There's going to be a sequel!!

The Duke of Snow and Apples (Entangled Select) - Elizabeth Vail

Reading fairy tales retellings is one of my favourite things in the world...

....when they are well executed. And yes, that's what happened here!

 

 First of all, this is much more than a (lol) Snow White/Cinderella fairy tale retelling.

This is a Three In One! (...first book I've ever read that managed to make a whimsical and apparently impossible genre conjugation work!)

_Fairy Tale Retelling;

_Historical Romance;

_Fantasy.

 And it works flawlessly!!

 

That story's first page is/was...(wow.)..masterfully written. Here was I, thinking that I was reading something entirely different, and all of a sudden I get hit with a sylph!

People started talking about salamanders and sylphs, and I was: I am sorry...what??

Isn't this an historical romance?

It is! But with a fantasy background to it, which I loved. Brilliant Idea!!

 

The characters

I loved the inversion of roles that we see here!

It's not everyday _in fact I think this was the first time I ever read something of the type _ that the "classic" Cinderella/damsel in distress role is given to the guy!

Besides that, and accordingly to the role performed by Frederick, is is Charlotte who is given the alpha role.

She is a force to be reckon! In fact do not trust her around apples!

 

“Did you just hit me with a rock?”
“No,” said Charlotte, avoiding his eyes.
“Did you just hit me with a rock?”
“No.”
“You hit me with a rock!”
“It wasn’t a rock!” Charlotte brought her wandering gaze back to his. Fortifying herself with a haughty sniff, she said, “I hit you with an apple.

 

The plot

Interweaving a great number of diverse and well developed characters, _some of them that remind us of other fairy tale characters like the fairy Godmothers or the Huntsman _ with a fresh new fantasy background _the Gnome chase? Loved it! _ the author also didn't forget to insert the expected Cinderella (Snow white) more known elements...

 There's the expected ball, disguises, and no, the guy doesn't lose one of his shoes...but he does lose something much more important.

But Frederick is much more than a ...Cinderella, Snow White or even a Snow Queen King.

And Charlotte is much more than a insignificant prince princess heroine taking her time to perform the great rescue.

 

Confession time:

I read most of this story, with a big goofy smile on my face _ and I have been steering away from romances in the last couple of months..so that is saying a lot _, but I loved seeing those two as a couple. 

I loved the way their relationship evolved, and the fact that in that, neither of them were idiots to not see the obstacles in front of them.

 

But then we get to the last third of the story, in which we were supposedly busy trying to figure out something...but then that something is not that difficult to guess.

Except to our heroine and hero, (lol) which ends up being not very flattering to them!

And that is why I am giving a four, instead of a five star rating to this story ;)

 

Now I am just going to pester Bookdepository until they have the paperback edition for sale! Because that is what I do...I pester people o_O

 

To finish: Go...read this book! Spread the word about this book (and pester your friends about it), and most importantly, just be ready to fall in love with this story. 

 

Oh, and I've just read on the author's twitter that there is going to be a SEQUEL!!

 

 

Author Oficial Site

 

Buy "The Duke of Snow And Apples"

@Kobo

 

@Bookdepository (I didn't know BD was selling ebooks!)

FYI: This can only be found through ISBN research o_O...and yes, I've tried finding the paperback through this method, but alas no such luck.

 

@Amazon.com (kindle edition) 

 

@Amazon.com (Paperback edition)