Fairest of All by Serena Valentino

Fairest of All by Serena Valentino
256 pages, Disney Press
Purchased

"For anyone who's seen Walt Disney's Snow White, you'll know that the Wicked Queen is one evil woman! After all, it's not everyone who wants to cut out their teenage step-daughter's heart and have it delivered back in a locked keepsake box. (And even if this sort of thing is a common urge, we don't know many people who have acted upon it.) Now, for the first time, we'll examine the life of the Wicked Queen and find out just what it is that makes her so nasty. Here's a hint: the creepy-looking man in the magic mirror is not just some random spooky visage - and he just might have something to do with the Queen's wicked ways!"

This book was a complete impulse buy while wandering in the aisles of Barnes and Noble. Unsurprisingly, this happens almost every time I walk into this bookstore. I was instantly hooked by the cover of this book. It is the exact picture of the evil queen from Disney's Snow White movie! And, being a complete Disney freak, I simply had to buy the book. What is even more cool is that when you take off the cover jacket, underneath is a picture of the hag that the queen turns into. Clearly I had a complete and utter cover crush that led me to buy this book.

The story within the awesome cover was a very satisfying read. If you have seen Disney's Snow White, this book will be infinitely more enjoyable as this book blends seamlessly with the movie. It was a trip down memory lane from when I was little and I would watch Disney princess movies on replay.

The setting is your classic fairy tale setting, complete with a princess, queen, king, castle, creepy forest, and castle festivities. Anyone who is a fan of medieval settings such as this will enjoy this book very much, even if they aren't that interested in the story of Snow White or the Evil Queen.

I absolutely loved hearing about the story of the Evil Queen. Needless to say, she was not evil her entire life. For the first part of the book, she was a very likable character. Her backstory is infinitely more fascinating as she doesn't come from royalty. I loved hearing about her life as she grew up. It just made her character so much more realistic as you can really see where her evilness came from.

The story behind the man in the mirror absolutely blew me away. It TOTALLY made sense! I couldn't believe that I never even gave any thought as to who the man behind the mirror actually was. The backstory that Valentino provided fit perfectly into the story of Snow White and is the puzzle piece that makes the tale of Snow White cohesive and understandable. It really explains almost everything.

While I really liked this story, it is not absolutely amazing. I would definitely recommend a person to read it, but it isn't something that will blow you away. Fairest of All is a very fun and quick read that is great to read on a rainy day to transport you to a magical land.

Rating: 4 stars - I really liked it. Worth buying.