Title: PoisonSeries: Tales From The Kingdoms #1
Author: Sarah Pinborough
Published by: Gollancz (2013)
Pages: 202 pages
Why this book: Simply because I'm a huge 'Once Upon A Time' fan but I never had the chance to read a fairytale retelling. Plus it's only 200 pages long and the cover is gorgeous.
Why you should read the trilogy: If you enjoy fairytale retellings and want to read a dark, bold, sexy one, this trilogy is at your service.
Synopsis:
A beautiful, sexy, contemporary retelling of the classic Snow White fairy tale, illustrated by Les Edwards.
Poison is a beautifully illustrated retelling of the Snow White story which takes all the elements of the classic fairy tale that we love (the handsome prince, the jealous queen, the beautiful girl and, of course, the poisoning) and puts a modern spin on the characters, their motives and their desires. It’s fun, contemporary, sexy, and perfect for fans of Once Upon a Time, Grimm,Snow White and the Huntsman and more.
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My review:
This is probably a shocker but I have to spill it out. I never liked Snow White. To me she has always been the overrated princess with no use. The original fairytale in general was never my cup of tea and therefore I wasn't able to understand the characters or their doings. This book however did not change my perspective on Snow White but it made tolerate her a little bit more.
Out of the three books, this one stuck out the most to the original tale which was the only thing I didn't like about it. But on the other hand, it focused a lot on the mentality of the characters which is something you don't usually see in retellings. In this version, we get to know Snow White; the earthy, dark-haired, violet-eyed, full-figured princess who's so far from being and acting like one. She likes riding horses, wearing breeches, drinking and spending most of her time in the woods with her dwarfish friends. We also get to know The Evil Queen Lilith who is ethereal, blonde and icy. The reason behind her hatred for her step-daughter has nothing to do with beauty but simply because Snow is loved by everyone unlike her. Lilith is considered as a grown up woman despite being only four years older than Snow. She has been through so much and has a lot of mixed feelings which doesn't really make her evil, and I'm positive you will find yourself feeling sorry for her.
We also come around other characters such as The Huntsman who has a very important role in the trilogy and Prince Charming who's going to turn out not-so-charming after all.
Let's talk about how uncharming he is. If sexism could be represented by a single person, it would be this prince. He is a superficial, ignorant, narrow-minded boy with only one quest: to find a beautiful wife and be master over her. While Prince "Charming" represents sexism, the Huntsman represent feminism. He considers the opposite sex as his equal not his inferior which makes me value him a lot.
Poison is the perfect fairytale retelling for the modern adult audience. Yes. Adult. This book should rather be named "Fifty Shades of Snow White" but at least there's a plot and the language actually achieves some impact (Sorry 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' fans). Even I, a person who never reads erotica, enjoyed the saucy sex scenes in this book. I have to admit that Sarah Pinborough's writing style is so on point that there's figuratively no part you can cut off or consider as time-wasting. Not even a phrase.
For those who are planning on reading Poison, you have to know that the trilogy is connected and that there are a lot of things that we have no clue how they happened but everything is going to be explained in Beauty (It is the third book in the trilogy but actually the prequel of Poison, so if you want to avoid confusion, feel free to read Beauty first, then Poison, followed by Charm).
You have to put in mind that this is a dark, bold, erotic, sarcastic book that puts the microscope up, not to good versus evil, but to issues that our society is filled with such as sexism, racism and merciless judgment. You probably expect a happy ending but you won't get one, you will get a rather disturbing, maddening one that will make you question many things in life. (Yes. In life).
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Perks:
If you have never read a fairytale retelling before, this book will completely change your point of view -in a realistic way- on The Evil Queen, Snow White, The Huntsman and Price Charming. It also showcases many of the characteristic attitudes our community is suffering from.
Cons:
Because I read this book without knowing that it has a prequel, (Technically Poison is the first in the trilogy but Beauty is its prequel), I couldn't understand many of the events that happened. It's not really a con but something you might experience if you only read Poison. Also it stuck out the most to the original tale which is an actual con.
Quotes:
"It was a man's world and she had learned to play the game. What else could a woman with beauty and brains do?"
"Men would do a lot for beauty. Beauty had a magic all of its own"
"If there was one thing she'd learned in her lifetime it was that nothing was ever achieved without a little pain."
"Men were base. They were manageable"
"What was this need to be seen as benevolent? If you were going to be cruel, then admit it. Embrace it. Anything else was just self-delusion and weakness."
Rating: 4/5
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