Mirror, Mirror: A Twisted Tale poses the question, what if the Evil Queen poisoned the prince?Following her beloved mother’s death, the kingdom falls into the hands of Snow White’s stepmother, commonly referred to as “the Evil Queen” by those she rules. Snow keeps her head down at the castle, hoping to make the best of her situation.But when new information about her parents resurfaces and a plot … resurfaces and a plot to kill her goes haywire, everything changes for Snow. With the help of a group of wary dwarfs, a kind prince she thought she’d never see again, and a mysterious stranger from her past, Snow embarks on a quest to stop the Evil Queen and take back her kingdom. But can she stop an enemy who knows her every move and will stop at nothing to retain her power… including going after the ones Snow loves?
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Snow White is not one of my most favorite Disney Princess stories but I did like this twisted tale, even though the twist they promised on the cover really didn’t happen until the very end, the Prince being the one to be poisoned instead of Snow White.
This is the first book in the series by Jen Calonita. I’m glad they’re adding new authors to this series because it keeps it fresh. I can tell the subtle difference between their writing styles. At first I did not really click with her writing style but as the book went on I got into it.
This book is definitely filled with positivity and strength for women. I think this was done because the original Snow White Disney cartoon was so outdated. She just fled and waited and fell in love with the prince she met once, his true love kiss waking her even though they didn’t know each other at all. In this one Snow White does flee but she doesn’t just sit at the Dwarves house and wait. She builds a plan, she gathers allies, she plots to take the kingdom back from the Evil Queen. She gets to know the prince as he helps her and slowly through their endeavor they “fall in love”. Is it real love after just a few days with all they went through together? No clue. But they at least got to know more than each other than him just hearing her sing.
This was a good edition to Disney’s Twisted Tales. I can’t wait to read the next one, “Conceal Don’t Feel”, also written my Calonita.
3.5 star but won’t let me do the .5. I like the spin of the princess being the heroine and the few twists and turns in the story you wouldn’t expect but is a bit long winded for my taste.
Ummmmm this was just okay. Not something I’d remember or recommend though. I’ll keep crawling through this series hoping for better.
Ever After meets Joan of Arc. Mirror, Mirror: A Twisted Tale is a fresh, valuable take on Disney’s classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Author Jen Calonita teams up with Disney Press to pay homage to the original Snow White story while embarking on a confronting new adventure all its own.
Calonita draws her readers in by giving most of her characters names, in addition to their renowned titles or descriptions – you simply want to know more. For example, the Evil Queen was once simply “Ingrid”. Readers explore Ingrid’s past — her hardships, sacrifices and views of the world — before arriving at her infamous station as the Evil Queen. Ingrid’s relationships are also maturely mapped out so readers can (almost) comprehend her quest for influence and power.
The “extended scenes” or added character dialogue in the book brings the classic fairytale into the 21st century. Passages like “[Snow] cleared her throat, voicing her anger at the injustices she learned about” and “the only one who could truly break her free was herself” provide renewed life lessons to readers. Young and old have something to learn from Calonita’s Snow White. The princess does everything from negotiating trade agreements, to rescuing her prince, to rallying an army. Of course, she is also beautiful and kind (which, along with the characters’ mostly true-to-the-film garb, should satisfy the Disney princess purists). Specific applause goes to Calonita’s inversion of traditional character roles. It is a delight to see Prince Henri as Snow’s friend, not her savior.
Themes of Disney’s classic are creatively intertwined with Calonita’s tale which, along with its modern twist, should earn it five stars. However, the lucky last star is missing from this review because the back-and-forth timeline in the early chapters stunted early development of the story and made it feel disjointed. It should be hard to put a good book down, but the constant time travel in the beginning made it easy to do so. This structure did not jive with my reading flow, but should not deter you from picking up this book. Who doesn’t want to read an origin story of one of Disney’s most famous villains alongside a progressive, independent Snow White? Do yourself a favor – grab a copy.
Mirror, Mirror: A Twisted Tale is available now for pre-order on Amazon. It will be released on April 2, 2019.