On the better end of the YA spectrum and I appreciated the cultural touches. Some of the plot was predictable, but I overall enjoyed the setting even if it felt a little contrived.

I'm too old for this YA shit, I think. In the Acknowledgements, the author says this is the first book she wrote and IT IS EXTREMELY OBVIOUS. it reads like bad fanfiction. I'm afraid this is the drek I'd churn out if I turned my hand to novel writing. It's both too juvenile in theme and execution to warrant merit and ALSO only for the too culturally tuned in. Like, I don't think this make sense if you're not intimately familiar with all the clever fairytale references and Alice In Wonderland and Doctor Who shit. I'm trying to remember if any of the YA lit I read as a teen was so pandering, and I cannot, but I dunno if that's because I've always had impeccable taste (as I suspect) or my brain just edited the shit out. Even as someone with a hyperfixation on "the Snow Queen," I'd hope I would have recognized how bad this is at 16. I spite read.

So excellent! Loved every page, cannot wait for the sequels.

A magical fantasy that somehow combines all the fairy tales into one world. A tad confusing, but enjoyable overall.