The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire, #1)

by C.J. Redwine

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

And so breaks my streak of excellent reads for 2020.

I had a lot of fundamental problems with The Shadow Queen – from tired tropes to convenient magic to an awkward retelling in general… I just couldn’t get into this one at all.

As The Shadow Queen is a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, some of the tropes are expected and thus need to be excused. For example – a fugitive princess? You really can’t have a Snow White retelling (one that includes a Snow White character, anyway) without a fugitive young royal. You also have an evil step-parent, and while I personally would love to see less of these in YA fantasy, the Evil Queen is also a Snow White staple. So those two characters are excused in that way. The tropes are exhausting, but expected, so there you are.

Things that really drove me crazy? C.J. Redwine based her entire world around magic and dragons and used them only as was convenient. The rules of magic are basically just “if you need it, it’s there, and you’ll maybe sleep for half the day as a result”. But okay, I’m talking “sleep half the day” for controlling an entire river. We have Lorelai, who is a fugitive on the run, but she has as much magical knowledge as Irina who has been trained in the craft her entire life. I know nobody wants the Evil Queen to win, but it drives me absolutely crazy when the underdog heroine has just as many “magically acquired” skills as anyone else. Give me some struggle. Make me root for her. In a single sentiment… make her worthy. Nothing about Lorelai was worthy of my love as the reader. A little sympathy in regards to how badly her original coup went, but otherwise? She did not impress.

Outside of our hero and villain, I felt like we had another cast of cookie cutter characters that failed to win my heart. At the beginning, there was hope for Leo and Gabriel, but that went out the window as soon as it became clear that they, like the world building, were just a means to an end. Every character should serve his purpose in the story, but to be just an instrument to move the plot forward does not necessarily create purpose. I could write a whole blog post on this topic. Even Kol – who is easily the most significant character after Irina and Lorelai – does not make sense in his role. His whole character was a hot mess for me, honestly, and I found it frustrating that he came into the story and played the role he played considering the role he should be playing.

Basically, this is all just an epic rant about my distaste for books that don’t make sense. Even within the constructed limits of fantasy – which is broad – there are still some rules and framework, and when storytelling elements are used haphazardly to get your protagonist from Point A to Point B, those fragile worlds fall apart and the book becomes indulgence rather than storytelling. And I guess that’s a bit cruel, but that’s honestly how I felt about this book. There were so many tools at its disposal at the beginning, and all were tossed to the wind for a more convenient trail ride. I can see many ways in which the author could have took Lorelai on her journey without pulling princes from neighboring kingdoms and the such.

Listen.

The Shadow Queen can be entertaining enough if you like Snow White, and don’t mind a little simplistic fantasy. It has a beautiful cover (I’m also disappointed that the apples didn’t play a bigger role) and could work if you’re in the mood for a love story that doesn’t make sense, but does include healing kisses and cheesy one-liners. The Shadow Queen has its audience… but it’s not me.