Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale

By: Starla Huchton

Narrated by: Lauren Harris

Once upon a time, a dark evil crept into my kingdom, stealing my loved ones and the happy life I knew. The world turned against me, and I swore to become stronger, to keep myself safe.

Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince, hair dark as ebony, skin as pure as the freshly driven snow, and I became the only one who stood between him and death.

Once upon a time, our stories intertwined, and now, healing my heart may be the only way to save us all from the evil that threatens to destroy what little we have left.

©2014 Starla Huchton (P)2016 Starla Huchton

great story, but...

*spoilerish*

This story was original, captivating, and entertaining,, but it would have been much more enjoyable if Rae had not been so unnecessarily hostile and bitter, in spite of her PTSD. Strangely enough she actually claimed to be the first one to forgive people despite all evidence otherwise and that she went out of her way to take any offense whenever possible where none was ever intended.

I listened to this at 2x speed.

I was given an ARC copy of this audiobook, but that neither affected my opinion nor my review.

A lovely gender flipped retelling.

Note: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I'm a fan of retellings so this book caught my eye when I was browsing my weekly audiobookboom newsletter. I requested a copy and was provided with an audible code within a day. Thanks for that!

I enjoyed this gender swapped retelling of Snow White a lot. It's not just a straightword retelling of the original classic but takes inspiration from many fairy tale themes while keeping the tone of Snow White at its core. There are many twists to the original characters and settings which all feel both familiar and fresh.

The lead female character was very likable and that made the entire experience a lot more enjoyable. The story doesn't just dwell on her relationship with the male lead character at the expense of all others but makes sure to portray a very positive depiction of sisterly love. I really appreciated that because I love seeing loving and positive relationships between women. I thought the romance was well done even though I admit I was nervous throughout about (view spoiler), so it turned out to be unjustified.

I will definitely be grabbing hold of the other books in the series. I really wish they were available in audiobook format as well but oh well.

Fun Fairy Tale Mashup

Shadows on Snow was a pretty fun story and a different take on some classic fairy tales. It seems to have different aspects of Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping beauty mashed together and changed quite a bit. It is a pretty charming story with good characters and an interesting story. The gender roles are switched up a bit from many of the fairy tales with the female protagonist being the protector and the prince being essential the damsel in distress.

The narration by Lauren Harris is quite good and really fits the style of the story and the characters. I recommend the story, it is a different take on familiar fairy tales and has a good mix of action, magic and romance to keep you interested.

"Please note I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

5 stars but

I really enjoyed this book, but I feel it is more for a younger audience. There were some parts that stuff kept going wrong for one of the characters that it was almost too much, but still overall an enjoyable book.

The narrator was really good too.

Disclosure, I did receive this audiobook for free in exchange for my honest review.

Best book I’ve read in a while

First of all, a warning: this book does hint at and discuss memories of rape. If this may trigger you I suggest not reading.

With that out of the way, I LOVED this book. I enjoy fairytale retelling a, it feels like a chance to go back to the stories of childhood. The conflict and plot is paced well, without any moments that feel slow and boring, but no moments that are so fast as to leave the reader confused either. The main character is relatable, with a personality that has flaws like a normal person rather than the usual perfect people that populate fairytales. I also appreciated the twist in the romantic relationship, how it isn’t an easy happy ever after necessarily.

The narration of the audiobook is clear, with no parts that were muddled or had extraneous background noise. Additionally the narrator does a great job bringing emotion into the story, really engaging me in the storytelling.

All around I highly recommend this audiobook and am sure I will listen to it again soon.

I received a free review copy of the audiobook and left this review voluntarily.

Brilliant Retelling!

This is the most brilliant rewrite of Snow White I have ever come across.

I never thought about what would happen if the genders were swapped, but this was awesomely different than anything I could’ve imagined. I think my favorite part about this was that it wasn’t a love at first sight retelling but instead a real relationship formed between the Prince and Rae.

This story is studded with tons of interesting aspects like witches, magic, and love. This is definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of fairytales.

Also, the narration was wonderfully done. The narrator was able to create a wide range of voices that made it easy to distinguish between characters.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Everything I hoped it would be.

I received this audiobook free,per my request, in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked from the start and found myself listening every chance I got. I've read or listened to several retellings of classic stories. This is not just your average retelling of one fairytale,even though Snow White is clearly the main base of the story, but had elements from other classic fairytales.

Like all good fairytales it has magic, adventure and love while offering a good example of the importance of family, perseverance and determination.

Having the right narrator can make or break an audiobook for me and Lauren Harris absolutely delivered! The pace was just right and I very much enjoyd how she conveyed each character. It really kept my attention and drew me in more.

I will definitely be reading/listening to more of this series.

Excellent Retelling of Snow White

One of the best retellings of any fairy tale I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. A fresh spin on an old story that was unique and well written. It actually took me a little bit to see the resemblance from Snow White. Really enjoyed the story and author's style.

Narration was also excellent, I thought she did a fabulous job throughout the performance and would love to hear more.

I received a review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

Fun Gender Flipped Tale

writing and narration were fun. pacing was good. voices distinct but not overdone. Loved every minute of it and had a difficult time stopping the playback.

Love -- of all kinds -- conquers all!

I love this story! In flipping a fairy tale -- where the prince needs rescuing instead of the princess -- it would be easy to be overhanded, to show the prince as a weak character and the princess as basically a man in a dress. This story doesn't do that at all. Both characters are strong, both have flaws. They help each other.

There are also a number of sisters of the princess, each with their own distinct personality, strengths, and weaknesses. The author must have sisters because the story shows the sister relationship exactly as it is -- you bicker amongst yourselves, but just let an outside agent try to threaten you! (I've got great real-life stories along this line, but you're not reading this to hear MY stories!)

In the end, no matter how serious the threat, true love -- both romantic and familial -- conquers all. I finished the story feeling warm and happy. It was a nice change of pace given the popularity of distopian novels these days.

I received this audiobook for free at my request and I voluntarily leave this honest review.