Book Review: The Reflections of Queen Snow White and Celebrating Christmas

The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith
Genre: Fantasy
Source: E-copy from the author
Purchase: Amazon

Summary: What happens when "happily ever after" has come and gone? 

On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven's wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven's fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White's own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing: 

The king is dead. 

The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old. 

It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what "happily ever after" really means? 

Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White. 

Book Review: I love authors and fairy tale retelling. So when David contacted me with a request that I review his book after finding my blog, I decided to accept. Am I glad I did. David not only retells the story of Snow White after her happily ever after but takes a new look at her past. While there is happiness over the upcoming wedding of her daughter, Snow White is mourning the loss of Prince Charming and wondering if she was ever worthy, strong or special. Then she finds the mirror her terrible stepmother used and is taken on a journey through her past reflections of herself and is given the chance to see through her grief and maybe rediscover happiness. If not the crushing grief just might destroy her.

David is a master at flashbacks which is the substance of this story. But instead of just taking us all over the place or filling space these reflections take on a journey to see how David interprets Snow White's journey through all the good and the bad. Readers get to see the beauty in both happiness and tragedy and we get to decide for ourselves if happily ever after is just a perfect ending or won well fought for and deserved. Also the mirror is given new life and a much more pivotal role, making Snow White see herself as more than just an aging queen. Will Snow White find happiness again? What of the kingdom and the wedding? You will just have to get a copy of the book to find out. I highly recommend this read to everyone especially over the holidays when one of things we do is reflect about the year and look forward to a bright future.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Links: Website, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon

For my last post in this meme before 2014 I just want to celebrate another christmas, surviving another year, all of you guys and your support and love. Celebrate all the good things, learn from the bad and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.