Ahoy there me mateys! This novel did not completely work for me but I believe that I am the problem. This is a loose Snow White retelling. However, the main character is Healer Anja. She is not a healer in the traditional sense but studies poisons and how to counteract them. The King summons her to help solve what is killing his daughter Snow. Like the fairytale, apples, mirrors, and poison play a part. This is dark and has some excellent horror elements. And a talking cat!

I absolutely loved the beginning of the novel. I was completely enthralled by Anja and how she came to study poisons and how she tests them on herself! I appreciated her intelligence, her awkwardness, and her caring. It is nice to have another protagonist in her 30s. As the novel progresses, watching Anja use reason and deduction to try to solve the mysteries was a lot of fun. I also really enjoyed some of the side characters too and the light romance that did not get in the way of the plot and was sweet.

The major problem for me came at about 53% of the novel once the mirrors become a major plot point. As the story advanced, I got very confused as Anja uses the mirrors and theorizes. I liked the concepts but got lost in the specifics and am not 100% sure what happened. This is no fault of the narrator who is excellent. I usually read Kingfisher books first before listening to the audiobooks for rereads. I should have done that here. I believe I will go back and some point later this year and reread my e-book copy. I will review the reread based on the different medium and see what happens. My enjoyment should go up with some clarity. So if ye have an interest in this book, don't let my experience hold ye back. Arrrr!

This is a review of the audiobook version. I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoy reading anything by T. Kingfisher, and Hemlock & Silver is no exception. I loved how she reimagined the Snow White story while still keeping it fresh and unique. The mystery surrounding the poisoner kept me guessing the entire time.

One of the things I appreciated most was the main character. She's older than your typical fantasy FMC, and I found her intelligence, curiosity, and clever sense of humor refreshing and relatable.

This book has everything you’d want in a fairy tale retelling, a talking cat with a sassy mouth, a grumpy knight, and plenty of heart. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairy tale retellings with a twist, especially those featuring older, smart, and witty female leads.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Books for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.75 stars)

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher, narrated by Jennifer Pickens, is a dark and whimsical Snow White retelling—though only in the loosest sense of the word 🍎🪞. Instead of following the traditional princess narrative, we journey alongside Anja, a 35-year-old poison master who is as brilliant as she is badass. 🙌 I absolutely loved seeing an older FMC at the heart of the story—one who knows her craft, owns her choices, and doesn’t need anyone’s permission to be fierce.

The premise hooked me right away: the King recruits Anja to save Snow from a mysterious poison. What unfolds is a tale full of wicked queens, enchanted mirrors, and dangers that extend far beyond a single poisoned apple. Add in a snarky talking cat sidekick (seriously, so sassy and delightful 🐈‍⬛✨) and you have a fresh twist on a classic fairytale.

There were a lot of things I enjoyed here: T. Kingfisher’s fantastical writing style created such a vivid, unique world that felt both eerie and enchanting. I also loved the originality in how familiar elements of Snow White were reimagined—this is definitely not your average retelling.

That said, a few things kept this from being a top-tier Kingfisher read for me... The romance subplot with Javier felt unnecessary and actually pulled me away from what I loved most—watching Anja stand on her own. The King’s role was also puzzling: he starts off the book with a strong presence, only to vanish almost completely once the main action shifts to the palace. It felt like a thread that got lost, which was disappointing after such a powerful opening from him iykyk. And finally…the middle section really dragged for me 😅. While the ending payoff was exciting, I had to push myself through the slower build-up to get there.

The audiobook narration by Jennifer Pickens was well done and added another layer of charm to the story. Still, this won’t go down as my favorite T. Kingfisher, but it was a fun, creative fairytale retelling that I’m glad I read. I’m especially excited to own a physical copy when it releases—it’ll make a gorgeous addition to my shelves. 📚💜

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group, MacMillan Audio, T. Kingfisher, and NetGalley for the advanced eBook and audiobook!

T Kingfisher has done it yet again. If you loved the swordheart or nettle & bone because the MC’s were strong independent women who didn’t need a man but it doesn’t hurt to have them around type of vibe than buckle up because this might be the best one she’s written. The King’s daughter has been poisoned and Healer Anja’s reputation of curing poisons has proceeded her (much to her dismay) and now she’s all but forced by the king to see if it really is poison. But who would poison a girl of 12 that isn’t even in the line for the throne (at least not really). Tall, awkward and completely out of her depth with court life, and time is ticking. How much time does Anja have to figure this out before the girl winds up dead? You’ll have to read to find out! 💕

This is a really unique and interesting Snow White retelling, centered around the poison aspect. I actually forgot it was supposed to be Snow White until the apples made an appearance.

I love our MC, Anja. She’s a socially awkward healer who specializes in poisons and doesn’t really like people. She’s the best at what she does, and determined to get to the bottom of Princess Snow’s mysterious illness. Her research leads her to discover the mirror world, which is incredible and horrifying in many ways, and so creative! It’s literally the would inside the mirrors, where our reflections live. What do they do when we aren’t there for them to mimic?

This book was a perfect balance of sinister, mysterious, and hopeful, with a nice touch of witty humor that kept it from getting super dark. All around fantastic, highly recommend!

Thanks very much to T. Kingfisher, Tor, and NetGalley for this read!

Hemlock & Silver follows Anja, a woman who’s spent her life obsessed with crafting antidotes for poisons, as she’s tasked with curing the king’s young daughter, Snow, of a mystery ailment after his younger daughter’s and the queen’s deaths. She travels from her home in the city to the king’s second home in a desert villa, where she finds herself navigating not only the mystery of Snow’s condition, but also the nature of her own status within the castle. She finds Snow taking a bite of a mysterious apple and, ever the researcher, does the same, so bent is she on identifying the poison in order to craft an antidote. This poisoned apple opens up, quite literally, a new world for Anja, full of magic-logic and upsetting fragment-creatures and a one-eyed cat, and hopefully the source of the poison or the person administering it. Anja, armed with a rooster and a guard and her wits, must find a way to save Snow before it’s too late.

Much like the rest of Kingfisher’s work, Hemlock & Silver was a home run for me. The tale was well-plotted and -paced, building the reader’s understanding of Anja’s situation as she learned of it herself. Anja struck me as the protagonist and narrator of a fantasy novel mainly for her surety in science and medicine over anything supernatural, even when the supernatural is staring her in the face. It’s very Dana Scully of her, and I utterly adored it. I love how Kingfisher builds fantasy worlds, also: this work was reminiscent of the worldbuilding in the Temple of the White Rat universe, with similar strains of a multitude of Saints on equal footing to one another, but the pantheon never feels like a focus of the story, only a factor that enhances it. I was surprised to find the novel in first person POV, as the rest (if I’m remembering correctly) of Kingfisher’s fantasy work is in third person, and she reserves first person for her horror. And to that point: I didn’t expect the degree of horror elements in Hemlock & Silver that I ended up getting—Kingfisher does bugs super creepy, and to great effect (requisite disclaimer that I am the world’s biggest weenie about bugs). I greatly enjoyed Hemlock & Silver for its horror and for Anja’s aptitude in her craft; I’d recommend it to those who enjoy a little romance and horror and science in their fantasy, freaky and horrible twelve-year-old princesses, or hiding from mirrors after dark.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of Hemlock & Silver in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

› First Line: "I had just taken poison when the king arrived to inform me that he had murdered his wife."

What an opening sentence! I was intrigued from the start. Who is this person? Why are they taking poison? Why is the king here? Why is he admitting to murdering his wife? So many questions right off the bat. I was hooked.

› Hemlock & Silver is told in first-person from the perspective of a 35-year-old Healer named Anja. The king says 12-year-old Princess Snow has been sick for quite some time, and they can't figure out what's wrong. He thinks it may be poison and heard Anja is a poison expert. He asks Anja to travel with his group to Witherleaf, 3 days away. Two of the king's guards would accompany Anja everywhere to keep her safe. Witherleaf is such an interesting name, and it conjured up images in my mind of his daughter withering away.

› Anja's interest in poison started at 11 years old when her cousin ate hemlock thinking it was a carrot and died. Anja couldn't believe there was no cure and became determined to remedy that. It's quite remarkable how much she has sacrificed in hopes of healing others. She's smart, generous, kind, and funny. It's awesome to see a scientific woman doing chemistry and biology.

› She meets interesting characters at Witherleaf, including a one-eyed cat called Grayling, who reminded me of the talking cat in one of my all-time favourite books, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. The banter between Anja and Grayling is one of the best parts of the book. I also enjoyed the banter between Anja and the two bodyguards, Javier and Aaron.

"It was the shade of dark gray that people call blue, it was short-haired and skinny, and it was missing an eye. Also, it had an expression like it was thinking about disembowelling everyone in the room."

› What does the title mean?
Hemlock is a poisonous flowering plant, and the main character of the book, Anja, is searching for a cure for hemlock poisoning. The Queen came from a place called Silversand. "All the best mirrors come from there."

› The characters are incredible. Goals, motivations, strengths, flaws, conflict, backstory, characteristics...Nothing is left out. 10/10 There is a slow-burning romance that felt relatable and authentic (Pg 13 in my opinion). The setting, descriptions, and world-building are top-notch. I loved the horror being balanced with quirky humour. Her writing is engaging, with high readability, dialogue and point of view. Kingfisher's writing style scratches an itch I didn't know I had. The plot has great pacing as well. I was intrigued from beginning to end. The monsters she creates are unlike anything else I've read, such as a centipede made from human hands and fractured faces.

Quotes That Stuck With Me

"Spirit houses, in case you don't know them, are how we dispose of our dead in Four Saints...ashes were placed in spirit houses, which, not coincidentally, resemble birdhouses...When the ashes have been completely scattered, the period of mourning is considered done."

"You were so excited. You tried to show me everything at once, and your eyes lit up, and you were just so fascinated by everything. Gets a man thinking what it would be like to have you look at him that way."

APPEAL FACTORS
Storyline: character-driven, intricately plotted, unconventional, tragic
Pace: medium
Tone: emotional, dramatic, suspenseful, magical, adventurous, mysterious, creepy, haunting
Humour: offbeat, sarcastic
Writing Style: well-crafted dialogue, descriptive
Character: awkward, brooding, complex, flawed, likeable, relatable, strong female

Read Alikes:
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Malice by Heather Walter
A Spindle Spintered by Alix E. Harrow
Twice Cursed by Marie O'Regan

› Final Thoughts
• Hemlock & Silver is a mysterious, imaginative, dark, and funny fantasy that is set to be released tomorrow, August 19, 2025. Incredible characters featuring a strong, smart woman tell the story of resilience and sacrifice. Do you sacrifice one person to save a thousand? If you discovered a poison that could kill thousands, would you warn everyone, even though some evil person may use it to kill others? T. Kingfisher has created a mirror-world that I won't soon forget. Highly recommend this one to readers 13+.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

T. Kingfisher has never let me down and I think this may be my new favorite from her. It is also one of my top books of this year so far. This creepy and atmospheric Snow White retelling grabbed me from the first page. I adored Anja and her love of learning new things about poisons and how to help heal people that come into contact with them. She is also deeply relatable and so dang funny. I love a main character that really knows who they are and are unapologetic about it. I also really enjoyed the slow burn romance. The mystery of what has been going on in the castle was very interesting and the plot was paced well with a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hemlock & Silver was such an original interpretation of the Snow White story that I almost forgot it was a retelling at all. Healer Anja is somewhat of a master of poisons. While her talents are known, it is still a surprise when the king arrives at her door and asks for her help. He suspects Princess Snow is being poisoned, and he’s certain Anja is the one who can help figure out what’s happening.

While this book did take me a little while to become invested, I still ended up finishing it in two sittings. Once Healer Anja travels to meet the princess the story picks up and kept my attention the whole way through. This book was such an interesting take on the Snow White story and Kingfinger’s writing was so beautiful and atmospheric. I loved being in Anja’s head and working through what was happening at the same time she did. In Hemlock & Silver I think there really is something for everyone to enjoy, so even if you’re only a casual fantasy enjoyer there are so many other elements to this story, including a bit of mystery and even a bit of romance.

This is the first full length T. Kingfisher novel I’ve read and I loved it so much I’ll be visiting their backlist. It may be awhile before I can bring myself to look in a mirror though.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for a review copy.

Healer Anja is a 'poison doctor' -- she works to find antidotes to poisons and hopefully save the victims. It's a fairly quiet life, until her King shows up in her workroom with a request. His daughter Snow is ill and he fears that someone is poisoning her. Will Anja travel to the isolated estate where he has sequestered Snow and work to save her? Of course she will (he is the King) but when she arrives, things are....off.

This reframing of Snow White is an utter delight. T. Kingfisher has absolutely mastered the art of retelling fairy tales, giving them a twist and usually casting a mature (middle-aged? Not an ingenue, anyways) heroine who is down to earth and usually perplexed by what's going on around her but willing to get things done. There's a slow-burn romance in the background (and Kingfisher does the thing that I particularly like in romances, whereby the characters actually TALK to each other and figure things out), a talking cat who is just as one might fear a talking cat to be and many fun facts about venomous animals.

Absolutely recommended! (I'd say for everyone, but high teen readers might be put off a bit by the ages of the protagonists. Still, I'd say it would be worth a shot there.)

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

T. Kingfisher has delighted me with her dark fantasy books in the past and this new one did not disappoint. Such a fresh take on Snow White! I absolutely loved our protagonist, who wasn't a skinny teenager but a middle aged, mildly crotchety, delightful woman obsessed with figuring out antidotes to poisons. I loved this one so much.

Hemlock and Silver is my first read by Kingfisher and I really enjoyed it.

Anja is a healer and the king is asking her to come to his home to see if she can help his ailing daughter. The first part of the book was very slow for me but I pushed through and was glad that I did.

If you like a sarcastic, fmc over 30, and stubborn woman this book is for you. I loved the cat to. I can't wait to read more by this author.

Seeing T. Kingfisher's name attached to another dark fairy tale had me griped instantly. Even if I had not been granted an e-ARC by Netgalley, I would (and will be) rushing to my local book store to add it to my bookshelf.

Anja is a healer who tends to focus her efforts in poisons. She frequently drinks it herself in order to seek cures that others are not brave enough to seek. However, one day (after she had administered some poison to herself, she is summoned by the King who is worried about his daughter Snow. There is something going on with the young girl and he's already lost his wife and youngest daughter, Rose.

Anja travels to the Castle where Snow is and quickly determines something is definitely wrong but it doesn't seem to be from a source she can find. The story evolves when Anja finds Snow voraciously trying to consume a silvery apple which doesn't seem to be anything she's ever seen. After feeding a bit to a rooster ( who is totally fine) and trying a bit herself, she accidently falls through her mirror and into a mirror realm. This is where the story gets really interesting and we even get a bit of a slow burn romance which I find utterly adorable. There's magic, darkness, loss, and grief, but there is also hope, intrigue, and a very sassy cat that talks when he wants to.

I cannot recommend this book enough. T. Kingfisher is an utter master at reimagining familiar stories to give them a fresh spin while still keeping a bit of the nostalgia. This is a solid 5* from me.

Snow White takes a trip through the looking glass in Kingfisher's latest.

This one had a Hobbitish appeal for me as a content, older woman, who just wants to stay at home reading books and treating poison victims, has adventure thrust upon her. Though I liked the book, I have to admit, I loved the Hemlock bits, but I found the Silver story a little hard to visualize.

Kingfisher is by far my favorite author, but that said - I didn't think this was one of her best.

I gotta say, I loved the ending, though.

Bravo, my lady! Keep 'em comin'.

I love T. Kingfisher's retellings and I was beyond excited to read this Snow White retelling.

It had one of the best openings/first chapters I read, which immediately established the suspense, the mystery, and the protagonist's character: a poison expert Anja (in her late 30s, which was a "middle-aged spinster" in this fantasy setting) gets an unexpected visit from the king who admits that he killed his own wife and suspects that his daughter Snow is being poisoned. Anja is immediately taken aback, very awkward, and aware that the king's power might harm her merchant family if she does find the cure.

As usual, Kingfisher is excellent in subverting expectations: the king turns out to be a kinder man than Anja initially expected and soon the sheer mystery of the seemingly perfect poisoning attempt is enough to motivate her to solve the case. The novel subtly blends a few different genres: it is a fairy tale retelling and a fantasy novel but I also had a feeling that the mystery and solving the crime case among a courtly intrigue are at a heart of the story.

Anja is one of my favorite Kingfisher's protagonists, her POV is so unique, self-reflective, and awkward/humorous at times! She's hyperfixated on her expertise (poisons) and on finding solutions, but small talk or human emotions or motherly feelings (that she thinks the world would expect her to have towards Snow; she does not but cares for her as a patient) are not her strengths. She sometimes wishes her mentors were there to guide her in navigating the courtly intrigue, but at the same time her expertise in poisons is refreshingly professional: Anja knows that if anyone can solve the poisoning case (if that is poisoning, that is!) that would be her.

The cast of secondary characters is a little bit unequal, more than in other Kingfisher's novels. I loved the King and his growing respect for Anja, the stubborn Snow, and a certain cat. A love interest (whom I shall not spoil in the review) was more bland and obvious than I hoped for, and a little bit too similar to the love interest from "Nettle and Bone." That being said, romance is a very subtle and minor (yet entertaining and cute, Kingfisher does equal-adult-partners romance well) part of the plot. To be fair, I much preferred reading Anja's interactions with the King than with her romantic partner, but the power dynamics between her and the King make that relaionship strictly professional.

A surprising and big drawback of this book for me was that, for some reason, it felt very slow. Despite my excitement to read it, I took a few weeks and a few breaks with it; something that rarely happens since I usually devour similar books (incl. others by the same author) in a few sittings. Some of the slow pace was appreciated and allowed me to smile at Anja's perspective or spot various cleverly placed clues or subplots (Kingfisher really made her world come to life, and the religion of Animal-Gods that is only hinted throughout the novel was very interesting!). However, it also made some chapters a drag: particularly around the 20-40% and 60-70% of the novel. The beginning was very strong and so was the ending, but Anja took a very long time to get to her conclusions and the novel took a very long time to establish its pace. I get that some of Anja's duties were initially mundane and the author wanted to convey her increasingly frustarted (would she ever cure Snow?) state of mind, but this did not have to impact the reader's experience. While reading, I had a feeling that this was originally meant to be a much shorter novella and that extending this to a full-length book did the story a disservice.

I thank netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing an ARC for my honest review.

T Kingfisher always hits for me, and this was no exception. In this loose (very loose) retelling of Snow White, we follow a healer named Anja who has a special interest in poisons. When the king asks her to examine his daughter Snow, as he suspects she is being poisoned, she cannot say no.

This was imaginative, unexpected, funny, and also just dark enough. There is a sweet slow burn romance that I really enjoyed, although the romance is not a focus in this book. We focus instead on Anja as she tries to find the solution to the mystery of what has happened to Snow, and what is going on with the mysterious mirrors in the manor.

I loved it. I did think the beginning was just a little slow, but when the plot kicked in it was exciting and I was there for it. Highly recommended, and it will be a perfect read for fall.

4.5 stars. A very cool take on the fairy tale of Snow White. No princes and no dwarves.
Healer Anja drinks poison regularly so that she can find antidotes. Her fame has reached the ears of King Randolph, who tasks Anja with curing his 12 year-old daughter, Snow. She is ill and perhaps being slowly poisoned.
Anja finds no actual poisons, however, it is clear that something awful is happening to Snow. Anja discovers her eating a strange apple, and tests (eats) it herself to make sure it's not what is making Snow sick. The apple, strange and cold and white, gives powers to those who have eaten it. Powers that allow the consumer to enter the reflective Mirror Realm. However, eating food from the Mirror Realm comes at a price. And Anja must discover why Snow would purposely poison herself to go back and forth through it.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for this digital e-arc.*

One of the best things about T. Kingfisher books is that there's fantasy and romantic elements and the characters are all adults. It makes the leads more decisive, and changes the flow of the story. While there's still plenty of doubt and uncertainty, there's also a confidence of experience that keeps things from getting whiny when they aren't going well. I love that our lead, Anja, is lost but still persistent, that she knows how to approach her explorations, and has a sense of self-respect that doesn't make her respond rashly or impulsively.

Anja has spent her life studying poisons and pursuing antidotes, and she's tapped by the king to help his daughter who he believes is being poisoned, another tragedy after his Queen killed their younger daughter and he was forced to kill the Queen. Anja goes to the royal estate in the desert and sets to work trying to identify the poison. While there, she discovers that the daughter, Snow, knows more than she's willing to share, and that there's an entire world hiding alongside there own that's just as dangerous.

Anja, joined by her guard Javier, find out the hard way that just because you don't understand something entirely doesn't mean you won't have to fight it. Overall, a happy ending on many levels, and a wild adventure to get you there!

I just finished Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher. Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for a free eARC.

Anja isn't really a healer, although that's the closest term for what she does. Really, she does poison. She studies it, tests it on herself, and if that means she gets to save people from accidental poisonings from time to time, that works for her. She's perfectly content living her quiet life of study until one day the King arrives in her workroom. (Literally right after she has ingested adder venom). Something is wrong with Princess Snow. The other healers can't figure it out-- Anja is his last hope. The last thing middle-aged Anja wants to do is leave the comfort of her home to traipse about trying to cure princesses, but no one says no to a King. So off she goes with the King's retinue to try to diagnose a sick Snow, but what Anja finds is way more than poison, and it's more than she bargained for.

This is a reimaging of Snow White-- similar to Kingfisher's reimagining of the Goose Girl story in A Sorceress Comes to Call. I really had a fun time with this one-- I couldn't quite figure out where it was going, it kept me guessing pretty much the entire time. It has enough recognizable elements to the traditional story, but the twists and turns are so very well earned. No one does a "middle aged" fantasy lead like Kingfisher does. Although, to be fair, middle-aged is usually like 36 in her novels. I love a main character who has life experience, knows what she wants, and isn't forcing herself to try to fit in. It's so refreshing to see actual representation of grown women in her works. Anja is also extremely intellectually curious-- which helps her solve the book's overall mystery of what is happening to Snow. I appreciate a good retelling, a feminist update, and Kingfisher's darker fairytales. I hope she keeps them coming!

This was so much fun! It felt like a good old classic fantasy adventure - loosely based on Snow White with a fascinating mirror-world premise and a talking cat and a protagonist who is an expert in poisons and a stoic bodyguard love interest. The explanations for things are a little hard to follow, but I wasn't too worried about it. The main character's voice is so funny and I had a blast reading this.