by Kendra E. Ardnek
publisher’s synopsis
After their father’s death, and thanks to their older half-brother’s wanderlust, two sisters find themselves caught in the politics of mysterious forest. Elinrose finds herself in direct conflict with the wood’s Mistress, while Snowmari hides a deadly secret that could mean her death if found out. Can their bonds of sisterhood withstand these trying times? Or will they even make it out alive?
Snow White and Rose Red meets Sense and Sensibility in this exciting high fantasy retelling of Austen’s classic!
Rose Petals and Snowflakes felt like Jane Austin with a fairy tale twist. Now, before I actually get into my review, I have two confessions to make:
-I haven’t read Sense and Sensibility, though I have read a different retelling of S&S and know some things about it.
-I also am fuzzy on the story of Snow White and Red Rose, because I’m pretty sure that it’s slightly different from the just Snow White story.
But despite my lack of knowledge of the “source texts” I could tell that Rose Petals and Snowflakes was a retelling. Ardnek did a nice job of capturing the Jane Austin feel and hitting the S&S plot points. She also did a nice job of giving the story a fairy tale feel.
The characters were fun and relatable. I would have liked to get to know the side characters better though. Like I said above, Ardnek does a give job of capturing the fairy tale vibe in her setting. I was a little confused by the magic in the story though. It felt like it just sort of popped out of nowhere about halfway through the book, and the different types of magic that someone could have weren’t really explained until they appeared in the plot. I was still able to follow the story fine, but the suddenness of the magic elements did take me out of the story a little.
Overall, Rose Petals and Snowflakes was a fun, short read and I think fans of Jane Austin and fairy tales will enjoy it.
Cautions: light romance; two kisses
Hailey Huntington 