Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

 

My thoughts

I think this will be another favorite author for me. I loved her book  A Sorceress Comes To Call. It was outstanding. This one was also good. Not quite as good as Sorceress though. I didn't get the Snow White vibe everyone says it's based on. I did enjoy it though and it has a princess named Snow and lots of mirrors. This was just a way darker read than any Snow White book I've ever read. Still good.

When the King asks Healer Anja to come save his daughter she really has no choice. I mean who can say no to the King. Reluctantly she agrees and goes. She is assigned two body guards since the King believes someone is truly poisoning his daughter. 

When they arrive at their destination and Healer Anja gets busy things start to happen. Just not exactly what she expected. The Kings daughter, Snow, is a typical twelve year old. But it's obvious she is very sick. She barely eats and when she does she tends to get violently ill. Anja is flummoxed as to what is happening to the princess. She's tested for everything she can think of. But when she sees Snow eating an apple after telling her and everyone around her to not allow anything that has not been throughly inspected things start to unravel. Also when Anja eats some of the apple and falls through the mirror in her room she's in for a series of events that are most unusual. 

The King had killed his wife because he caught her cutting the heart out of their youngest daughter and he didn't want to lose Snow. She was all he had left. On the other side of the mirrors things are grey/silver. Everything appears to be ok until it isn't. When Anja realizes that Snow has been going through the mirrors trying to find her younger sister she knows she has to help. One of her guards Javier, who caught her coming back through the mirror, helps her. They encounter a host of strange things. And the reason for Snow being so sick.

There is also a very pretentious  cat named Grayling. He can go in and out of the mirrors at will. And he talks. He is quite the hateful creature also. Just your typical cat really. He has only one eye. He does help Anja quite a bit and they sort of become friends. As much as you can be true friends with a cat. I do love cats so don't get upset. They are a bit snobbish and hateful at times. 

This book is different from most I read. It was enjoyable and I'm glad I read it. I loved the ending and that there was a bit of a love story involved. I did think that the King should have stayed to make sure his daughter was going to be ok though. That was one thing I didn't like. He was her father. She his only living child....

A lot of likable characters and a couple that I didn't like. That always to be expected in a good book. A thorough description of the trip to the Princess and what took effect once reached. You get to know the characters well. Most of them. It has some dark parts and will keep you turning the pages to find out what or who is causing Snow's illness. 

Thank you #TorPublishingGroup, #Goodreads, #MacmillanAudio, for this ARC. I won a physical copy from Goodreads. I thank them so much. 

About

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind.

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.

Not to die, but to save— seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.

But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.

Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat, and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.

Or it might be the thing that kills them all.