The more I think about this book, the more I dislike it…which is really bumming me out because I did enjoy reading it for awhile! Toward the end it started to really fall apart for me though.

I thought the storyline was interesting. It was a pretty fun retelling. The description and writing style was nice, very easy to read. The characters were okay, but just okay in my opinion. I also really liked the mention of different fairy tales throughout the story.

There are just so many things that are irritating me about this book…A few of these include:

**SPOILERS**

The first, is that I just couldn’t get behind the characters from the very beginning. It all seemed so rushed that I didn’t feel any sort of attachment to any of the characters at all. And I really disliked the main character, Snow. She made so many assumptions about things. She also held back telling people some “secrets” that didn’t seem like that big of a deal, but quickly revealed others that I thought she would have kept to herself. Snow was also just so headstrong or so selfish when it made absolutely no sense to me, so I was very confused.
Example:
Then fished something out of her pants pocket and tossed a glowing blue vial at me.
“What is it?"
“You’re going to be a better fighter. Fast.”
“I have my snow,” I said defensively.
When I read this, I said aloud, “Are you KIDDING me?!” Snow had very minimal training before now. Just a few pages ago she was worried about going on this heist because she didn’t feel like she could accomplish anything. But now she thinks she can fight with just her snow? What?!

Second, I know Snow spent a lot of time wishing she could experience “real” romance while at Whittaker (specifically with Bale), but my god. The three love interests were just too much for me, especially considering the one month that this all occurred during. I mean, can't she just be friends with them? Why does the female YA main character always have to fall for every guy she meets?! I didn’t even really care for how much she said she loved Bale, because I didn’t feel like we really saw WHY she cared for him in the first place. Sure he held her hand when she had an anger burst... But he also broke her wrist.

Third, how Snow felt about her powers drove me absolutely crazy. One second she was whining about how she didn’t know how to use it or even contain it, the next she was all full of herself saying she didn’t need help and that she could take on the world with her snow. She hardly ever seemed afraid, even though she had no idea what she was getting herself into.
For example, when she attacked the Enforcer- she had very little training so far, but still thought she had it under control? Silly.

Fourth, there was a lot of repetition. Especially when it came to Snow thinking about Bale, or Snow thinking about her past life. A few mentions here and there would have been sufficient.

Fifth, instances like these:
"Miss me?” he said, kneeling down and pulling me to safety.
I threw my arms around his neck. I have never been so happy to see him in my life.
Oh come on. “I have never been so happy to see him in my life.” Oh you mean the ONE MONTH that you knew he existed?

…that made me want to just him. And more.
But you’re oh so in love with Bale, aren’t you?


And sixth, the lack of knowledge but sudden expertise annoyed me. Sure, Snow was being trained by various people over the course of the month…but she still didn’t feel ready toward the end. But of course when she needed her powers the most, suddenly she’s got it all figured out…

Would I recommend this book? Probably not.
Would I read the next book in the series? Again, probably not.

Favorite passages:
I didn’t know where I belonged, but it wasn’t there.

So basically I was supposed to fulfill some kind of major destiny in a month. And I had no idea this place even existed until now.

"Mirrors reflect what we want to see, or sometimes they reveal what you really are or what you really want. You have to be very careful with a mirror.”

Maybe if we didn’t believe in the story and instead just believed in one another, things would be so very different.

He ruled the Snow Beasts with arms raised, conducting his symphony of pain.

My whole life turned on a sentence.