Heart of Snow is Katherine Buel’s latest book. This story is a retelling of Snow White but also has elements from Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling and Frozen. In addition, the story also contains references to various mythological stories, like The swan maiden. How did Katherine Buel manage to bring all these stories together?

“Once upon a time, a queen gave birth to two daughters, one as rosy and fair as dawn and the other with skin as pale as snow and hair as dark as ebony. Or perhaps, once upon a time, a man walked into a village holding the hand of a girl with skin as pale as snow and hair as dark as ebony, a child who might have been beautiful-if not for her ruined face.“

Every year, five girls are chosen to live a life of luxury, but nobody knows that this selection is a lie. Snow White is the only one who knows this because the Queen is her aunt Lyric. When Snow was little, Lyric killed her parents and sister Rose Red. To protect herself from her aunt, Snow has fled to a remote village and has taken the name Gala. But what if the selection comes to the village this year and Snow is chosen? How will Snow experience her return to the castle?

Meanwhile, Snow is learning more and more about her own magic. But when demons threaten to take over Earth, Snow must put her revenge plans aside and learn more about both her magic and Lyric’s. Can Snow stop the demons? Who will be able to help her on this mission?

Heart of Snow has all the elements for a perfect fantasy. The story features elves, fae, witches, dwarves, demons and of course the hunter from Snow White. Many elements emerged from the different stories and fairy tales in this story, but Katherine Buel managed to make it her own thing. All these stories form a new fairy tale and this combination has really surprised me.

Justice and love are perhaps the two keywords for this story. Snow is out for revenge to justify the murder of her family, but in the meantime she also learns that love is very important. Partly because the story mainly revolves around revenge on Lyric, the story has something exciting. This made me want to keep reading again and again.

Katherine Buel has a great writing style and really knows how to make the story her own. Despite the fact that the story has many strong characters, they each also have their scars from the past. This means that in addition to tension and magic, the story also has enough depth.

I am very surprised by this book and secretly hope that Katherine Buel will write more books like this. Because one thing is certain: I really enjoyed this mix of fairy tales

I've been reading a lot of fairtytale retellings and I can add this one to another list of ones that I love! Heart of Snow follows Snow white as she participates in a hunger-games-eque Selection where she hopes to avenge her father and defeat the Witch-Queen. It's a really great twist and retelling!

Being a massive fan of fairy tale retellings, I was keen to read this book and it did not disappoint. Our Snow White has been hidden from the evil queen for many years, but is ready to take her revenge. The process of the Selection and the entire concept was really well thought out and the story line is a delight with a heart felt ending. It did seem in places that there was not enough exposition, and too much summary, but it was also potentially a length consideration, but there were definitely more opportunities for Buel to show us instead of telling. Despite this, Heart of Snow is a wonderful redesign of Snow White which incorporates a lot of the traditional motifs and combines a few others from similar tales. A lovely read.

Snow White and her sister, Rose Red, grew up as princesses. When their mother died, their father married their aunt Lyric, only to die at her hand at the wedding feast. In the confusion Snow was whisked away by the guard captain, who burned her face to keep her unrecognisable. Her aunt claimed the throne, called her father's death an assassination and annexed a neighbouring country in revenge. Snow and the captain have lived quietly for seven years, hiding from Lyric's men. Snow has always assumed that Rose is dead.

But now Snow is drawn back to the castle, to face Lyric and finally learn what her plans are, and what it will cost to thwart them.


I love fairytale retellings. I'm endlessly amazed by the depths writers can spin out of a page long story. In this story Katherine has mixed elements of Snow White, Rose Red, Lord of the Rings and probably others I'm just not recognising to come up with something new and exciting. In this version, Snow, her stepmother/aunt and various other (female) characters have magic. Lyric is using it to subdue the kingdom. Snow wants to use it to stop her.

The familiar elements are here; the mirror, the apple, the Huntsman, dwarves, the glass coffin. They all have some kind of twist, though, and nothing's quite what it seems.

If you've read many of my reviews, you know that I'm not a fan of instalove. Never have been. This technically isn't technically instalove, but because there's a time skip that goes right over the time when they're starting to trust each other, it still feels like instalove to me. However, this is very much a me issue and I know readers who will love this relationship.

All in all it's a clever read, an interesting read, and I'm glad I read it. I'll be on the lookout for more by Katherine.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"Heart of Snow" by Katherine Buel is a retelling of Snow White and Red Rose.

Every year, Lyric, the witch queen of Cresilea, selects five girls and brings them to her castle. However, no one knows what happens to these girls. Snow, hiding as "Gala" is chosen as one of these girls and once she arrives at the castle, well, everything isn't quite as it used to be...

This book has it all: Magic, Fae, Dwarfs, Demons, Romance, Reunited Sisters, Unsolved Family Drama galore! Overall, I enjoyed it and definitely a great read!

I'd rate this one somewhat more than 4 but somewhat less than 5, so maybe a 4.5?

Heart of Snow is kind of a typical fairy tale retelling/mash-up. It's Snow White and Rose Red, but Rose Red is dead, killed by her murderous aunt. And now this aunt, Lyric, is ruling as Queen of Cresilea whilst Snow is biding her time, plotting her revenge. But it's also Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Swan Maiden, the Fairy King, the Hunter, and many, many little references and familiar fairy tales rolled into one.

Which made for a meh beginning, where things were muddy, and all you had was "maimed, conflicted, deposed teenage princess hungry for revenge against all advice". I mean, that's where most stories start anyway.

So no, this book didn't capture me right from the start, though it was entertaining enough (Eh, probably a 3+, she says, after putting the Kindle down multiple times) but then THINGS HAPPEN (somewhere past the 50% mark) and REALISATION DAWNS and it's like OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The ending was brilliant and complex and finely spun, also heart-wrenching while we're at it. If I had more time, I'd consider reading the start again to see what I missed when I was bored and didn't know better.

Side note: I'm slightly ambivalent about the romance. I mean, it makes sense in the overall scheme of things, and it was a very powerful motivator for the climax & conclusion, but... idk. A part of me isn't quite convinced.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book via Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op on NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

- will be crossposted to blog.annatsp.com on 7/7 (Weds)

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Heart of Snow in exchange for an honest review.

I'm really confused because while I at first was planning on saying Heart of Snow was a rather underdeveloped fantasy story, I don't think it's a fantasy story at all. At about the 2/3 point, Heart of Snow starts to get a lot more lyrical and existential and a lot less "this is a fantasy revenge book" and I honest think that's where it's strengths really lie. I wish Buel played into that more in the first few sections of the book because I think it was beautifully done when a lot of her themes were finally brought in in the end, but a book's conclusion holds a lot more impact than it's opening anyways so all in all, I'm glad I read this.

I love reading retellings of fairy tales and this one was completely enjoyable. Engaging storyline and fun characters. The relationships between main characters were fairly complex and I appreciated the fact that there were major obstacles to overcome. This is really what made the characters seem to grow during the story. Would highly recommend this one for any fantasy lovers.

As much as I hate to admit it, I fell into the trap of judging a book by its cover with this one, I had fairly low expectations. But I was pleasantly surprised and I enjoyed it a lot.

The author has created a magical fable/fairytale with an enchanting world that is well described. The feel of the book was reminiscent of the Bear & the Nightingale.

The main character Snow is likeable and I found myself rooting for her to succeed.

The story has themes of family and love triumphing over evil. I liked that it had an ending and unlike so many other fantasy books you don’t have to read a trilogy to find out what happens.

I would recommend.

Thanks to #netgalley for the arc.

The book started out great. The main character was a badass and the plot was interesting. However, it started going downhill after the first few chapters. It feels as if the author started loosing interest. It might bother me because I prefer to be "shown" rather than "told".

The book had a lot of potential. It has a lot of things that interest me (Fae, strong female characters). I would've given it 4 stars if the romance wasn't so rushed. We didn't really get to know the love interest that much and the author just told us that they talked to eachother, instead of shown us.

The next paragraph contains slight spoilers!
It would be so much better if this was a duology. The first book should be about her being in the palace, slowly breaking the illusion (not the first minute she comes in), getting to know the Hunter and slowly falling in love with him, and escaping the palace. I think the girls should be allowed to talk to courtiers (while they are under the illusion of course) so we could be a little surprised once Snow saw through it. The second book should be about her learning her magic (maybe Hunter could even teach her how to fight), finding ways to kill Lyric and take the throne without letting the demons go.

"Once upon a time, a queen gave birth to two daughters, one as rosy and fair as dawn and the other with skin as pale as snow and hair as dark as ebony."

Heart of Snow is a beautiful retelling of Snow White (and Rose Red) by Katherine Buel.
Lyric, witch queen of Cresilea, selected five girls each year. People had never seen nor heard from them again. Gala was hiding in his ugliness scar for years, decided to go back to a castle that seven-year ago run away it.
I don't want to spoil too much, but we all know the Snow White story, A wicked queen, a murdered king, and his daughter(s!). I can luckily say that there are Dwarfs, under the mountain! Fae Hunter, Magic, walking tree! Crone, Demons, Mirror, and all that.
Snow White, her thoughts, fear, guilt, love, and her growing strength were beautifully described, same as the plot. A beautiful fairytale story about love and justice. I enjoyed it a lot. This was a great read!

"Words have power, but they have weight as well, and some of them are so terribly, terribly heavy.
Touch has power.
Silence has power.
Love has power. Even a broken heart..."

Many thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for giving me the chance to read Heart of Snow by Katherine Buel in exchange for an honest review.
Published Date 08 Jul 2021
My review on 01 Jul 2021

I have a adoration for retellings of fairytales. I enjoy seeing how authors take a tale that has been told many times over generations and make it into something new. In this tale, Snow White is hiding away from the evil queen in a small village with a guard that used to work for her father at the palace. Every year, girls are selected from random towns, cities and villages and taken to the queen and are never heard from again. Many believe that the girls are married off and are simply too busy (or illiterate) to write to their families and let them know how they are doing. Snow White has a feeling that the queen is up to something sinister. Forget the whole good heart helping girls get married story. The queen is evil, and Snow White knows it. One day, while out in the woods, she comes to the rescue for a village girl and her life of safety comes to a halt. She now has the opportunity to stop the evil queen. The evil queen, however, is exceptionally strong and has followers that are more than willing to help her for their own selfish desires. It will take all of Snow's strength and determination to try to stop the evil queen and learn how to love along the way.
This was a great read! I look forward to seeing what else this author writes in the future. There is deception, learning different kinds of love, learning how to communicate with others, overcoming disappointments and hurt and anger. There are so many layers to this book and Snow's growth that it is a good book to reread and see what you may have missed.

The author weaves her words like a spell and enchants you into a world of fairies and magic, like poetry. A world full of emotions that has you shouting inside yourself "yes, that's it exactly!" Beware: the story ends and you don't want to leave this magical place. You want more, more about Snow and Red or any other story she would like to tell. A new favorite author!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC!

Heart of Snow is a YA fantasy retelling of Snow White that follows Snow as she is selected as one of five girls chosen by Witch-Queen for a supposed life of royalty. I'm not a big reader of retellings but the concept of the Selection and Snow infiltrating the castle drew me in, and I'm so glad it did. I really loved this book!

It's been a long time since I read the original Snow White fairytale, so many aspects of the plot were surprising to me. I enjoyed the hints of the other fairytales that were alluded to (e.g. Snow White and Rose Red), and I also liked the inclusion of the fae. Definitely didn't see the whole demon thing coming.

The exploration of grief and trauma were beautifully executed, and Snow's understanding of love develops in a realistic and genuine manner. The romance between Snow and Bregas developed quickly on the page, but there were many weeks of off-page connection that grew between them. People underestimate how quickly and strongly a bond can develop between two people trapped in a traumatic situation, and I really loved their relationship.

While the very end of the story was not a shock given the fairytale this story is based on, the scenes leading up to it were full of surprises.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Heart of Snow to anyone who loves a good retelling, and those willing to be surprised by the twists in this take on Snow White

3,5 stars
Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Heart of Snow by Katherine Buel is a Snow White retelling, but not really. It has elements from Snow White, like dwarves and the hunter, but the plot follows its own direction, which was a great choice that kept the book from being predictable.
I had a hard time rating this one because, while I loved some aspects of the book, a few were underdeveloped or unnecessary. For example, I loved the world building and the fairy tale setting, but I feel like there were things about it that could use further explanation, like the demons and the binding.
The beginning felt quite disconnected from the end of the book, which happened mainly because after Snow leaves the palace, there’s barely any talk about the Selection. I also didn’t really connect with any of the characters and thought that the romance was a bit rushed. My main issue, however, was that there was a lot of “telling” and little “showing”. On a good note, I think the author portrayed grief in a beautiful way, as it was one of the main themes in the book. The dwarves and their riddles were pretty fun to read about (probably my favorite part of the novel).
Heart of Snow is a quick read and perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Natasha Ngan.

This was a retelling of Snow White and also had elements of the different fairy story ‘Snow-White and Rose-Red’ which is a fairy tale that I really like. In general, I’m usually fond of re-tellings but this just didn’t do it for me. It was simplistic and rather basic and despite having some unique elements just did not deliver.

It was cut very black and white and whilst there was nothing wrong with Snow as the main character, I just didn’t connect with her. There also seemed to just be too many factors, the evil queen/aunt, the morally grey dwarves, the fey, demons, there were just too many things going on for a plot that was generic at best. The romance also felt a little weak to me, it was very quick and there didn’t seem to be any real link between the two of them except that he was meant to be her love interest and that was that.

I didn’t dislike this; I just didn’t like it all that much either.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a Snow White retelling. These types of stories are generally hit or miss with me. This one didn't hit the mark for me. It has a lot of telling vs showing, which is not my preference. It made it hard to feel much of a connection to the story. The characters felt quite flat. The first half was better than the latter half. It never really grabbed me, and it made it hard to finish or care about what happened. There's really nothing that will stick with me.

Actual Rating = 3.5

I truly do not know how I feel about this book and that right there is my biggest recommendation for why you should read it. If I'm not sure how I feel about a piece it's probably because I didn't find it simple, which is usually a good thing.

Let's jump in.

As is super obvious from the title and description, this is a Snow White retelling. Now, I love fairy tale re-tellings but Snow White ones tend to disappoint me. Maybe it's just not my favorite fairy tale... Anyway, this novel is recognizably Snow White but did approach the story differently from other re-tellings and/or Disney. I'm not going to say more than that since I think that, when it comes to re-tellings, the variation from the original is where "spoilers" lie.

If you are a reader who absolutely hates being "told" and not "shown," this book might be tough for you. I think it works because Snow is a really reserved, self-contained person so it makes sense to me that she has fairly muted reactions to things and kind of talks around emotional topics instead of drowning in them. That said, if you need that emotional deep dive and sense of immersion, this might feel a bit surface level. Would love to see what other people thought in the comments!

Buel did something interesting with her characters where we only got to know several of them on a surface level, but they still felt very real. I think what we did get to see of the characters was super telling and gave you a strong sense of who they are. That said, while I cared about what happened to them, I didn't LOVE THEM - except for Blood Red because she's rad and I will accept no other feedback on this topic kthanksbye.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, so I have mixed feelings about this novel.

This Snow White retelling reminded me of Throne of Glass by Sara J Mass with all of its magical elements, the "lost princess fights for her birthright" trope, and of course, everyone's favourite, fae.

I liked that it was fast-paced and had a well-developed plot. The world-building was also pretty well done.

But I found this novel to be anticlimactic. It was engaging in the first half but then became slightly dull. I knew exactly where the book was going and was never really surprised.

I also was not a fan of the romance between Snow and Bregas. It felt very unearned and seemed to come out of nowhere. There was no real build-up. They kissed, had sex and realised they loved each other in one night. It was a little too fast-paced...

However, the ending was certainly a satisfying one. There were no unanswered questions and everything fell right into place.

Overall, it was not a bad read. Just not my cup of tea.

I am a huge fan of books with trials or games or selections, anything where a prince or princess has to choose between a bunch of contestants. It’s my absolute favorite kind of book to read, so I was excited for this. It wasn’t a bad book or anything, but it was a little disappointing, especially compared to all the other books I’ve read in this genera.