The twisted tales have been some of my favorite fairy tale retellings to read. Just like with the others, getting a different point of view of the villain was fantastic. Snow white in as a bit of a different character too was fantastic! I'm so glad they did this retelling, it was great, entertaining, great plot and characters. I cannot wait to see what twisted tale is next! (having a change of author again was fantastic!)

Yassss!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 So excited for this! Cannot express how excited I was for this! It was just as amazing and awesome as I thought it was gonna be! I cannot wait to share this with my students!

I am an absolutely addict of fairytales and retellings! I can not get enough and this story was everything I wanted and needed in a retelling and I just can not express in enough words how epic this book is!

Thank you Disney and NetGalley for granting my wish to read this.

First off I need to say that anyone who loves the Evil Queen, snow white, or has read the other stand alone villians book needs to read this one stat. It is so well thought out and gives the reader that much more. The dual stories/views expands not just what we thought we know but what could have been. While I will never feel perfectly happy thoughts for the evil Queen, I mean she is evil. This definitely helped me to want to find out more about the villains in general. Maybe start a fanclub for slightly misunderstood characters.

I have read some of the Disney retellings, and this one was not my favorite of them. Although significantly more feminist than the original story of snow white (and significantly less wait-for-my-prince-to-rescue-me) I struggled getting through this mostly because I found Snow to be kind of annoying. Although it wasn't her fault, she started out so sheltered and naive, that her character felt quite young and immature to start. But she grew up, the story picked up the pace, and was ultimately entertaining.

I love these Twisted Tales! Snow White is still an almost-too-perfect character, and some more realistic flaws could have made her more interesting. The evil queen, however, gets a well-developed backstory here. It made me feel sorry for her, but not sorry enough to excuse her poor choices. She clearly had a rough background, but her choices were what doomed her to become so evil. I liked the twist of poisoning the prince instead, and giving the girl the chance to be a hero, too. I know it’s 2019 and most people want the girl to be the only hero, but the reality is that Snow and Henri work best together as a pair in this story, and that’s a refreshing angle.

This is not your average Disney movie retelling!

This is the first book in her series I've read. ( others coming before.) This CAN be read as a stand alone book. (Meaning you can read it out of sequence.)

Some charaters had more building then others. Personally Snow White was a little underwhelming. I guess I expected more of her, I dont know why tho I'm not a fan of hers as a princess in general. The Evil Queen was definitely my favorite!! She was very well built up. (I guess she should be since these are twisted tales 😂)

The story jumps between past and present, but also Sow and Ingrid (the Evil Queen). While most books written this way make me lose interest I kept a good pace going with this one. I could never seem to find a good spot to stop for the night 😁.

All I have to say is Jen Calonita just moved up on my tbr list!

I'd also like to thank #netgalley and #disneybookgroup for giving me my wish and allowing me to read this ARC #muchlove

I’m so exited Netgalley granted me a wish to receive an ARC for Mirror,Mirror in exchange for an honest review.


I personally haven’t read any of the previous books, but I couldn’t pass the chance to read Snow White.

After having a bunch of Retellings, i do believe it gets harder to adapt a good story that doesn’t sound as repetitive. The author really nailed it with this one.

I’m Mirror, Mirror - you get two POV. Snow White and the Evil Queen. I LOVED reading Ingrid’s POV. Rarely do we ever read what goes on in the mind of the villains. This book ideally covers all of her back story and you can get a sense of how they become villains. For me, is what made this book strong and enjoyable.

Also, the ending was refreshing and cute. It’s funny reading a story that ideally makes the women bad ass without waiting for their knight in shinning armor. That’ is what we need more of :)

Loved this book.

4/5 stars’

The plot of the story was interesting going back and forth with the original Snow White storyline. The only problem I had was some of the sentences didn’t make much sense. It was like a word was missing or Calonita didn’t finish her train of thought. It distracted from the story and a bit hard to follow trying to guess what was actually being said. I couldn’t really picture what was going on and made the story slightly boring . Once these grammatical errors are fixed I believe I could get sucked into the story.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

OKAY, so I've definitely had my ups and freaking downs with this Twisted Tales series. I was honestly so surprised when I saw that I was approved for this ARC. There was one book before Mirror, Mirror that I had to dive into before I could even open it. Now I know that this is a series but these books have nothing to do with the other. They are all standalones basically but it would've just felt weird reading this one before Part of Your World. Thankfully, this book definitely redeemed the little mermaid retelling.

This book is obviously a retelling of snow white. Now I love a good fairy-tale retelling every now and then, and lately January seems to be my month for retellings. In it, you meet snow but you also meet her stepmother Ingrid. I was definitely intrigued from the start because I don't think we ever knew the stepmother's name?? Or maybe I was just never paying attention to the movies?

These characters were very enjoyable. Snow was just likable and okay. She was definitely independent and didn't need no man to help he with anything. However, I did have my ups and downs with this character but that tends to happen in these books. I wont go into too much detail but I wish I would've liked her a bit more than I did.

Now for Ingrid. The one thing I love about these books is when we get into the mind of the villain. I'm always a bit hesitant though because you never know what you are going to get. Whether it's an okay villain, an annoying one, or the very intriguing one - it's a gamble I hate to take but do it anyway. Ingrid was so freaking good! I loved her point of view way more than Snow's. She's probably my favorite villain out of this entire series.

Overall, I'm so happy that I took a chance on this book. It was definitely a step up from the previous book and I hope there's going to be another one for this series.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Murder, attempted murder, mention of animal-slaughter, parental neglect, poison.

Disclaimer: This ARC was sent to me by NetGalley in exchange for a 100% honest review. The following paragraphs consist of my own views and opinions, some of which may differ from yours. Please understand that me not agreeing with you on something is not a personal attack on you! Thanks!

MY REVIEW:
***MILD SPOILERS AHEAD***

The Disney Twisted Tales Collection is something that has been very hyped up lately, so you can imagine my joy and surprise when my request to read Mirror, Mirror was accepted on Netgalley! Speaking of which, before I actually delve into this review, I'd like to express my gratitude to Jen Calonita, Disney Press, and, of course, Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this novel! Thank you all very much!

Also (before I begin rambling), I think it'd be helpful for me to mention that this tale is told in alternating third-person perspectives, one being Snow White's, and the other being Ingrid's (the Evil Queen's).

***

I have a lot of feelings about this book. Let's start with the good--

I really loved the characters. I know I'm not alone when I say that the Snow White Jen Calonita provided us with was wayyy better than the one originally created by Disney. The Snow found in this book is an intelligent, independent young woman who is capable of defending herself without relying on the assistance of some big, strong, macho-man. But, at the same time, she still manages to retain the few valued traits of the original Snow White we've all come to know: Kindness, compassion, and generosity. And somehow, she didn't read off as a goody-two-shoes, which is actually quite surprising considering how few flaws she had. However, speaking of which, Snow's lack of even the slightest imperfection led her to have not as much depth as a reader might desire. I feel like she could have been a lot more interesting to read about if she just had a few complex qualities about her. But, nevertheless, she was still an admirable female protagonist that I appreciated very much.

I also really liked reading the story in Ingrid's perspective, which is rather odd since she was THE EVIL QUEEN, one of the most despised villains amongst society today!

I thought that Ingrid's character arc was overall very well written. Flashbacks in the book reveal the hardships Ingrid dealt with throughout her past, but it is obvious that Ms. Calonita did not intend for said hardships to excuse Ingrid's wrongdoings. In fact, whilst reading this novel, I felt not an ounce of sympathy for Ingrid. In the book, she is repeatedly given chances to redeem herself after committing unrighteous acts, yet she continues to conduct herself in a cruel and wicked manner anyways. Envy, jealousy, and hunger for power darken her soul and wipe out any goodness that might have formerly resided there. In fact, these emotions end up leading to Ingrid's own self-destruction.

All this information makes Ingrid out to be an utterly hateable character, which I suppose she is, but I still found her exceedingly interesting to read about. I think it is very commendable when an author manages to create a complex villain with the ability to leave your emotions all jumbled up in such a way! Well done, Jen Calonita!

Moving on, I was also (surprisingly) quite fond of the romance. I mean, it wasn't incredible or anything, but FOR ONCE IN YA LIT HISTORY the male love interest wasn't a complete and utter dirtbag! I actually thought that Henri (da love interest <3) was a great character, for he viewed Snow as his equal and always treated her with respect, kindness, and consideration.

Okay, now let's talk about the few things I didn't like about this book.

For starters, the misleading "twist" mentioned on the cover. It wasn't the twist itself that bothered me, but the fact that by being plastered across the cover in bold, dramatic letters (What if the Evil Queen Poisoned the Prince?), it leads readers to believe that it is a major part of the story, which it really isn't. In fact, this so-called twist only occurs within the last 10% or so of the book without any build-up or development... #falseadvertising

Additionally, I disliked how the first 50-60% of the novel basically WAS the original Snow White story we've all heard hundreds of times... Maybe a bit more of a wordy version (considering the book is 350 pages long), but certainly not original enough to be deemed a retelling. Yes, in the latter half of the story the plot does expand and become more intricate, but I just wish that the former half could have been a little more interesting.

But, disregarding those few details, I really enjoyed Mirror, Mirror. It was an enjoyable take on the tale of Snow White, and I'm very glad I read it. I am eager to read more of Jen Calonita's writing, and I'd love to check out the rest of the Disney Twisted Tale series!

Once again, thank you NetGalley, Disney Press, and Jen Calonita for providing me with this lovely story!

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Thanks for reading this review everyone! I know that it was an especially long one, so I'm extremely grateful if you were able to make it to this point! Anyways, I encourage you to check out Mirror, Mirror and add it to your 2019 TBR! Make sure to pick up your own copy when it hits shelves in April of this year!

Farewell (for now), and have a spectacular rest of your week!

While the story was a fun twist on the classic we all know, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style, I didn’t particularly like the characters, and the version that I was provided with was incredibly frustrating to follow. So maybe that’s not the book’s fault, and this is more of a compatibility issue, but I just didn’t enjoy reading this.

Snow White is one of Disney’s least interesting properties. I’ve never heard anyone call her their favourite princess or The Evil Queen their favourite villain. It’s songs are fine but not the absolute bangers most Disney movies have. It was the first, which means it will always holds a special place in plenty of people’s hearts but retellings have to go an extra mile to make it as thrilling as its contemporaries.

And Mirror, Mirror doesn’t do that. It has some strong points but I sincerely hope the rest of the Twisted Tales series is much stronger.

It opens with the twist, which is arguably the most interesting part and then we are retold the tale of Snow White. Which could be brilliant if we’re getting a more complex character…but we’re not really. Snow White is nice, and good. She doesn’t have much character outside of that. The romance is just as shallow as you would expect. Instant love at first sight between two beautiful people.

The dwarves are also incredibly minor characters, in fact I’m not even sure all of them even got a single line each? Grumpy and Dopey were the most memorable predictably but it would have been nice to delve into them a little bit?

The Evil Queen is given a name, Ingrid and fleshed out a little. Her backstory was honestly my favourite part of the book and one of the only sections I enjoyed. That said she was still a little too evil for me. Her sister was perfect and kind and she was jealous all the time, how…well it’s not very compelling.

The mirror is also still nebulous. Sometimes it talks in rhymes but more often than not it’s speech pattern seems off. I think a little more care could have been taken in writing his rhyming speech, being as it was the most iconic part of the movie. It’s also a villain in it’s own right but we never figure out where it really came from or why it’s so evil. It’s just evil apparently.

All in all I felt like the author was handed a difficult task. Making Disney’s Snow White interesting given what there is to go off of is hard. She’s barely a character. Still I can’t help but feel like…something more could have been done. The twist barely even affects the story for 94% of the book, and then the change is so minute I don’t even know why they bothered to change anything at all.

It was a terrible read, just like Snow White isn’t a terrible movie but it was terribly forgettable.

The newest addition to the Twisted Tales collection leaves the reader thinking what can Disney do next? I love the Twisted Tales stories because they really broaden your mind and make you look at the fairy tale favorite from a different angle. Without taking anything away from the book I think there are some plot holes that need to be fixed but this book is also meant for the younger mind set.

Hello, I will post the review to my Instagram, blog, and Goodreads on March 19th, 2019. The review will also be added to Amazon and Barnes & Noble on the book's publication date. Links to the reviews will be added when they are public, thank you.

Title: Mirror, Mirror
Author: Jen Calonita
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2019
Rating: 3 stars
eARC provided by publisher through NetGalley

Mirror, Mirror is another installment in the A Twisted Tale series and this one follows the story of Snow White only this time she won't be poisoned, her love interest the prince will be. With the help of her dwarf friends she must face the Evil Queen and take back the kingdom and hopefully save the prince along the way.

This was my first time reading a book from this series and so I had no expectations besides the obvious of it being a retelling with twists. I enjoyed the overall plot and the uniqueness of having the prince be poisoned because it shows Snow White in a whole new light. She is seen as brave, kind, and wanting what's best for her people. She was also given parents which is another twist I wasn't expecting but was glad to see. Another interesting edition that added to the characters and plot was the different PoVs by Snow White and the Evil Queen. We were given more context for the Evil Queen and a better understanding of her actions.

Although there were quite a few things I enjoyed there were also a couple things I didn't like. The writing style was one I was not a fan of and it made the book more of a drag for me. I also didn't like the portrayal of the Evil Queen. I liked that they gave her more context but at the same time they made her less of a villain and maybe that was another twist but it was one that didn't work for me.

Overall, it was a decent book. It adds unique spins to a Disney Classic and gives Snow White the chance at being the hero. I want to eventually check out the other books in the series and see if there is one that I will enjoy more. If you like fairy-tales with a twist or just a fan of Disney then check this book out.

I have really enjoyed the Twisted Tales series and was excited to read the newest addition. Unfortunately, this title didn’t bring me the same enjoyment as the others in the series. I will say that this may be slightly due to the formatting of the ebook form the publisher. There were many gaps, page breaks, and random inserts in the texts. There were even a few pages that were completely jumbled together and took a lot of time and energy to try and sort out.
From the beginning, I found that the character of Ingrid was hard to define. She is referred to as Aunt Ingrid and Queen Ingrid in the same paragraph by Snow as if they are different characters. It was not until later in the book that here lineage is discussed and therefore straightened out a bit. It still left gaps in the plot line as to how certain people had never met.
The characters themselves, although, were very well done. Snow was a bright and humble young lady that turns into a vibrant and strong woman. Ingrid changes from timid to evil. They were both quite entertaining and relatable.
I found that it was the story itself that was lacking for me. Or maybe just the order. I liked going back and forth in time to show how and why decisions were made, yet felt that in their current order they were more confusing than revealing. There should have been more of a back story for Ingrid at the beginning since this is her story we are learning. This did follow along the classic Snow White tale, for the most part, which is how I kept myself grounded in the story.
I can see how this will still be a hit with our faithful fairy tale retelling readers, but just didn’t get into it myself for whatever reason. I will still look forward to more installments myself and hope for a better experience next time.

First I have to say, the version that was provided from NetGalley was incredibly hard to follow in places because the sentences were broken up and placed in the wrong order, the author's name and the subtitles were scattered randomly throughout the pages, and other technical errors. I understand this was probably mostly purposeful so that it will not replace a purchase of the book but honestly it affected my ability to read this.

I have enjoyed Jen Calonita's original works, and her writing in this is still pretty great. However, the Snow White story portrayed here is basically nothing new. Disney has already provided most of the story and she just flushed out the words. There were a few elements toward the end that changed the story a little to make Snow more powerful and a more multi-dimensional character, but that was about it.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

The only thing that made me happier than seeing a Twisted Tale of Snow White coming out was being given the chance to review it early. Thank you so much!

I enjoyed this book so much. The story is a twist, what if the Evil Queen poisoned the Prince instead of Snow White? It was so much fun to read. I loved how the imagery and details flowed so well with the Disney Cartoon, As a homeschool educator, I have already decided I'd like my girls to read this when the final edition comes out and I will definitely be recommending it. Jen Calonita did such a wonderful job of writing a magical story and even with the twist it still felt so true to the original. I enjoyed her writing and I am going to check out other books by her as well.

A Twisted Tale Series is widely popular throughout our community and is a favorite series of mine due to being a huge fan of Disney books. I was also thrilled that Jen Calonita was the creative force behind this installment and lastly, Snow White is one of my all time favorite Disney story. This book had all twists and turns in every page and the story we all know as Snow White will never be the same. I really liked the direction the book was going captivating each event and climax that made the reader not want to put the book down.

Thank you Netgalley and Disney Book Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. We will definitely consider adding this title to our JFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.