"Don't let them dictate who you are. Decide for yourself."

This queer reimagining of the evil witch from Snow White will have you gasping and glued to every page.

Walter does a beautiful job of creating complex characters that you want to root for, even when they take wrong actions.

Ayleth is a second to one of the original witches who conjured up a spell to protect the world from evil forces. But that spell is waning, and evil is starting to emerge with it.

Ayleth, among her coven, are hiding from the White King, who turned the world against witches. But with the veil between good and evil at its breaking point, Ayleth knows she will need to do something to help. But can a witch with no magic fix the problem? I suppose you will find out...

I adored this book. I loved Walter's duology Malice and I was so excited when I heard of this book. I loved Ayleth and Jacquetta and the relationship that built and fell between them. Their history together is heartbreaking even before they are reunited.

But can we all give a round of applause to the main character of the book, Nettle the cat? I absolutely love a pet sidekick, and Nettle is that and more, surrounding Ayleth with a comforting presence, protection, and appearance when needed most. The bond between Ayleth and Nettle is something special and rare in the case of witches and their familiars.

Due to the book's length, I waited until its release to finish reading by listening to the audiobook, which I enjoyed immensely. The character voices, emotions, and bond between characters were beautiful and heartwrenching to listen to, and I would highly recommend it!

I really loved the premise of THE CRIMSON CROWN and was excited to read it, having enjoyed Walter’s last duology, especially the second book, Misrule. However, I just don’t think this one in particular was for me. I thought the pacing was a little slow and the characters a little flat. I do think the story was intriguing though, and would definitely appeal to other readers. I’m also still interested enough in Walter’s ideas to pick up another book from her in the future.

Indulgent fun, but lacks substance.

I'm a big fan of Walter's MALICE, a queer reimagining of Snow White from the villain's perspective. The sequel MISRULE I was ultimately disappointed with, but I was willing to give THE CRIMSON CROWN a shot. Unfortunately this one failed to live up to expectations – mostly for the same reasons I disliked MISRULE.

The narration follows a rote pattern and hand-holds you through every decision protagonist Ayleth makes. There's a clear order to the way her internal narration is written that makes it feel mechanical, repetitive and predictable. Ayleth digests the information, asks herself questions we as readers could've already parsed ourselves from the text, and then laments on what her inner voice is telling her, sometimes with the wind howling or birds calling or thunder booming in the background. There's no variation, and very quickly it becomes boring.

That unfortunately makes Ayleth quite annoying as a character – further compounded when she doesn't have any standout qualities that make me want to root for her. You know from the first chapter she's going to learn that bringing her dead sister back is a bad idea so her internal journey feels predictable. She also misses extremely obvious things that should clue her into the plot.

Her and Jacquetta have very little chemistry as a result of this too and I failed to see how either of them liked each other in the first place. Like Ayleth, Jacquetta had no real personality and feels deliberately placed there to fill her obligatory role as love interest. She lacked something that made her believable to me. Their enemies-to-lovers second chance had none of the nuance behind it, and their reason for hating each other in the first place is so pathetic you wonder how Ayleth had the energy to hold a grudge for so long. Both of them also evoke a Not Like Other Girls energy, being the only women within the court that aren't social parasites.

This isn't to mention how the plot evolves, especially in the first half of the book. You have to suspend your disbelief really hard for the number of coincidences that get Ayleth to the palace, including not one, but TWO instances of her saving someone from falling debris. It read like Walter didn't know how to get her there and puppeteered this silly set of circumstances to make it happen. The last ten or so pages is when this book really finds its footing, but in the end slogging through the tepid build-up isn't worth it.

If you can switch yourself off to how little depth this book has and just enjoy the decadent, lavish descriptions of court life and political machinations, you might just enjoy this book, but for me I wanted more.

WILL I READ ON? No.

After being a big fan of the Malice duology, I was really excited to pick this up.

For a standalone, I found it a bit slow going, but otherwise, I enjoyed it.

I was incredibly excited to receive a copy of this book to read! I have always been a huge fan of fairytale retellings and villain origin stories, so couldn’t wait to read this!

Ayleth is a compelling main character and I enjoyed her story. Although the ending and her succumbing to ‘evil’ felt a little rushed, I do feel that it set up well for a second book (I would particularly be interested to read about her decent further and why she hates the princess in the original tale, as that is not an aspect of this book). I was able to relate to Aytleth, particularly in her relationships with her family and her ‘coven’ and feel that the author captured her feelings around them very well.

Although the ending came a little quickly, I enjoyed the twist and it felt satisfying. I had my suspicions on what was revealed but this was more due to the foreshadowing than anything else!

I also really liked Jacquetta’s character and appreciated the sapphic aspects of the novel. It added to the story and worked well.

I ADORED Nettle. Of course, I am a crazy cat lady!

Overall, I rate this 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 5 and I really hope there is a second book, to explain some of my unanswered questions from the first

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc


Unfortunately at 16% in I had to dnf because I felt like it was taking to long to actually get anywhere and make progression in the book especially for a stand alone.

The way it was written had a lot of foreshadowing so you could make a guess as to what was to come. Everything that had happened was in the club of the book so I felt as though it was just too slow paced

I love any retelling or alternative spin on a classic fairy tale and this is just that. Thank you for my advanced kindle copy.

I enjoyed this a lot, but I was hoping to see a slow progression into evil. I wanted to watch as Ayleth slowly became the character of the evil queen. But it felt like the change all happened right at the end. I’m hoping there’s more in the next book to show her fighting the evil inside her and explain why she turns against the Princess.

I also think the next book might be more satisfying in general. This one would have been really good as an original story, but it didn’t quite have the feel of a fairytale retelling. I did think this was because it needed a lot to get her from her origin to being the evil queen from the fairytale though, so I have high hopes for the next book!

As an original story though, I really really enjoyed it. I loved Ayleth’s character a lot. Seeing her try to get her sister back and the romance with Jacquetta was powerful. It was a really strong book.

Really looking forward to see what happens next!

I was so grateful to have received this wonderful book by Heather Walter to read early in exchange for an honest review.

2 days late but I also want to say Happiest of release days!!!

If you love retellings of Fairy Tales and Sapphic romances then this book will be right up your alley! As this is a withcy retelling of Snow White telling the perspective from the rise of the 'Evil' Queen!

I personally am rooting for our main character Ayleth as I really really liked her and feel she is a very misunderstood person and has had so much expectation placed upon her from her mother. OBEY Nettle the cat at all costs or she will come for your laundry.

I would highly recommend this book especially if you want a cozy book to read during the Autumn months.

3.5*

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I'll start by saying that I really did enjoy the story and the ending has me gripped and excited for the second book in the series! We love a villain origin story!

The writing itself was just a little bit off for me. I didn't feel particularly attached to any of the characters (Nettle is not included in this, I loved Nettle). I think I just needed a little more to buy in to the reasoning for some character decisions and why the story was moving the way it did.

I am excited to see where Ayleth goes next and I hope we don't have to wait too long for the sequel.

I like to say that I have a broad taste in books. It's not entirely true. However, there are a few story types I like more than others. Fairytale retellings are for sure among those. I've never read the Malice duology by this author, although the first book is on my shelves, but I actually didn't doubt I'd love them. I therefore enthusiastically requested a review copy from this book from Netgalley and luckily Del Rey granted me a copy.

The start of the book was very promising. I was intrigued by the short introduction of the first part of the story, I liked getting to know the heroine of the story, I loved exploring the setting and all the witchy elements really caught my interest. However, during the story I noticed that I was losing my interest. Instead of looking forward to continuing reading I was dreaming about picking up other books. It was like I was waiting for something to happen that eventually never happened.

I've spent all day trying to pinpoint what happens. Normally I love a lot of prominent elements in this story. Politics, mystery, a touch of romance, betrayal and cunning plans. I think however that the book lacks a clear direction. Our heroine travels to the capital to find the bloodstones, but it feels like she spends very little time on actually looking for them. It feels like our heroine allows herself to be constantly distracted by other things and is never getting any closer to her goal.

And it's a pity. Because I like the plot and the setting. I just think that the book also contains a lot of scenes and elements eventually leading nowhere and not playing much of a role in the bigger whole. There are therefore too many pages between the moments our heroine is getting closer to the bloodstones or learning more about what's going on with the Malem surrounding her. Which is a pity. Because I really really really wanted to love this book to pieces.

i support lesbian rights and lesbian wrongs.

this is the first book in a duology retelling the story of the evil queen in snow white. this one focuses on her backstory and how she changed from Ayleth to the queen.

Ayleth is the daughter of a coven leader. she was her second born daughter, but with her older sister dead she is now the heir. however, she doesn’t have any magic. she is also disliked by other witches as they believe she may have helped cause her sisters death, which she also blamed herself for.

to try to prove herself, she goes on a trip to the white palace to bring back objects that will help the witches, but while their she meets her first love who she believes abandoned her.

this book was incredible. i loved Ayleth as a character, and the setting and magic was amazing. i highly recommend it and can’t wait for book 2!

I was not expecting to love this book as much.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Who’s the wickedest of them all? 🍎
I’m such a sucker for a new spin on a classic fairytale. And Heather Walter is one of the best in the game in my personal opinion

2.5 ⭐️

I went into this really looking forward to the premise, but sadly, it missed the mark for me.

Let's start with what I did enjoy. Ayleth, she makes a great main character. You feel her need for love and her choices in an attempt to bring back her sister feel justified.

I also really liked blodwyn, Roland and the queen. As side characters, they bring out different sides of ayleth that we need to flesh her out fully. The romance was fine. Honestly, I didn't love the other side of it, but the slow burn was done nicely.

I think it's somewhat of a disservice to mention it's the evil queens origin story in the synopsis when that's only made obvious at the end of the book. It would have made an excellent plot twist.

Instead, I found myself confused by what any of this had to do with her. Ayleth has completely different motivations. She doesn't care about being the fairest, etc. Even now, I can't see her trying to steal a young princesses heart. I guess, though, you can write that off as this is a different version of the evil queen.

Unfortunately, I found the book rather slow, and for a book about witches, hardly any magic actually happens (this is somewhat explained). I felt like we needed a more in-depth explanation of malum and how magic works in this world.

From what I can, it looks like there may be a sequel, and I guess there would be plot for 6 it's also not entirely needed. I can't see myself picking it up. I do own the authors malice duology, which I will try, but I'm now not sure it will be for me.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

After being a huge fan of Malice and Misrule, I was eager to see what else Heather had to offer us!

The book follows Ayleth as she is set to join the ways of her hidden coven. However, when she sees a mirage of her dead sister during the ceremony, she decides to try and fix the veil herself. She manages to disguise the fact she is a witch to gain access to the White Castle, but things aren’t always as they seem and a dark path is set for Ayleth.

I loved Ayleth’s character. Her relationship with her mother was (unfortunately) very relatable and I loved to hate Jacquetta 😂

I would definitely say this is darker than your typical fairytale retelling and only has a loose basis, so don’t go into it thinking you’re getting the full evil queen. But there’s enough tie ins and almost Easter eggs there to make you feel like you’re in that setting.


Only question I have is… there’s going to be a second one right?! 😅

Ayleth is a girl who has had some tragedy in her life, loss of family and love, and thrust into a position she doesn't want (or feel she deserves)

Pressured by her mother, she should be stepping up as her mothers Heir, but Ayleth feels in her heart there is a more important task to be done. Against her mothers (and the Covens) expectations, she travels to the Kingdom but must hide her true nature to get close to finding the objects she needs

What she doesn't realise is these objects aren't the only thing she will find on her journey, old wounds will be reopened and her loyalties will be questioned when she crosses paths with an old acquaintance. But does time heal all wounds.....? and can Ayleth succeed in recovering all she has lost to help her find her place....? One thing is for sure, Ayleth will have to learn that life just really isn't Fair sometimes...

This was a steady paced but gripping tale which builds up to an epic ending. Much like the tension and stakes of Malice, we join another misunderstood girl on the path to her destiny and you are right there with her, feeling what she feels as she goes through it all.

Bravo to Heather for another great read... and I absolutely cannot wait until book two!

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the review copy.... all opinions my own... out a week tomorrow so still time to get those preorders in!!

I loved The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter! I don't often read fantasy, but this was a very believable, witchy tale, with fantastical elements. I loved the fact that it was a twisty retelling of the Snow White story, told from the wicked queen's perspective.
The story worked really well, and I especially loved the main character, Ayleth, and her enemy/lover Jacquetta. That relationship was very real, and Walter wrote of the heartache of first love, and unrequited love, and betrayal brilliantly. Great stuff!

Heather Walter + sapphic writing + an 'evil' character = must read and immediate request on Netgalley!
I'm not finished with the book yet but I am loving it. I was worried I would be quite reserved in my opinion because I love the 'Malice' duology soooo much, but I can't help but know that I already love this book! I know it will already be a 5 star read!

This story of the origins of the evil queen from Snow White's fairytale was nothing like I expected but at the same time it wad deeply enjoyable and fascinating.

Ayleth is a young witch who's supposed to be the second to the heir and one day lead her coven. But she feels lost in the role assigned to her and feels like she doesn't measure. So when her Ascension ritual goes awry, she leaves her coven hoping to fix everything by recovering Blood stones that hold ancient magic.

I thought it was amazig how deftly the author waved some of the classic aspects we know from the story of snow white into a story that felt completely novel and unique. The world building was really well presented and it didn't feel like it just borrowed everything from the original fairytale. Quite the opposite, it felt like its own world with the bits from the original fairytale serving more as fun Easter eggs. I thought Ayleth was a fascinating character and I loved reading about her growing into her own person. The story had a cast of such enjoyable and interesting characters I'm really looking forward to the second book in this duology to discover where this story goes and what happens to all these characters that made it so easy to care about them.

My one complaint is surprisingly the romance. I thought Jacquetta was probably the least fleshed out character and while I understand why that was the case I think giving us some flashbacks into her and Ayleth's relationship in the past would have helped in creating the chemistry between them that I felt was lacking. I ended up wanting Ayleth and the Queen to be together more because I felt like we could actually see that relationship grow.

All in all I had fun with this book and I'm very much looking forward to reading the sequel.

I was sent a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.....for a full review please see my Amazon and Goodreads accounts