T Kingfisher did what T Kingfisher does best: cosy mystery romantasy…
… and she did it bloody well.

Our FMC is a poisons expert after growing up with a morbid curiosity of wanting to know the cure to each poison and is recruited by the king to help find out what is making his family unwell.

The first 50% of this book made perfect sense and then boom mad crazy plot and I loved it.

I also love books with talking cats so this was a win as I’m in my talking cat book era apparently.

10/10 recommend if you like a gothic fairytale vibe too!

Classic Kingfisher style!! A brilliant blend of fairy tale retelling, mystery, horror and humor.

What to expect:

- A Snow White retelling
- A creepy, atmospheric setting
- A touch of romance
- A sassy and mysterious cat sidekick
- A genuinely funny and lovable fmc
- Intriguing mysteries

I loved it!! T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors: no doubt about it!

5 ⭐️

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!!

A healer must attend the king’s daughter to uncover her mysterious illness. A unique retelling of Snow White, starring a poison-obsessed woman and her grumpy bodyguard. Full of clever magic, witty conversations and a slow-burn romance. Another great novel from T Kingfisher.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this title.

Another stunning book from T Kingfisher, she is unable to write a book I will not enjoy!!

Our main character is Healer Anja (specialist in creating antidotes for poisons) who is recruited by the King to try and work out why his daughter, Snow, is becoming more and more ill. It's difficult to go much further without giving away the story, but know that the characters are built in classic T Kingfisher style to be loveable, realistic and flawed in the best ways. There is a whole side cast of other characters that drop in and out of the story which only add to the narrative..

My only issue with this book was the pacing through the first half as it felt very slow. This completely changed for the second half which is where most of the story takes off, and character connections start to build hence the 4 star rating.

Highly recommend this book to all. Expect: loveable characters, monsters, a talking cat, alternative realms and lots of adventure.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I’m obsessed with T. Kingfisher’s writing, and Hemlock & Silver really hits the spot! It has one hell of an opening scene, followed by a creeping mystery that left me engaged and on the edge of my seat the entire way through. (And can I say, it’s so refreshing to read about a main character that’s Child-free by choice!)

If you love Kingfisher, you’ll devour Silver & Hemlock!

Everytime I read a T Kingfisher book I never know what I'm going to get, but I know it's going to be entertaining, have an excellent supporting cast and probably make me laugh out loud in the tearoom at work and look borderline insane. This was no exception!

Anja is a self taught expert on poison/venom and generally dangerous substances. One day the King turns up at her workshop unannounced and asks her to come and help his daughter who he believes is being poisoned.

Even the first chapter of the book is hilarious as Anja (who I think it's fair to say is quite a prickly main character) tries to get her head around actual royalty rocking up in her place of work without an invite while she does her best not to say anything treasonous while he expands on the situation with Snow, his eldest daughter.

Of course she ends up accompanying the king across the desert and trying to get to the bottom of what is happening to Snow, with the help of Javier and Aaron who are appointed as bodyguards, a talking "cat" called Grayling and a rooster (the section with the rooster towards the end of the book is one of my favourite parts!).

Yet again an easy five star rating for one of my favourite authors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC!

Hemlock & Silver is a silly-goofy, cosy, high fantasy novel, and I mean all of that in the best possible way. The story is told through the internal dialogue of our main character Anja, a poisons expert who is summoned to try and heal the king’s sick daughter. Anja is witty, intelligent, and frankly more interested in problem-solving than people-fixing, but her curiosity and humour make her the perfect heroine.

This book is inspired by Snow White, but rather than following the whole story, it instead weaves some of the key elements of Snow White together to create an entirely new, and slightly creepy, world – one that includes mirrors, poisoned apples, and a girl named Snow. Also, there is a sarky talking cat. If that doesn’t convince you to read this book, I don’t know what will.

Hemlock & Silver was my first T. Kingfisher, but it certainly won’t be my last! If you are also waiting to start your T. Kingfisher journey, take this as your sign to do it!

I liked this book. This book has taken me in the life of Anja who is a skilled healer and known for having an enormous knowledge of poisons and their antidotes. Since she was eleven years, Anja wanted nothing but to learn all about poisons and their antidotes. When the king arrives at her workshop and tells that he killed his queen, Mistress Anja thought if she can trust him or not and as soon as the story unfolded, she could see through his soul and understood his reason. But why would a mother cut out her daughter’s heart? In the second half of the book, the book takes a dark and twisty turn, when we get to know about both the daughters. His younger daughter gets poisoned and Anja must find the cure and get to the mystery. There are interesting characters, talking cat and the mystery of the mirror was deep and intriguing. Secrets find their way out and mystery gets deeper. And loved how Anja solved the mystery.

Thanks to the Publisher

4.5/5

I don’t think that T Kingfisher will ever write a book that I don’t read.

Her way of capturing the magical and making it familiar and strange, hopeful and harrowing all at once is a gift to be treasured in every one of her novels.

I loved the portrayal of Anja, her diversity of character, her dedication to her passions and her sense of self. Add in a gruff and brooding guard, and it’s 5* all around.

I absolutely adored 'Hemlock & Silver', the story captivated me and I was hooked from page one. I couldn't stop reading and finished the book in one day. I loved the dark whimsical fairytale and the heroine being 35 years old was a welcome change! This book was full of charm and wit. I also loved the discussion about plants & poisons. I certainly didn't see the end coming! Fabulous re-imagining of Snow-white and a full 5 stars from me! I will make sure to recommend it.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for a honest review ✨📚

ARC 4.5/5 ⭐️ I loved this dark reimagining of Snow White. Even the opening line grips you in.

There is the classic T Kingfisher cozy fairytale charm with sections of really creepiness.

Healer Anja & Javier were such interesting characters, especially Anja. She was very relatable. And they had a very very sweet slow burn romance.

Thank you, NetGalley, Pan Macmillan| Tor, and T. Kingfisher, for sending this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Goodreads.

Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan/Tor for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐

If T. Kingfisher writes it, I'm going to read it! I adore Kingfisher's dark fairytale retellings. However, I wasn't expecting to laugh this much! When picking up Hemlock & Silver, I was expecting a darker story more in line with her recent retellings Thornhedge and A Sorceress Comes to Call. Whilst still a dark retelling, the humour is more along the lines of Nettle & Bone which was really fun.

One of my favourite things about T. Kingfisher's books are her older and more relatable/realistic FMCs. Anja's inner monologue throughout the story had me cackling out loud.

The pacing of the book did dip throughout but ultimately Kingfisher has proved once again that she's a masterful storyteller.

The story is full of fun side characters (including a docile rooster), a quirky and strong but flawed in a relatable way heroine, and a sweet yet subtle romance. The intelligent storytelling is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing the who way through.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about T. Kingfisher and I was not disappointed, I fell in love with the writing style straight away, this book was full of darkness and intrigue and the atmosphere was brilliantly done throughout.

Fascinating, magical, exciting, suspenseful, and honestly just funny (I laughed out loud numerous times), this book was brilliant.

If I wasn't previously aware before diving into this book that it was a dark retelling of Snow White, I never would've put 2 + 2 together and arrived at that conclusion myself. The story follows Healer Anja, a woman with an insatiable curiosity, obsessed with poisons and their cures, who is requested by the King to help save his daughter, Snow, who he suspects has been poisioned (and who could possibly say no to the King?)

I personally found this book quite slow in the beginning. There was a lot of world building, which was admittedly rich and interesting and necessary, so although I found it somewhat tiresome to get through, the payoff layer on was definitely worth it. I was about a third of the way through when I reached that i-can't-put-it-down stage.

I found Anja incredibly likable and relatable - the way her mind races and her thoughts scatter, and even though she finds herself in a world of inexplicable mirror magic, she's so completely human and I adore that.

I'll be completely honest, I didn't really understand the technicalities of the mirror world that Anja discovers, but honestly? I don't need to. I was quite happy to just accept that these strange and wonderful things happen without question, and I think that might just be the best way to go into this book.

Overall, it's just a great story, with wonderful characters, and an imaginative new take on a story we're all far too familiar with.

Also, Javier has my heart. ♡

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Tor for the ARC. It's hugely appreciated ♡

Another wonderful book from T.Kingfisher. I have read everything I can get my hands on from this author and I have never been disappointed. I read an eARC of this book on Net Galley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This is T.Kingfisher’s take on Snow White. This isn’t just a retelling though. This is a completely new story inspired by some of the iconic imagery from Snow White and it’s fascinating.

This is a fresh new take on mirrors and apples. Our main character is typically fascinating for T.Kingfisher, a woman in her thirties who doesn’t consider herself particularly attractive and who is uniquely fascinated and driven by something. In this case, poisons and how to discover antidotes for them. Our main character is a healer specialising in curing poisonings. She has a pet snake who she kills for venom. She finds herself taking on a particular challenge when she has to cure the King’s daughter of a peculiar ailment no one can recognise.

We have a fantasy novel that doesn’t shy away from darker elements, blending in this author’s particular talent for comedy horror. We have absurd yet harrowing images as our main character navigates real danger and a malicious force she seeks to understand.

I loved this, it was so entertaining, so charming and with a main character you can absolutely root for!

3.5 stars. T. Kingfisher returns with yet another fairy tale re-telling, this time less lyrical, but more spunky, with our healer heroine as a witty narator. I found the concept interesting, but the execution I found a bit too complicated, with the intricacies of the magical world sometimes being lost to me, so it was difficult to grasp the full extent on the univesrse created by the author. This story also had the most developed love story and I found it well executed.

T. Kingfisher Hemlock & Silver once again delivers an unusual, dark story with plenty of charm and depth. While it's a loose retelling of Snow White, as is so often the case with Kingfisher, it's not the fairy tale itself that takes centre stage, but a new, cleverly crafted perspective on familiar motifs.

The main character, Anja, is a 35-year-old healer and poison expert who would rather spend time with her pet - a poisonous snake - than with other people. She is asked for help by the king himself after his daughter Snow suddenly suffers from a mysterious illness that no one else can cure. As Anja begins to observe the girl, analyse her surroundings and question the staff, the novel initially unfolds like a quiet, almost medical investigative drama. Fantasy hardly plays a role in the first half - instead, the focus is on botany, poisons and clever analyses. Anyone who loves these topics will get their money's worth here.

It is only in the second half that the plot shifts increasingly towards the fantastic: magic mirrors, another dimension and a talking, marvellously self-absorbed cat called Grayling appear on the scene. Although this twist brings pace to the story, the exciting poison theme unfortunately takes a back seat. The resolution of the central mystery - despite its predictability - also drags on for an unnecessarily long time.

I find Anja's character particularly successful: a professionally brilliant, socially awkward protagonist with a great thirst for knowledge and little interest in social norms. And as always, Kingfisher demonstrates a knack for representation - Anja is a corpulent heroine without this ever being thematised or problematised. Unfortunately, such characters are all too often lacking in the fantasy genre.

Hemlock & Silver is altogether less fairytale-like than earlier works such as Thornhedge or Nettle & Bone, coming across more like a suspenseful murder mystery with occasional fantasy elements. The tone remains typically Kingfisher: clever, funny, biting in places, but never silly. Even if the book doesn't quite reach her best works for me, I recommend it to all fans of the author - and to anyone looking for a fresh, unusual Snow White variation with depth.

I am a T. Kingfisher enthusiast and I am always after her new releases. Emphasis on releases, plural, because the woman publishes up to 3 books a year. Iconic. Her first release of 2025 is about 35-year-old healer and poison lover Anja who is sent to attend to the King's daughter Snow. Snow is plagued by a mysterious illness and no other physician could help her so far. Anja tries to find the cause of the sickness with her special knowledge of poisons and so the first half of the book is about her observing Snow's eating habits, examining her surroundings and questioning the staff of the estate. It is a slow-moving story, but I liked how all possible options were talked through and that everything was presented in a detailed way. There is barely any fantasy in the first half of the book and it focuses more on plants and poisons, which are themes that I LOVE in books. The second half than introduces some cool mirror magic and a talking cat (my beloved), but I do have to say that it kinda overshadowed the poison theme. I wish there was more of a mix with the medical and the magical part of this story, so that they wouldn't feel so separated. Once the mirrors were introduced, the story really focused on them and that part felt a little repetitive and didn't really hold my attention. I guess it might be the exact other way around for other readers, though. Considering that "Hemlock & Silver" is a Snow White reimagining, it was really no surprise who the culprit was and it took way too long before Anja figured it out too.

This book feels way less like a fairy tale than previous books by T. Kingfisher, like "Thornhedge" or "Nettle & Bone" for instance. It's more like Snow White is playing out somewhere in the background of the story with some recognizable elements thrown in from time to time, but with focus on a whole new character. I liked Anja a lot. She really found her area of interest and is always hungry for new knowledge, but she has the hardest time with other people and rather spends her life with her venomous snake. And bless T. Kingfisher for casually putting fat protagonists in her books, many other authors just don't do that. The funny tone of the book was a pleasure too. There are just always sentences that crack me up, but they never make the overall story seem silly. "Hemlock & Silver" might not be a contender for my new favorite Kingfisher book, but I can easily recommend this one for fans of the author (which should be everyone in my opinion).

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan / Tor for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Genre & Tropes : Fantasy x Fairytale Retelling x Snow White Retelling x Creepy x Horror vibes x Touch of romance x Nerd but cute heroine x Silent hero xFunny

A retelling of the Snow White tale that I read with great pleasure

Not being a fan of Snow White, I was a little hesitant about this retelling, BUT since I love T. Kingfisher's books, I gave in and I LOVED it !

The setting is this book's huge strength : the details surrounding the plants, customs, and landscapes were amazing (I wasn't expecting a desert setting, and I LOVED it), and I loved the whole mirror thing (and the rules surrounding "reflections"). It was very scary but also absolutely fascinating !

The plot was captivating, centered around the mysterious "poisoning," and I loved following Anja's investigation, who was both adorable and bizarre =D (I loved her obsession with poisons ><). And I laughed a lot following her adventures !

The touch of romance was perfect (especially since I have trouble with books without any romance ...)

I might have liked a more developed ending or an epilogue (especially with the king's reaction and the heroes' future), but that's a detail =)

In short, a slightly dark and very original retelling of a fairy tale that I read with great pleasure !