Review: The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling

Pages: 544

Published June 25th 2019 by Inkyard Press

Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts

For those who are looking for a lighter read to dip their toes into fantasy, for lovers of retellings, and villain origins. This one is for you.

I binge-read retellings like no other out there. I love a good villain retelling that spins the original tale on the head, too, which was why I was more than willing to pick this ARC up! The concept/plot was so interesting–nurture vs nature, and every decision one makes in life there are consequences which carve out many paths in life, shaping us into who we are.

Everly is the main character and who we know as the Evil Queen. She’s an interesting character and many others, but I didn’t connect with any of them. They all felt fairly juvenile and comical to me. It was SO modern feeling, as in chatspeak/initials that it took away from the fantastical element for me. The issues that continuously came up between the characters felt like a way to fluff up the novel, and their problem solving felt juvenile–by which I mean middle-grade level and NOT young adult.

The plot bounces around continuously throughout the many characters but never progresses until the last thirty pages of the book. If you are a fan of Once Upon a Time, and the constant “Regina is good, no she’s evil, now she’s good, ah dang now she’s evil…” you may very well enjoy this.

As far as romance goes, it was clumsy and uninspiring. It didn’t feel real nor did it feel honest.

I think if you’re a solid fan of Showalter you’ll enjoy it, it’s on par with her writing. This novel was a touch too long than what it should have been–especially since it’s going to be a series.