This one is for the Once Upon a Time girlies.

I have missed YA fairytale retellings so much lately and this delivered. From the wintery atmosphere to the magical chosen one trope (that actually made sense) to the creative ways the fairytale elements were incorporated, Kalynn Bayron has once again proven that she is incapable of delivering an unenjoyable novel.

This book actually excels in its core messages of family (particularly the power of mothers) and desperation born out of love. The moments that focused on family (both related and otherwise) were the strongest parts of the book; and even with the short page count, it was impossible not to feel for the characters.

Eve was... a bit on the trying side, but it's hard to blame her - all things considered. I just wish there had been a bit more character work, particularly with her head-strong/rather unkind nature at times.

While I did enjoy this, I won't pretend that I don't wish there had been a bit more to the story - both in length and content. It's so fast-paced (which serves the fairytale aspect well) that it sometimes left the story feeling a bit... underbaked. I wanted more world-building, more time spent on the relationships (particularly the romance), and more spent on certain plot-points that I found interesting.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to someone that's easily irritated by YA and needs all of their stories to be massive feats of world-building and character work.

But if you loved OUaT, if you're looking for a nostalgic yet creatively-unique YA fairytale retelling with a lot of heart, I completely recommend this.

Kalynn Bayron's books are such lovely, fun times (even amidst the heavy topics) and this was no different.