Title: A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of the Snow Queen
Series: Beyond the Four Kingdoms
Year: 2018
Author: Melanie Cellier
Summary: An unexpected gift from her godmother will give Celine enough fire to take on an entire kingdom of snow and ice. But first she needs to melt one frozen prince.
Rumors have long swirled about the strange kingdom of Eldon. The only thing more frozen than its mountains are the inhabitants themselves. But Princess Celine has never backed away from a challenge, so she eagerly accepts an invitation to visit.
Yet the situation in Eldon is even worse than Celine feared. And if the kingdom is to have any hope of freedom or a future, she’s going to have to call on new skills and new allies—including the crown prince, Oliver. But against an enemy stronger and colder than ice, all her fire may not be enough.
In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, The Snow Queen, one princess is ready to burn down everything in her path to save those she loves and their kingdom with them.
Review: This review was originally written for publication on Fairy Tale Central. Click here to read the full review.
Not only was this the first Snow Queen retelling I've ever read, it was also my very first Melanie Cellier book. I've seen her books quite a bit around the world of fairytale literature, but I didn't have a chance to jump into her work until now. And from this one book, I'll tell you -- I'm impressed, and I want more.
Eldon has always been a slightly mysterious kingdom. Something isn't quite right with the royal family, the kingdom itself seems to be stuck in snow, and no one can give any satisfying answers. So, when an invitation comes, Celine jumps at the chance to visit. She's curious, and this sort of personal investigation is bound to produce the answers she's looking for.
It doesn't take long after she arrives, however, before she's kidnapped. With both of Eldon's royal princesses in tow. While she's furious at the outcome and begins to plot an escape, she's more annoyed with Eldon's princesses, who -- despite being in a precarious and dangerous kidnapping situation -- don't seem to have enough life in them to care about anything, let alone trying to escape.
Celine is not your typical princess. She's headstrong, passionate, used to giving commands, used to being underestimated (and consequently, used to enjoying the advantages that comes with that mindset), and really doesn't like cold. So, being stuck in a kingdom full of ice and snow isn't exactly her cup of tea -- but the mysteries surrounding the royal family, the kingdom's people, and the land itself quickly occupy her every thought. And she won't rest until she gets to the bottom of things.
Advisory: Obviously, romance, as I've mentioned before (here, in the full review), so be prepared for quite a few kisses. However, it's squeaky clean.
Fantasy violence and magic. Celine and her companions encounter quite a few dangerous predicaments, including cave-ins, blizzards, snow leopards, iceflakes, etc. I did think it was all very well-balanced for the tone of the novel. Celine possesses magic of sorts with her firepower, but it is clearly fantasy magic since it is a gift from her godmother. The Snow Queen, too, possesses powers (those of ice and snow), and her talents are also clearly those of a fairytale as her power mainly comes from godmother gifts that she's stolen and altered from their original purposes.
Really, I can't think of anything else to put as a content caution. Overall, this book was very clean and an enjoyable read. I rather think my ten-year-old sister would enjoy it muchly.
Again, click here to read the full review on Fairy Tale Central. And be sure to check out the other epic Snow Queen posts there this month!
