#netgalley — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #netgalley, aggregated by home.social.
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Book Review: The Witch Queen by Heather Walter
The Witch Queen served with apples, because what Snow White retelling would be complete without apples?
Title: The Witch Queen (Crimson Crown #2)
Author: Heather Walter
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: August 11, 2026
Genre: Fantasy
The Witch Queen is the second in the Crimson Crown duology, a retelling of Snow White from the Evil Queen’s perspective. Where the first book set up who Ayleth is, where she comes from, and how she gains the crown, The Witch Queen follows Ayleth as she tries to get her revenge on the witches that scorned her while dealing with a stepdaughter trying to reclaim her crown. This was long, and sometimes it felt a little too stuffed, but it wove a wonderful story between Ayleth and Blodwyn, harkening back to the fairy tale without feeling out of place or forced.
Three years after the events of the first book, Ayleth has a tenuous rule over the kingdom. The witches have fled to a neighboring kingdom, escaping Ayleth and her shadowy Huntsman, who would take their magic from them, leaving them as little more than shells. Blodwyn has been sent to her Aunt Margaret, her father’s sister, to recover from illness and grief. But now war with the neighboring kingdom has shifted tides, and Ayleth needs Margaret’s forces if she’s to win. So she invites Margaret back home, but is unprepared when Margaret brings Blodwyn with her. She’s even more caught off guard when Blodwyn declares she’s returned to call for Braxos’ Trials. If Blodwyn successfully passes all three tests, she’ll take her rightful crown, and Ayleth will no longer be the prophesied queen she believes she is. When Gavin, son of one of the most powerful and influential courtiers, also declares he’ll take part, Ayleth sees an opening, and takes it. But, as the trials unfold and Ayleth’s doom seems certain, the kingdom is attacked by an unknown force bent on destroying them all.
There’s a lot going on in The Witch Queen. It’s a long, almost winding story, following Ayleth’s path to the end while weaving in elements of Snow White’s story. Because of the length of this book, nothing is ever rushed, and it was actually quite fun to read, but there is a lot stuffed into this. There’s the tension between Ayleth and Blodwyn, the scheming aunt who was never given any attention as a princess, a tentative blooming relationship between Blodwyn and Gavin, the witches who want to destroy Ayleth, the looming battle with the neighboring kingdom, the fractured romance between Ayleth and Jacquetta, and a long-dead princess seemingly come back to wreck havoc in her quest for revenge. Somehow, it all worked. I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the conclusion to the Evil Queen’s story. I thought it did a lovely job of painting the Evil Queen in a sympathetic light, and I loved the way the story ended. But, looking back, it felt like it was doing a little too much, turning this into a story of villain after villain after villain. It felt like the Evil Queen, the villain in the Snow White story, was just a victim and not a villain at all.
The story was framed around the trials, which made it feel easier to digest. There are these three trials Blodwyn and her fellow male contenders must go through, each dealing with a different aspect of ruling. In between is a lot of down time, presumably for the contenders to prepare for the next test, but mostly so the rest of the story can unfold. I often felt a little stuck in the weeds with Ayleth. With so much going on, she has to split her attention. She’s fighting battles on so many fronts. Someone always seems to be out to get her. But the trials kept the story neat and orderly, which I appreciated. They also highlighted the tension between Ayleth and Blodwyn, and their separate romantic pursuits. I liked the clear direction, I liked the stakes they represented, and it made it easier to deal with all the other things going on at the same time.
I adored Ayleth and Blodwyn. Their relationship has some very nice touches in the first book, and I loved seeing how the three years apart didn’t really help them. It was prickly here, but, since both of them get to tell their stories, it’s easy to see there’s still some care between them. Despite how close in age they were, there is a glimmer of a stepmother-stepdaughter relationship where they want to care about and love each other because they both were so ignored, but their assumptions about each other and the secrets between them keep getting in the way. But, when they did work together, they were lovely and I loved it. It was nice to see both of them grow over the course of the story, though I also struggled with Blodwyn being sixteen; there were times when she felt older and times when she felt younger, and it just made it difficult for me to pin her down.
At first, I loved all the villainry. After all, this is supposed to be a retelling from the villain’s perspective. Except Ayleth is less a villain and more someone who just wants to be accepted and loved for who she is, just like Blodwyn and Margaret. These three women were quite powerful, and they showed just how powerful they are in a male-dominated world, which was wonderful to see. But everyone seemed to be a villain. Everyone seemed to be scheming. One villain would pop up, but then it’s eventually explained and everything is fine. And then another villain will pop up, and the cycle would repeat. There were so many villains, so many people scheming. Eventually, it felt a little over the top and I could have done with one or two fewer villains.
The Witch Queen is a fantastic story of villains. It’s just the main villain is more of a hurting heart than a villain while everyone else around her is either evil or scheming or both. It made the story a little bloated and, eventually, a little annoying. But I liked the ups and downs between Ayleth and Blodwyn, I liked how The Witch Queen showed just how powerful women are if they’re bold enough to claim it, and I liked how the Snow White elements were neatly woven in instead of forced.
How many cups of tea will you need?
4 cups
Amazon | Bookshop (The Lily Cafe is a Bookshop affiliate and may earn a small commission if you use this link to make a purchase)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Head over to the Bookshelf to check out my reviews of books from the Big 5 and self-published, indie, and small press books.
This blog is my home base, but you can also find me on:
Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
#BookReview #crimsonCrownDuology #delRey #fantasy #heatherWalter #netgalley #snowWhite #theWitchQueen -
Book Review: The Witch Queen by Heather Walter
The Witch Queen served with apples, because what Snow White retelling would be complete without apples?
Title: The Witch Queen (Crimson Crown #2)
Author: Heather Walter
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: August 11, 2026
Genre: Fantasy
The Witch Queen is the second in the Crimson Crown duology, a retelling of Snow White from the Evil Queen’s perspective. Where the first book set up who Ayleth is, where she comes from, and how she gains the crown, The Witch Queen follows Ayleth as she tries to get her revenge on the witches that scorned her while dealing with a stepdaughter trying to reclaim her crown. This was long, and sometimes it felt a little too stuffed, but it wove a wonderful story between Ayleth and Blodwyn, harkening back to the fairy tale without feeling out of place or forced.
Three years after the events of the first book, Ayleth has a tenuous rule over the kingdom. The witches have fled to a neighboring kingdom, escaping Ayleth and her shadowy Huntsman, who would take their magic from them, leaving them as little more than shells. Blodwyn has been sent to her Aunt Margaret, her father’s sister, to recover from illness and grief. But now war with the neighboring kingdom has shifted tides, and Ayleth needs Margaret’s forces if she’s to win. So she invites Margaret back home, but is unprepared when Margaret brings Blodwyn with her. She’s even more caught off guard when Blodwyn declares she’s returned to call for Braxos’ Trials. If Blodwyn successfully passes all three tests, she’ll take her rightful crown, and Ayleth will no longer be the prophesied queen she believes she is. When Gavin, son of one of the most powerful and influential courtiers, also declares he’ll take part, Ayleth sees an opening, and takes it. But, as the trials unfold and Ayleth’s doom seems certain, the kingdom is attacked by an unknown force bent on destroying them all.
There’s a lot going on in The Witch Queen. It’s a long, almost winding story, following Ayleth’s path to the end while weaving in elements of Snow White’s story. Because of the length of this book, nothing is ever rushed, and it was actually quite fun to read, but there is a lot stuffed into this. There’s the tension between Ayleth and Blodwyn, the scheming aunt who was never given any attention as a princess, a tentative blooming relationship between Blodwyn and Gavin, the witches who want to destroy Ayleth, the looming battle with the neighboring kingdom, the fractured romance between Ayleth and Jacquetta, and a long-dead princess seemingly come back to wreck havoc in her quest for revenge. Somehow, it all worked. I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the conclusion to the Evil Queen’s story. I thought it did a lovely job of painting the Evil Queen in a sympathetic light, and I loved the way the story ended. But, looking back, it felt like it was doing a little too much, turning this into a story of villain after villain after villain. It felt like the Evil Queen, the villain in the Snow White story, was just a victim and not a villain at all.
The story was framed around the trials, which made it feel easier to digest. There are these three trials Blodwyn and her fellow male contenders must go through, each dealing with a different aspect of ruling. In between is a lot of down time, presumably for the contenders to prepare for the next test, but mostly so the rest of the story can unfold. I often felt a little stuck in the weeds with Ayleth. With so much going on, she has to split her attention. She’s fighting battles on so many fronts. Someone always seems to be out to get her. But the trials kept the story neat and orderly, which I appreciated. They also highlighted the tension between Ayleth and Blodwyn, and their separate romantic pursuits. I liked the clear direction, I liked the stakes they represented, and it made it easier to deal with all the other things going on at the same time.
I adored Ayleth and Blodwyn. Their relationship has some very nice touches in the first book, and I loved seeing how the three years apart didn’t really help them. It was prickly here, but, since both of them get to tell their stories, it’s easy to see there’s still some care between them. Despite how close in age they were, there is a glimmer of a stepmother-stepdaughter relationship where they want to care about and love each other because they both were so ignored, but their assumptions about each other and the secrets between them keep getting in the way. But, when they did work together, they were lovely and I loved it. It was nice to see both of them grow over the course of the story, though I also struggled with Blodwyn being sixteen; there were times when she felt older and times when she felt younger, and it just made it difficult for me to pin her down.
At first, I loved all the villainry. After all, this is supposed to be a retelling from the villain’s perspective. Except Ayleth is less a villain and more someone who just wants to be accepted and loved for who she is, just like Blodwyn and Margaret. These three women were quite powerful, and they showed just how powerful they are in a male-dominated world, which was wonderful to see. But everyone seemed to be a villain. Everyone seemed to be scheming. One villain would pop up, but then it’s eventually explained and everything is fine. And then another villain will pop up, and the cycle would repeat. There were so many villains, so many people scheming. Eventually, it felt a little over the top and I could have done with one or two fewer villains.
The Witch Queen is a fantastic story of villains. It’s just the main villain is more of a hurting heart than a villain while everyone else around her is either evil or scheming or both. It made the story a little bloated and, eventually, a little annoying. But I liked the ups and downs between Ayleth and Blodwyn, I liked how The Witch Queen showed just how powerful women are if they’re bold enough to claim it, and I liked how the Snow White elements were neatly woven in instead of forced.
How many cups of tea will you need?
4 cups
Amazon | Bookshop (The Lily Cafe is a Bookshop affiliate and may earn a small commission if you use this link to make a purchase)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Head over to the Bookshelf to check out my reviews of books from the Big 5 and self-published, indie, and small press books.
This blog is my home base, but you can also find me on:
Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
#BookReview #crimsonCrownDuology #delRey #fantasy #heatherWalter #netgalley #snowWhite #theWitchQueen -
I have read this three times already and I am not done. How Lucky Am I by Christian Watson is the most beautiful, comforting book I have picked up in a long time. Out July 28th.
#HowLuckyAmI #NetGalley #Bookstagram #BookReview #MrSkelly #IllustratedBooks #FiveStars #BookBlog #TenSpeedPress
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I have read this three times already and I am not done. How Lucky Am I by Christian Watson is the most beautiful, comforting book I have picked up in a long time. Out July 28th.
#HowLuckyAmI #NetGalley #Bookstagram #BookReview #MrSkelly #IllustratedBooks #FiveStars #BookBlog #TenSpeedPress
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The brothers Grimm fairy tales weren't anything like the Disney versions. They were darker, a lot darker, and a new graphic novel explores the horror side of the fairy tales. My review --> #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #Fantagraphics #Netgalley #GrimmBookOne
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The brothers Grimm fairy tales weren't anything like the Disney versions. They were darker, a lot darker, and a new graphic novel explores the horror side of the fairy tales. My review --> #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #Fantagraphics #Netgalley #GrimmBookOne
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Experience the idyllic magic of the Hundred Acre Wood like never before through this charming graphic novelization of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard’s beloved classic, Winnie-the-Pooh. Such nostalgia! #BookThreads #BookSky #WinniethePoohtheGraphicNovel #TenSpeedPress #Netgalley
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Experience the idyllic magic of the Hundred Acre Wood like never before through this charming graphic novelization of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard’s beloved classic, Winnie-the-Pooh. Such nostalgia! #BookThreads #BookSky #WinniethePoohtheGraphicNovel #TenSpeedPress #Netgalley
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Shadows of the Republic: The Rebirth of Fascism in America and How to Defeat it for Good. That's it. That's the post. The book title is the introduction. Finishing the book is an act of resistance #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #Netgalley #ShadowsoftheRepublic #BroadleafBooks #ARCReview
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Shadows of the Republic: The Rebirth of Fascism in America and How to Defeat it for Good. That's it. That's the post. The book title is the introduction. Finishing the book is an act of resistance #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #Netgalley #ShadowsoftheRepublic #BroadleafBooks #ARCReview
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Author Lynn Painter is back with a pro football rom-com set in Minnesota. A football star and a diehard fan end up fake dating--but one of them thinks it's real. My review--> #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #Netgalley #FirstandForever #BerkleyPublishing @berkleypub
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Author Lynn Painter is back with a pro football rom-com set in Minnesota. A football star and a diehard fan end up fake dating--but one of them thinks it's real. My review--> #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #Netgalley #FirstandForever #BerkleyPublishing @berkleypub
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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the bestselling YA book and Netflix movie, gets the graphic novel treatment. Lara Jean's love life gets complicated in a very real way. My review--> #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #ToAlltheBoysIveLovedBefore #TATBILB #SimonandSchuster #Netgalley #ARC
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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the bestselling YA book and Netflix movie, gets the graphic novel treatment. Lara Jean's love life gets complicated in a very real way. My review--> #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #ToAlltheBoysIveLovedBefore #TATBILB #SimonandSchuster #Netgalley #ARC
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A joyful, vibrant look at the evolution of disco music - told through the stories of ten female pioneers. Queens of Disco was such a blast to read, and the photos were great, too! #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #Netgalley #ARCReview #QueensofDisco #GeminiBooks
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A joyful, vibrant look at the evolution of disco music - told through the stories of ten female pioneers. Queens of Disco was such a blast to read, and the photos were great, too! #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #Netgalley #ARCReview #QueensofDisco #GeminiBooks
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New review is up on the blog — Mister Magic: The Graphic Novel by kiersten White. 4 stars. Nostalgic, creepy, and i couldn't put it down. Link in bio.
#MisterMagic #GraphicNovel #BookReview #NetGalley #Nostalgia
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New review is up on the blog — Mister Magic: The Graphic Novel by kiersten White. 4 stars. Nostalgic, creepy, and i couldn't put it down. Link in bio.
#MisterMagic #GraphicNovel #BookReview #NetGalley #Nostalgia
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Friendship, music, and romance take center stage in this truly, truly, truly outrageous reboot of the 1980s hit cartoon Jem and the Holograms. What a trip! #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #JemandtheHolograms #Netgalley #GraphicNovel #BoomBox
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Friendship, music, and romance take center stage in this truly, truly, truly outrageous reboot of the 1980s hit cartoon Jem and the Holograms. What a trip! #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #JemandtheHolograms #Netgalley #GraphicNovel #BoomBox
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The inside story of Earth, Wind & Fire through uplifting music, the challenges of the music industry, and the iconic mega band’s mission to ascend themselves and listeners to greater heights. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #RhythmandFire #EarthWindandFire #RBMedia #Netgalley #DiversionBooks
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The inside story of Earth, Wind & Fire through uplifting music, the challenges of the music industry, and the iconic mega band’s mission to ascend themselves and listeners to greater heights. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #RhythmandFire #EarthWindandFire #RBMedia #Netgalley #DiversionBooks
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The story of the British royal family's centuries-long investment in slavery and continued profiting -from Elizabeth I to the present. The Crown's Silence was a really interesting book! #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #TheCrownsSilence #Netgalley #ALC #ARCReview
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The story of the British royal family's centuries-long investment in slavery and continued profiting -from Elizabeth I to the present. The Crown's Silence was a really interesting book! #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #TheCrownsSilence #Netgalley #ALC #ARCReview
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Dig deeper into one of the most banned books in America with this annotated edition of Maia Kobabe’s seminal autobiographical work. The annotated Gender Queer was eye-opening to me. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #GenderQueerTheAnnotatedEdition #Netgalley #ARCReview
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Dig deeper into one of the most banned books in America with this annotated edition of Maia Kobabe’s seminal autobiographical work. The annotated Gender Queer was eye-opening to me. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #GenderQueerTheAnnotatedEdition #Netgalley #ARCReview
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New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot's hilarious classic The Princess Diaries is back, this time in graphic novel form, ready to enchant another generation of readers. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #ThePrincessDiaries #HarperAlley #Netgalley #ARCReview
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New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot's hilarious classic The Princess Diaries is back, this time in graphic novel form, ready to enchant another generation of readers. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #ThePrincessDiaries #HarperAlley #Netgalley #ARCReview
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The first in-depth look at the important role women have played in comics history, from the late nineteenth century to today. Women in Comics breaks ground, just like the women artists it highlights. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #WomeninComics #Netgalley #ARCReview #GraphicArts
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The first in-depth look at the important role women have played in comics history, from the late nineteenth century to today. Women in Comics breaks ground, just like the women artists it highlights. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #WomeninComics #Netgalley #ARCReview #GraphicArts
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A sweeping tale of ambition, resistance, and impossible love set in Henry Ford's ill-fated rubber empire in the Amazon, Fordlandia. Jungle of Ashes is just the type of historical fiction I love. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #JungleofAshes #Netgalley #ARCReview #Fordlandia
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A sweeping tale of ambition, resistance, and impossible love set in Henry Ford's ill-fated rubber empire in the Amazon, Fordlandia. Jungle of Ashes is just the type of historical fiction I love. #BookThreads #BookSky #BookReview #JungleofAshes #Netgalley #ARCReview #Fordlandia