really, really enjoyed this, and hope we get to see more from Bashardoust in the future!

I 100% recommend this book if you love unique retelling with a chilling twist!

What can I say about this book? I had no clue what to expect.Firstly, there are no weak female characters here. It's kind of a feminist twist on the Snow White story, which I found surprisingly refreshing. It takes place in a world with neverending winter and is focused on two women, Mina, the daughter of a magician, whose heart is made of ice. Because she is told she can never love or be loved, she marries instead for power. And Lynet, who was created out of snow to reflect the image of her dead mother. One girl has no desire to be Queen while the other who wants it too badly. This story focuses on these two women as they struggle with eachother, the truth, and with love. I was excited to find f/f romance because it's so rare to find and honestly, I loved how easily the relationship flowed. It wasn't forced or abandoned; it was slowly and subtly built.

Simply put, I loved this book. I couldn't put it down and even when I did, I couldn't help but wonder more about this world and its characters. I highly recommend it!

I’ve come to enjoy YA retellings, especially if they are for some of my favorite characters, and Girls Made of Snow and Glass did not disappoint. In this debut novel by Melissa Bashardoust, two women learn the meaning of what it is to love and be loved.

Full review on my blog: https://thecleverreader.wordpress.com/2017/08/26/earc-review-girls-made-of-snow-and-glass/

This is a standalone YA Snow White retelling that impressively sets out to challenge a fundamental premise of the story, the female rivalry between the queen and the princess. Can both of these women be protagonists? And can their relationship be founded on love instead of jealousy? This feels like such a necessary revisionist take, and I loved so much of what the author did with the fairytale, but there were times when the execution felt sloppy and underwhelming.

In a kingdom where the north has long been cursed to eternal winter, Princess Lynet feels stifled by the legacy of her mother, and by her father's insistence that she will follow in the footsteps of the dead queen. She feels that her father doesn't see her for who she really is because he can't see past her superficial resemblance to a woman she never knew. In alternating chapters, we meet Lynet's stepmother Mina as a teenager coming to court from her home in the south when Lynet was still a baby. The socially alienated daughter of the feared magician Gregory, she is told that since he replaced her weak heart with one of glass, she will be forever unable to feel love or be truly loved in return. Though obviously untrue, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because Mina believes it. She learns to scheme and manipulate because she doesn't believe that any other road to happiness is open to her. Both girls owe their lives to Gregory's dark magic and are burdened by the weight of that knowledge, but it also gives them powers of their own that they may need in order to break free. Both are also damaged by the vastly different yet equally harmful actions of both the magician and the king, neither of whom understand their daughters at all. Bashardoust introduces her protagonists in a loving mother-daughter relationship, then shows piece by painful piece every trauma from the past and present that seems to doom them to be rivals. The long and tumultuous arc of this relationship is the consistent focus throughout, which is great since I love character-driven stories, but other aspects of the book seem to suffer from neglect in the meanwhile.

Neither the prose nor the dialogue come across as particularly strong, for starters. There is almost no attempt whatsoever at world-building or complex politics and intrigue, which I'm honestly happy without in a fairy tale story, but I need a stronger sense of atmosphere and narrative voice for that choice to make sense. Bashardoust's writing is middle-of-the-road at best, and I couldn't help feeling like the book needed something better.

The exclusive focus on Lynet and Mina also left several critical side characters woefully underdeveloped, most notably Lynet's love interest Nadia, who arrives at court as the new surgeon at the age of seventeen and promptly begins performing amputations and such (!!!!!). The super-skilled-teenage-doctor thing needed way more than the surface-level explanations we got in order for me to buy it, and it was especially odd to me that the characters in the book were more taken aback by her gender (when there isn't any other explicit sexism on display) than by her age. And Nadia is just one of several supporting characters from whom I would have appreciated a POV chapter or two (Felix, anybody?). Yes, this is Lynet and Mina's book, but as it delved deeper and deeper, I couldn't help but think that seeing how some other characters perceived the two of them could have actually added a great deal of clarity to their story.

In addition, there were a couple of bits that just seemed obviously sloppy to me. For example, there is a scene in which Lynet is being hunted down by a search party in a snowy wood, and though they come mighty close to finding her, there is no mention of whether or not she has been leaving footprints in the snow. Another similarly silly oversight is too spoiler-y to mention, but you get the general idea.

On the bright side, I don't think that the things I found lacking in the writing would have bothered me at all when I was a teenager myself, so I actually feel pretty confident in recommending this bold revisionist Snow White to younger readers who are, after all, the target demographic.

And yes, there are definite Frozen feels. And no, I don't consider that a bad thing at all. :-)

Absolutely amazing and spellbinding. Finished in one sitting. Melissa Bashardoust weaves a mesmerizing retelling of Snow White. The writing flows and the characters are crafted in such a way that you have to love them, even when you hate them. Mina and Lynet will capture your hearts. There stories are told in both the present and the past and intertwining together.