Girls Made of Glass and Snow Review

Plant not included in the box.

I finished my first book of the year, and I hope it didn't set too high a standard for the rest of my 2018 reads. I obtained this book through the Whimsify book box that I tried out in September, and I had just been putting if off since then. Last week, however, I decided to pick it up and could not put it down once I'd started. Girls Made of Glass and Snow by Melissa Bashardoust wasn't perfect, but it was a surprisingly fun and addictive read that I rated 4 stars on Goodreads.

The cover is so Instagram.

The story is a retelling of the Snow White fairytale, but with a feminist twist. Instead of the usual trope of the evil step mother and innocent princess, Bashardoust applies the nuances of human existence to these well known characters. We see Mina, the "evil queen" character, grow from a teenage girl into a great queen. While Linet, the "Snow White" character, only knows Mina as a fully grown adult woman, the readers meet Mina as a girl of sixteen. The parallel storytelling implemented by Bashardoust is very effective, using the element of growing up to connect the two characters. I feel that I cannot discuss much of the plot without spoiling anything, but I will discuss plot points that I thought worked well and those I thought were lacking.

I thought the mother/daughter relationship between Mina and Linet really drove this book. The obvious adoration Linet holds for Mina as a mother figure is really profound. I don't often find great mother/daughter relationships shown in fantasy books (especially with step-mothers), so it was a refreshing twist to have a loving maternal figure for the protagonist. The relationship also shows how Mina relies on her step-daughter, showing that their relationship is not just one sided. No matter what Mina thinks of her ability to love and be loved, this relationship proves that the love between a mother and a daughter is one of the strongest bonds in the world.

It's such an aesthetically pleasing book.

The story and world-building in Girls Made of Glass and Snow is very beautiful. The cold, wintery world of Whitespring is described gorgeously. I pictured it looking a bit like Winterfell and a bit like Narnia, which is exactly what I would want a wintery castle to resemble. I do not remember ever being bored by descriptions, which I think points to Bashardoust's skill as a writer. I also think the element of magic in the book was very well done. There was just enough for it to be fantastical and whimsical, but not so much that the story becomes overshadowed by impossible acts. It actually reads a little more like magical realism than fantasy, in my opinion, which is interesting given that it takes place in a fictional world.

Continuing with the relationship angle, I was disappointed with the romantic storylines in this book. I love a good romance in my books, don't get me wrong, but I don't want the romances to seem forced. I knew who was going to be Linet's love interest as soon as they were introduced, but I won't say who it is for fear of spoiling you. However, I was honestly disappointed by how the romance panned out. There seemed to me little chemistry between the two characters, and I realized that I did not care at all their relationship. It added nothing to the story, and was frankly boring. The other romance I was disappointed with was between Mina and King Nicholas. We know from the start that their marriage is not one of love and devotion, and Linet often references their arguments and iciness towards each other. We see from Mina's point of view that the two did not always view each other with such disdain, that only occurred after they married. It was very sad reading about Mina got the King to fall in love with her, knowing that the pair would not work out in the end. Bashardoust wrote the romance well, but I did not see the need for the pair to become so frosty. Personally, I had a hard time seeing why Linet continued to devote herself to her father after seeing how poorly he treated his wife.

Flying through the last pages.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The book is a slow burn, with limited action occurring toward the end of the story, but I never found the story to be boring. I adored the whimsical and dark nature of the magic in the book, though I wish there had been some more explanation of where the magic came from. Apart from the slightly disappointing romance lines, this book was a joy to read and I am very glad that it was my first read of the year!