The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Happily Ever Afters: A Reimaging of Snow White and Rose Red

Series: The Four Kingdoms #2.5

Author: Melanie Cellier

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Clean Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Sometimes a fairy tale ending is only the beginning…

Sarah and Evelyn have already risked everything to help Ava win a crown. But they soon learn that a coronation is a beginning, not an ending. Not everyone in Rangmere is happy to see the young queen on the throne, and intrigue and danger lurk all around.

The cousins find themselves fighting not only for their new kingdom but also for their own survival in the royal court. When a new threat emerges, the two girls must defeat it to both save the crown and secure their own Happily Ever Afters. -summary from Goodreads

This was a really cute novella following Evelyn and Sarah from The Princess Fugitive. I love Evelyn and Sarah, so this was a lovely book!

I am not super familiar with the tale of Snow White and Rose Red. I have only heard of Snow White, and I have only read one retelling of Snow White and Rose Red. So, I may be off base here, but I didn’t see this as a retelling. It felt like a story all its own, which I enjoyed, but I wouldn’t go into this expecting a retelling. Again, I may be wrong, but that is just what I noticed.

This book was dual POV, the only book in the series to do that so far. I really enjoyed seeing both of the girl’s perspectives. They have two different personalities and have two different roles in the court. This allowed us to see the Rangmerean court in a new light.

We also got to see a little bit more of Ava and Hans’s wedding! I am a huge fan of weddings, so I loved this little tidbit. And while it wasn’t the focus of the book by any means, we also got little tidbits of their married life. I am a complete sucker for mundane romances!

Every single one of these books has a romance, which has me delighted! All of them are unique unto themselves, and this book was no exception. I loved Miles and Sarah- they are so cute together. I think they match each other really nicely. It was nice to see a playboy-type character, not really behave in that manner and be committed. There also wasn’t a betrayal like we typically see in modern romance movies.

I also really enjoyed Jake and Evelyn. Again, they match each other really well. I think Jake is a slightly more intriguing character than Miles, but we don’t see as much of him.

I actually really liked both Sarah and Evelyn. I enjoyed them in The Princess Fugitive and was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed them in this book. I mentioned this briefly in my other review, but I love that this book shows that woman can enjoy wearing dresses and flirting and flowers and balls and still be strong and a formidable opponent all their own. It also shows that a woman can like exercise and sword fighting and being strong and independent. I just think it is so important to have both represented, and I like that it was. Evelyn also goes through some nice character development where she realizes that she doesn’t have to work alone and she can ask for help.

This book isn’t quite as cozy as The Coronation Ball with a lot happening, including assassination attempts and kidnapping, but it is still an enjoyable read.

I do wish this book was a little longer. While I loved the two romances in this book, they would have been more developed if this book was slightly longer. I also think more complete character development would have happened.

With The Coronation Ball, that story didn’t really have any effect on the rest of the series. This one does. The issues that arise in this book actually have a big impact in the next book, The Princess Pact. The characters themselves are hinted at in the end of The Princess Game, but not by name. You don’t have to read this book to understand The Princess Pact, but it is helpful, and it is nice getting to know more about these characters.

Happily Ever Afters is a cute novella, with dual POVs, sweet romances, action, and two wonderful main characters, perfect for a busy day!