Girls Made of Snow and Glass Review

3 stars!!! Well, this book almost led me to a reading slump. From the blurb, I was pretty excited to get into it. But, unfortunately, it had the complete opposite effect on me. Let me elaborate on this. Firstly, I did enjoy the worldbuilding in this novel. The story is set up in a world where one place has been cursed to be forever covered in snow while the other is in perpetual summer. I also loved the magical aspect of the book. The way the characters deal with their abilities was beautifully explained. However, I still felt this could have been explained in a more immersive way. So, as a reader, you can experience the world more deeply. The history of the world was also not explained greatly enough. So, I was unsure as to how exactly the curse happened. Secondly, I loved how the book focused on the relationship between mother and daughter. I loved reading about Mina and Lynet's backstories. How they turned out to the people they became. Their insecurities, secrets, and desires were described succinctly. However, I still feel that the characters were not fleshed out well enough. The book read at a very middle-grade level. I would have liked to see more rawness of emotion and the motives behind certain decisions. Instead, what we get just touches the surface. Fortunately, the latter chapters of the book redeem this aspect as it has more of an emotional connection. In addition, I felt the romance aspect of this novel was very underdeveloped and the lack of minor characters made the novel lack much-needed richness in detail. Thirdly, although the book was structured well. The pacing was way too slow. The book is very character driven. But, I would have preferred to see more action and interactions between a variety of characters. Since the main focus is only on Mina and Lynet. The story turns flat and dull. The story has a couple of revelations but none of them are jaw-dropping. The novel does tie up loose ends but I guess the storyline leaves more to be desired. Overall, I would say an average read for me. If you like slow paced books, then give this one a shot.

#fairytale #retellings #fantasy #lgbtq #youngadult #MelissaBashardoust