I’m not a huge fan of Cinderella or Snow White, but after loving Stepsister a few years back, I knew I had to read this Snow White retelling and this book has definitely solidified my need to auto buy any retelling by this author in the future. I loved the twist on the Snow White story we know from Disney, and I loved seeing the journey Sophie has to go on

After reading “The Stepsister” by Jennifer Donnelly, I was keen to start “Poisoned” and read Snow White’s reteiling, but I wasn’t impressed.

Synopsis:

Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen’s huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman pulled out his knife… and took Sophie’s heart.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule – a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she’d heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong…

With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can’t extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.

Thoughts:

Sophie, the main character, has a heart of gold that we instantly see. Then, the huntsman actually stabs her and takes her heart, leaving her dying in the forest. The lovely seven men in the house in the woods help her stay alive by building her a clockwork heart. This is probably the only things different compared to the Snow White story, aside for the King of Crows part.

For me, it felt like reading the original story again and that wasn’t why I picked this book up.

In “The Stepsister” , although it’s the Cinderella retelling, it was all about the stepsister and the author had the freedom to create her own story. However, here, Sophie just followed the trope of the original Snow White tale. I liked the metaphor of the heart – people losing their will, and their faith in the kingdom ruled by a ruthless queen. The metaphor of their freedom being taken away when ruling by fear is implemented.

I enjoyed Snow White losing her heart and then going on the adventure to find it. Although, I have to admit, I didn’t enjoy the part about the King of Crows and his connection to the queen. In the end, it felt like everything the queen had done was because she was forced to do it. This ended up making her not the true villain and having no responsibility nor accountability. What about all those people in the kingdom that suffered from her ruthless hands?

That being said, I liked the revelation of how the people in the kingdom lived. The promise of a better tomorrow with a queen that actually cares about her people. I also enjoyed the romance that wasn’t actually the main point in the story or a crucial element in the book plot. It was one of those cute side plots that kept me interested.

In the end, a bad taste in my mouth still stays with me after reading the book. There wasn’t a lot of originality and after I finished it, it felt like I finished Snow White, not a retelling.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Dark reimaginings of fairytales and mythology are so ubiquitous that they really need to be quite inventive to be interesting especially when you've read as many of them as I have. It can also be difficult to put a feminist spin on stories set during inherently patriarchal structures and a lot of the time fairytale princesses were so stupid in the original version of the story that it is really hard to suspend belief when they're reinvented as Strong Female Leads. I have always liked Jennifer Donnelly but this was a miss for me - I didn't take to the characters or the plot.

Like many other reviewers, I adored Stepsister and its combination of heart and humour, but I really struggled with Poisoned. I don't know if it was Sophie herself being difficult for me to like, as she was just too sweet and perfect, or the style swinging between grim and light without much cohesiveness, but I'm afraid just couldn't get on with this. DNFed at 23%

I loved Step Sister by Jennifer Donnelly and recently reread it in my excitement leading up to starting Poisoned. However I just can't seem to connect with the story in Poisoned at this time. I feel rather disappointed and frustrated because I was really looking forward to reading it but I've struggled to read only a few chapters. I might revisit it in future in the hopes of it being a wrong time sort of situation.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of Poisoned in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly the cover is stunning and the reader can immediately tell that this book is some form of Snow White retelling. I love a 'twisted tale' where the book has become darker and more gritty than the original, so this book was perfect for me.
Poisoned is fast-paced and keeps you engaged the whole time, essentially you can't put this book down. I thought that the world-building was great and I was able to connect with the characters. I also appreciated how three-dimensional many of the characters were, it was nice to see different layers and how they progressed throughout the book.
This is perfect for any fantasy fan.

I requested this because I loved Jennifer's other twisted tale about Cinderella's stepsister, and I was not disappointed.
This book was an amazing adaptation of snow white, and I will definitely be suggesting it to people that love retellings as the writing is just spectacular, there are so many quotes throughout that really stick with you.
Definitely anew favourite read.

Everyone loves a reimagined Fairytale, and Poisoned is a very good reimagining of Snow White. I will admit, in the beginning I almost gave up. Sophie was irritating, she was whiny, and saccharine sweet and made possibly some of the stupidest life decisions I have ever read, but by the end of the novel she became the heroine we all deserved. She stayed true to who she was but used the wisdom and strength she had learned from those around her to make better choices.
Her relationship with Will was wonderful, sometimes YA can get bogged down in steamy romance plots, but the respect and goodness Will shows Sophie makes him one of my fave YA love interests. Often kindness and feminity are removed from feminist heroines and I never understand why, so it was really refreshing to see a heroine like Sophie (once I stopped sighing at her in exasperation). In the end Sophie's strength comes from her open heart, willingness to see the best in people and self belief and that is always a message I will get behind.
I do have one major criticism though, and that is that Sophie is constantly saved by men. She is a fighter by the novels end but my god does she take her time! What is most irritating about this is that it could have been remedied so easily by replacing certain male characters with females or any other gender. For example, there is no reason Arno had to be male, or the refugee Max for that matter, all these impactful secondary characters were male, often Sophie was the only female for chapter upon chapter (excluding Tupfen... Who was a housekeeper) and this really got in the way of me feeling empowered by Sophie's journey. I think with a bit more consideration this could have been a solid 5 but for me it's currently a 3.5 instead.

Tried the first few chapters when trying to decide on next read but couldn't really connect with it. It felt like it read a bit younger than I normally tend to read which is a shame because normally I am a sucker for fairy tale retellings.

This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.

Enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed Stepsister. A light funny and thought provoking take on a well known fairytale (which rather skips over the necrophilia aspect of the original story thankfully!) Snow White’s adventures whilst slumbering are an interesting touch.

A creepy, disturbing and incredibly cool feminist loose re-telling of Snow White. I absolutely loved reading this book and have thought about it a lot since. Suitable for 11+ readers who don't mind things a bit creepy and dark.

I am a sucker for a good fairytale retelling and 2020 has been a great year for them. So, when I found about about Snow White retelling – Poisoned, I knew it was a book I would love to read. Snow White is one of my favourite fairytales so I was intrigued to see how this retelling would go.

Sophie is about to come of age and inherit the throne, left to her by her father. Sophie’s stepmother, on the other hand, wants to get rid of her, believing Sophie to be too weak to reign over their kingdom. When her stepmother orders her huntsman to kill Sophie, Sophie, with the help of some dwarves, soon starts to fight back and is on her way to reclaiming what is rightfully hers.

Poisoned is a unique retelling of a classic fairytale, but also leaves behind the charm and charisma that we have come to love with the original Snow White story. The author certainly lets the blackness and corruption within the story take the spotlight, and this, in turn, gives it a gritty and murky feel. The distinctive way the story is told, through the point of view of Sophie, and also from a mysterious onlooker captures your interest and wills you to carry on reading the book until the very end.

The plot itself is twisted and at times filled with gloom and a bit of despair. From the moment you start reading you are dropped straight into the brunt of it, and get that feeling that you are at the start of a fast-paced story, filled with action and consequence. As you may expect from a fairytale retelling you do get the same characters, although slightly different than you have come to know and love. In this case, the seven dwarves. The way they work to save Sophie by giving her a mechanical heart, and how they work to keep her best interests at heart, despite Sophie not listening at times, definitely originates with the original tale. Also, the way that we go deeper into the backstory of the evil queen struck a chord with me. As well as fairytale retellings, I do love a villain origin story, and I feel that we got a bit of this within Poisoned.

Sophie certainly grows throughout the story. When we first meet her she is naive, eager to fall in love, and gullible. Believing everything that her stepmother says about her, she lacks confidence and doesn’t know if she’ll ever be strong enough to stand up for herself. However, as the story moves along you start to see little snippets of Sophie changing and come to the end she is confident, strong, brave and willing to fight for what is rightfully hers. Also, despite there, being a romantic subplot within the story, this doesn’t deter from the overall plot, and I guarantee that Sophie would still have had the same character growth, without the romance added.

Poisoned was a unique retelling of Snow White which had me, for the most part fully engaged. Donnelly certainly has a way of bringing new light to stories that we have grown up with and loved, and I for one, wonder what fairy tale she will be retelling next.

As a person who loves a good fairytale retelling I had hope for this book. I also love a narrative with a dark twist.
Poisoned retells the story of Snow White. It sees Sophie aka Snow White, being taken to the forest by classic controlled huntsman and getting saved by seven brothers.
It was an easy retelling to read and a nice tribute to the well know story, with some clear similarities to the original narrative. However it was still interesting with all the events that happen to Sophie, setting it apart from the classic story.
Having said this I did struggle to get into this book. Their were some very good bits, but some were just a bit hit and miss. Some aspects seemed a little to Disney to be realistic such as the spider or ladybug and out of place.
I may not have liked it that much, but I could see it appealing to lovers of fairytale retellings.
Thank you you very much for the opportunity to read and review this book first.

Poisoned is a Snow White retelling.

Sophie is kind-hearted, full of empathy and a good person. Her whole life her step-mother has been telling her she's too kind-hearted, too weak to rule. On Sophie's eighteenth birthday the Queen commands the huntsman to kill Sophie and to remove her heart. The huntsman returns to the Queen with her heart, but little do they know Sophie lives on.

This has all the elements of the Snow White story, the apple, the dwarfs and it has so much more. It is fun and full of heart. It is about Sophie's journey discovering who she is and how she wants to lead her people. I particularly liked the journey with Will and how he taught her foraging and the woods.

Poisoned offers up a darker, insightful and timely take on a tale that we all think we know and love.

Both here and with Stepsister, Donnelly allows the darkness of the original tales to take centre stage – holding nothing back in her tales. I love how both incorporate feminist themes and discussion at the heart of their stories, truly updating these tales for the 21st century. Particularly in Poisoned, Donnellly delves into subjects of manipulation, gaslighting and patriarchal control/expectations over women. Both the main female characters in Poisoned are trying to survive and claim their place in a world built to oppose them. She allows her characters complexity, growth and depth in a way that makes them all the more vivid and less like the cartoonish caricatures that we may expect. There’s no clear-cut dichotomy, as there are moments of empathy for each side. This is clearly one of Donnellys strengths, as she allows her characters to shine through.

Indeed, the interaction between characters often brings some levity into the often dark and twisted world she’s weaved. The ragtag feel of the eventual found family of characters felt so tangible, with their chemistry often making me laugh. Some characters you will recognise, whereas others are new, again demonstrating that original stamp Donnelly is determined to make on the story. However, all of them are ones you will remember after the final page.

I really enjoyed the twists she threw in, as they kept reminding me that this isn’t the tale I know and therefore I should never expect to know precisely what is going to happen. Similarly, I was impressed by the sheer levels of creativity Donnelly employs throughout the book, fleshing out this colourful world full of magic and danger. I felt completely swept up and away into this new land, which is always a wonderful thing in 2020.

Poisoned is a complex tale that pays homage to its grotesque origins, while also adding a unique touch that comments on the pressing issues of today. It brings old stories new life and therefore provokes new discussion, all with a heavy dose of Donnelly’s rich imagination.

I was really looking forward to this retelling of Snow White but i just didn't really connect with the story or the characters. I liked the moral of the story, how love conquers fear and that you should never give up.
Sophie is a great character especially for the younger readers to see themselves in for her bravery and courage and I liked Will, Arno and the 7 brothers but overall I felt that the story was a bit too childish for my liking.
I liked the ending how it was all brought together and finished off and the prologue was a bit of fun.
It is a quick and easy read for lovers of fairy tale retellings.

Sophie is Snow White, with hair black as coal and lips red as apples. You all know the story, but Donnelly has put a fantastic feminist twist on this retelling, focussing on the importance of kindness and the strength needed in a male-dominated world.

You know that saying: history is written by the winners? Well in this case, it has been written by the men. The wicked queen wasn’t all that wicked, she had to be extra strong to keep the throne in a world where men didn’t like women in charge; and she wasn’t vain, asking the mirror who was the fairest of them all, but rather asking how to keep herself in power; Snow White herself was kind but that didn’t make her passive or weak, it was how she persevered and cared for her kingdom.

I really enjoyed this; as a fan of the Brothers Grimm tales and of all fairy tale retellings, I greatly appreciated the new spin and the little hints to the original, like the three attempts of murder that the stepmother tried: the laces, the hair comb and finally the poisoned apple. While it almost felt slow-paced, Sophie traversed most of her kingdom and met a lot of people, some friendly and some foes, on her quest to topple the queen and get her heart back from the King of Crows. Speaking of whom, the personification of fear and pain was fascinating and very clever, especially mixed with the metaphor of cutting out Sophie’s heart – which would not only kill her but also remove her kindness and goodness. It was only the quick thinking of the “seven brothers” that saved Sophie’s soul and allowed her some extra time to make a plan and discover her own strength.

I do enjoy a retelling of a fairy tale, and Poisoned is an entertaining spin on Snow White. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the deadliest of all?

Sophie is the young princess, castigated by her stepmother Adelaide for being too soft and unworthy of a future as a ruler. But when the huntsman takes her to the forest and removes her heart, what happens? Who are the little men who rescue her (love the household staff!) and is it Sophie's destiny to rule after all?