Kicking off Pride month with a sapphic Snow Queen retelling? Yes please and thank you!

Kay is a park ranger at the Glacier National Park, and after years of working there she has uncovered all but one of its secrets: the Eira Ghost, a mysterious spirit who haunts the park. She has no idea that the romantic feelings she has for Gwyn, a guarded stranger who wonders the park alone, might have anything to do with the ghost.

Find this and other reviews on my blog!

This was a really fun modern fairytale, with the perfect balance of the original tale and the new story. I really liked the way Adrian J. Smith wove the two together – I won’t spoil how but it was a nice twist on the usual, with the fairytale included as part of the plot. There were also some nice nods to both the original fairytale and various iterations of it dotted throughout, little Snow Queen Easter eggs!

While the romance was perhaps a little bit insta-love, it was still one you could root for and get behind. The romantic moments were incredibly satisfying. Kay and Gwyn’s relationship is the core of the story and has enormous heart to it. It’s also nice to see a sapphic retelling where the queerness is not a hindrance to the story. While I have read some great retellings that incorporate a homophobic society into the story, it was nice to read one with no homophobia at all, and only a brief coming out scene to acknowledge that they live in a heteronormative society.

It would have been nice to have the supporting characters fleshed out a little more, especially Kay’s friendship with her room-mate Gladys. Given that this is at its heart a fairytale, though, it didn’t detract from the overall story which was very much about our two main characters. I did also like the nods to Wales, although I will admit with my beginner Welsh I didn’t realise the title was Welsh until it was mentioned in the book!

If you’re looking for a queer fairytale, I would highly recommend checking this one out. It has plenty of heart with a sprinkling of ice magic on the top.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a free copy for review. All views expressed are my own honest opinions.