| Title | : | Snow So White (Urban Magick \u0026 Folklore #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 |
| Publication | : | Published January 21, 2022 |
In the tiny village of Somer, far from the city, Cherie knows nothing of the evil spell. Her home is a safe, Magickal place. The Fae travel freely along its roads, Magickal humans and animals are welcome, and everyone is hidden from the Queen’s sight by Jack Frost, the local ghost, who blurs the Queen’s mirror with snow and ice.
But when Jack’s spell begins to crack, the Queen’s eyes fall on Somer. Nothing will keep her from abducting all of Somer’s Magickals, not even a war with the Fae.
To avert a war, save her village--and herself--Cherie strikes a perilous bargain. Aided only by Jack and her own small Magick, she’ll set off on a quest … If she fails, she’ll lose more than her life.
A retelling of Snow White with Urban Magick, plenty of folklore, and a Princess Charming. Perfect for fans of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted and Spinning Silver.
Snow So White (Urban Magick \u0026 Folklore #1) Reviews
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This is a fun retelling of Snow White. Cherie lives in a small town, far from the evil Queen. When the Queen's recruiters come to grow her army with Magickals, Cherie runs. Although her powers are not strong, she knows she is no longer safe. Helped by her friend and crush, Jack, Cherie finds aide in unlikely places.
I really enjoyed Jack's roll as the cursed prince and Cherie as his rescuer. He is the one who is asleep, trapped in his dreams. He can see others through mirrors in his dream-state and has taken on a roll of the local "ghost". Confused by her feelings for Jack, Cherie takes it on herself to remove his curse. I liked the change from the traditional story.
While I really liked the idea of this book, I struggled getting through parts of it. It took awhile to get going, and I just had a difficult time with some of the writing. It may have been more of a 'me thing', not the actual writing. Overall, it was an enjoyable fairytale retelling. -
WHAT A CRINGY FANTASY! He is over two hundred years old. Even her grandmother is younger than him. And he met her when she was a five-year-old child – A CHILD! He saw her growing up. I’m giving it 1 star.
-
This was an interesting take to fairy tales, a bit overwhelming.
I wasn’t expecting for more than a Snow White and Jack Frost re-telling. It seemed like the author wasn't satisfied so she decided to add everything else into the mix.
Already didn’t care for Cherie. Too Mary Sue for my liking. She was probably one of the main reasons this book dragged.
It was a nice change to have a male character be the damsel in distress for once. But I didn’t care for Jack as much as Cherie.
For a book that was close to 400 pages, it just wasn’t worth the read. Repetitive on both points of views. A cliffhanger?! Lack of actual action. Nothing was resolved by the end, just more situations arising. -
++ DNF after 34% ++
This was one of my Stuff your Kindle Day reads. A few chapters in and I still had no clue what was going on or who was who. The author introduced characters as quickly as skipping the part of introducing them properly and the story advanced too quickly, things happening too quickly leaving the reader to figure out why. -
Richly Imaginative
The beginning of this book was disorienting for me. It wasn't until about 20% in that I was really hooked.
Cherie's magic, and her knowledge of the folklore(and use of said knowledge) is what made this book for me. Her relationship with Grendel, too. Her sheer determination to see the humanity--the potential for goodness-- in everyone she encountered was delightful, and it made for some really creative scenarios instead of everything being solved with mad fighting skills. This book was chock full of creativity, and seeing the fairy tale twisted into such a fresh and different shape was just... REALLY satisfying.
I'm looking forward to picking up the next one when it releases. -
Synopsis:
A retelling of Snow White, “a future-time in a city of steel, concrete and Magick, a wicked queen trapped a mighty warrior with a curse”. Vampires, dwarves, magick, mirrors, Princess Charming and more. The story follows Cherie on her journey to save her village of Somer. She bargains with creatures of magick she didn’t even know existed. If she fails she’ll loose more than just her life.
Review:
I think overall this was an ok book. I was looking forward to a retelling of Snow White and I appreciate that the rescuer, Cherie, was a woman. A role reversal is always fun to read.
I found parts of the book a little boring and difficult to read though, but overall the book was fine. I wish there was more of a cliffhanger to want me to continue with the series but I found there wasn’t much of a rise to the action that made me excited to continue. I’ll likely try the next in the series but I’m not quite ready right now. -
This is a very urban and sort of dystopian retelling (very loosely) of Snow White. There is a lot of magic and adventure in this story. I was hooked from the first chapter and I plan on continuing the series. The author is very vivid in details and the characters it was like being beside the characters through all the adventures. If you like heavy world building and a twisted retelling of fairytales then I suggest this book.
-
When I saw a Facebook promotion for Snow So White by C. Gockel, I was curious but hesitant. The book was promoted as urban fantasy, which is not usually my cup of tea. When I finally got around to reading it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it bears more similarities to some lesser-known fairy tales than it does to "Snow White." The accurate marketing also helped me ease into the modern setting and urban fantasy creatures within it like vampires and monsters. I was pleasantly surprised by how strong the book's world-building is and how emotionally connected I felt to the characters. While it may not be the type of fairy tale retelling I'm used to reading, it has a strong sense of what it wants to be.
Cherie lives in a world that is similar to our own with one major difference. One day, the earth was infused with magic, causing ordinary people to gain supernatural abilities, monsters to roam freely, and certain forms of technology to become unnecessary. People who were younger when the change happened had an easier time adapting to it than those who were used to a more traditional way of life. Cherie doesn't have any great powers that she knows of, but she does have two magical grandmothers and a strong bond with a boy nicknamed Jack Frost. Jack is trapped in a mirror world and can only communicate with Cherie through reflections. Jack is older than he looks and first met Cherie through her grandmother, a doctor, who he seemed to have met before the world was touched by magic and he become trapped in an ageless state in the mirror realm. When the book begins, Cherie's beloved grandmother passes away, and she is in a state of mourning when she embarks on an epic quest to free Jack from his mirror prison and escape his wicked stepmother, the Queen.
While it is an extremely creative book in its own right, this story does not really feel like a gender-bent retelling of "Snow White," and I think that plays in its favor. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is the second most commonly retold fairy tale next to "Cinderella," so it was refreshing to see a story that does something completely different with it. I think it works better as a "Snow Queen" retelling. All of the basic elements of "The Snow Queen" are there including a boy who is trapped in an icy prison, a girl encountering numerous perils to rescue him, and a wicked queen who wants to make everyone her slave. In "The Snow Queen," Gerda encounters many supernatural companions who aid her on her quest as opposed to Snow White who spends most of her time looking after the dwarfs in their cottage. In this book, Cherie has a supernatural companion who helps her fight her way to Jack, a vampire named Grendel, who identifies herself as Cherie's grandmother, but due to her age, she is more likely to be an older ancestor of hers. Their companionship plays a major factor in the emotional appeal of the story, especially due to how much Cherie needs a maternal figure in her life after mourning her other grandmother.
Another fairy tale this book reminds me of is "Fairer than a Fairy," which is also about a girl who falls in love with a prince who she can only talk to in reflections. In that story, their communication is limited to the reflection of a rainbow when the hits a specific fountain at a certain angle. "Fairer than a Fairy" also had a brave princess heroine who went on a daring quest to awaken the sleeping body of the prince who talks to her in reflections through his dreams. The love story between Jack and Cherie seems so impossible that the desire for them to overcome the odds and be together is exhilaratingly strong. That is where this book excels despite its complex and occasionally confusing lore. The bond between Jack and Cherie is so strong that it overcomes space, time, and many other powerful forces that fight to keep them apart, which is exactly how a good fairy tale should be told. Even though there were parts of the book that I didn't completely understand due to a lack of familiarity with urban fantasy, my desire to see Jack and Cherie together never faded.
Snow So White by C. Gockel offers a unique twist on fairy tale retellings, diverging from the familiar story of "Snow White" and delving into lesser-known tales like "The Snow Queen" and "Fairer than a Fairy." While it may not fit into the traditional mold of a fairy tale retelling, the book shines in its world-building and emotional connection. The bond between Cherie, and her trapped companion, Jack Frost, is undeniably powerful, driving the reader to root for their reunion despite the challenges they face. Although there were moments of confusion with the urban fantasy elements, the desire to see their love triumph remains unwavering. Ultimately, Snow So White delivers an engaging and satisfying reading experience for fans of fairy tales and urban fantasy alike. -
Initially difficult to get into but enjoyable once I was able to work out what was going on. A good plot and interesting characters spoilt for me by the fact that the story is not complete and you need another book to continue it.
-
DNF at 33%
This book reminds me a lot of that show, Once Upon A Time, but the later chaotic seasons.
First of all, there are a ton of new names mentioned in like the first 40 pages - way too many names - which made it hard to follow. It was also very difficult to grasp who these characters were because the descriptions of their personalities and role in the world never felt consistent.
The sentence structures are often very confusing - which predicate goes with which subject, who are we talking about again, is that even a complete sentence - kind of confusing
Additionally, one of my biggest pet peeves, which happens A LOT in stories, is when a character who is dying tells another character some version of "there is so much I haven't told you and need to tell you right now" and the other character responds with "you've told me enough. I know everything I need to know. " I loathe this scene every single time I see it. It's lazy and annoying and it always make me want to yell at the 2nd character to shut up and listen, for fuck's sake and at the first character for being a procrastinating dumb ass. I almost dnf’d at this point because of this.
Also, any story where one character knows another as a child and becomes attracted to them once they grow up - if they weren't children at the same time (meaning one was an adult, or close enough, the whole time) then it's super gross. I don't care if they didn't "see them that way" until they grew up, it's still wrong and nasty.
I get that this is supposed to be a reverse of the classic damsel - but it really isn't. Jack is still more knowledgeable, capable, and confident than Cherie. He also infantilizes her (even though he is also attracted to her) and he acts all possessive of her any time she is near another man (or he even worries she might be near another man). Cherie is trying to find her voice (which she often uses to tell people things that could get her killed), but she has no confidence or sense of self. And, of course, she so completely virginal that she has never even been kissed. She might be in the "rescuer" role, but she is constantly in need of being rescued and generally succeeds because of luck. She also completely ignores the way Jack talks to her the second he says something she can interpret as affection. It's giving "he only treats me like crap because he cares sooooo much". Ewww
Mizuki is literally the only one who tells Jack to stop being so controlling and condescending.
I had to DNF when Cherie scolds an old ass vampire for using the word "shit". Seriously, grow up. -
‘Coexisting with the Fae is only logical’
Cherie lives in a world ‘where your grandparents were from was where you were from’, vampires aren’t merely a conspiracy theory, and skeleton keys are carved from bone. And her Magickal mirror has a view into the house that Jack built.
The author called out some serious topics:
‘Peace isn’t always kind.’
Sometimes, the undead are better allies than our fellow man. Choose wisely whom you trust.
Some of the characters was ready to go since the Fischers ‘convinced us it was always good to be packed’ (they were Jewish, so had ‘a millennia of experience being prepared to leave’).
Many modern-day ills are mentioned throughout such as natural resources having been stripped, dangers of mine work, TV and other electronic devices tempting children/tweens away from exploring their surroundings. A sad commentary on what we ignore:
‘Morally, was it wrong to tolerate such…such…intolerance?’
I appreciate the various cultures in this story, including the various ethnic enclaves of Chicago. Humans come in all colors our backgrounds shape our mindset and enrich our lives.
Some sage advice from the author:
‘A princess must sometimes do what is good for her people even when they disapprove.’
‘Your mind is your most powerful ally. When you are afraid, be calm and think.’
‘Read your folklore. Someday, it might save your life.’
Don’t face your trials hungry.
Be master of your dreams…
Fave quotes (there actually are tons more, but…):
‘Giving the Queen’s agents a wedgie is not going to work!’
‘Real fairy tales often had grisly endings.’
I don’t have ‘Blood So Red’, but I will immediately start ‘Grendel & Beowulf’. -
Enjoyment: 4⭐
Characters: 5⭐
Writing: 4⭐
Plot and Pacing: 3.5⭐
Worldbuilding: 3.5⭐
ABOUT
Snow So White is an urban fantasy set in a dystopian future, where the Queen reigns as a tyrant collecting those of Magicks to serve in her army. Her reach is far and wide with the exception of Somer, a small village safeguarded by the mysterious ghost called Jack Frost, who disrupts her magick with his snow storms. When Jack's spell starts to crack, Cherie, a seemingly low Ember Magickal, must find a way to keep the residents of Somer, herself, and Jack safe.
Yes, it's as messy as it sounds, but it does get better. Snow So White is a very loose retelling of Snow White, except it's not a princess that needs saving. It's the prince.
CHARACTERS
Each character was well-written with complex emotions, conflict, and traits balanced out to make us care about them. Cherie is a "peacekeeper" who serves as a mediator for the group. Her energy is soothing, and she's emotionally mature enough to have a spine of her own rather than being a doormat. She struggles with feelings such as heartbreak, grief, and loneliness without coming across as melodramatic. Her low self-esteem was also understandable and made her more relatable. She is an optimist who seeks the good in people and the best in every situation, which is a stark contrast to the cynicism displayed by many other characters.
My first impression of Jack was that he was the brooding grump who many authors want us to choose, but upon reading more of his perspective, he became more than just that. He was cautious, serious, and distant, but all within reason that we can empathize with. He deals with much mental complexities such as trauma and the fight between wants and needs versus fear.
Grendel was written in such a way that you couldn't be sure whether or not she was trustable, but it was a good way to show the volatile nature of vampires. Her unintentional sense of humor and delivery was so entertaining that I smiled a few times while reading her dialogues. In the end, it became certain what kind of person she was, and that also made her development go around as a character and provided more depth toward the perception of vampires.
WRITING
C. Gockel is skilled at descriptive writing and weaving character thoughts and emotions into narrative without being too melodramatic. She does this by having various symbolism and showing how the characters react to something rather than telling. Conflicts were quite clear and each internal and external struggle were well-defined. There were times when I found myself skimming superfluous descriptions or action scenes, but it wasn't much of an issue. One of my favorite lines:
PLOT AND PACING
In the beginning, I was just about as disoriented as Cherie. Unfortunately, this book fell into the pitfall of having the action scene as a sense of urgency rather than establishing the emotional/conflict stakes. Even when the next scene came, I was whiplashed by the changes in atmosphere and stakes. Just in my opinion, the story could have started elsewhere. It just took a hot minute to build up.
Aside from that, the plot was fairly solid. After the first third of the story, a good sense of urgency was set, and it kept me turning the page to find out what's going to happen next.
WORLDBUILDING
Snow So White had elements of a good world (I mean urban fantasy and dystopian vibes?? yes!), but the way it was approached was somewhat disorienting. There were so many name drops and some things had little to no explanation such as the Embers, the Queen, why there are so many mythos all over the place, how the whole Change began, what the Queen is trying to fight, etc. There could have been more stakes and urgency had we known more about the Queen, but the story focused on surviving her army and waking Jack that it fell flat. Also, just what is Cherie anyway? I'm assuming these things will be covered in the next book(s), but it would have been nice to know more about them here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The story is good. I'd say that the reason I kept reading the book was for the characters, to see how they'd develop and how it would end. I might read the next book, but we'll see. If you like the vibes, I recommend giving it a try. -
So good!! amazing how quickly it sucks you in! pun intended haha
I loved this futuristic urban fantasy! The romance was so good and the way it developed throughout the story was amazing. It was central but not central. The story and the addition of Grendel was engaging and I absolutely loved the humor! What a great read! I definitely plan to finish the series! I personally enjoyed this more than Lunar Chronicles’ Cinder, and I loved that series, so glad to add this to my collection! -
Another DNF im sorry
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3.5/5 stars
I love a good fairytale retelling and unfortunately this one fell short for me. It took me 8 chapters just to get into the plot and gain a basic understanding. However, there are still things I don't fully understand I feel need clarification. What is the Change? the book talks about the time before and after the Change, what is it? Ember appeared and people became Magick, but what is Ember? where did it come from? There are so many things that are unexplained.
Cherie, the main character is fantastic. She grows in the book and I love a good character development. Her relationship with Grendel is fun and provides a needed comic relief.
I think there were too many ideas thrust into one book. Too many mythical creatures from different cultures somehow make appearances and it all became too confusing to me.
I also think the story lacked depth. Many scenes needed more descriptions and clarification. I have a vivid imagination and I had a hard time picturing the world as I read, because it lacked descriptions.
I liked how the tale of Snow White was turned upside down in this book, where Cherie, the main character is not Snow White. I'm still left with lots of questions as to who she is.
The romance between Cherie and Jack Frost was disturbing to me. I didn't find it necessary and he came off as too manipulative to me.
Overall, I liked the book. At least enough to finish reading it. However, I doubt I will read the rest of the series. -
Lovely
This book is set 200 years after our current b era collapses into a vampire war, modern tech fails and is replaced by ember energy and all lore and myth become real -- become magicks . It's lyrical, timey wimey and dreamscape thick with asides and meanderings. It's beautiful. And maddening to me, at times, bc I just wanted it to be spoken plainly.
Beside that my only other grip is extremely small, as the author took the artistic license to forget about the enter button. Kidding. But these are long, fairytale length paragraphs. I had no idea I had opinions on this topic until this book.
So if you like magic, post apocalyptic books that are creative and the images drift through your fingers like sand, than this one is for you.
Fans of WR Gingell, I think, will resonate with this style a lot. -
C. Gockel is one of the authors who never disappoint me even in genres that are not necessarily my favourites.
This story is an imaginative mishmash of fairytales and folklore.
You can find snow white, little Red riding hood, sleeping beauty and the ice princess in here, plus all sorts of afterlife believes like greek, Jews, Chinese, Buddhism... And vampires. But it's not only gender swapping, it's its own world.
It was actually a bit too much for me, especially the end felt too messy.
Thus what I enjoyed most was Grendel the vampire. With her humour and good intentions did she steal the show and has now even got her own books!
I might read the next book to get my big happily ever after.... Or maybe get straight to the Grendel books. -
I picked this book because I was interested in a fairytale retelling. What I got was so much more!!!! It has a Princess Charming, a wolf in grandmother’s clothing, a dystopian society, portals into other realms, and lots of Magickal characters. I enjoyed this so much, and can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
A Magickal substance called Ember started seeping into the world. It caused electrical failure for anything using electricity. More importantly though, people and creatures started changing. Magickal abilities started to appear. The humans started to adapt and flourish, until those who become vampires posed too great a threat.
Two hundred years after the Vampire Wars, the Queen is still searching for Magickal people and creatures to help in her wars. But in a sleepy town called Somer there has been a peace between the residents and they are frightened of losing their friends to the Queen’s army.
I could add so much more, but that is just nibble of the apple 🍎 😂 -
This is a very imaginative, action-packed, magick-filled retelling of Snow White. In this version, Snow White is Yukio DeWitt (translates as Snow White) and the one who eventually gives the awakening kiss is Cherie (short for Charming Princess), a young, naive girl. However, Cherie rapidly matures and becomes a strong, confident person by the time she’s passed through all the obstacles in the way as she tries to save her hometown. There are monsters, gods, demons, and other supernatural creatures galore, many of whom are friendly and helpful, but many are evil and out to kill her or worse. Once it gets going, it’s hard to put it down until the conclusion.
-
First let me say that the twist on this retelling is fantastic! It is probably one of the best I've ever read because it takes Snow White and really fleshes it out, adding layers of complexity and wonderful characters.
However, over all, this book just didn't fully connect with me. I found myself a little bored in places, even though there was plenty of action. I know that in order to set up more books and introduce characters, Cherie's journey had to be long and difficult, but to me it was just too drawn out. It took me a long time to finish this one.
However, I do think this story will appeal to most fans of fairy tales, Fae, and fantasy. -
This story is an imaginative and action-packed Snow White retelling with a twist. We have a 'Princess Charming' and a 'Jack Frost/Snow White' instead of the reverse. I won't bore you with a retelling of the synopsis that you can get above. I will tell you that the story itself is very good and creative. I never really did connect with either of the two main characters, but liked the fiercely loyal and honest Grendel very well. If you like fast-paced and imaginative urban fantasy with strong themes of loyalty and bravery and don't mind a bit of gore and a pinch of horror thrown in, give this book a look.
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The premise was very interesting! I loved the lore and the world building was solid. However, I was confused about a lot of things until about 40% in. I thought the concept of Cherie's power was fascinating. Jack's POV ended up being very repetitive, especially during the first half. He was basically just stuck in his snow storm and running from mirror to mirror. I think that was a bit too much.
Also: why does Cherie randomly start calling Grendel Grandmother?? That completely took me out. I did not get it (I still don't!), did I miss some sort of explanation? -
Really great book.The plot was epic I loved how there was a combination of many diffrent folklore and still had the magic element to it.The characters were simple and easy to understand. There was some focus on character development but more in the plot. There names and how they were used was epic. But i really dislike the age gap between Jack and Cherie, he's litterally 2 centurise older and met her when she was 5 so he watched her grow up.
