Every time I finish a T. Kingfisher book I say, "Wow this has to be my favorite book of theirs." Hemlock & Silver was no different. I feel like Kingfisher's writing just gets better and better. The magical, creepy, and downright hilarious writing style just speaks to me.

This story follows Healer Anja on her mission to figure out who or what is poisoning the young princess, Snow. In this dark reimagining of Snow White, Anja falls head first into a world of mystery and wonder.

If you've read T. Kingfisher books in the past and enjoyed them, I'm sure that this one will hit the spot too. If you've never read anything by T. Kingfisher, this would be an excellent place to start.

I went back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook, loving both. The narrator had the perfect cadence and and expression! Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for this advanced copy.

Another absolutely stunningly chilling story from T. Kingfisher. I was hooked from the beginning and quickly devoured this novel! Her writing is simply brilliant and beautiful! Definitely give this book a read!!
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced listener copy

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for gifted access to this audiobook. All opinions below are my own.

This is a retelling of Snow White where a woman knowledgeable on poisons and healing is set to the task of finding out what's happening to the king's daughter as she fades before his eyes. There's lots of fairy tale tragedy and cautionary tales but there's lots of hope and found family vibes.

T Kingfisher excels at providing such depth to characters we've already met throughout literary history. I loved Anja was knowledgeable and skilled but also vulnerable, full of heart as well as a little uncomfortable in her own skin. Secondary characters were well developed and the magic was easy to understand. Always love talking animals in a story as well!

LeahsBooks confession: I am hopelessly addicted to any and everything that T. Kingfisher writes. I periodically stalk NetGalley to see if there’s anything new from her, and there often is, since she is quite the prolific writer. At least it gives me her backlist to work through while waiting for approval for new books like this one. I was so juiced to read this one, and let me tell you, this is another hit that could only come from the mind of T. Kingfisher. She breathed new life into the Snow White story with her unique take on it.

I received both ebook and audiobook copies, and I listened to this one mainly as an ebook simply because I didn’t want to stop reading to do the boring things in my day, like go to appointments and run errands. It is narrated by Jennifer Pickens and I love how she infused Anja’s character with the snark implied in the print version. She does a great job of voicing Anja and all the other characters believably.

As many of Kingfisher’s heroines do, Anja lives a peaceful life free of interruptions that take her focus away from her own work: finding cures to poisons that don’t have a cure. We get a little insight into why Anja does this from her younger days, when her cousin accidentally mistook a root vegetable for a poison right in front of her. Seeing the pain that it caused her cousin as well as her family, she vowed to find cures for those substances that people have accepted as fatal. It quickly offers a plausible reasoning for why she researches poison so thoroughly, especially when she finds herself testing the cures on herself. She justifies this by trying the cure on fowl beforehand, but it still places her at a pretty significant risk.

While Anja is puttering away in her little version of paradise, she is summoned to attend to the King, whose daughter is dying, and he’s ready to try anything, which apparently includes summoning an expert on poisons and their antidotes, over bleeding and other methods that have not been shown effective for poor Snow. Anja is brought to the castle by a grumpy guard and her supplies. Instead of jumping to a conclusion, Anja begins to work methodically, examining every single thing that the girl could have come into contact with by any means to identify what is making her sick.

But as hard as Anja tries, she can’t find anything that could be the cause of Snow’s symptoms. Until she discovers a magic mirror that is a portal to a whole other world, and is forced to explore the dark world to find the poison so she can find an antidote. She winds up being saddled with a one-eyed cat that winds up being beneficial, along with her grumpy guard, who Anja is clearly growing on.

I loved Anja right from the start. She seems to be in the typical European fairy tale setting, but has a special fondness for the scientific method, which didn’t seem to occur to anyone else. Instead, Anja identifies a poison and tries to find a potential cure based on various metrics of comparison. If that doesn’t work, she is back to the drawing board, while if it does, she tries it on a rooster (reluctantly because she’s an animal lover and despises animal testing), and if that works, she tries it on herself. So naturally, she brings her scientific mind to the castle and upends everything in Snow’s life—monitoring and even tasting her food and drinks, checking all of her belongings, and doing everything that would make anyone, especially a teenage princess, feel as though they have no privacy. And Snow was right; even Anja recognizes and admits that, trying to come to some kind of solution.

Perhaps the thing I loved the most about Anja is her witty sarcasm. She constantly has snarky comments that she thinks of saying but tries to keep inside because they probably wouldn’t be appreciated. It had me laughing at identifying with her practical, no-nonsense approach at life. Anja isn’t a young woman, probably in her 30s, and has that typical ‘ugh, what now’ approach to things that is so recognizable for readers who have left their 20s behind. We spend nearly half the book just getting to know Anja and watching her do her usual methodical work, which was fine because I adored her character and couldn’t get enough of her.

Once Anja arrives at the castle, she is promptly assigned two guards, one of whom became a love interest. I really liked the way it developed between them, feeling natural and the opposite of insta-lust…which would be developing a working relationship first and then slowly sliding into a bit of a romance. However, it never overpowers the main plot line and I really had fun seeing Anja and Javier interacting and getting to know each other more and more as they continued to work together. Aside from the handful of side characters, I was surprised that there weren’t more. Kingfisher books tend to have a wider range of side characters than this one did, and I was a little disappointed not to get even more characters to know through Kingfisher’s words.

The pacing was a lot slower in the first half of the book, when Anja is introduced and is getting her footing in the castle, while after the discovery of the magic mirror and alternate world, things move a lot faster. At times I found myself a little more confused and having to reread something, but I was mostly just blown away by how Kingfisher took the barest elements of the story of Snow White (magic mirror, apples, and an evil queen) yet made this story completely her own by placing those elements squarely in the middle of one of her cozy horror/fantasy stories to create Hemlock and Silver instead.

Overall, this was a good book. It just didn’t happen to be one of my favorites by Kingfisher (see Nettle and Bone or A House With Good Bones for books that were more up my alley. This one wasn’t a disappointment at all—I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next from start to finish. I love a good talking animal character in the cast, and this one had it, along with a lot of the elements I’m used to seeing in Kingfisher books, but the pacing and just a little bit more development of the characters, considering how few there were, didn’t resonate with me. I’m still a hardcore Kingfisher fan though, even if this makes me want to go back and reread Nettle and Bone or Briony and Roses.

4.5 ⭐'s rounded up……The story starts out a little slow. Anja is a healer and poison expert and tries poisons out on herself to test antidotes. This is so interesting. There is a snake that she keeps around that she uses in her experiments.

Anja is approached by the King due to his daughter Snow being sick and no one being able to figure out why she is not getting better. The journey to where Snow is very slow but I will admit I laughed about her struggle with the horse riding. It was funny.

Anja determines that it's not poison that is making Snow sick and this is when the pace definitely starts getting better. However even though it was slow, I was definitely invested in the story because I just wanted to know what was going on. I mean the King's confession to Anja was when I was all in because I needed to know more.

The narrator did a great job of bring Anja to life. You could not always tell when a different person was speaking as there was not a lot of voice changes but it is still a really enjoyable audiobook that I definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advance audiobook. All of my opinions are my own.

A dark fairytale reimagining of Snow White. This was such a delectable read. The pacing is slow, but very intriguing. I feel like it takes the time to pull you into this world and BAM, you’re hooked and eager to discover who is behind everything alongside Anja.
Anja has dedicated her life to studying poisons and I found her character to be mature (30+ years old) , smart, and quirky. There’s also a feisty and surly cat that I just found myself loving and laughing at the same time. A cat that completely stole the scene when it popped in. The narrator, Jennifer Pickens kept me engaged throughout. The tones and inflections used for Anja were spot on. She matched her personality and emotions very well. For me, each character had a distinct voice and made it easy to follow. The pacing was spot on. I feel like this book is a whole mood, it has gothic, mystery, apothecary, poisons, and a hidden magical realm. I loved it!


A very special thanks to Macmillan Audio + Netgalley for the ALC.

T. Kingfisher is one of my all time favorites and this book didn’t disappoint. I thought the narrator was fantastic and really brought to life the main character. I loved the female main character. She was unique, humorous and fully realized. I couldn’t get enough of this book, like I desperately wanted to keep listening but also didn’t want it to end. The plot was interesting, thought out and I really enjoyed it overall. Looking forward to the next T. Kingfisher book.

This was such an interesting read! It was like Snow White meets Alice in Wonderland meets something like I’ve never read before. I listened on audio and the performance was great. The story is so original and I loved the subtle romance aspect as well. I also enjoyed the FMC was 35 and a seemingly average normal human being! It was very well done. I will be picking up future works from the author for sure! Plus, I love a good, sassy side character and Grayling was amazing!

The story had really great potential to be amazing, but pacing was a little too slow. But did really like how it was a combo of Apothecary Diaries and Snow White

Thank you Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies of Hemlock & Silver.

T. Kingfisher is my favorite author. I’ve especially loved her fairytale inspired stories. So I was thrilled to dive into this darkly reimagined tale based on “Snow White.” And I absolutely ate this up!

I related so much to Healer Anja, a scholar in her 30s who deals with poisons and doesn’t care much for frivolous conversations or court politics.

This story was so compelling and imaginative. I was fully invested in unraveling the mystery at the story’s core. 🍎

🎧 Jennifer Pickens is perfect on audio. Her sardonic tone is perfectly suited to the style of writing. If you enjoyed her narration in A Sorceress Comes to Call, you’ll love her in this!

Read if you enjoy:
🍎 dark fairytales
🪞 a little mystery
🐍 reluctant heroes
☠️ dry humor
🐈‍⬛ plus-sized protagonists

T. Kingfisher’s adaptation of “Snow White” is wickedly good…At least in my opinion!!
The dark mirror world… with unforeseen things inside a whole other world. Where things go bump in the “mirror”.
Anja the healer with a passion to save people…
However, she feels she’s a “good problem solver” as opposed to a “HEALER”
And the attraction between Anja and Xavier…in its own right almost like an unspoken passion…till it’s not!!

Ok my favorite character: The talking mischievous grey cat Brimling… soo crazy!!
I feel the narrator Jennifer Pickens captured the essence of the characters by bringing them to life!!

Overall I truly enjoyed this twist on Snow White!!

Thank you @ Macmillan Audio and @NetGalley for making this read possible !!!

This book was so fun to listen to (the narrator gets a full 5 stars) and exceeded all my expectations. While it's described as a retelling, it does feel like an entirely new story with some similar themes, names, etc. I loved everything about Anja this entire book, as well as several other characters. She was witty, clever, and a little bit self deprecating at times which is incredibly relatable. The narrator really brought her to life for me and had me laughing along the way. T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors and always delivers in my opinion. This book was no exception.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced audio copy of “Hemlock & Silver” in exchange for a review.

After being throughly disappointed by ‘A Sorceress Comes to Call’, I’d sworn off T. Kingfisher. Everywhere I looked though, people were hyping this book. I thought, what the hell?! Let’s give it a try.

I’m so glad I did. It was fantastic…full of action and a story that yes, drew inspiration from a classic but had plenty of elements of its own. It’ll definitely be a book I recommend.

It took me a minute to get into this book, but it really picked up and got interesting!
The king's daughter Snow is sick. Nothing the king does cures her. He ends up hiring Anja, a healer who specializes in poisons, fearing Snow may be poisoned. Anja obviously sees she gets violently ill, but can't figure out why. Until she looks in her mirror.
Like I said, it took me a while to get into this book. The beginning is just learning how Anja does her experiments and being hired by the king, meeting Snow, watching what she eats and going through her things. I didn't read (or if I did, I didn't remember) the synopsis, but since this is in the synopsis I feel it doesn't spoil anything. This book really picks up when Anja finds the mirror world. It's such a cool concept and is quite intricately thought out. It's almost like a mix of a retelling of Snow White and Alice Through the Looking Glass. The atmosphere of the book was really dark and kind of spooky, but at the same time easy to picture.
Besides Anja who is so determined to find out why Snow is sick and smart, we have Snow. She seems like a regular child, but you can tell there is something she is keeping from Anja. Anja also ends up being aided by one of her guards, Javier. He is protective and willing to help Anja with what ever she needs. One of my favorite characters was a cat - Grayling. He acted just like you think a cat would. Sassy and superior. I loved him.
I really liked the audiobook narrator. She added to the atmosphere of the book and did a really good job embodying Anja.
This was my first T Kingfisher book and I definitely want to read more!

This has to be one of my favorite books of this year. It was so good! The narrator did a fabulous job and I'm always down to read another T. Kingfisher book. This definitely reminded me of a mix between Snow White and a bit like the Jordan Peele movie Us. I would definitely be recommending this book to others. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing me an early copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! Anja is a wonderful main character, with a passion for poisons and making new discoveries. She is recruited to save the young princess from suspected poisoning, and we are taken on quite the adventure from there.

This book focuses primarily on the investigation and Anja’s detective work trying to discover what is causing the princess’ illness. Alongside her is her assigned bodyguard, and eventually a sassy cat.

The story takes many twists and turns, with a lot of allusions to the story of 𝘚𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦, while still being completely its own, which I really enjoyed. It definitely didn’t really follow the storyline of 𝘚𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦, just gave us little familiar beats like “the apple” and “the mirror”, and the Princess’ name, Snow.

Overall, a fun little mystery-solving adventure to go on, with a highly likable character at its center.

Audiobook notes: Jennifer Pickens did a wonderful job portraying Anja’s passion for her work and excitement for new discoveries, while also beautifully portraying the emotional moments of the story.

What this book is giving:
✅ Historical Fantasy
✅ Snow White Reimagining
✅ Healer w/ a specialty in poisons
✅ Bodyguard
✅ Sick Princess
✅ Investigation and Detective work
✅ Narcissistic Talking Cat

This was delightful. This was my sixth T. Kingfisher book and my favorite one yet! I loved the Anja (who is so practical and curious) and Grayling (who is so no-nonsense and *cat*). Jennifer Pickens, the narrator, did an excellent job bringing them to life. The mirror world was really intriguing (and then horrifying!) and the romance was very sweet.

I always enjoy a good story from T Kingfisher and this one was no exception! With the way this author spins a story, having their take on a fairytale retelling was absolute perfection. I loved it. It kept me entertained for a night shift and the narrator was great with the story. Definitely recommend!

T Kingfisher has done it again with another creative fantastical fairytale retelling, this time: Snow White! 🪞🍎

She took this story in a completely different direction than Disney did, told from the perspective of a healer whose specialty is finding antidotes to poisons.

From that premise alone I was pretty sure I’d love this. And it was so good! Whimsical, smart, and quite a bit funny. As usual for Kingfisher, the story did get intense and there were some slightly creepy moments, but not too much even for me 😅

As for the audiobook narration, I’d probably listen to Jennifer Pickens read anything, honestly. I loved her narration of The Collected Regrets of Clover and she was just as good here. Her voice is so genuine, I feel she’s a friend telling me a story in person. And now I know she’s awesome at voicing magic talking cats, too 😸

Go for this one when you want a quick fun read with immaculate vibes.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

Another fantastic novel by T. Kingfisher. Her fairytale retellings feel fresh and original. These are some of my favorite kinds of fantasy novels. The narrator did a fantastic job.