Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Rating- 4.5/5 stars

This was such a fun and engaging read! I've read (and loved) some of the author's previous works such as Nettle and Bone, so I was so excited to receive the ARC for this new reimagining of Snow White's tale. This takes the traditional fairy tale, and instead of simply repeating the main themes with a slightly more modern take (or butchering it all together like Disney), provides a fresh perspective and story that I would describe more as Snow White adjacent. We follow Healer Anja, a poison specialist, as she investigates Princess Snow's mysterious illness and her discoveries in the mirror realm, with this thus a different perspective and plot compared to the original, which I appreciated. The characters were well fleshed-out and likeable, and the mirror world developments were beautifully done, making the vibe of the book eerie and gripping at times. My only critique is that the book could have been longer! The end felt just a tad rushed, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

This book is just wonderful.

If you are looking for a delicious, dark and humorous fairy tale then look no further. This is Kingfisher’s Snow White retelling and boy was it incredible. The author has a fabulous way of taking each of the elements of the story and weaving them in a way that is fresh and unique. Take the mirror and the apple, for example. They are not what they are in the original but are almost like characters in themselves. And it doesn’t feel forced.

I will admit that I am very much a T Kingfisher stan, but this is one of her best retellings and possibly my favourite of her books. Which is high praise as she is very much an auto read author.

If you’ve not checked her out before, take this as your sign to do so. Now.

Brilliant, brilliant brilliant retelling of the Snow White story by one of my favourite authors, T Kingfisher. This has all her hallmarks - a quirky, non- traditional down to earth, unromantic, scientist heroine with a hilarious turn of language, a beautifully created alternate world - this one worships animals and some truly frightening fairytale tropes that have the author's inimitable twist. Yes we have Snow White, yes we have poisoned apples, a magic mirror and an evil queen - we also have magic, an ancient god and we have science put together in a new and brilliantly original way. What if Snow White voluntarily ate poisoned apples? this is the mystery that Healer Anja and her bodyguard Javier set out to solve. I loved every bit of this story!

I’m so excited to be reading the ARC of this book! I was immediately drawn into the FMC, one of my favourite anime right now is Apothecary Diaries and the FMC is giving off strong MaoMao vibes, and I’m completely here for it.
I also really appreciate how T. Kingfisher writes about women in their 30s and beyond. It is refreshing to have fantasy retellings and the heroine is not your typical unconventional beauty/teen etc.
That said, I do think the story gets a bit bogged down with too much detail in the middle — it could definitely use some tighter editing to keep the pacing sharp.
I’m a big fan of the slow-burn romance and honestly wish there was just a little bit more of it!
I really enjoyed this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for the ARC of this book!

Hemlock & Silver is my first T. Kingfisher book, and I am very satisfied with this dark but funny Snow-White retelling. A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, and the author for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This novel has definitely set me on a path to read all of her other books, since I had such a great time with this one!

Anja, the protagonist, is a very relatable character. She is funny, witty, and knows her poisons and antidotes, which makes her the perfect character to follow in a story like this. More than once, I found myself wondering about something, only for Anja to voice the exact same thought, and that made her feel even more real to me. I also loved how she interacts with the other characters, especially the king. The romance was sweet and never overpowered the main story.

The story gripped me from the beginning. It was clever and entertaining from the first pag. In fact, the first two chapters were absolutely brilliant, incredible. There are a couple of slower sections, around the 5–25% mark and then again around 49–55%, but they allowed for more worldbuilding and flesh out Anja’s character. I really enjoyed the world T. Kingfisher created, with its saints, and the mirror world. Both feel well developed, even if the mirror world had a few very minor inconsistencies.

All in all, I think T. Kingfisher absolutely deserves all the hype she is getting. I loved her writing style, her clever storytelling, and how dark and eerie this retelling turned out to be. I will definitely be continuing my T. Kingfisher reading streak!

4.5 stars rounded up!

I love T Kingfisher, and one of the things I love is she covers so many genres, and I tend not to look before I go into it and I didn't for this one. The thing is I didn't know, are we fantasy romance? Are we horror? Are we... So it turns out this one is a little bit of a blend, which was a little surprising, but not bad at all!

The world that T Kingfisher has created is creepy and compelling, and as the mystery unfolds you find yourself guessing and second guessing what could be happening and what the rules of this world are. The book was a little slow to start and that's my only critique, but once it's going, oh boy it's going!

While the mystery develops so does a little secondary romance, which was sweet and very much in the vein of the Paladin's series, slightly older protagonist and a rather practical if charming love interest.

A lovely little book. 4.5* rounded down.

When a new book from T Kingfisher is released you know it is a must to read. Kingfisher is one of the best authors who manages to take a fairy-tale and give it a new and improved lease of life. Here she has taken the tale of Snow White and in my thoughts made it better.

I would say this is definitely a more darker twist of Sniw white but with new character's introduced and boy do you just love them all. With Kingfishers writing every page gets you wrapped up in the book. It is also kind of like a who done it /who's the villian so if you like to work things out then this book is for you

If you have never read one of her books before this is a good place to start. It would appeal ro YA to Adults. Trust me you won't be disappointed

This book is clearly influenced by Snow White - there are princesses, mirrors, murderous mothers, mysterious illnesses and magic apples. However these elements are mixed up and set down in new patterns so it is not so much a retelling as a story with echoes in it.

I enjoyed this book. It has one of Kingfisher's charmingly autistic-coded heroines, some humour, some horror, a romantic lead who is suspiciously similar to the paladins in the Saint of Steel series (I'm beginning to think Kingfisher has a type) and a mystery to solve.

It is not a perfect book. In particular the trip across the desert near the start of the book is much slower paced than the writing on either side of it. While I enjoyed reading this section I suspect the book would have been better with most of it cut out or relegated to an appendix.

I am also a bit tired of paladins (or people who are not actually paladins but are still close enough), and was not particularly invested in the romance side of things. This is less a problem with how this book was written and more a problem with the similarly to many of Kingfisher's other books.

Still recommended overall - an easy read with a dry sense of humour and a satisfying ending.

I love T Kingfisher and this book did not disappoint. The worldbuilding has something extremely special to it, with details you didnt ask for but are well needed for the story to make sense.
The main character is big and tall woman, that loves her poisons and the problems they pose while not liking the humans attached to the problems so much. I really liked that our FMC was not small and fragile.
Not 5 stars because I would have liked a bit more romance (very little, no open door). I hope there is a sequel because I have questions...
Recommend to anybody that liked her books in general and for those looking for a little mystery in a fantasy world with magic.

Thank you to netgalley and Pan Macmillain for providing me with an ARC for this book

A creative twist on the Snow White fairytale with Kingfishers signature whimsically weird writing style. This was a great take on this fairytale with grumpy poison doctors, grumpier bodyguards and a talking god cat. Along with the token rooster! Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I will continue to read anything and everything by T Kingfisher. A delightful, dark but still somehow cosy fantasy, complete with cats, romance and brightly colour blankets.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Hemlock & Silver. I'm rating it 4*.

The thing about reading a T Kingfisher book is that, while every book is recognisably written by her, the type of book you get can vary a lot. Are you going to get something humorous, something horrifying, or both? With Hemlock & Silver, I'd say that you get both but with the emphasis firmly on being humorous.

You can expect: some Terry Pratchett vibes, an interesting world with intriguing mythology, a loveable middle-aged protagonist with a deep interest in poisons, and a sweet romantic side plot. The book verges into horror but mostly at the end, when you'll get both body horror and psychological/coercive control.

I went into Hemlock & Silver wondering if it would be similar to Kingfisher's A Sorceress Comes to Call, since they're both fairy tale retellings focused on dangerous mothers and vulnerable children. However, the tone in Hemlock & Silver reminded me a lot more of A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking.

The plot was fun, although I did occasionally get bored waiting for the protagonists to realise what seemed to me to be obvious. (Then again, it's a fairytale retelling, so to a certain degree it was always going to be predictable.) I also personally would have liked to know if Snow really was okay at the end and how the experience shaped her, but that's a minor niggle.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed our healer Anja, who likes to go on tangents about things she finds interesting and doesn't entirely understand people but absolutely wants to solve problems. And, who even though she doesn't see herself that way, very much cares about people as well as their problems.

Oh, and did I mention the magical talking cat? He was an absolutely delightful character.

Having read multiple stories from T Kingfisher, I know I can trust her to write at least entertaining, if not very fun stories, where comfort manages to steal the show despite some gruesome and dark happenings. With 'Hemlock & Silver' she does just that, spinning Snow White's tale in a different way, with a great deal of little horrors and humour.

Anja, our narrator and protagonist, is the kind of woman I do enjoy a lot in fiction. Competent in her field, in her thirties, a bit weird, not so good as social skill but doing her best, strong but not in a brutish or warrior kind of way. Don't get me wrong, I like tha warrior type too. But I don't want all my female characters to be physically strong and super trained, with a mind for battle I also want them to be silly, not so fit, and a bit of a mess (I do like my fictional men like that too; we need variety, that's all). As usual, the background romance elements were very nice, in a cute and fun way. Does it change between all the books T Kingfisher wrote? No. But it works and I like reading it, so it's not a weakness for me.

The first chapters are a bit slow, but they set the scene nicely. Once Anja travels to meet with Snow, things go a bit quicker, with discoveries, setbacks and false trails. Anja is really keen on understanding what is happening and is sometimes hindered by her own ideas of how things ought to be (hi scientific method, kinda), which is as frustrating as it is entertaining, creating another kind tension.

I enjoyed the book a lot, it is well written, well thought, with great characters and enough ideas spilled into the world to have things to discover while keeping that familiar fairytale feel. As usual, T Kingfisher delivers.

I was thrilled to receive this ARC. T. Kingfisher is a new-to-me author and I have finally realised why her work is so highly praised. Hemlock & Silver is a fantastic story. A twisted retelling of Snow White with wonderful characters, plenty of humour, a touch of romance and a complexing mystery. Anja is asked by the king to determine what/who is poisoning his daughter, Snow. This sets Anja on a journey to firstly find out if it is poison and, if so, how to treat it. The answer is not what she expects! Anja's first interaction with the king is hilarious and she's such a brilliant, quirky character. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Thanks to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan, and T. Kingfisher for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

I loved A Sorceress Comes To Call, predominantly because of the strong-willed and intelligent protagonist, Hester, who is much older than FMCs normally seen in fantasy books. So I was very happy to see another T. Kingfisher FMC with experience, wisdom and years of life under her belt! The FMC in Hemlock & Silver is Anja, and she is completely unique and fascinating, both as a child first discovering an interest in poisons and antidotes and then as a 35 year old woman, now an expert researcher in her field. I just loved her as a character - she was odd, interesting, funny, blunt, logical and intelligent. Her general stream of consciousness entertained me throughout. Please keep these older and wiser FMCs coming please!

I particularly liked the romantic subplot for Anja. It was sweet and adorable, and only added to the overall plot rather than it being a distraction or feeling like a bolt-on.

This spin on Snow White is fresh and interesting and I was fully engaged from the first page. The world felt so well thought out, like the author had worked out all the physics and rules of the world in minute detail to avoid plot holes.

A very inventive take on the Snow White tale with a strong and quirky FMC.

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley, but this is my voluntary and honest review.

Another great book from this author. If you like fairytales and fantasy you will love this Snow White inspired story. Well written as always with a sense of humour and wonderful characters this is not to be missed

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

This was such an original take on a classic story. It had a fully realized world and characters that were complex and interesting. The use of the mirror was so interesting as both a literal magical object and a metaphor for the intrigue going on around the main character. The pacing was also excellent! I loved this book and will definitely be reading more from this author!

I went into this book completely blind, and I must admit it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize this is a Snow White retelling.
To be fair though, it's only loosely inspired, as it has Snow, apples, mirrors, a King and Queen...
T. Kingfisher brings so much original worldbuilding into this, along with really enjoyable and in parts surprising characters.

Anja is the FMC, a socially awkward and somewhat sarcastic Healer specialized in poisons... I mean, antidotes.
The King brings her to his castle to find out if his daughter Snow is being poisoned.

What unravels there is really unexpected, somewhat dark but also very humorous in the kind of tone only T. Kingfisher can provide.
Among a couple of side characters there is also a talking cat that is really enjoyable.

The author's books are a bit hit or miss for me, but this one I really really loved. It has great pacing, delves deep into poisons and alchemy, and ultimately has a very satisfying ending.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @panmacmillan for the eARC!

#HemlockAndSilver #Netgalley #Bookstagram #SnowWhite

This is the first time that I have read a book by this author and I intend to read more because the author is already among my favourites based on this book.
It is cleverly written, humorous and I got into the story and characters straight away.
An expert on poison and antidotes receives an unexpected visit from the King. The story concerns his request, but I will not say any more for fear of spoiling the novel.
Highly recommended.

I loved the first two T. Kingfisher novels I tried, Bryony and Roses and Nettle & Bone, but I've been on a losing streak ever since. I found Thornhedge twee and this new fairytale remix, Hemlock & Silver, was a slog for me for different reasons. On paper, it sounds great. Anja is an expert on poisons who is asked by the king to try and figure out the mysterious illness that's afflicting his daughter. But when she happens to walk through a mirror and enter the 'mirror-world', she embarks on an even darker exploration of this place where normal rules do not apply. Kingfisher brings her talent for horror to bear in her evocation of the mirror-world, and there are some genuinely shivery moments. But we seem to spend a very long time with Anja scientifically analysing how the mirror-world works (with help from her bodyguard and a talking cat) until the plot wraps up with some quick action sequences. Hemlock & Silver is more than a hundred pages longer than Nettle & Bone, and I didn't think it bore its extra length well. And while the mirror-world is beautifully written - I loved how Kingfisher described the wrongness of light that doesn't reflect from surfaces - the outside world felt under-described. We're mostly stuck in Anja's head. I'm not sure that I'm clicking with Kingfisher's work like I want to, even though I admire her imagination and originality, and existing fans may get more out of this.