Princess Sophie will never make a strong Queen. She is too kind - too weak - and a source of frustration for her stepmother, who has had to show how ruthless she can be in order to be taken seriously in a world where kings rule. When Queen Adelaide realises that Sophie could be her own weakness, she orders her huntsman to cut out her heart. But when Sophie appears to survive this attack, she has a choice - to sit and await her own fate, or to take action and search for her heart and see for herself how 'weak' kindness truly is.

I really wanted to enjoy this so much more. I love a good fairytale retelling, especially when it brings much more of the original, gruesome narrative back into it, when it adds snippets from local folklore, sets the tale back in its origins and makes it a feminist story all about discovering one's own worth.

And it feels like Poisoned technically delivered all of that, in a story with lots of rushing around and taking action, but the overall feel for me was a bit, 'meh'.

First off, I found Sophie hard to love. She was very much the naïve, kind-hearted kind of princess that would sing to the birds if this book had a musical number. Yes, she does grow a little as the story progresses - she learns that kind can be tough, that caring isn't weakness. But I'm not really sure what she gains from that, except for a stronger sense of self-worth. Her relationship with male characters is basically the plot of Frozen too, which didn't really add anything more valuable to her character, especially as all of her other male companions had to keep saving her after she had bumbled into some other problem as a result of her naivety.

There were plenty of imaginative twists to the original tale - I initially really liked the inclusion of Fear stealing hearts, but found the way that this was hammered home became tedious after a while, especially when more random Four Horsemen characters arrived for no apparent reason.

And by that point there had been some extremely strong references - read: lifts - from Into the Woods.

I initially enjoyed the Darkwood setting - in the first half of the story it felt as though there was something there. But the characters spend so much time walking running and bumbling through the woods, backtracking and retracing steps that I began to find it a bit bizarre that these woods were so 'scary' when people are just wandering around in them all day long.

When we met the seven 'dwarves' it seemed as though they would become key players in the story, especially with their giant spider cook and large ladybird housekeeper?! Instead we have very little to do with them for the rest of the book, and they all appear to be made from the same mould.

I liked the inclusion of a wide range of creatures - kobolds and trolls and pixies - but yet again they're there in the background but not really present. And there are other creatures - makabers and waldichts - that, as far as I can tell, are just German translations of English words. I was excited to find new and weird Germanic folklore creatures, but instead I think they're just made up?

And once the main bad guy had been defeated in a melodramatic manner, then everything got a bit 'you are our Queen now, we will do anything you say!' - which is just ... selective feminism. It's feminism for Sophie, but not for anyone else. She might be kind-hearted and considerate now, and slowly become corrupted by power later on. Who can say? It's a bit of a lazy 'happily ever after'.

I was also hoping for more about the Queen. I've read some good retellings where the stepmother is rehabilitated in some way. In this, she seems to stay evil. I like the twist on 'mirror mirror on the wall' ('who will bring about my fall'), but aside from that, Adelaide was just presented as irredeemably evil, although with some good reasons for what she had become. Where is the sisterhood in that? With such a backstory, she would have been a prime protagonist.

Basically, it's a light fairytale retelling. It has some grit, some substance, plenty of action, is pretty accessible and a lot felt original. But it is probably more middle grade in its telling than YA, and in many ways feels like a story that skims that surface, rather than reaching anything meaningful or deep, and was very blatant in its message. I think I just expected more - in my opinion, a retelling like this just can't be all about the protagonist to truly class it as feminist. Otherwise it's just one-upmanship in through a different means.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Poisoned is a dark, twisty but humorous take on Snow White. It's a new and exciting take on a classic tale,which makes it a very exciting read. The growth and personal journey the main protagonist goes in as she tries to deal with and escape her step mothers manipulations is so well crafted that it makes the book even more exciting.

What a brilliant retelling. I loved how the author stayed true to the character, but spun the story in an epic way

Snow white has always been my least favourite fairy tale, but only because the evil queen scares me! Especially when she turns into an old hag. Those images have haunted me since my childhood

I felt for Sophie the whole way thrwand loved the brothers as well. Introducing a newer, darker element into the story just completely changed it up.

A must read!

My thanks to Bonnier Books U.K. - Hot Key Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Poisoned’ by Jennifer Donnelly in exchange for an honest review.

This is a skilful retelling of the story of Snow White. It opens with a powerful Prologue that had me hooked and eager to know more.

Princess Sophie is about to turn seventeen and inherit her father’s crown to become the queen of the Greenlands. Her stepmother, Adelaide, has been serving as Regent though has been constantly undermining Sophie’s confidence by telling her that she’s too soft and kind to rule effectively.

With the urging of the King of Crows and her Magic Mirror, Adelaide sends Sophie off to the woods with her Huntsman, who has instructions to cut out the girl’s heart. Oh dear.... I shall leave things there to avoid spoilers.

As with her last novel, ‘Stepsister’, I found ‘Poisoned’ an excellent retelling of this classic fairy tale. Sophie not only undertakes a difficult journey but is faced with the ongoing machinations of her wicked stepmother. Her outer journey is mirrored by one of self-discovery.

I felt that Donnelly respected the source material while creatively weaving in new perspectives including having Adelaide be much more than a cartoon villainess and bringing in a variety of magical creatures and an interesting take on the seven dwarves.

It is a dark tale yet there were also moments of humour. I especially enjoyed the repartee between Sophie and Will, one of the companions that she meets on her journey. Then there was Arno, a delightfully witty thief. Sophie was an easy character to care about, especially her determination to remain kind.

Rich descriptions, a strong plot along with well developed characters ensured that I was totally engaged by ‘Poisoned’ from start to finish.

I plan to check out Jennifer Donnelly’s back catalogue while waiting eagerly for news of future projects.

I really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting twist on the snow white story. It was dark and i really liked how we see a different side to the step mother who we all believe to be shallow and vain. I really liked seeing that. I did like the MC but i did find her a little annoying too. But i liked how she progressed and grew throughout the story.

Snow white has never been one of my favourite fairy tales but I loved this dark twisty take on it. Sophie is constantly told that she is too soft and kind to be queen and is made to feel that love is a weakness. We know how the story goes she's taken to the forest to have her heart cut out by the huntsman but that is not where the story ends. Everything Sophie ensures helps shape her with a little help along the way. I really liked the characters in this book although Arno was my favourite. His wit and humour gave me a chuckle. Yes the story was a tad predictable in places but it's based on a well known fairy tale so it's going to be yet it was never boring. It kept me gripped and was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I will definitely be looking forward to more of these dark fairytale take on's

The prologue was thrilling and really captured me, I couldn't wait to read more. Who is this mystery villain the huntsman is describing? As much as the Stepmother seems evil, I could almost understand why she had to become the hard woman she is. She knew she wouldn’t have survived in her world otherwise. As to her relationship with Sophie, she actually seems to believe it is necessary to toughen her up in order for her to cope when she becomes queen.

 

I really enjoyed Stepsister so I was very excited to find that Jennifer Donnelly had written a second retelling. However, as much as I wanted to love this book, I just didn’t enjoy the story as much as the first. Some parts, particularly the romance, were fairly predictable and it started to get a little ridiculous how many times the princess could be tricked and killed! I did really enjoy the occasional points of view of the Queen and other characters which gave intriguing insights into these others’ motivations. The moral of the story comes across a little saccharine, but ultimately it is uplifting.

I love all of JD's books and this one is no exception... I hope she keeps with the disney retelleing themes for a while <3

The beautiful cover drew me to this book and also the synopsis which describes a dark retelling of Snow White and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. Poisoned stays true to the original story for the most part, with the addition of one or two clever and innovative twists by the author. Sophie’s clockwork heart, which has a limited time to beat, clicking and whirring in odd ways, added some tension and urgency to the storyline. The plot is engaging and action-packed and there are a plethora of creatures and other dangers encountered to keep the reader entertained. For a young adult fantasy there are some elements which felt distinctly middle grade; at one point an apron wearing ladybug appeared and there is a spider called Webber who cooked the food. This seemed a bit at odds with the rest of the story, and a complete contrast to the other creatures in the book, however I’m sure the author had her reasons for writing these characters in.

The world is vividly described and the characters are well rounded and explored in just about enough detail to get a feel of their personalities and background history. Even though most of these characters are familiar to us from the original story, the author made them feel fresh and new. Sophie is slightly lacking as a female lead, I prefer to see a gutsy and feisty individual whereas she came across as naïve and a bit too ‘nice’. She does turn it around when she decides her handsome prince is not going to rescue her and goes on a journey to take charge of her own destiny.

Overall, an easy and compelling read and the short chapters make it go by quickly. This is a lightweight fantasy, with some lovely writing and some wonderful little twists to the original tale. Whilst is has bite, it wasn’t quite the dark and twisty tale I was expecting and I felt the author could have pushed the boundaries a little further. Fans of retellings and young adult fantasy will love this tale.

This novel exceeded my expectations completely! I was expecting a revamp of the classic story in quite a simple way, but Donnelly went above and beyond in this feminist recount of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. There were countless plot twists which kept me captivated and I almost devoured this novel in one sitting. The characters themselves were very complex and layered that they evolved as the story went on. The romance in this novel was present but not the main focus, which aided itself to the feminist tones of this novel.

This was so beautifully written with such dark and twisted moments that nodded back to the Grimms Brothers themselves. The vivid descriptions and intricate plot were my favourite parts of this novel - Donnelly was able to capture the magic, whimsy, and darkness of the classic fairy tale we know and love while also providing a dark insight into the depths of these characters and their intentions. I loved the puppet master element, which was so thought out and original that I was in awe of the construction of such dark characters. This novel was truly a breath of fresh air to modern retellings and I adored every second I spent reading it.

Poisoned follows the story of a princess who has always been told that she was too soft and trusting to become a Queen, one day her heart is taken and she is left for dead.

I actually really liked the concept of the book and the message the book portrays especially because it also focuses on various side characters and gives them more dimension such as the Queen. The book is a retelling of snow white and the plot does link to the original story a lot, the plot does follow Sophie on her different adventures and so we get to see different characters and settings all who end up being important to Sophie’s character growth/development.

The start of the book jumps between narrators a lot which I personally did not like, it made it hard for me to get into the book but then after this the book is mainly told from Sophie’s perspective. Even though I enjoyed the concept/message of the book, the book was not for me – it is more suited for a younger audience and I found myself getting bored really easily. The story is a retelling so it is predictable but I enjoyed the other elements to the story the author added especially the villain and the new heart but the plot felt a bit repetitive and dragged out especially because I knew what it was leading up to. Even though it was an enjoyable story I did find it hard to connect to Sophie and care for the story mainly because although she has development her personality was boring.

3/5

I was so excited when this book became available! I adored Stepsister and knew that Poisoned would be just as good!

“Like blood that turned to rubies, and tears that turned to pearls, the ache that would rack her heart was just another of Pain’s strange gifts. From sadness came empathy. From grief came compassion. From anger came resolve. From loss came love. These are the things that make us get up when we fall. Try again when we fall. These are the most valuable jewels.”

This is a familiar tale, though not quite how you remember it. The story kicks off quite brutally from the Huntsman’s perspective and those few pages show just how Grimm this story is and nothing like Disney!

Young Princess Sophie is brutally murdered by the Huntsman and her heart stolen. Though she should be dead, she is saved by seven brothers and a clever spider that happen across her body. They know the true enemy in the Darkwood and captures Sophie’s soul in spider silk before she is lost forever.

Sophie has always been told that kindness is weakness and to harden her heart to the world but this is impossible for her and more often than not, her demise. Sophie embarks on a tale not just to get her kingdom back but to discover who she truly is. She has a perilous journey through her ravaged kingdom to a dark and mysterious castle to get her heart back.

Donnelly has a way of writing some characters that are truly endearing such as the seven brothers, spider and ladybug. They are so full of love and warmth that you feel like Sophie does when you read about them, safe.

Other notable characters within this book are Will and Arno. Will is a common boy who happens upon a princess and helps her because it’s the right thing to do not because of who she is. Arno on the other hand is a perfect example of not judging a book by its cover. He has a story to tell and a heartbreaking one at that. Queen Adelaide on the other hand is a complicated one. Yes she is vile and her actions are abhorrent but you learn the origin of her cruelty and you can’t help but sympathise with her. That being said, I don’t think she is redeemable.

Jennifer Donnelly has a way of writing that makes you completely invested in the story. The questioning tone and narrative make you feel that you are part of the story and it was hard to put this book down. It’s a retelling in which the Princess doesn’t wait for the Prince, she takes matters into her own hands and kicks ass! I love how strong Sophie is and seeing her growth over the book from a gentle and naive young girl to a beautifully strong and empathetic young woman was wonderful.

It was an utterly brilliant book and I am so glad I got the chance to read it before it comes out. It’s one of my favourite books this year.

I loved it.

Thank you so much to Hot Key Books for the advanced copy!

Stepsister was one of my favourite reads of last year so I positively squealed when I saw that Jennifer Donnelly was writing another fairytale book, although I was nervous too because could she recreate that magic again?? In a word - yes. Poisoned is a retelling of Snow White, one of my least favourite Disney princesses, and yet I found it enchanting, charming and empowering, the book really is delightful.
The book follows Sophie (our Snow White) who starts her story having her heart cut out by the Huntsman on orders of the Queen, Adelaide who is threatened by the pure hearted princess. Left as dead, Sophie is rescued by 7 brothers who put a clock where her heart is, a clock that will eventually wind down and kill her for good unless she travels through the Darkwood and takes her heart back. Along the way, the Queen’s paranoia (fuelled by the mirror that speaks to her) sets her out to kill Sophie once and for all.

First off, let me talk about the writing, this is so easy to read and it just carries you away with it. The messages in this book are beautiful, like in Stepsister, it’s feminist, sentimental and inspiring, it talks about empowerment, loss, fear, self belief and it talks to you as if a friend
The characters are a delight too. Sophie at times is infuriating (literally she knows her life is in danger but keeps trusting people so help me), but she’s sweet and strong and I liked her. Adelaide was very much Charlie’s Theron’s incredible portrayal, she’s not a 2 dimensional villain but fraught with fear and pain herself. The brothers are charming and this is a small thing but as someone with arachnophobia it was actually lovely to read about a spider that was nice! Weber is big, he cooks, he cries and I loved him - and I’m terrified of spiders.

I adored this book with all of my heart, thank you NetGalley for the early copy

Jennifer Donnelly’s debut, Stepsister, was actually one of the first ARCs I ever reviewed. As I gave Stepsister five stars, I was stoked when I got approved for Poisoned.

Poisoned is a very three star read. It’s good, it does some interesting stuff, there’s some cool quotes and it progresses in a way that really makes sense buuuut… I expected more, basically.

Also, the narration was inconsistent – sometimes it was the dead huntsman, sometimes it was Snow White herself, and sometimes it was like the author talking to you directly. So the voice.. was not there, and kind of annoying at times. I’m all for doing interesting and quirky things with narration, but when it’s not pulled off it just seems kind of wince.

I did really like how Donnelly handled all of Snow White’s almost-deaths. While one of the characters did tell her to stop trusting strangers in the woods, I never felt that the intended message was ‘stop being good to people or you’ll get hurt’. Likewise, I never felt like the author was victim-blaming Snow White (Sophie) for her near-death experiences. I also liked the ending.

3.5 STARS

After reading and loving Step-Sister, Donnelly’s previous novel, I was so excited to get my hands on Poisoned. I'm a huge fan of retellings, so a feminist retelling of Snow White seemed right up my street.

What I liked:
-The book started off well, I loved the first half of the book and felt like it was really strong. We’re introduced to Sophie and the wicked queen, and it was dark and gripping from the first page.
-The seven brothers Sophie ends up staying with were brilliant and it’s a shame we didn’t get more of them. Also, the addition of Weber, the spider chef, was absolutely cracking and I loved him (even though I'm very scared of spiders!).
-The pacing was fast throughout and I remained engaged with the story.
-The queen was such a nuanced, interesting character. Her backstory was fascinating and really added to the story. I liked how she wasn’t just evil for the sake of being evil like in so many other fantasy books. I would have liked to see more of her, as for me, she was the most interesting character.
-The writing style is very palatable; it was easy to read and to keep up with what was happening in the story.
-Some really original ideas went into this book, and I loved all of them. It’s definitely easy with retellings to just tell the same story as the original without changing enough to make it unique and interesting. This wasn’t the case here, and whilst I was always aware this was based on Snow White, it was definitely one of the best retellings I've read in a while.
-Arno was hilarious, and there were some genuinely funny bits in the story that made me laugh.
-I did actually quite enjoy the romance element of the story. My pet-peeve in books is insta-love, and I didn’t think that was the case here. I actually was really onboard with the relationship and felt it was sweet rather than annoying.

What I didn’t like as much:
-There were times when Sophie was unbelievably, frustratingly, naïve about things. I understood that she's meant to have led a very sheltered life, but there’s no indication of how old she's supposed to be in this story and it was annoying when she instantly trusted everyone she met. This led to her being repeatedly saved by the men she was with at the time.
-Aside from the queen and Sophie, every other side character in the story was a man. As they all seemed to spend a lot of time saving Sophie, I just didn’t love it. I was disappointed because in Step-Sister, Donnelly showed she can write multi-faceted female relationships, and I really wanted more of that in Poisoned.
-Perhaps my biggest issue with this book was the lack of subtlety. It was very on the nose about the message behind the story it was trying to tell. Whilst I don’t think it was necessarily a bad message to be conveying (not to be governed by fear, be true to yourself, be kind etc), it just felt like it lacked any sort of nuance to the writing.

Overall, I did enjoy reading Poisoned and I did get through it quickly. There were lots more aspects that I liked rather than disliked. I definitely think that if I hadn’t read Step-Sister previously I would have enjoyed this more; I think my expectations were just too high coming into this, however I will definitely be looking out for this author’s next book, as I love a fairytale retelling and feel like Donnelly does a great job at putting a unique spin on them.

I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a little slow going at first but it was really interesting to see how the evil Queen may have felt and that it may not have been her pulling the strings necessarily. It has an important message about fear and doing what you think is right.

Not an absolute favourite but one I would consider rereading in the future.

I really wanted to enjoy this one as I really enjoyed Step-Sisters but I just could not get into it.
The writing was beautiful but I had no care for Sophie or for the story. I'm not sure if this is because I'm in a wierd headspace whilst trying to read it.

I'll give it another go in the future.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

This is a new author to me and is not my usual fare or genre by any means but the blurb looked interesting so thought I would give it a go

I'm so glad I did.
This is such a brilliantly re-imagined retelling of Snow White. I was drawn in from the very first page and the images evinced by the author were so vivid I was able to lose myself completely in the world created

A wonderful read
I shall be searching out more of this author's work

‘Poisoned’ is marketed as a dark, feminist retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The darker aspects are exceptional, creating a beautifully atmospheric story – but, to me, it doesn’t feel overtly feminist. This is definitely a clever and fun adaptation, but it doesn’t blow me away.

In ‘Poisoned’, the princess – Sophie – has an evil stepmother, the queen. The queen favours a reign of fear, believing that this is the only way she will retain control of her Queendom. Sophie is too kind-hearted to follow in her stepmother’s footsteps. When the queen’s magic mirror tells her that her stepdaughter will bring about her fall, the queen takes immediate action, sending a huntsman to steal her daughter’s heart. This follows the Grimm’s fairytale – but whilst in that version, the huntsman feels remorse and instead steals an animal’s heart, in this version the huntsman is too scared of the queen to defy her wishes. Sophie’s heart is stolen – but with the help of seven mysterious men (and their friendly spider chef), she survives, her heart replaced with a clockwork. Now all that remains is for Sophie to reclaim her title – assuming she can survive her stepmother’s increasingly desperate assassination attempts.

Sophie is an exceptionally naïve, sheltered character – accurate for her station but at times irritating to read about. In almost every situation she’s completely helpless, relying on others to rescue her or point out her terrible decision making. I’m unclear how old she’s meant to be, but her demeanour is exceptionally childlike. For a supposed feminist retelling, Sophie spends most of the book being rescued by others – and whilst I’m definitely in the ‘complicated female characters not strong female characters’ camp, it would be nice to see her make a single good decision. Based on this book, Sophie will make a lovely but terrible queen.

The queen is definitely the most interesting character. Aged twelve, she survived a horrible accident at the palace thanks to a magic mirror – and the mysterious man who spoke through it – and ever since she has relied on the mirror to rule. She’s a horrible person – to her daughter, her staff, her citizens – all because of fear. I’m unclear whether or not the reader is meant to be sympathetic to her, but she’s not a character that deserves it – yes, she went through some terrible things, and clearly had to fight much harder as a female ruler, but nothing excuses the sheer horror of her actions. The queen gets occasional scenes throughout the book, and I wish these were longer so her story could be more understood.

The – all male – supporting characters fit nicely into their allotted stereotypes (evil prince, loveable rogue, entirely unsuitable love interest), but play their roles well. The seven men of the Hollow are all absolute sweethearts and, like the queen, deserve more page time. I also love Weber, the spider chef – his presence is never explained but the mere idea is brilliant.

The setting is absolutely standard for a fairytale but very nicely depicted, with the menace of the Darkwood clear. I like that the basics of questing across a queendom – finding food, shelter, washing – aren’t glossed over, and Sophie’s struggles with all these things are highlighted. It’s nice to see a book acknowledge that these basics exist and are very difficult when trekking through a wood.

Overall, this is an enjoyable YA fairytale retelling, but not a standout edition to the genre.

Right from the prologue this book drew me in I wanted to know who the narrator was and it drew me in asking a lot of questions.

I love Fairy Tales and a like it when they are retold and teach you something new from the story, but also have all the familiar parts of the story.

Sophie (Snow White) is constantly told that she is not fit to rule and that her kindness to all will cause her kingdom to fall. her step-mother sends her into the forest with her huntsman so Sophie can be killed.

However Sophie with the help of seven brothers survives and she learns about the people in her kingdom and how tough she can be.

Sophie manages to defeat her greatest enemy (fear) and shows the reader that they are able to defeat fear as well and that they should not listen to other about who they can be but find out for themselves.