De La Cruz’ sophmore fairytale retelling may have similarities to her first with a dying father, whirlwind romance and possibly wicked stepmother but she manages to deliver a new twist to this classic tale.

It’s just unfortunate that with its shorter page length, the story feels rushed and less magical than its predecessor.

De La Cruz grounds this novel with the historical legends that Snow White was based on, making Sophie a Bavarian duchess threatened by a Spanish king who doesn’t want her as a future in-law. There is a bit of an artistic lisence with Anglo-Spanish relations but creates a more immersive world since I could pinpoint the time period Sophie was living in.

She’s a classic duchess, secluded and sheltered since her mother’s death but she has hopes that her world will open more as she is introduced to the court and her father remarries.

De La Cruz switches up the evil stepmother narrative in order to deliver a still-relevant narrative about the prejudice and suspicion targeted toward foreign women as even Sophie starts to believe that her stepmother, Claudia may have more sinister intentions. This allows for some suspense even though it is quickly smoothed over as Sophie and Claudia bond.

Their new friendship allows for discussion about the double standards imposed on noble women and the vulnerabilities they are subjected to regarding their reputations and their financial status when (un)married. This is given a lot of weight as Sophie’s rumored reputation as a wanton after Prince Phillip seemingly rejects her, leaves her vulnerable to sleazy suitors that see her as nothing more than a broodmare.

Luckily, Phillip returns. While I found their romance to be less substantial since it took place in three days but their quick engagement ramps up the excitment even as its blindingly obvious that Phillip’s father is a bigger threat than he’d like to believe.

Sophie, herself, does get the most character development as each interaction with the real world prompts her to do more to prepare herself. When she realizes that the duchy has been neglected its people in favor of the elite (including the use of child labor in the mines!), she starts to learn more about governance and financial allotment. When she’s threatened by the Archduke’s son, she starts to learn how to carve with and throw daggers. It’s organic and feels empowering in not a girl-power way but a realistic, you have to prepare and take care of yourself since a woman’s place in the world can be a lonely one. You have to depend on yourself.

However, all these good lessons feel superficial. There’s not enough depth as Sophie’s time arming and teaching herself become glossed over to be told-rather than show-as De La Cruz is hampered by following the Snow White storyline and these plot points like Sophie fleeing her palace, to eat the apple etc. Therefore, when the ending comes and there’s a lot of internal monologue of how she feel like she has grown feels less potent because it was off the page.

Though the scene where she bonds with the children she’s staying with is absolutely adorable!

The same could be said for Prince Phillip who is Sophie’s love interest and takes over some of the POV in the back-half when Sophie is “poisoned.” He had been on the battlefields of Milan for over a year and there are vague hints that he feels haunted and suffering from PTSD, but again, all off the page. If there was going to be focus on Phillip, I wanted more depth to him just as she did for Sophie. There is a nice arc about Phillip learning to stand up to become his own man and acknowledging the depth of cruelty of his father but I wasn’t invested in it as I didn’t feel like I know him.

I also wanted more of the Spanish customs as De La Cruz had done with making Bavaria feel immersive. Cinder & Glass was practically a historical novel with all the detail of the French court, customs etc. I was hoping the same here.

Also there was a surprising P-13 scene. Or I should I say implied R-rated since it was a marriage consummation scene but I was just not expecting it and felt out of place.

It’s a good book if you’re looking for a light read, but it doesn’t provide any new perspectives or changes to the original tale that separates itself from other retellings.

3 stars.