Alice's Review: Snow White & Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman

Summary:  Welcome to the Festival of Roses, a world full of magic and romance. Every year during the festival each boy leaves a flower at the door of the girl he believes is the "fairest of them all." Naturally, Snow White gets dozens of flowers, while her younger sister Rose Red is ignored. This year, though, things are different. For the first time, Rose Red has a mysterious admirer, and this year she isn't the only one jealous of her sister's beauty. But even though it’s a time of celebration, when girls begin disappearing, the festival turns deadly. With mysterious strangers arriving every day, an ominous marriage proposal, and magic and danger everywhere, Snow White and Rose Red will need to work together to survive the festival and solve the mystery.

In this fun and whimsical re-imagining of Snow White and her often-forgotten sister Rose Red, Lilly Fang creates a never-before-seen story of magic, mystery, and the bond between two sisters. A must-read! ~amazon.com

Review:  I have never read a fairy tale. That’s not true. A couple years ago, I downloaded Beauty and the Beast. I loved it. That was the only one. I don’t remember reading them growing up. My knowledge of fairy tales comes strictly from Disney movies. I think it’s one of the reasons I am in love with the ABC show Once Upon a Time. It’s awesome to see my beloved Disney characters come to life. Now, you may wonder why I would choose to read Snow White and Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman by Lilly Fang. Well, because I was curious about written fairy tales and well, this ebook was free on Amazon.

Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by this short novel. It was different and interesting. It was also unlike anything I have read before. I loved that Snow White has a sister, Rose Red. I love that both sisters live with their mother. I love that she is teaching her daughters to be strong, self-reliant women.

I loved all the characters involved especially Rose Red and the Huntsman. Rose was a strong willed, adventurous girl whose middle name should have been Moxie, not Red. Always in her sister’s shadow, she was a bit disheartened but did not fault Snow. She loved her sister. The Huntsman was everything a dark romantic hero should be. Mysterious, callous, courageous, caring, protective. There were a few twists in this story, all unexpected by me. My favorite (of course) dealing with matters of the heart. What I really enjoyed the most in this fairy tale was how the sisters helped each other. They relied and supported each other.

I know I will search out other retold fairy tales in the future. Especially if they are as well thought-out and written as Snow White and Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman . I really enjoyed it.

Final Take: 4/5