If you want a fairytale retelling that's totally unique yet still retains the familiar, T Kingfisher is who to seek.
A Snow White inspired tale that keeps you guessing and with the traditional elements cunningly reworked in an engrossing way. An older fmc (yay) who specialises in poisons, Anja was a great character! The supporting cast were, as usual, instantly well fleshed out and engaging. I adore the way Kingfisher is graphic and creepy in her actions yet almost tempers it with wit and humorous reactions, utterly compelling.
If anything I wanted more from this, more time with the characters, more time solving the riddles and exploring the world, but honestly I'd read T Kingfisher's shopping list at this point and be grateful!
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the arc opportunity, all thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

Hemlock & Silver is a funny, witty, complex fantasy that creates a world full of characters who stay in your heart. Especially the cat.

This is the second book by T. Kingfisher that I’ve read, and compared to Swordheart I liked it immensely more.

The plot is very simple: Anja, a great expert in poisons and antidotes, is hired by the king to save his daughter Snow, who is slowly being killed, probably by a poison.

Since it’s a retelling, there are many elements from the original story that are picked up and used in a way that I found very creative and interesting, especially regarding the mirror element.

Anja is an absolutely hilarious protagonist, who reminded me of Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries. She is a scientist and does not belive in magic. Everything she has known in her life is poison and research for more antidotes. She and the grey cat are by far my favorite characters.

I would have liked to see some of the characters from the beginning reappear at the end (I will avoid more details because I don’t want to spoil any of you this gem of a book) but aside from that detail, for me it was a perfect book.

The author is perfectly able to talk about disgusting things, yet manages to break the tension with comic elements that don’t feel forced, but simply reflect what a frustrated person would say in a hysterical moment. It felt very human and realistic.

Snow is a very peculiar character, and in my opinion she is well built as a twelve years old princess with a turbulent past.

It’s the perfect fantasy if you want a story with a worldbuilding that is distinctive yet familiar in certain aspects being a retelling, with a protagonist who analyzes everything through the scientific method (maybe even when she shouldn’t), and a talking grey cat who had me laughing out loud.

“I try not to judge anyone, man or beast, by appearances, but let’s just say that I had significant doubts that a cat with that expression loved anything except murder.”

It’s not very romance driven but I loved the subplot: it was important but it did not take the spotlight from the plot.

A cute cosy fantasy going on an adventure with main character, a healer named Anja. This was super fun as the plot is Anja going to heal the Kings daughter from a mysterious illness. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and Anja's main interest being poisons added an interesting aspect to her character. If course the cherry on top was the romance between Anja and her bodyguard Javier, the broody man and awkward spinster healer is a fascinating dynamic which lead to hilarious moments in their relationship developing.

A retelling of Snow White that falls in between Kingfisher's fairytale and horror stories.
Anja, daughter of wealthy trader, is a master poisons. Called upon by King to solve the mystery of his daughter’s ill health which comes just months after the death of her sister. Initially Anja is flummoxed, but with a stupid rooster, Grayling the not-quite-cat, a venomous snake, and a loyal bodyguard, she starts to uncover the truth (I hope you don't mind developing a fear of mirrors).
This is another great story from Kingfisher filled with more eccentric characters and creatures. I enjoyed Anja and her relationship with her guards – especially Javier – although I was slightly disappointed that Aaron gets side-lined. I loved the maid with her hair – what is going on? Is it really alive? I'll always favour a talking cat, so Grayling was always going to be a favourite, but he has competition from the rooster and snake.
A fun, interesting horror-ish twist on a snow white story. I wouldn't mind further adventures of poison master Anja and her loyal bodyguard.

I wanna start by saying that T. Kingfisher is one of my all-time favourite authors, and, not to be overdramatic, getting the chance to read an arc of Hemlock & Silver is genuinely one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. There’s something about T. Kingfisher’s writing and character development that is just so comforting and fun, without compromising the darkness and creepiness of her storytelling. Hemlock & Silver is up there with the Hollow Places in terms of favourites for me, and I’m so honored to be able to read and review it early!

Hemlock & Silver is a Snow White retelling that combines all of the classic elements of the original story in a new and interesting way. We follow Anja, a poison-obsessed healer who’s made it her life goal to research and develop antidotes to as many poisons as she can. When she’s approached by the recently widowed King about a suspected poisoning of his daughter, Snow, Anja becomes entangled in an otherworldly mystery involving strange apples and eerie reflections within the castle’s mirrors. Hemlock & Silver combines all of the things I love about T. Kingfisher: a smart and independent FMC with a strange job that she’s absolutely obsessed with, fantastic banter and chemistry between the characters (both romantic and platonic), and an atmosphere that is both cosy and creepy at the same time.

I honestly have nothing negative to say about this book. I loved Anja, the main character, and how she was so clearly autistic-coded. I loved the way the romance was woven into the story; it was the perfect amount to not detract from the plot or drastically change Anja’s characterisation, but just enough to have me genuinely giggling and kicking my feet. I loved the world that we got to explore, both the mundane and fantastical parts, and how atmospheric and at times legitimately unsettling it was. Oh, and there’s also a sassy talking cat who I would absolutely die for.

All in all, Hemlock & Silver is a fantastic novel that does a great job of retelling a classic fairytale while still standing on its own as a compelling, engrossing, and just plain fun story. It’s T. Kingfisher at her best, and yet another book to solidify why I will continue to pick up her work time and time again.

• I received an ARC for this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and I appreciate both your work and commitment to this project. The following opinion is my own and holds no major spoilers. •

• Hemlock & Silver
• T. Kingfisher
• Rating: 3.5/5

This was my second T.Kingfisher’s read but while the first made me feel like she had absolute narrative control over the story, this one made me doubt her writing skills.

First of all, I need to mention that this isn’t a romantasy and perhaps I was mostly excited for it because of it. There is a romantic subplot but it’s really subtle, which fortunately helps us to know the FMC’s personality and background much better. However (and perhaps this is the reason I didn’t enjoy the book as much), the story theme twists several times during the book and made me confused about what I was reading about.

Our FMC is proficient in the study of venom, poison and its antidotes (like some kind of apothecary) and when the king knocks on her door saying he fears the princess is being secretly poisoned but no one can find the cause, she reluctantly packs her bag to investigate the situation. This is what I thought the book was about, but it’s not.

Don’t get me wrong, I love getting surprise elements and it’s a thrill once I find out I was deceived somehow by the author and the story is entirely about something else. In this case, I just felt negatively baited.

This book is an Alice in Wonderland and Snow White retelling with a layer of warped fantasy that almost feels supernatural. I feel like I would’ve enjoyed this book so much more if I wasn’t so excited for the poison studies and investigation only to be met with a weird fable-like-ghostly story. I love fables and I love retellings, but the way the narrative is organized was confusing and it made me wonder several times why the hell did we have an apothecary for the main character in a story that isn’t about that.

Being the devil’s advocate here, I can see some people getting excited about the fact that the story is twisted to the point that even the FMC finds herself having to deal with things she’s not experienced in. (But then I feel like the author shouldn’t have taken so much time developing her academic background in flashbacks.)

I don’t have much to say about the male romantic interest since he’s just there for the sake of romance and barely developed. I also felt like the fantasy elements were kind of lazy and we would have had a better immersion in the antagonist’s POV if we didn’t waste so much time with the poison stuff that barely had any importance.

On the other hand, I loved the FMC and the way her mind works and it’s always a breath of fresh air finding myself reading a character that’s actually mature despite her inexperience in several things in her world. It’s adorable and interesting and the author never fails to amaze me in the way her dialogues are well-written in both their funny and dramatic situations.

All that being said, despite my poor impressions of this book and considering I *loved* T.Kingfisher’s Swordheart, I’ll keep reading her books like there’s no tomorrow until I find my next favorite one.

Hemlock & Silver is the eerie retelling of Snow White that you never knew you needed.

Kingfishers writing is, once again, fantastic. As always, the creepy vibes are there, the wit is there but best of all, one of the things I love the most about Kingfishers work, the relatable characters are there. She remains one of my favourite authors because she writes main characters who are often in their 30s+, aren't always conventionally pretty, are diverse in many ways and usually have an animal sidekick. The romance is gradual, gentle and absolutely the side show to the main event. Which works for me because romance is rarely my first choice.

Hemlock and Silver is simultaneously cosy and creepy and I'm not sure I'll ever quite look at a mirror in the same way again.

DNF (FOR NOW!!)

I’m intrigued by this book, and I can easily recognize this might be a case of right book, wrong time, so I will put it down for now, but I very much plan to pick it up again in the future

I really liked this!

I am pretty new to reading T.Kingfisher (this is my second book by her) but I’ve enjoyed so far seeing her different range / the similar things she does bring to each novel.

I loved how she took on the story of Snow White and made it her own. At some points, I really didn’t know where this was going — and that wasn’t bad! It was nice to be surprised with how the story could be twisted in to something new / different. I will say though I did not always understand the mirror world stuff and sometimes found the explanations contradictory and hard to understand, but this only irritates me at times . . . It did not, thankfully, have a large influence on how much I enjoyed the novel.

I really loved Anja and her curiosity about poisons and how she was always so unapologetically herself. It was great to see her not try to bend and twist herself to fit in to a shape she thought other people wanted to see her in. Of course she had her moments of self consciousness and doubt, but all of this made her feel so human. I loved her relationship with the guards, one in particular…

I like how the romance felt natural — even if it was pretty quick! I thought it was sweet.

I loved the cat.


This was a pretty good book and I’m excited to keep exploring more of T. Kingfishers work!

Hemlock and Silver is my second book by T Kingfisher and really enjoyed it, the writing is always so atmospheric with vivid descriptions and just the right amount of creepy and mysterious elements in the stories that are created that makes it so fun and engaging. I finished this book in two sittings I just found it such a joy to read.

It is a fun snow white retelling following the slightly quirky Anja, a healer also so fascinated by poisons who finds herself hired by the king to cure his ill daughter Snow. While trying to discover the mystery behind her illness Anja finds an alternate mirror world that might cure Snow or be the thing that brings the downfall to others. I found Anja so relatable and instantly loved her humour and the way she handles things and the situations that she finds herself in and just how refreshing it was to have a FMC who is older, awkward, intelligent and has a wicked dry sense of humour.

While the beginning did feel a little slower paced especially as we learn about all the different poisons and antidotes, I found it soon picked up and with the end making it so worth while. I loved that while the romance was more of a sub plot it still felt bittersweet and full of such beautiful moments.

I highly recommend to anyone who loves twisted fairytale retellings that feel original with clever twists and a slow burn romance that doesn't overshadow the plot.

Thank you so much to Publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book before publication, these are my honest thoughts and opinions.

I think this is my favourite fairy tale retelling from Kingfisher, though I did also really enjoy A Sorceress Comes To Call. I appreciated the older heroine in this one, who has advantages (wealthy family) but also challenges. The story beats from Snow White were recognisable, but only from a distance. I appreciated that all of the main characters (and some of the side ones) had personal growth / changes as the story progressed.

This book has Kingfisher's standard dry wit, I definitely cackled a few times while reading this. It also includes her usual creepy/borderline horror elements, though these weren't as pronounced as some of her other stories (including ASCTC).

I haven’t read much from T.Kingfisher before, I think I’ve only read a couple of horror books from her before and I’ve never read a fantasy book by her. I was thrilled to get approved for this by Netgalley (thank you!) as it’s a Snow White retelling, and I typically love Snow White retellings these past couple of years.

A thing that I immediately loved is our protagonist is 35 years old and a fat woman, neither of these things I see in fantasy very often (basically not at all actually). Not only that, but both things were brought up multiple times throughout the book rather than referenced briefly and ignored. Someone that is older than 30 and fat would normally be a side character and there for comedic reasons or to help the main characters but serves no other purpose than that. I loved that we got to see someone like this be the main character.

Alongside that, when we meet Snow, she’s just a normal child instead of what children in fantasy are normally like. They don’t behave like children, they come across as more ‘grown up’ or wise beyond their years or something like that, but Snow is immature, silly and impulsive, like any other child her age.

Another thing I loved about her is her love for curing poisons, her obsession with poison, and her commitment to finding out the truth. It was so interesting, as someone that doesn’t know much about flowers. I also don’t know much about historical accuracy, but it at least appeared that the author knew what she was talking about, which I also enjoyed.

Things were described so vividly and it made it easy for me to picture this unfolding in my head like a film. The writing was gripping, humorous and a page turner. My favourite was definitely the cat and, as a lover myself, described them very accurately. They act like they are barely tolerating you but they’ll still cuddle you in bed at night.

A thing that I didn’t love was the romance. It felt underdeveloped and there wasn’t nearly enough time on it. I think the book should have been a little longer so that we could see a relationship build up between the love interests, and feel chemistry between them.

I can’t wait to read more fantasy from Kingfisher and I bought Padadin’s Grace shortly after finishing this because how fun!

Top Romantasy of the Past Three Years

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Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
Hemlock & Silver
by T. Kingfisher
netgalley-arcs
Hemlock and Silver was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I was so excited when I got the ARC. So thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the ARC. All opinions are my own.
It's no surprise that I loved this book. I am a huge T. Kingfisher fan. Hemlock and Silver is another one of her dark fairy tale retellings. In this case it's a Snow White retelling. Instead of Snow White being the main character her we have Anja, a poison expert hired by the king who wants her to figure out who and how is poisoning his daughter. I loved this different take on Snow White. T. Kingfisher's blend of humor with some seriously creepy elements is perfect. The world building was also very interesting. I really liked our main character Anja. She was delightfully quirky. Her bluntness often made me laugh out loud. I also liked a dash of romance and I think Anja and Javier were sweet together. Their dialogue ( grunting 😁) was very cute and funny. We also had an animal companion in a form of a very sarcastic and opinionated cat
Overall I really enjoyed Hemlock and Silver. It had me hooked from start to finish. It was a fast read and I couldn't put it down. I highly

Over the past few years, T. Kingfisher has truly cemented her place as one of my favourite authors, and Hemlock & Silver is yet another fantastic addition to her impressive list of works.

This novel offers a fresh and unique retelling of Snow White. It’s a story that slowly unravels, taking its time to build the world and set the stage. At first, I found it a little challenging to fully immerse myself, but once the plot picked up, I was hooked. The twists and unexpected turns kept me engaged and eagerly turning the pages.

What I love most about Kingfisher’s writing is her ability to create compelling, relatable characters. Each one feels real, with their own quirks, struggles, and growth throughout the story. Her signature quirky, clever writing style shines through here once again, bringing the characters and the world to life in the most endearing way.

All in all, Hemlock & Silver is another solid, enjoyable read from T. Kingfisher. While it took me a little while to get fully invested, it definitely delivered in the end, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, I really enjoyed this and rated it a 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed the characters, loved the world building and thought the romance was really sweet, The horror elements were really creative and the imagery incredibly strong.

However, I did find myself skim reading some of the really long, info dumpy portions of the story which slowed the pace down quite signicantly. The twist, reveal of the villain, and the ending was quite predictable.

I'd definitely recommend this book to people but there were elements of the story that were quite weak. Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan and netgalley for this earc!

Let me convince you to read this book only by its opening line: ''I had just taken poison when the king arrived to inform me that he had murdered his wife."

ICONIC. And it just gets better and better.

An apple a day keeps the healer…investigating a poisoning of Snow White? This author takes the Snow White tale, steeps it in poisons, mirror-magic, existential dread, and academic sass, and somehow makes it feel both wholesome and deeply unhinged and at times even horrifying? I can't even begin to understand how she balances those themes, but she does it brilliantly. Our heroine isn’t a blushing maiden, she’s a mid-30s, socially awkward healer with a dry sense of humor and a deep respect for toxins.

There’s an insufferable princess. A definitely suspicious magic mirror. And a CAT with more attitude than sense, who offers vague wisdom in exchange for salmon and side-eyes everyone like they owe him rent. This book is strange, smart, and so darkly funny I was cackling. I loved every second.

Tropes you’ll feast on like a poisoned apple:
🍎 Dark Snow White Retelling
🪞 Mirror magic, but make it unsettling
😾 Talking Cat with a superiority complex
🧪 Poisons, antidotes, and medical mysteries
🏡 Cottagecore meets castlecore
💀 Mild horror, maximum sass
💔 Slow burn romance (No insta-lust, hallelujah)
👩‍⚕️ FMC over 30 and would dissect you for science

Hemlock & Silver is what happens when you cross a grim fairytale with a biology lecture and then throw in a talking cat who roasts everyone. T. Kingfisher once again proves she’s the queen of Weird Fairytales. I’d read an entire trilogy about Anja’s poison experiments alone, but I stayed for the mystery, the sly humor, the eerie mirror world, and THAT CAT. I beg of you: read this book. For the science. For the sass. For the salmon-demanding feline overlord. I have never read anything like it.

This was my first T Kingfisher book and after that I will definitely be checking out their other books!

The book gets straight into the action and gripped my attention from the start, with the king announcing to our fmc Anja that his daughter, Snow, is sick and he needs her help to find out why and save her.

I liked the witty comments in this from our fmc and how straight forward she was, and there was a talking sarcastic cat! Throw in a Snow White inspired plot full of mystery and you’ve got yourself a pretty interesting read!

I liked that Anja was older as it’s a nice break from the usual younger fmcs we see a lot in fantasy, and I found her career as a healer interesting. She was blunt and knowledgeable, coming across as a strong female rather than delicate and dainty and weak which is always fun to read.

I had a lot of fun reading this, the writing was smooth and flowed nicely so this was a breeze to read. The plot twist I did not see coming, and it was interesting reading and trying to work out what this plot twist meant and what was really happening to the kings daughter Snow.

It maybe could have been cut down a bit in parts, but overall I enjoyed this read and would recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Hemlock & Silver is a Snow White retelling… but honestly, I didn’t realize that right away. I was way too focused on Healer Anja, a woman who feels far too advanced for the time in which the book is set. She doesn't belong in a cozy little kitchen making soup—she belongs in her workplace, studying antidotes and messing around with poisons while keeping venomous snakes as companions.

The book opens with the king arriving at Anja’s home, and it captured me from that moment.

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

Why is the king here? Because his daughter—Snow—is dying, and only Anja might be able to save her.
Yes, the “Snow” part should’ve clued me in on the fairy tale retelling, but I was too invested in the poison lore and Anja’s vibe to notice.

This book is smart, fast-paced, and hilarious. Every page throws a new problem at Anja—assassinations, magic gone wrong, shady politics—and she deals with it all while being sarcastic and sleep-deprived.

I’m not the only one to say that Anja seems to fall (you’ll get the joke when you read the book) into every mystery. Here’s a quote for our (mine and yours, after you read it) grumpy guard:

“Healer Rinald doesn’t get into trouble every time I leave him alone for five minutes.”

Now, while both Anja and her guard are amazing characters and I love their dynamic, my favorite is Grayling. I fell hard for this grumpy little beast. When Anja worried about a potential attempt on the king’s life, Grayling simply said:

“A man who has never, to my knowledge, fed me.”
That’s a cat if I’ve ever heard one.

What I really loved was how the book blends medicine, magic, and mystery so seamlessly. The study of venom and antidotes is central to both the worldbuilding and the plot, which made everything feel grounded despite the fairytale roots.

Final thoughts: it’s sharp, clever, and weird in the best possible way. A delightful read that starts with poison and ends with me screaming, “Why didn’t I read T. Kingfisher sooner?!”

HEMLOCK & SILVER - T KINGFISHER

I don't read a book's synopsis right before I jump into it; I prefer being surprised and following the twists and turns as they come up. That's just my personal preference, but, oh man, Hemlock and Silver surprised me over and over again - and in the best ways possible.

Poison expert Anja is summoned to assist with the King's daughter, Snow, who's wasting away from suspected poisoning. There's also been some recent dark history associated with the royal family, which may or may not be connected.

Judging from the above, I thought that this was going to be a poison whodunnit, but it is so, SO much more. The twists genuinely surprised me, changing the entire direction of the storyline at times. Hemlock and Silver is a retelling of Snow White, but T Kingfisher takes the reader on an utterly unique journey.

I don't want to give anything away, so I will instead say that this is one of my favourite reads this year. I loved Anja, who is unapologetically her quirky self. I loved the super-judgmental talking cat sidekick. I loved the sweet spice-free romance. I love how this entire book reads like a new fairytale, not shying away from dark events but also somehow still making this book feel slightly cosy too.

Thank you to T Kingfisher, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Release date: 21 August 2025

Review score: 5/5

TWs: d*ath, violence, injury detail

First off massive thanks to Tor/ Pan Macmillian for letting me read this as an ARC!!
This has been an absolutely thrilling read from T Kingfisher. Hemlock and Silver is a fantastic twist on the fairytale of Snow White which keeps elements of the original tropes but reinvents them into something completely original. I am absolutely in love with her world building, especially the way in which she presents religious beliefs.
I could relate to Anja, glad to see someone in their mid 30s rather than a teenager who was ‘gifted’ in her craft. Her guard, Javier stole my heart. And a talking cat? Brilliant!
Kingfisher manages to blend, fantasy, horror and a pinch of slow burn romance on into one book. Along with a dash of wit, that had me laughing when I was close to screaming at points.
So all in all it’s a 5 star for me 🥰