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ARC provided by Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review.

Buddy Read with Destiny ❤

Girls Made of Snow and Glass is a debut novel that is also a very reminiscent loose fairytale mashup retelling of Snow White and Frozen, but with unique twists. It’s a dual narrative that switches between the points of view between two women. One is Lynet, a fifteen-year-old who will one day rule her father’s kingdom, while residing in the northern lands of Whitespring. The other is Mina, Lynet’s stepmother, who is from the southern lands and wants to be viewed for more than her beauty.

This book does have feministic undertones, and I loved every aspect pertaining to those undertones with my whole heart. There really are some great messages in here. Like, that girls are worth so much more than their beauty. That young girls can be whatever they want to be, they do not have to be the mistakes of their parents. That every single living soul is worthy of love. The feminist themes were, hands down, my favorite parts of this novel, and I think these are really important themes that young girls need to be reading about.

“Being delicate had killed her mother, and yet he was so eager to bestow that quality on her.”

I also loved the wintery scenery and atmosphere. I truly felt like I was at Whitespring multiple times in this story, and I give Melissa Bashardoust all the credit in the world for such a magical transportation.

And I really enjoyed the found family elements in this book, too. This book is like a love letter to found families. I wish more books talked about how it’s so much more important to find people who love you unconditionally and will support you no matter what, rather than people who only happen to share the same blood as you.

My biggest problem with this book is that it reads like a middle grade novel. You guys know that I very rarely will pick up a middle grade book, and if I do I have to be in the right mindset for it. The writing in this just took me by surprise, and not in a good way. It was just too slow, too simple, and honestly just too boring. And major catastrophic events got somewhat skimmed over in a very middle grade like fashion.

My next problem with this book was simply that this book just wasn’t as gay as I wanted it to be. I wanted the romance between Lynet and Nadia to be the biggest part of this book, but it wasn’t even a major plot point in this book. And that alone wouldn’t even bother me that much, but Mina’s hetero relationship was for sure at the forefront of this story, and that just feels really bad.

I still recommend this for anyone who enjoys a good fairytale retelling, but just go into it knowing that it’s on the slower side. I also loved the important feminist messages, and I would love to put this in the hands of every preteen girl I know. I also think this would be a good book to curl up with this winter with a big cup of tea, because the snowy, wintery, whimsical magic in this is amazing and perfect for the winter season.

The quote above was taken from an ARC and is subject to change upon publication.