Release Date: March 27th 2013
Published By: Razorbill
Pages: 304
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list

Rating: 1 out of 5

Synopsis: When Camille was six years old, she was discovered alone in the snow by Enrico Vultusino, godfather of the Seven—the powerful Families that rule magic-ridden New Haven. Papa Vultusino adopted the mute, scarred child, naming her after his dead wife and raising her in luxury on Haven Hill alongside his own son, Nico.

Now Cami is turning sixteen. She’s no longer mute, though she keeps her faded scars hidden under her school uniform, and though she opens up only to her two best friends, Ruby and Ellie, and to Nico, who has become more than a brother to her. But even though Cami is a pampered Vultusino heiress, she knows that she is not really Family. Unlike them, she is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until she meets the mysterious Tor, who reveals scars of his own, that Cami begins to uncover the secrets of her birth…to find out where she comes from and why her past is threatening her now.

New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow thrilled legions of fans with her dark paranormal series Strange Angels. Now she has crafted an evocative update of Snow White, set in a vividly imagined world and populated by unforgettable new characters.

Review:

Unfortunately this was one I didn’t finish (DNF). It wasn’t for a lack of an interesting storyline, because I was into it. But for me, it was a matter of trying to accomplish too many things at once and overwhelming and confusing your reader (ie. Me).

I’m uncertain as to whether this would have made more sense to me if I’d have just pushed on, but I got to page 117 of 304, so at least a third of the way through and still was extremely confused at all the terminology being thrown around without explanation. To me, if I am that far through a book, I at least want some of it to make sense. If I am reading a book and am feeling frustrated because I simply just don’t get it, it’s not worth pushing through in my humble opinion.

I put out a calling to my Goodreads and Twitter followers at page 85 saying “Not sure if I am really feeling this book. There’s SO much going on, and I cannot keep up with Twists, Family, The Waste, Borrowing, Potential…. I am LOST! To those who have finished this, does it get better? Wondering if I should push on and let it fall into place or leave it as DNF.” After I posted this, I thought to myself that I’d try and push through it. 30 pages later and I can’t do it.

I can see the direction the book is headed in, and I think overall this could have been a brilliant story if there wasn’t this much happening - or at least an earlier, clearer explanation of what the above means rather than leaving it to guesswork. I had to understand what some of those things meant from a review someone did of this book - and THEN it started to make sense. That’s not the job of a reader, to have to go out and find out what definitions mean from someone else’s review. That is for the author to explain, and I just didn’t get it.

That being said, the above are simply my thoughts. Others have reviewed this book and given it 5 out of 5 stars and some really great reviews, so just because this one isn’t for me, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give this one a go yourself!