The Evil Queen but Gena Showalter is a retelling of the fairy tale Snow White and the Evil Queen. In the book the fairy tale is a prophecy that is playing out in real time and the characters are trying to figure out which roles they are to play. The story follows Everly Morrow who is believed by most to be the Evil Queen in the prophecy. However, as the story progresses that role can be played by any of the characters. Turns out the choices the characters make change up their roles in the story.

I love books that make you think about what is good and what is evil. Why are the evil actions by characters such as Farrah justified just because she is believed to be the prophecy's Snow White, while Everly's actions of retaliation are considered evil even though she is defending herself and her loved ones? Everly says time and time again how if they just let her go she will leave them alone and live her life. What they do instead is imprison her in a tower with a metal collar around her neck to keep her from using magic. What did they expect to happen as a result of her mistreatment? Two wrongs don't make a right but it definitely teaches us that there are consequences to how we treat others.

It takes some time to build up to the action of the book but it is worth the effort. I look forward to reading further books in this series. It is mentioned how other fairy tales are playing out along with Snow White and the Evil Queen. It will be interesting to see how they are incorporated.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the summary, I was very excited about the book. I loved the TV show "Once Upon A Time," and I thought this would be somewhat similar. Sadly, that wasn't the case. I had a terrible time with the book, and I was never really able to fully engage with it. I just felt like I was listening to someone narrate a story, which kept me at a distance. There didn't seem to be much character development or "meat" to the story. The dialogue was lacking, as well.. It surprised me when things went from a fairy tale world to a mortal one, as I wasn't expecting that based on the blurb. I've heard great things about Showalter over the years, but I've never read any of her books. I'd consider reading others in the future. This one, however, just didn't work for me.

So after reading the summary, I was so excited to read the book. There was so much promise in the concept, and I love evil queen retellings, so I was all for it. Then I started reading and I almost stopped reading at least 12 times. I couldn't stand Everly as a character and because she narrates the entire book, I had such a hard time connecting to her and the way the plot was moving forward. I read other reviews and everyone said that things picked up and got so much better at the 30% mark, so I pushed through and got to the 30% mark, and nothing was better. I kept going, and things honestly just never got better. If I had liked Everly or been able to connect to her as a character at all, I'm sure my review of this book would have been totally different. 

I'm giving this book 3 stars because of what it could have been and my hope for future books in this series. There were also some aspects of the book that I did enjoy- for example, I love the cover. It's so cool and the mirror breaking is great. I also liked Everly's original power and how the evil queen's obsession with mirrors was explained through that. The explanation of how sorcerers and sorceresses get their power by syphoning it from others was pretty interesting too.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded like a great book. The concept is fantastic - I'm a huge Disney villain fan, and retellings of fairy tales can be really fun, especially when told from the villain's perspective. Alas and alack, this one felt like reading a rushed first draft of a book. It was full of childish dialogue, whirlwind speed scene changes with very little substance, and little to no real character development.

I understand that it's a YA, so it's going to be written to appeal to younger readers, and the prose will be at a different level than a book written for adults, but honestly, it felt like a middle schooler wrote it.

I feel like it was a great concept with poor execution -- lots of potential, but never quite lives up to it.

All in all, I felt like it was appropriate to give this one two stars, the extra star because of the interesting concept and relatively neat magic system.

The Evil Queen was like the movie Enchanted in reverse: while in Enchanted, the main character leaves the fairy realm and enters our world, the main character grows up in our world and then enters the land of fairy tales, Enchantia.

Everly, the main character, grows up listening to her mother tell her fairy tales like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In high school for some reason, the kids dislike her. She has one boyfriend, Peter, who's embarrassed by her in front of her friends. This causes her to become cynical about people in general.

One day, she discovers that she has magical powers, but she's a particular kind of magician called a sorcerian: they don't make magic on their own, but have to take it from other people. For that reason, they're universally disliked. When she arrives in Enchantia, Everly begins to believe that she's the Evil Queen, although she doesn't want to be.

This story was a lot different than a lot of other stories I've read (it feels like half-contemporary, half fantasy) but it has romance, action, and the overall message that we can choose our own destinies. I enjoyed it, and will probably read the next book in the series when it comes out.

Thank you Netgalley and Harpercollins for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book started out very slow to me, I had a very difficult time connecting to the story and the characters. At 30% I debated DNFing it. It just didn't seem like a story I could get invested in.

However, I decided to sit down and power through until 50%, if I still wasn't invested I would DNF that book. This book got so good so fast, it gave me whiplash. I managed to connect with all the characters and see their trials and tribulations. I wanted them all to succeed, even though I know the story of The Evil Queen and know that that is not possible.

There is some romance in here, however, it is cute and well placed. It didn't take over the story nor did it affect that theme of the novel. It added to the story more than I initially thought it would. I was rooting for the characters the whole time!

The ending of this novel did seem rushed. With that said sometimes a rushed ending is perfected and executed brilliantly. This novel did just that! The book left off exactly where I think it should have, with that said I would still like to learn more about the characters and how they continued on with their lives!

This book is a 4 star review!

Gena Showalter never disappoints. She took a well known fairy tale and twisted it into something magnificent. The story of Snow White and the evil queen this story changes the game and questions is the evil queen really evil and if so, what happened to bring her to that point. The story mentions other fairy tales being lived in neighbouring kingdoms, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast etc and I’m hoping that the author continues with these in other books. This particular story is left with an ending but also open so that there is the possibility of seeing our characters again. I have a feeling that Everly and Roth will be playing their parts in other stories to come. I just love a good fairy tale, especially one that’s been turned on it’s head. I highly recommend this if you love retellings, romance, secrets coming to light, and intelligent sassy characters.

Gena showalter is one of my favorite writers! It started with her Lords of the underworld series, and then came her young adult series! I’m so so glad that I had the chance to read this version of the story you can never go wrong with a retelling or different points of view for classic stories! Cover is also fantastic.

When Everly is thrown from the real world into an alternate fairy tale universe, she spends her time trying to determine whether or not she could be the evil queen but so could every other female character that she encounters - given the right set of circumstances. Add to that a handsome prince, an evil step-mother, and a host of villains, and this fractured fairy tale about the Evil Queen from Snow White had all of the elements needed to be a good book.

But, something was missing from this book that unfortunately kept it from missing the mark. The plot was extremely slow-paced at several points throughout the story and our MC was sometimes a bit annoying. This wasn't a great read but it was entertaining enough to keep me engaged.

I was originally going to rate this as a 3 star book. The opening chapter was stunning and grabbed my attention. Shortly after that, the book started to not feel so...amazing to me. It started to drag on with Everly's modern day school and life problems. I was approximately half way through the book, after she came home to the land of her mother when the book picked back up again and pulled me back in. After that, it was amazing again! There are lessons to be learned in this book and I would recommend it for older teens. This book contains mature content that I would not recommend for someone younger than 16 years old. A full, thorough review will be posted on my blog by this Friday 5/24/2019.

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If you love a snarky heroine, surprise twists and turns, and a fairytale-themed plot, THE EVIL QUEEN is designed to be your new favorite read. This book follows Everly in the first person as she uncovers her history and perseveres to protect the people she loves. From the beginning, we know that girls were born after their mothers ate from a forbidden, magical apple tree, and that they will play a role in bringing a fairytale to life- Snow White. However, which role each girl will play is unknown. The beginning of the book also gives us a taste of where things will end, but we must also follow the journey to get there.

Everly was taken from Enchantia, the magical land where the women had eaten from a tree which is full of mystical creatures, fairies, fairytales, and humans with magic, when she was an infant. She has been raised in the mortal realm with her twin sister, Hartly. Now, as a teenager, Everly has begun to see things in mirrors. In particular, she sees another girl who looks like Snow White and whom she refers to as an angel. As she will soon learn, however, her scrying powers (e.g. seeing things in mirrors) are from her Sorcerian heritage. Sorcerians do not have wells of magical ability like others in the realm. Instead, they must take the power from others to use for their natural abilities but also to take other abilities. If they take a little, the being will feel tired until they regenerate it, but if they take a lot, they will kill them. As such, they are generally considered evil and hated by many.

Although we know that the girls and main characters will play out the tale of Snow White, who will play which role is unclear. Each character seems to possess characteristics or abilities that would point to one or many of the potential roles. For instance, Prince Roth Charmaine (Everly’s love interest) could be Prince Charming or he could be the Huntsman or he could be something else altogether. It is only as the story plays out that we might be able to learn how the fairytale will come to pass.

What I loved: This book surprised me in a lot of ways. Although Everly seems slated to be the Evil Queen, a major theme is that your actions determine whether you are evil or good, and this has many sides/views. For instance, if you do something which could seem evil out of self-defense, does this make you evil? There are also some themes about prejudice (regarding trolls and sorcerers) and sexism which also add to the thoughtful plot. Familial love is also a major theme in the book, particularly love between siblings. The romantic love also adds a nice touch to the overall story.

World-building in this book is top-notch. While the early parts of the book are a little slower due to all the information there is to take in, this pays off later in the book when it is all much easier to understand and imagine. Adding to that, the characters, primary and secondary, are all really well fleshed out and come alive throughout the story. There are so many fantastic characters whom I adored throughout the story, and aside from the main characters, Phobia, a spidorpian, might be my favorite. On the whole, there’s so many to love, hate, and be intrigued by though that I felt completely engrossed in the story and their lives.

As for the main characters, primarily Everly and Roth, they are beautifully crafted. Everly is multidimensional. We see the world through her eyes, and although she is full of snark, she is also full of heart- whether guarding herself, worrying about her family, or caring for her friends. Roth is a completely swoony hero, and while he doesn’t always make the best decisions, he also cares deeply and tries to do what is right.

Final verdict: Overall, this is a consuming, engrossing, and addictive YA fantasy/fairytale retelling that will keep you guessing. Fans of Gena Showalter, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Gregory Maguire will delight in this exciting new tale that turns Snow White on its head.

Confusing timeline, starts off with a bang, definitely middle-grades premise with the dialogue. Hoping book 2 is better!

Gena you never cease to amaze me. I loved this whole story..never quite knowing who was who and following Roth and Everly on this extremely wild ride. There is so much I can say but alas don't want to ruin it for anybody else. In a nutshell the moral of the story is to follow your heart and LOVE conquers all.

I really liked this retelling - I had a hard time putting it down! I've been looking forward to reading this book and it didn't disappoint. The length was great and it definitely wasn't boring!

I have read quite a few fairy tale retellings and I put off this one for awhile. I am so glad I finally picked it up and once I did I couldn't put it down. This book had many twists and turns and right when I thought I had it all figured out, the book would turn and I wouldn't be so sure. The ending wasn't my favorite along with some of the dialogue but overall a very enjoyable book!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

I adore this author. Her past work has been absoultely amazing, so of course, her new work would be too,.
This is a new take on Snow White and the meaning between good/evil.

Buy it!

I am a big fan of retellings and this one was not disappointing. It was intriguing from the start and not what you might expect in the end. The characters were interesting, the story had a good pace and there was even hints of future fairy tale stories in the future (???). It wasn't the most detailed about the worlds that surrounded the story nor about certain points in the story but it was still a joy to read. I hope that there are future stories so I can see what happens to the characters after this!!

The Evil Queen she crafts a new version of Snow White where everyone can be any of the characters in the fairy tale; it's all a matter of what you choose to do with your life and the situations that transpire around you

Gena Showalter is one of my favourite authors. I've read most of her books and have yet to read one I wouldn't at the very least classify as enjoyable. That includes The Evil Queen. This novel is a clever and deep take on the fairy tale of Snow White. In adapting the classic tale Showalter highlights just what it means to be good and what it means to be evil. This book is filled with philosophical conundrums and it keeps the reader on their toes. You never know from one moment to the next who to actually root for because each choice changes ever characters motivations from beginning to end. It's almost like all of the characters are each running through the story choose your own adventure style. I really liked it and I'm going to keep an eye out for the next book in the series.

I received a copy of The Evil Queen from Harlequin TEEN (US & Canada) through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this one more than I actually did.

The righting is great and a lot of it is really evocative but the character of Every came off as about 12 or so. Her reactions didn't strike me as realistic for a high schooler at all.

The dialogue is a bit cheesy at points but I'm not gonna complain to much because what's a fairy tale without some cheese?

I did enjoy the story but the sensual parts did come off a bit awkward to me on account of the MC seeming so young.