Title: The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #1)
Author: Gena Showalter
Pub. Date: June 25, 2019
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
WELCOME TO THE FOREST OF GOOD AND EVIL.
A DREAM COME TRUE…AND A LIVING NIGHTMARE.
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.
This is going to be a shorter, spoiler free review.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it felt a little chaotic at times. I really liked the unique take on the Snow White and Evil Queen story, and it was something that I hadn’t read before.
I do kind of wish that this had been a New Adult book, rather than Young Adult – in my opinion, it read more like a NA, but it was as if the characters had been aged down to fit a YA market.
I enjoyed the ambiguity of who portrayed which Snow White character, and that the book explores that no one person is just one thing. That humans are capable of both good and evil.
While this wasn’t my favorite book – not typically a huge fan of Snow White retellings, I’m excited to see what’s coming next in this series. I really do love these kinds of books – the fairytale adaptations and retellings. They’re always fresh takes on a classic, and rarely do they leave me disappointed!
If you were on the fence about this book, I’d definitely recommend checking it out. It’s a pretty quick read despite its length, and it’s pretty easy to get lost the story.
Writing The Universe 
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