Northern Lights, Southern Stars

Northern Lights, Southern Stars is a unique take on the story of Snow White. Deeper than the original fairy tale, it looked at international politics, the slave trade, racism, and the power of kindness and hope and love. Instead of white, Princess Ebony is dark-skinned, as is her entire nation. The prince she loves is white. They would not be the first mixed-race marriage, yet there were many who refused to accept the mixed relationships and the children that came from these marriages. That was difficult to read. There was also a contrast between those who believed in God and those who practiced evil magic. Ebony was mistreated and had her life threatened on many occasions. However, she never gave up faith or allowed her trials to make her bitter. She was a lovely, compelling hero who made faith and hope and love seem attainable to any of us.

The story was told in three perspectives, the princess, the prince, and the evil queen. Each of these was clearly marked and easy to follow. However, they also meant the reader is stuck in the head of each of these three people a bit more than necessary. I struggled with that - a bit too much of the omniscient perspective. This lessened as the book progressed and by the end, I had almost forgotten my annoyance at the beginning. Additionally, much of the story was written in present tense, which made it more difficult to read. Overall, I recommend the book and look forward to reading more books by C.S. Johnson. The imaginative take on the overtold story of Snow White was delightful and refreshing.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and have reviewed it willingly.

With elegant language that’s poetic without being saccharine or self-conscious, this reimagined origin story of Snow White is a beautifully composed tale. Princess Ebony Night loses almost everything upon the death of her beloved father, King Maru of Marula, whose second marriage is a political union with Queen Varyes of Pommier is a disaster in many ways. Ebony’s friendship with the queen’s son from her first marriage, Prince Rion, becomes more than a consolation prize as they fall in love and work together to do what’s best for everyone in their kingdom. Dark-skinned Marulis and pale-skinned Pommierians embody present-day racial tensions. Magic practitioners with devious motives, mirror-slaves, and poisonous fruit are a few of the fanciful elements that enrich this clever update of a familiar fairy tale.

Various themes merge smoothly into perceptive social commentary about colorism, elitism, political wrangling, and the subtleties of coercion. Although Ebony and Rion are young, nineteen and twenty-something, the essence of their struggles to assert themselves as individuals and a couple offers universal observations about identity and agency. Ebony often behaves in the Pollyannaish ways of a lifetime member of the privileged elite despite her reduced circumstances, and Rion can seem a little dimwitted, but these traits highlight how much devious advantage the queen has over them. Northern Lights Southern Stars shines as a modern fairy tale with many facets of intellectual substance.

I had the pleasure of having the opportunity to listen to the audio version of C.S. Johnson’s Northern Lights, Southern Stars. I liked this story. Arama Christiana’s voice was perfect performing this book. She really brought it to life. I enjoyed meeting Ebony and I admired her bravery and courage.

I am giving Northern Lights, Southern Stars four and a half stars. I believe it is definitely worth a read. I recommend it.

I received the audio version of this book from the author, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

I have a guilty pleasure for fairytale retellings. This is the first one I picked up for Snow White, but also I saw much of Cinderella in this one to make it an interesting blend. I also fell in love with the title for this one, based on small aspects of the story.
The story was great, you had all the elements to bring a fairytale to life; a princess who has been pushed into a maid’s position within her royal home after her father died, an evil stepmother who dabbles in dark magic and a desire to rule her kingdom with lies and deceit, a prince who is desperate to help our princess become who she is supposed to be as well as some wonderful friends to support her along the way. A typical Disney story.

There was a lot of interesting factors to the story that draw me in, you get to see ‘Snow White’s backstory and how Ebony was brought to her stepmother’s kingdom of Pommier from her home in Marula through an alliance to bring the north and south together. She grew up with the queen’s son, prince Rion who knew her better than anyone, their close connection allowing them to fall in love. That was one thing that I found slightly disturbing in the story – how Ebony’s prince was in fact her step-brother. But whatever. It was nice to see their love was strong and with a long history from the start to focus more on the story.

There was a lot of racial elements within the book that were sometimes uncomfortable, the people of Marula were dark-skinned, weren’t welcome within the kingdom after the death of the king and the majority were sold as slaves or sent back to Malura where the country was at war with it’s neighbouring countries. Pommier’s people were white and were often reminded of being the stronger, more powerful country. They made sure the Maruli were separated in society as well as status within Pommier, which made it all the more inspiring when the prince chose Ebony as his princess against the queen’s wishes.

The characters were well told throughout the story, even with little build up. After her father died, the queen pushed at Ebony’s princess status little by little until she was reduced to a maid’s role within the castle out of spite and cruelty. Her spirit was crushed along with any hope to see her home kingdom again, the queen being a constant reminder that her princess status was simply a titled name and nothing more. Her temperament didn’t change much throughout the story but I quite liked that, she didn’t need to change too much for the story to work. She was strong in her own way, taking the insults from the queen and still able to sing her way through life. Ebony knew her feelings for Rion were real but she also wasn’t blind to her new position and reality of what could be between them.

‘I’ve never known what it was like to have true power.
To me, the idea of power was as elusive as catching starlight.
I can hold my hand up to the night sky, watching as the darkness turns my skin into its full shadow. My fingers curl around the bright burning lights high in the sky, but as I try to pull it toward me, the warmth in my palm diminishes, and the last of my self-indulgent mirage disappears.’

Rion was a lovely addition, especially since we had his point of view throughout the story alongside of Ebonys. You get to see his strength in running the kingdom of Malura as regent, his desire to help the kingdom and stop the war with the neighbouring countries is pleasing. His love for Ebony is apparent instantly which is sweet and endearing when you can see when he gets nervous and excited to see her. His inability to see through his mother’s schemes was disappointing at times but it put further truth to his character that he was able to see kindness in everyone.
The additional characters are great and all individually unique from Viola, Ebony’s speciavo magically trapped in a mirror, Damaris another maid within the castle that Ebony befriends, the Bonpette family who take her in when she needs a place to hide from the queen, not to mention the queen herself with her dark insecurities. You almost feel sorry for her knowing how lonely and isolated she is in her position. Even her own husband didn’t want her. It’s no question as to why she became the person she did with the little things she had left to make her happy. It was interesting to see her own point of view throughout the story too.

When Ebony’s father dies, she is forced into servitude in the palace by the evil Queen of Pommier. But, Prince Rion and Ebony maintain a secret friendship, much to his mother’s dismay. Can Ebony find the courage to do what is best for her and the country? Whose side will Prince Rion take?
The blend of Cinderella and Snow White is used to tell a story based in a world with racial tensions and alliances built around political complications. The characters are well developed and secure the reader’s emotions. The dual points of view (Rion and Ebony) help to build the story and dramatic irony.
This is a great read for fans of retold fairy tales, fantasy, the Royal Bastards series, The Rebel of the Sands by Hamilton, and The Lunar Chronicles.
Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

this was a really well done fairy tale retelling, the characters were great and I loved the it drove deeper into in themes of racism and deal with other political themes.

I really enjoyed this fairy tale retelling. I loved how it dived into deeper themes surrounding racism instead of keeping it surface level. Very very refreshing and Ebony as a character was just so interesting. It was easy to get pulled into her story.