Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC. It hasn’t affected the content of my review.
The dark fairytale vibes of this were just what I needed yesterday when I flew through this audiobook. Especially since the audiobook I had been listening to previously is the epitome of a three-star read. Such a genuine pleasure to read a T. Kingfisher book after that, rich in atmosphere, fun dialogue, and characters that are easy to like and follow. Plus, her fairytale retellings (of which this is one) are always so creative.
Hemlock & Silver takes on the story of Snow White (and Rose Red, her lesser known sister). Our main character is Anja, a healer who has an obsessive knowledge of poisons and does research to find cures for them. This is set in a desert (picture medieval England crossed with Tucson, AZ) and there are thus lots of opportunities for Anja to study venom, not to mention the humans poisoning people left and right (and poisoning themselves; I appreciated the compassion Anja showed to those suffering from addiction).
So of course when the King thinks his last remaining daughter Snow is being poisoned, he finds someone who can help him, and that person is Anja. She reluctantly agrees.
Watching Anja at work was very satisfying. She has a curious mind, and quickly goes to work on the mystery of what is happening to twelve year old Snow. What she finds is definitely not what she expected, though. I think the reason though that this isn’t getting five stars is that her relationships with the two main side characters (bodyguard Javier and talking cat Grayling) weren’t as deep as I know Kingfisher can go. I think they just needed a bit more time together that the shorter page length (and story time frame) didn’t allow.
But that is a minor complaint, as I very much enjoyed this book, and will be buying myself a copy.
The audiobook was great, and if you like audiobooks, you will have a nice time.
CBR BINGO: Red (a lovely misleading red apple)
