The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White

Series: Beyond the Four Kingdoms #4

Author: Melanie Cellier

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Clean Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Snow has always lived under the shadow of her cruel stepmother, with only her beloved father and her childhood friend–the huntsman, Alexander–to make life bearable. When her father dies, she should be crowned queen, but instead she finds herself fleeing for her life. With no allies, no skills, and no food, her future could be over before it has truly begun.

But there’s more at stake than just one life. If Snow can’t claim her throne, her kingdom faces destruction. Snow has to make a choice: focus on her own salvation or put everything on the line–even those she loves the most. And if she’s going to succeed, Snow must fight the hardest battle of all, against her own doubt and weakness, and gain new skills and strength she never imagined possessing.

Alexander is ready to help her. But if she lets him, the consequences might be more than she can bear–because her heart is in as much jeopardy as the kingdom.

In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Snow must find her inner strength in time to fight for her throne before it’s too late. – summary from Goodreads

A Dream of Ebony and White was such a wonderful Snow White retelling, and probably one of the best I have read!

I really liked how this story began actually. Usually, I like beginnings but don’t take special note of them. This opening paragraph was one of my favorites. The common wish for Snow was still there: skin as white as snow, hair as black as ebony, lips as red as blood. Instead of making it about beauty, Snow actually takes these things (blood, ebony, and snow) and compares their commonly associated characteristics with who she is. I thought that was really well done and interesting!

I actually really liked Snow in this book! I didn’t really get a good sense of her in A Dance of Silver and Shadow, but she was a really great protagonist. One of my favorite things about her was that she wasn’t as tough or confident as typically seen in modern FMCs. On the other hand, though, she wasn’t as passive as the Disney Snow White was. I didn’t realize that in the original Disney version, Snow White really wasn’t a fully fleshed out character and, from my recollection, didn’t really make any decisions. So, I thought this was a nice blend of modern FMCs and the original Snow White. She was not as confident or assured and needed help (not a bad thing!), but she also made her own decisions and learned new skills. I actually loved that she decided to learn basic self defense, as well as tracking and foraging.

Alexander was an interesting character. He reminded me of someone, though I can’t quite place my finger on it. He was like the boy next door. He was very protective and friendly with Snow, and I think there was some more humor that didn’t quite make it to the page. He was also very loyal and respectful, which I liked.

The romance between Alex and Snow is where things get a little complicated for me. Again, none of Cellier’s romances have disappointed me so far. However, this was another romance that felt a little rushed, similar to Celine and Oliver’s. Alex and Snow have been best friends since childhood and there are definitely feelings there. The problem is that, while there are some romantic moments, most of the feelings between the two of them is built upon years of friendship that the reader isn’t privy to. It’s a very sweet and wholesome romance, but it needed some flashbacks, or more present time developments.

Alex and Snow also remind me a lot of Hans and Ava. The biggest issue with these two couples is that they are built from years of friendship/companionship that the reader can’t see, but beside that is that they have no siblings! That is my greatest issue with these couples because now it is much harder to get snippets of their lives since they don’t have siblings whose stories we could follow!

The dwarf characters were actually very interesting. Instead of having men living in the forest who Snow lives with, there are children who are either orphaned or have escaped poor life’s and live with each other. This sounded very improbable to me, but I liked it, nonetheless. It was cute and changed the story in a new and interesting direction. I also liked all of the children and hope we get future books with them!

They storyline follows the traditional storyline of Snow White, though there are some notable differences. One of my favorite changes was the inclusion of the ribbon and the comb! These are not often included in retellings, but I was so glad that this one had them! The way the mirror was used was also amazing and fit in with the lore of the world beautifully! I also liked how Snow took her throne back. It was way more realistic and involved getting the court to back her and building an army.

The stepmother actually had much better motivation than beauty in this retelling. She really just wanted power and money, but I liked how they incorporated the beauty aspect of it. Honestly, it just felt a touch more realistic.

I don’t think I have ever read a retelling of Snow White and gotten her perspective when she bit the apple and what happens afterward. I thought that was a neat part of the retelling and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

There was some nice family drama in this book, which I really enjoyed. I liked the different relationships Snow had with each of her family members, dead and alive, and how she explored them. I also really liked her realization that her dad wasn’t perfect. From this came some nice character development of learning that everyone has weaknesses and no one is perfect, and that she can rely on other people to help her out.

There was still a decent amount of magic in this book, but it wasn’t as much as A Crown of Snow and Ice. I do wish that some of the magic and enchantments had been explained a little more. I also think that what happened to Sterling was a little anticlimactic. He was such a big part of the events that had happened in the last four books, so his ending seemed rushed and unfinished.

A Dream of Ebony and White is a lovely retelling of Snow White, that follows Snow as she tries to take back the throne from her stepmother. With family, friends, adventure, and court drama, this book has everything!

Quotes:

“‘These lands may have chosen to reject the High King and his ancient laws, cutting yourselves off from him, but that doesn’t mean he was cut off from you.’”