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.

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.

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!

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.

T. Kingfisher is turning into one of my favourite authors! I actually read this book in one day and that barely happens anymore.
I loved Anja’s character. She was awkward, sarcastic, obsessed with poisons and had a soft spot for animals. The romance was cute, if not entirely necessary, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Even though this was a fairytale inspired story, the world was very unique and not what I was expecting at all. It also was only very loosely inspired at best.
The central mystery was well done and I really felt like we were unraveling it with our main character. I just wish we’d seen a little bit more of the cat!
As usual I loved the authors signature dark humour and had so much fun with this story I didn’t want to put it down!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

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!

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’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.

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!

Gosh, what a lovely book. It's a take on Sleeping Beauty, I guess, but T. Kingfisher does this wonderful thing with fairy tales, wherein she takes the memorable bits from them and remixes them so that, even if the origins are identifiable, it's very, very far from a straightforward retelling. We have poisoned apples, magic mirrors, and evil queens who want to eat their daughters' hearts, but none of those elements combine in familiar ways.

My refrain every time I hear, 'oh, it's a retelling of [x] fairytale' is to explode in frustration, 'FFS FIND A NEW STORY!!' And T. Kingfisher has. This is a distinct story, set in a very distinct landscape, with a distinct type of magic that is given full consideration of all its possibilities. And, because it is a T. Kingfisher story, its main characters are aging, rather than young and beautiful, and their success derives from knowledge and study and hard work, rather than luck and narrative contrivance.

Also, there's a delightful amount of poison vibes in it. I love poison so much.

Kind of a fantasy horror retelling of Snow White tale in T. Kingfisher's way.

I love this author, especially her horror stories and I was happy to see a mix of horror and fantasy based, loosely, on Snow White Tale with dark humor, and as usual a witty female character developed with talent.

That's something I love with Kingfisher's work, the character development and this one was awesome. It's probably the character I can relate with the most in all her work. A badass plus size woman, who's not taking bulshit and stereotypical lifestyle and a tad neurospicy in my opinion. I love her.

The romance is on the light side and without graphic intercourse, much appreciated as writers nowadays seem to add that everywhere to sell wick world building and character development, and badly written stories.

It's fun to read, a cozy fantasy on a darker side. The writing is excellent as usual with this writer. More a grey kind of villain and not stereotypically over bad in her development.

The female lead is incontestable as usual.

I also like how botanic and wisdom in general are studied beforehand and properly introduced in the story we without the scholar boring side and more educative and fun.

It's a solid dark fantasy tale and as usual a pleasure to read T. Kingfisher's stories.

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.

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.

This was my first book by author, but it will not be my last. I don’t tend to opt for reimagining of fairytales as I don’t really like the popular versions of them, but something about this one just really appealed to me. I am SO glad I took the chance with this one - the storyline and storytelling was brilliant.

The female main character was so well executed, and a talking cat is always a bonus! An excellent story which had the feeling of Snow White without being a basic retelling. It was clever, and so well executed.

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!!

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!

4.5 stars rounded up

When I heard this was a dark reimaging of Snow White, I was ready for poisoned apples and an evil witch. What I got was a snarky cat, body swapping, infanticide, gossiping maids, mutilated reflections, and more. It was amazing.

Hemlock & Silver was nothing like I expected, and that's the magic of T. Kingfisher. Her retellings are so imaginative and make the story feel fresh, exciting, and somehow even darker than the originals.

The main character, Anja, is obsessed with poisons and seeking cures to deadly plants, animals, and minerals. When the king arrives at her doorstep requesting her help with his ailing daughter Snow, she reluctantly agrees and sets off to the far off palace. However, she soon discovers not is all as it seems...

I knew I was in for a treat with this book when she was snorting poison in the very first pages, and while the MC is detached in many ways, I was charmed by her wry wit and awkward interactions. The narration reflects her personality, offering a style not unlike Emily Wilde with its observant and studious tone. The pacing also captures this part of Anja, as she explores and researches all possibilities before tumbling into the truth.

If you want a darkly atmospheric book with a bit of romance, humour, and tragedy, pick this up now!