Mirror, Mirror - Jen Calonita

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"'What if the Evil Queen poisoned the prince?'

Following her beloved mother's death, the kingdom falls into the hands of Snow White's stepmother, commonly referred to as "the Evil Queen" by those she rules. Snow keeps her head down at the castle, hoping to make the best of her situation.

But when new information about her parents resurfaces and a plot to kill her goes haywire, everything changes for Snow. With the help of a group of wary dwarfs, a kind prince she thought she'd never see again, and a mysterious stranger from her past, Snow embarks on a quest to stop the Evil Queen and take back her kingdom. But can she stop an enemy who knows her every move and will stop at nothing to retain her power... including going after the ones Snow loves?"

I have to tell you, I've been on the fence about how to rate this one. On the one hand, I did enjoy reading it. It's well-written, and it's a fun nostalgia read. On the other, if you've seen Snow White you've basically read this book. 

Perhaps if I hadn't read this so soon after Conceal, Don't Feel, my reaction would have been different, since that story wasn't hugely different from the original either. Or maybe if I enjoyed Snow White more, I would have been more into this. I don't know. I'm just looking back at the Twisted Tale series, and comparing these two to those that came before, these don't measure up for me. Take a look at the earlier titles:

• A Whole New World: Jafar summons the Genie first, throwing everything else about the story off.
• Once Upon a Dream: Sleeping Beauty never woke up. Everything about the story is different.
• As Old As Time: Belle's mother cursed the Beast. So much about the story is different.
• Reflection: Li Shang dies, and Mulan has to journey to the Underworld to try to save him. Uh...needless to say, EVERYTHING is different.
• Part of Your World: Ursula won the battle and rules Eric's kingdom. Different, different, different.

The first five books in this series are all substantially different from the story they were retelling. Then you hit Mirror, Mirror and Conceal, Don't Feel, and it's like...hey, what if this tiny thing was different? Well...in this case, I guess that means that the princess saves the prince instead of the other way around, but what else does it change? Not a whole heck of a lot! Like I said, it's well-written, and it isn't a slog to get through, so if you're looking for some Disney feels, give it a read. But if you're looking for a real head-spinning twisted tale, this isn't it.