Heather’s Bookshelf: Shattered Snow
Author: Rachel Huffmire
Released: 09/18/21
Genre: YA historical fantasy/fairy tale & folklore
“That night, Bianka slept in a fit of nightmares. The eternal forest swallowed her whole, splitting her body into millions of shards. Each sliver formed into a child and darted into the woods. She tried to gather them, but so many pieces of her were lost that she couldn’t move properly. Bianka tried to wake up but felt as if her body were dead, lying in a heavy sleep she couldn’t rouse from no matter how hard she tried. Bianka feared she would never escape the dreadful eternal forest.”
“Shattered Snow” begins in 2069 when time travel is possible, but limited to only those performing research. Use of time travel is restricted and monitored, but Keltson Grammar has found a way around all of that. This story combines this premise with the tale of Snow White.
Keltson runs a mysterious organization known as “The Mirror”. Their purpose is to rescue people throughout history from unfortunate fates. Lilia Vaschenko applies to join the operation. She’s eager to leave her life behind, but she’s not the usual applicant. Keltson is unsure about how she will do, but her form of payment is too good to pass up. She instantly connects to the story of Margaretha, a countess destined to die young from a poisoning. She travels back with the intention of getting close to and then protecting the young girl. But Lilia’s circumstances change as she finds herself embedded in a life that she never knew that she could have. Her love for Margaretha changes into something much more dark and dangerous.
Trigger Warning: violence, murder
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. There is just something magical about a fairy tale modern retelling, especially when it is different and well done. The star of this book was absolutely the subsequent evolutions of Lilia and Margaretha. Their circumstances and motivations literally mold them into people completely different from where their paths begin. The story is filled with allusions to the classic telling but told in a completely different way. The time travel twist is very unique and I enjoyed the description of the tech as well. Keltson (the mirror) was also a well developed character that provided a nice link between the past and future timelines. He grounded the story and somehow made a fairy tale meets time travel seem much more realistic. The ending also had a bit of a twist which I really enjoyed. This fairy tale did not disappoint.
(I ended up checking out this book on mixed platforms: written and audiobook. Rachel White does such a great job as the narrator! I absolutely loved the accents!)
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A wonderful retelling of a classic fairy tale wrapped in an innovative take on time travel
Interested in checking out the book for yourself?
Find it for purchase here, on Audible or on Kindle Unlimited
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