this one was so fun!!! it gives a twisted snow white combined with alice and wonderland vibe! Anja is a pretty well known healer specializing in poison cures. When she lost her cousin has a child to a poisoning it unlocked a deep desire in her to learn as much about poisons and their cures. When the king comes to her personally for her help with his daughter Snow- Anja has no idea what she is about to get herself in. Snow has been sick for months and no one has been able to figure out what is wrong with her and Anja is his last hope to get answers. When she discovers a mysterious magical mirror world nothing is what it seems.

I listened to the ALC of Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher and narrated by Jennifer Pickens and it is fantastic. First, Jennifer Pickens narration is outstanding. She has the perfect voice for our FMC, Anja, a healer. She has a scientific method to test out what she thinks is happening in her patients. I loved her dry humor. Anja is an atypical heroine - she is tall, solid and over 30. But, that is typical of T. Kingfisher not giving us 18 year protagonists that are tiny. The humor in this book is excellent and I love the cat! Do all fantasy books need a talking cat? Maybe!! There is a sweet romantic subplot, excellent characters and wonderful writing to give us this completely new take on Snow White. I absolutely loved it! I highly recommend this 4.5 star story.

Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for my advance listener copy. This book comes out on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.

I thought the narrator sounded familiar. I realized that Jennifer Pickens was also the narrator for A Sorceress Comes to Call. She did a phenomenal job for both books!

T. Kingfisher has done it again! This book was the perfect mix of everything. Interesting plot, cute romance, creepy shenanigans, witty humor, fun critters, and so much more. To say I loved it is an understatement. I finished this in one day. This was beautifully written and the narrator did such an amazing job with the audiobook. I can’t recommend this enough.

I don’t typically re-read books, but I’m absolutely going to read this one again 💚

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, T. Kingfisher, and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: August 19, 2025

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a free ALC in exchange for my honest review.

A dark, snow white retelling following the POV of an introverted and awkward poison expert "healer" named Anja hired to save the king's daughter from an uknown ailment. I really enjoyed this book! Anja is relatable and genuine, and I found her clumsy inner dialogue charming and really entertaning to listen to! There are some interesting side characters that don't appear until later in the book that I also loved reading about. The love interest is my favorite male archetype, however you don't realize he's the love interest until over halfway through the book, so I won't share any more about him. The mystery is intriguing and captured my attention for most of the book and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending!

I think my only critique is that the pacing is a little too inconsistent and slow. The synopsis doesn't capture the essence of the book very accurately. This book is much slower in plot than the synopsis alludes to. This is not a quest story. This is a slow burn mystery full of scientific and philosophical conversations and musings. You literally follow Anja as she discovers this strange world and uses the scientific method to test out hypotheses to learn more about how it works. It's really fascinating and I love T. Kingfisher's brain! But it drags a little bit from 20% to 50% before picking up. The romantic subplot doesn't pick up steam until after the 50% mark. But if you loved the humor, characters, and vibes of A Soceress Comes to Call, you will like this book as well!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest by T. Kingfisher, with the audiobook amazingly narrated by Jennifer Pickens. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison, seeking cures for those that other have given up on. Her quiet life is upended when she is summoned by the King. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and no one can figure out why. He's hoping Anja can save her. Nothing works, until she finds a hidden world inside a magic mirror.

I will read anything that T. Kingfisher writes, and this retelling of Snow White was fabulous - especially the audiobook, which I would highly recommend. I loved Anja's character - an older woman who says what she thinks no matter what, understands her own social awkwardness, and is so relatable. Plus, there are so many wonderful characters here - including a talking cat! This was just the perfect, dark fairy tale that really came to life with the author's skill and the wonderful narration.

A healer with poor bedside manner is tasked with the immense burden of figuring out who or what is poisoning the king’s only surviving daughter. Anja travels to the remote kingdom of Witherleaf, where she steers most conversations to her esoteric knowledge of deadly plants and animals. This, and not much else, goes on until half way in when Anja falls into her mirror and meets a one-eyed talking cat who hates dumb questions and wishes to be called “his gloriousness”. There are evil anthropomorphic reflections milling about, so Anja enlists the help of her hot bodyguard whose communication style is sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose a lot. Mirrors get dropped on heads and roosters thrown in faces, with a few daring escapes thanks to a giant centipede with a surprisingly benevolent demeanor. This was a Snow White retelling in that there were magic mirrors, apples, and a treasonous queen, but that’s where the overlap ends. I listened to this on 1.75x and it still felt slow at times, but the narration was excellent and the frequent banter with the acerbic cat kept me entertained. 4-stars for the Grimm vibes and a likable mid-30’s protagonist because I’ve grown weary of fates being placed in the hands of horny 20-year-olds.

I am OBSESSED with T. Kingfisher's fairytale retellings, especially the obscure ones. From the very first pages I was absolutely hooked. The female protagonists in T. Kingfishers novels are always muti-dimensional, unique, endearing and come from such a solid, moral place. This reimagined Snow White fairytale is the perfect combination of horror, dark fantasy and magic. I am an automatic read/binge/buy reader of T. Kingfisher and this one lived up to my very high expectations. Her prose and beautiful language are simply spellbinding. I am in awe.

The narration was also wonderful, great choice! THANK YOU for this magnificent read!!

This is one of those books that I’m not 100% sure how to feel about it… It’s odd, in the way that all T. Kingfisher books are, full of humor and absurdity. It kind of reminds me of a mix of Snow,White and Alice in Wonderland, in a distinctly fantasy setting with the occasional horror elements?

Than character’s narration was fun, the romance small but enjoyable, and the world-building interesting. I listened to the audiobook, and I will say that while the narrator’s voice did match the main character well, it was a little too monotone at times for me, and I found myself zoning out more often than I would’ve liked.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This is a very creative and unique retelling of Snow White. I loved the main character and her obsession with poisons and antidotes. This book has all of the wit and humor we expect from T. Kingfisher, perfection! The narrator did an amazing job.

Love this one! I was a little taken aback because I didn’t know what to expect but I enjoyed it! I always I’ve TKingfisher books and this was no exception. It may not have been my favorite but it’s still so great!

I really enjoy T. Kingfisher's fairytale retellings, and this was no exception. This take on Snow White was so unique, dark, and interesting. I really liked following Anja specifically in this story. She's smart, in her 30's, and doesn't fit into the expectations placed upon women in her world. I really related to her feelings about children because I also don't know how to interact with tiny humans. She's confident in herself though and will try to do whatever she can do to heal someone, even if that means poisoning herself while she's at it.

This is also a darker take on the Snow White story. As someone who enjoys fantasy and horror, I really loved this dark fantasy story. I also thought that the narrator did a great job, especially with the pacing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor, and Macmillan Audio for this ARC/ALC!

I’m a sucker for fairy-tale retellings, especially when they take a darker turn. Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher is a dark reimagining of Snow White. The audiobook pulled me in right away, and I flew through it, My only small gripe is that the middle section slows a bit but overall I enjoyed the read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5⭐ rounded up to 5. Kingfisher did it again! Every time I read one of her books, I’m reminded of why she’s an auto-buy author for me.

Fun fact: I have this nasty habit of not reading book blurbs. I like to go in completely blind! That’s why I dove in this one and went “Oh noes, not another retelling!” Fortunately, I soon realized that this is *not* your typical Snow White retelling. There’s a big focus on poison, a skillful whodunit, plenty of delicious horror elements, a focus on the scientific method, and Kingfisher’s signature humour. It ended up being one of my top reads of the year so far.

The characters, the atmosphere, the creativity, the humour… it’s all there. Add to that top-tier narration by Jennifer Pickens 👌 The only irritants I had were that (i) the desert setting didn’t quite feel right (in my mind!) with the type of story and atmosphere, and (ii) some characters that felt important just disappeared at some point in the story. Some came back while others were barely ever mentioned again. Was that on purpose? To add more suspects to the “whodunit” storyline? Red herrings or loose ends? Knowing Kingfisher’s rigour, it was probably the former. But still, it felt like some characters were grievously underused. Other than that, I absolutely loved this book. The romance subplot was unexpectedly sweet and there’s a sarcastic talking cat who looks the MMC up and down, then says, “Who’s that tower of wit?”

I DIED.

Oh T. Kingfisher, how I love you.

If you like dark retellings, fantasy horror standalones, single POV stories with 1st person narrative, top-tier voice narration with rich, nuanced, and soothing tones, socially awkward protagonists, and stories that focus on poisons and healing, you’ll probably looooove this one!

🤍 The characters!!
🤍 Unexpected horror elements
🤍 Technical rigour / attention to detail, consistency, and the scientific method
🤍 Sharp-edged humour and clever dialogues
🤍 Creativity
🤍 Voice actress’s performance
❌ Some confusing explanations and info dumps
❌ Underused characters / loose ends
❌ Numerous “epilogue” chapters

Tropes to expect: magic mirrors, evil queen, poisoned apples, bodyguard romance, unnatural / magical illness, parallel worlds, spinster healer FMC and taciturn guard MMC (plus a narcissistic talking cat!)

I am usually a little weary on fairy tale retellins, but I have enjoyed Kingfisher in the past so I went out on a limb and gave this one a listen to and I really enjoyed it. Not a direct retelling of snow white as the main character is original, but the fairy tale is enough in the background that you recognize source material with the actual story being original and fresh. I would recommend this!

This was a pretty typical T. Kingfisher novel. It's a snow white retelling, but it approaches it in a completely new and fresh way and I really enjoyed it. You have the FMC who is in her mid thirties and is a master of poisons who gets asked to come figure out what's poisoning snow white. There's a smidgen of romance, fantastical elements, and my favorite - a talking cat! I don't think this is Kingfisher's best work (Nettle and Bone is better) but it's still an enjoyable time with a fun fairytale twist.

An intricate and dangerous fairytale retelling featuring a headstrong healer Anja who is called upon by the king to help figure out whether his youngest daughter, Snow, is being poisoned and by whom. But it derails quickly when it might not be a poisoning at all but connected to a mirror world/realm that Anja is being pulled toward with evidence from people, cats, and her sidekick palace guard and possible love interest, Javier.

It's a twisty mystery and one that uncovers more than just Snow's illness, but what came before it.

Anja's character is three-dimensional and her brainy sass and internal dialogue is what kept me going the entire time. I love her as a character. Plus her curiosity and adventure know no bound.

It's detailed and rich with story. It's thoroughly enjoyable with the regal court life and the sinister underpinnings of power and intrigue.

Wow! This was an amazing, crazy story!

**** RELEASE DATE IS 8/19/25 **** Look 👀 for it on shelves then!!

We OPEN UP with Healer Anja drinking venom, you know, the poisonous substance from snakes, and she begins to feel a bit woozy….

WAIT!!!!! WHAT?????

Yes, that’s the opening!

Next thing up, the KING is at her door! Her door! She’s a no one. What is going on?

But, he needs her help. Desperately…

You see, his wife is dead, and so is his other daughter…
And now Snow, his youngest daughter, is not well. And no one can seem to find out why she is so sick…
Can Anja help????
Anja is a healer. She goes through extensive testing, usually on herself, to find ‘fixes’ for all that ails humankind.
She is truly a one in a million!

So, Anja UPROOTS her whole life to travel for days with the King…to see his daughter and try to help. She has absolutely no idea if she CAN even help. 😮 And, she’s afraid that she will be put to death if she cannot… but that’s a thought for another day.

She arrives and meets everyone at the castle, including the maids, staff, guards and Snow.

But as she goes through her process to see what’s going on with Snow she begins to see that something is just OFF…

And then there’s Gaylin , the cat.🐈‍⬛
And that grey/silver stuff…
And the missing mirrors….

And that’s all you’re getting from me as I’m going to 🛑🛑 STOP. RIGHT. HERE. 🛑🛑

This one has some magical realism, some sweetness, some scariness, some romance, as well as some crazy concoctions… and a sense that everyone loves this child and will try to do any and everything to help her!

#HemlockAndSilver by @TKingfisher. Narrated phenomenally by @JenniferPickens.

All the stars for me!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💫💫💫💫💫✨✨✨✨✨

**** THIS HAS NOT BEEN RELEASES YET!! **** Look 👀 for it on shelves in about a week, on 8/19/25!!!

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

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4.5 rounded up to 5 Stars

I love myself a retelling that does something so innovative it leaves you breathless, and this one did all that and more. I absolutely loved this take and twist on the Snow White story. It was refreshing and new and I adored the main character.

Healer Anja isn't so much a healer as she is someone who specialises in poisons and how to possibly cure others from them. Her work becomes so well known that the King enlists her to help solve the mystery of what could be happening to his daughter, she's seen every healer but none can figure out what is wrong with her. Now, tasked with what may be an unsolvable question Anja must try to figure out what is going on with Snow, only it might now be as simple as it seems... especially when it turns out you can walk into mirrors into a whole new world.

Filled with an amazing cast of characters I could not stop listening to this book or wait to see where it went next. The narration brought the story to life and I could feel the main characters' wonder, disgust, anxiousness, and thought exploring come through in such an engaging way. It was a delightful experience all around.

If you love a great fantasy novel to sink your teeth into, grumpy cats, poison apples, and mystery. I highly recommend this one! Thank you to the publisher for providing an ALC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first T. Kingfisher book and I was pleasantly surprised perfect palette cleanser between darker books. Definitely makes me want to read more books by this author.

What can I say? I loved it! I loved the narrator's voice and her ability to capture the tone throughout the book. Especially the wittiness of the FMC. I really appreciated that it felt like I was in the FMC's mind hearing her thoughts thanks to the narrator. Sometimes it feels like the narrators are simply reading and I tune them right out.

The story was great, like an ADHD fever dream complete with a snarky af cat! T. Kingfisher did a great job per usual. I didn't realize it was supposed to be a Snow White retelling but now knowing that I can definitely see it. I think anyone who was wanting a direct parallel might find issue but I think Kingfisher's ability to create something new and unique using elements of another story is where she excels and it really showed in this story.