Gena Showalter

In the Forest of Good and Evil, heroes may be villains and villains may be heroes. It just depends on who you ask. Far, far away, in the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm and fairy tales are real. Raised in the human world, Everly Morrow has no idea she's a fairy-tale princess--until she begins to commune with mirrors. Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White's greatest enemy, the Evil Queen. With powers beyond her imagination or control, Everly returns to the land of her birth. There, she meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed. As Everly faces disasters and betrayals, giving in to her dark side proves more tempting. Can she resist, or will she become the villain she was born to be?

The Evil Queen

Once Upon a Time meets Game of Thrones in New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s magical, romantic dark fantasy series, in which the fairy tales we know and love are prophecies of the future. Welcome to the Forest of Good and Evil, where villains may be heroes and heroes may be villains...it all depends on who you ask. In the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm, and fairy tales are real. Raised in the human world, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a fairy-tale princess—until she begins to commune with mirrors. Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen. With powers beyond her imagination or control, Everly returns to the land of her birth. There, she meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed. As Everly faces disasters and betrayals, giving in to her dark side proves more tempting. Can she resist, or will she become the villain she was born to be? Critics love The Evil Queen: “Showalter (the Everlife books) delivers an entertaining series opener that condemns prejudice while championing self-determination. Romance-sweet and steamy, gay and straight-features prominently, action and humor abound, and the mystery of how each character figures into the legend imparts intrigue.”—Publishers Weekly “The novel's conceit has a lot of potential with its deconstruction of a cherished fairy tale, an interesting take on good and evil as actions rather than fate, and a long cast of characters in ever evolving roles that will leave readers wondering who they are supposed to be.”—Kirkus Reviews The Forest of Good and Evil Series: The Evil Queen The Glass Queen

Dilayra Verbrugh

OH MY GODDDDD 
This book was amazing! 😍 
It’s the best twisted fairytale ever. The characters, the twists, the story, everything was well written. 
The main character and love interest bicker a lot and the flirting is 10/10! 
Please read this book 🥰

Elaina Wells

This book was an alright read for me. It took me about 200 pages or so to get interested in the story, but I am glad I pushed through the slow beginning. 

The Evil Queen follows Everly Morrow, who is apparently destined to become the Evil Queen from the fable, "Snow White and the Evil Queen." Without even getting to know her, people automatically dislike and distrust Everly. It isn't until she realizes she has powers and travels to the realm of Enchantia does she realize the root of her problems--she is a sorceress, and people have always hated her kind. 

At times I was frustrated with Everly. She claimed to have wanted to fight fate and stray away from her prophesized ending, but then she does things to contradict her desire to be good. Also, there are parts of the story that seem monotonous. (Namely, it takes 300 of the 500 pages for any real conflict to happen between Everly and characters such as Roth and Truly). If Gena Showalter wanted to drag on the group discovering Everly's origins, then I would have preferred more action sequences instead of just a lot of time spent in the forest. 

Also, I was very confused about Roth and Everly's budding romance. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge enemy to lovers fan, but many of their encounters seemed off to me. 

Even though there were some things I did not enjoy about the book, I still liked reading it--hence the four stars! I have always loved fairy tale retellings, so I thought the concept of this book was intriguing. Humanizing the villain and villainizing the heroes so no one was completely sure which character represented who from the prophecy. 

I will still recommend this book to lovers of Snow White and fairytale retellings in general. This wasn't the best book I have read, but it is definitely not the worst!!

Sheila Goicea

I received a copy of this book via the publisher, Inkyard Press, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.



All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication. 

Content Warning: Abduction, Adult Sexual Content, Death, Murder, Gore, Physical Abuse, Forced Marriage, Death of a parent & other relatives

  Who will survive, and who will fall?
Who will shatter like a porcelain doll?

If you hadn’t gleaned that I like to read fairy-tale retellings from my “Read” shelf on Goodreads, then I’ll tell you that I like to read fairy-tale retellings. What intrigued me most about The Evil Queen before picking it up was that it was situated from the perspective of a character less traversed in the Snow White story. The Evil Queen herself, has always been an enigma in a way, for me. Truly, she couldn’t only be driven by her conquests for beauty, could she? I was curious to read a different perspective on the Evil Queen to possibly understand more of her character. I was surprised that Everly, the character depicting the Evil Queen in this retelling, was driven by more than just looks. In fact, she doesn’t give much, if any, thought to looks as the motivation for her actions. Everly is surprisingly confident in her appearance. Her kryptonite is her desire to be accepted by others, and loved for who she is.

  Hartly is summer, warm and inviting. Others can bask in her light, then walk away with a smile. Everly is winter, cold and driven. She’s fun, but she’s treacherous, too. Rouse her fury, and you will suffer.

Everly has always been the sister that others have steered clear from. Surprisingly, the admiration and attention that Hartly, Everly’s sister, receives doesn’t make Everly jealous. If anything, her love for her sister and mother is very strong. When she finds out the truth about her family, however, Everly sets out to search for her blood family--and their acceptance. Believing that her birth mother will love her by default, Everly anticipates their reunion. Along the way, she uncovers a truth about herself that makes her desire to be loved all the more complicated. Understanding that many won’t accept her because of what she is, she begins to address the divide between good and evil within her. 

  Evil never came dressed as a devil; evil came disguised as a dream, as tempting as the shiny red apples they’d once consumed.

Everly exploring the “evil” within her is where one of my biggest issues with this book arises. From what she shows throughout the first half of this book, Everly doesn’t have an evil nature. Sure, she’s cold, but not without compassion, loyalty, or feelings. She harbors her feelings, and is cautious in general. These traits do not make someone inherently evil. When a person is truly evil, they only care about themselves and are downright wicked. 

When Everly begins to entertain “evil” thoughts, they are presented in a way that is unnatural and forced. This aspect in The Evil Queen is very comparable to how I felt about the antagonizing force The Cruel Prince relies on to concoct some form of issue for the plot. Likewise, a “problem” doesn’t naturally arise in The Evil Queen. In this case, Everly’s true “evilness” is that problem. I’m definitely not rooting for an evil character. But, I think if a character is supposed to be what they say they are, then they should reflect that. Everyone has good and bad in them, and the power to choose what they will be. The fact that Everly thinks about the repercussions of her choices, doesn't make her a villain. Everly represents more of an antihero than a true villain. Actual character development, towards good or evil, really did not exist. 

Some readers may find no issue with this type of story-building and characterization. In all honesty, a lot of YA writing is morphing into this style of uninspired and uninspiring writing. I personally found myself trudging through this story, hoping to find something that would actually justify Everly’s intentions of becoming “evil,” and to discover what on earth this book has to offer the reader. Everly contradicts herself a lot, as she entertains the idea of being the Evil Queen, yet continually has compassion and regard for others. It’s an odd story that tries to make the Evil Queen into a victim/antihero, rather than following the character arc within the original fairy-tale. 

I had a love-hate relationship with the writing of this book. Let me rephrase that; I mostly hated the writing. I had a few moments of appreciation for a well-written allegorical phrase. Seeing how this is a fantasy, I was expecting the characters, world-building, and plot development to mimic elements familiar to a fantasy story. This book read exactly like a contemporary book, and focused mostly on the relationship between Everly and Roth. It wasted nearly three-hundred pages with the characters running around in the forest, to only minimally add the overall plot. 

This is my first time reading a book by this author. Quite frankly, she writes in genres that I don’t readily pick up due to my general dislike of the way the majority of contemporary books are written. The voice mimics an incredibly shackled version of the English language, and left me feeling entirely underwhelmed and numb. This is not to knock the author, by any means. However, I find it difficult to believe this story (which, in my opinion, is necessary in fantasy writing) due to the contemporary voice. The vernacular makes the characters come across as very childish, and threw me directly back into my years of grade school. For example:

  Maybe he crushed on Snow White before she died. I mean, the fairy tale didn’t specify when he first beheld the girl, only that he saw her lying inside a glass coffin and he had to get him a little some-some of that.

Not to mention, THE. OVERUSE. OF. THIS. TYPE. OF. START. STOP. WRITING. DROVE. ME. BONKERS. Yes, it’s everywhere. 

The writing style and character depiction were the main pitfalls for The Evil Queen. Overall, I was very unimpressed with The Evil Queen. The fact that a nearly six-hundred page book has literally no meaning whatsoever, unfortunately made it a purposeless read for me. 

Vulgarity: Moderate.
Sexual content: There are a few intimate scenes that I wouldn’t deem appropriate for many young readers.
Violence: Moderate. The most upsetting included a scene where trolls were eating a human alive. 

My Rating: ★1/2

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Once Upon a Time meets Game of Thrones in book two of New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter's magical, romantic dark fantasy series, in which the fairy tales we know and love are prophecies of the future. Welcome to the Forest of Good and Evil, where villains may be heroes and heroes may be villains...it all depends on who you ask. Ashleigh Ansklelisa may be called the Glass Princess due to her weak heart, but Saxon, king of the Avian, knows she is more dangerous than broken glass, in this Cinderella retelling that sweeps readers into the magical land of Enchantia, filled with treacherous enemies, unexpected allies, forbidden love, and dangerous magic! Can destined lovers find their way to each other, or will evil win the day? Everything changes at the stroke of midnight as one determined princess fights for her legacy, her love, and the crown that is her destiny. Praise for Gena Showalter: "Utterly unique and absolutely riveting--I couldn't put it down! What a marvelously cool world." --#1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas on Firstlife "Firstlife is a nonstop thrill ride that will stop your heart...and shock it back to life. This book is #1 on my keeper shelf!" --#1 New York Times bestselling author P.C. Cast "Firstlife illuminates the depths of human resilience and the power of love, even in the darkest hours." --#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole

The Glass Queen

Alice

when will we stop with the toxic love interest please i'm sick of it. 

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I bought this book! Support your authors.

Book: The Evil Queen

Author: Gena Showalter

Book Series: The Forest of Good and Evil Book 1

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: fantasy, retelling, ya

Publication Date: June 25, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy Retelling

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, romance)

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 544

Synopsis: Far, far away, in the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm and fairy tales are real. Except, fairy tales aren’t based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future.

Raised in the mortal realm, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a real-life fairy-tale princess—until she manifests an ability to commune with mirrors.

Look. See… What will one peek hurt?

Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen.

With powers beyond her imagination or control, Everly returns to the land of her birth. There, she meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed. As the prophecy unfolds, Everly faces one betrayal after another, and giving in to her dark side proves more tempting every day. Can she resist, or will she become the queen—and villain—she was born to be?

The battle between good and evil is on. 

Review: For the most part this was a good book. The story and plot really drove the book and I liked both the most. The book was also fairly well paced.

However, the beginning was so confusing and slow that it made reading and getting into the book very hard. The characters and world building were also not well developed and nothing really set these characters apart from each other.

Verdict: It was a good book!

Once Upon a Time meets Game of Thrones in book two of New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s magical, romantic dark fantasy series, in which the fairy tales we know and love are prophecies of the future. Welcome to the Forest of Good and Evil, where villains may be heroes and heroes may be villains…it all depends on who you ask. Ashleigh Ansklelisa may be called the Glass Princess due to her weak heart, but Saxon, king of the Avian, knows she is more dangerous than broken glass, in this Cinderella retelling that sweeps readers into the magical land of Enchantia, filled with treacherous enemies, unexpected allies, forbidden love, and dangerous magic! Can destined lovers find their way to each other, or will evil win the day? Everything changes at the stroke of midnight as one determined princess fights for her legacy, her love, and the crown that is her destiny. Praise for Gena Showalter: “Utterly unique and absolutely riveting—I couldn’t put it down! What a marvelously cool world.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas on Firstlife “Firstlife is a nonstop thrill ride that will stop your heart…and shock it back to life. This book is #1 on my keeper shelf!” —#1 New York Times bestselling author P.C. Cast “Firstlife illuminates the depths of human resilience and the power of love, even in the darkest hours.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher for Rockstar Book Tours. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Glass Queen

Author: Gena Showalter

Book Series: The Forest of Good and Evil Book 2

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For…: retelling, fantasy, ya

Publication Date: September 29, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy Retelling

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, romance)

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 324

Synopsis: Ashleigh Anskelisa may be called the Glass Princess due to her weak heart, but Saxon, king of the Avian, knows she is more dangerous than broken glass, in this Cinderella retelling that sweeps readers into the magical land of Enchantia, filled with treacherous enemies, unexpected allies, forbidden love, and dangerous magic! Can destined lovers find their way to each other, or will evil win the day? Everything changes at the stroke of midnight as one determined princess fights for her legacy, her love, and the crown that is her destiny.

Review: This was an ok book. Again, the plot and story were the driving points of the book and I enjoyed both of them. The world building was also a bit better and the pacing was still pretty good.

However, the book is full of SJM references (mates… Ugh) and the romance is really bad. The author used to write romance novels so I don't know why the romance in these books are so bad but they are. Maybe it's due to the lack of character development. The use of the word mate is also very troubling for me. In my opinion, the books would have been better as an adult series where the author could have went full SJM. I also have issue with this being called a series when it feels like just a group of books set in the same world.

Verdict: It was a good book, but a bit cringy.

Mekhala Rogers

So this was my first Gena Showalter book and I’m not sure if it just her style or what she was going for in this book but my biggest complaint was the cringy dialogue. I mean the story is told from one characters POV and she is a 17 year old from the modern world so mix that with enchanted forests and trolls and dashing princes , it got weird reading her thoughts on the world. The plot and the pacing were on point. They picked up the slack of the dialogue and delivered a really good story line that was easy to follow but hard to see how everything was planning out. Which is great!!! This book fits the bill of unique story retelling because it is literally a retelling about a retelling. So if you can get through the cringy dialogue and odd writing style you will find a much needed Snow White retelling that fits the bill of fantasy and romance and good vs. evil. 

I will be super annoyed if the next book is a Beauty and the Beast retelling , I mean come on there are SO MANY OTHER classic stories to retell , why does everyone pick the same one???