No Prince Needed This week has been all about discovering new-to-me authors, and The Wildest Things by Andrea Hannah was my first read from her. I’m giving it a solid 3.5 stars—and honestly, I wish I’d picked it up sooner. I fell for this book the moment I saw the cover, and luckily, the story inside had plenty of charm too. If you enjoy fairytale retellings (especially the darker, moodier kind), this reimagined Snow White might be right up your alley. There’s no prince, no seven dwarves—just a powerful, flawed girl who saves herself, and I loved that. One of my favorite parts was how magic was so deeply tied to nature. The world is built around territories that represent the seasons—Roanfrost being the wintry one—and it made for a setting that felt alive and immersive. Snow’s connection with nature gave the story a grounded, almost primal feel. Watching her interact with the land, the animals, and the spirit of the world around her added a lot of depth—and made the damage caused by the villains feel especially cruel. Snow as a character felt fully human. The decree naming her the next Seasonkeeper talks about being “fair,” but she no longer sees herself that way—physically scarred, emotionally conflicted, and prone to mistakes. And yet, she’s still chosen. That contradiction made her feel real and relatable. She didn’t need saving—she did the saving. Now, about the romance... It’s complicated. There’s a sort-of love triangle between Snow and a set of twins—a brother and sister—who are technically her step-siblings. It’s a little murky (they’re strangers, raised apart, etc.), but it still made me raise an eyebrow, especially with the age gap (Snow is technically 20 years older, though you could argue magic timelines blur things). It didn’t ruin the story for me, but it was the one thing that felt a bit off. Still, the world-building won me over. The Blight, the politics of the land, the way nature was portrayed as both beautiful and brutal—it all kept me intrigued. And with how the book ended? There has to be more coming. No way we’re done here. I’d love to see this turn into a duology or a full trilogy. Honestly, it would make a fantastic show. Overall, The Wildest Things was a dark, lush fairytale with a complex lead and a beautifully imagined world. It surprised me in the best way, and I’ll definitely be picking up more from Andrea Hannah in the future.

~~Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!~~

Yeah, this is just a huge no from me.

This book is such a slog; I was legit bored to tears. This slowness primary stems from the long-winded, multi-chapter worldbuilding dump. You can't just tell the reader everything about your world like that. I wasn't even invested in the main character yet, so why should I care anything about this world? And all of this was before Snow got told what happened to the world after she died. The mossfolk (AKA the original seven from the story) telling her was fine, but Snow revealing everything that came before that out of dialogue killed any interest I initially had in the story.

The characters weren't any better. Snow had some interesting things going in her character, as her arc is basically deconstructing what "fairness" is and growing from that dainty, innocent persona she had for her whole life. This arc should have captured me in theory, but this girl's nonsensical attraction to the evil queen, who is her stepmother's daughter by a father that wasn't Snow's. Their interactions are mostly contained in the last third of the book, and the only thing they seem to have is that they both think the other is hot. But Snow should know better because the queen is, as stated many times throughout the narrative, a replica of the stepmother who abused her! It's just so weird that this is the romance of the book. Not as bad as it could be, but even if there was solid, well-written chemistry, there would still be some lingering weirdness.

The rest - I couldn't care less. The woodsman stand-in was a prop to keep Snow alive until she could wield magic, the mossfolk weren't as explored as they could have been, and the rest of the story, when the info-lore dumping slowed down, just felt like a waste of time.

I think it's safe to say my journey with Hannah's solo books ends here, but I will be reading her co-authored fantasy with Rebecca Mix. Hopefully, that will turn out better than what I got here.

The Wildest Things is a re-telling of Snow White. I liked some of it, but other parts were kind of strange. It had a lot of the elements of the classic Snow White with a little twist. I did see some reviews where others say they felt like Snow White had some things forced upon her with out her consent and I did see where they were coming from in the end even Snow White is confused about her feelings. So if anyone is expecting it to be a full lesbain love fest, that's not really the vibe. There are situations where Snow is debating if she is attracted to each of the twins.