I had to wait SO LONG FOR THE WLW KISS UGH

A delightful sequel in a very sweet series. Fairytale-hopping, queer romance, and telling your own story. I don’t know if I want another sequel or not - it’s all left on a lovely ambiguous but hopeful note - but if Harrow was thinking of making this a trilogy, I’d definitely read the third book!

"Are you gonna look at me and tell me that Im wrong? Im wrong? Shes the wicked witch of the east bro"

These books are just so fun. I hope this is turning into a legit series. I want to keep reading Zinnia's fairy tale adventures.

A really, really enjoyable story. I fully enjoyed Zinnia's escapades. I have not read the first book in this series but I didn't feel at a loss in any way because of it. I felt the story stood on it's own very comfortably. The concept of book characters jumping between versions of their own story was fun. The romance was new and fresh and I just overall enjoyed the whole experience. The audio narrator was fantastic as well. Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and especially Alix E. Harrow for the opportunity to read this ARC

Disclaimer: I received this finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: A Mirror Mended

Author: Alix Harrow

Book Series: Fractured Fables Book 2

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Chronic Illness Queer MC, Lesbian characters, polyamorous character (brief), Sapphic pairings

Recommended For...: fantasy, retelling, multiverse, LGBT

Publication Date: June 14, 2022

Genre: Fantasy Retelling

Age Relevance: 16+ (romance, illness, alcohol consumption, sexual content, cursing, gore, violence)

Explanation of Above: There is some romance and very slight sexual content in this book. There are mentions of illness and alcohol consumption is show. There is also some slight cursing, some slight gore, and some violence.

Publisher: Tordotcom

Pages: 128

Synopsis: Zinnia Gray, professional fairy-tale fixer and lapsed Sleeping Beauty, is over rescuing snoring princesses. Once you’ve rescued a dozen damsels and burned fifty spindles, once you’ve gotten drunk with twenty good fairies and made out with one too many members of the royal family, you start to wish some of these girls would just get a grip and try solving their own narrative issues.

Just when Zinnia’s beginning to think she can't handle one more princess, she glances into a mirror and sees another face looking back at her: the shockingly gorgeous face of evil, asking for her help. Because there’s more than one person trapped in a story they didn’t choose. Snow White's Evil Queen has found out how her story ends, and she's desperate for a better ending. She wants Zinnia to help her before it’s too late for everyone. Will Zinnia accept the Queen's poisonous request and save them both from the hot-iron shoes that wait for them, or will she try another path?

Review: I really loved this sequel overall! I thought the story took an interesting turn and it was a fun retelling with multiversal properties! The book also had some cute romance and some interesting twists and turns. The world building was pretty well developed and the pacing was excellent.

The only issue that I had with the book is that I think it would have been better if a bit longer so that the character development was a bit better.

Verdict: It was good!

** spoiler alert ** So, in many ways, I thought that “A Mirror Mended” was better than “A Spindle Splintered.” Most of the reasoning for that being the romance between the villain, Eva, and our main character, Zinnia. I thought they had great chemistry and worked so well together. I liked that their ending had a pit of pain with a dash of hope, and I really hope in the future installments that they are able to reunite and find some way to be together. I will be quite disappointed if Alix E. Harrow pulls a love interest switch! You just can’t beat the chemistry they have. I also really enjoyed how much more action this book had. The first one took a while to establish the magic and the multiverse, but this one just throws you right in. I was glad for that, because these books are so short, you kind of just want to get right to the point. Like the first book, this was so damn funny. Harrow knows how to incorporate pop culture references without being cringe. Honestly, it was even funnier than the first. But, in some ways, I thought that this book was not as good as “Spindle.” This is entirely due to Zinnia. She was so selfish and annoying, and I couldn’t stand how she treated her best friends, Charm and Prim. They do everything for her and love her unconditionally and Zinnia just consistently abandoned them and disregarded their needs and desires. Charm and Prim deserved better. Also, Zinnia just completely disregards the rules of the multiverse, putting her world and other worlds in jeopardy because of her actions. She’s just plain selfish. And immature. I liked Zinnia a lot in the first book, but she was driving me insane in this one. So, for the shitty main character, I just can’t give this book 4 stars as I had given the first one. But I still liked it. It was fast, fun, and absolutely hilarious. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. A Mirror Mended - 3 Stars

1) I love and covet Alix E. Harrow's storytelling ability.

2) The metaphors are potent and feeling

3) The book is tarnished by being too self-aware and ever-so-slightly meta

All in all, felt like a storytale, is a storytale, lacked the depth of a folk tale, would rather read a Grimm book.

This was such an unnecessary sequel. The world building was messy, the main romantic relationship was pointless, the resolution to the conflict in her friendship was unsatisfactory.

I enjoyed the twist on fairy tales. Retellings are interesting to me and this was a unique take. The idea of being able to transport through various versions of the same story. I haven't read the first in the series and overall I don't think it matters when reading A Mirror Mended. However, I think I would have more background information on the main character. I may understand how she is able to transport. I enjoyed the narrator's voice and felt she fit the character well. Thank you NetGalley and MacMillion Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book.