Name: The Snow Queen's Shadow
ISBN: 9780756406745

Jim C. Hines

When Snow White's enchanted mirror is shattered by a spell gone wrong, unleashing a demon that shows people only ugliness and hate, Snow White is the first to fall under the demon's power, which also turns friends and lovers into mortal foes. Original. 23,000 first printing.

The Snow Queen's Shadow

Becky A

** spoiler alert **
           Probably my least favorite of the series. It was still a good read, and it definitely concluded things, but it was pretty joyless compared to the rest of the series.

I'm not thrilled about what happened with Snow and Gerta, but it worked well -- it was an effective way to deal with the romance that seemed otherwise unable to come to a Happily Ever After, and it certainly created a formidable foe. But lacking Snow's fairly lighthearted POV (even when she was the viewpoint character, it was the demon and not her) while everything else was doom and gloom meant it was less fun overall. 

I was also disappointed by how easily they dealt with the bargain with the Duchess at the end. Through the first book, the Duchess was set up as a huge Big Bad, and we'd spent four full books a) believing that was true specifically; and b) seeing that fairies are not to be trusted, fairy bargains are impossible to see all sides of, making a fairy is a very bad thing, etc. So it felt way, way too easy that they found such a huge loophole and then dispatched the Duchess pretty easily after so much build.

All that said, the book was still fine! It was a good read and a decent conclusion. I just had quibbles.

When a spell gone wrong shatters Snow White's enchanted mirror, a demon escapes into the world. The demon's magic distorts the vision of all it touches, showing them only ugliness and hate. It is a power that turns even friends and lovers into mortal foes, one that will threaten humans and fairies alike.