I love T Kingfisher and this book did not disappoint. The worldbuilding has something extremely special to it, with details you didnt ask for but are well needed for the story to make sense.
The main character is big and tall woman, that loves her poisons and the problems they pose while not liking the humans attached to the problems so much. I really liked that our FMC was not small and fragile.
Not 5 stars because I would have liked a bit more romance (very little, no open door). I hope there is a sequel because I have questions...
Recommend to anybody that liked her books in general and for those looking for a little mystery in a fantasy world with magic.

Thank you to netgalley and Pan Macmillain for providing me with an ARC for this book

A creative twist on the Snow White fairytale with Kingfishers signature whimsically weird writing style. This was a great take on this fairytale with grumpy poison doctors, grumpier bodyguards and a talking god cat. Along with the token rooster! Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I will continue to read anything and everything by T Kingfisher. A delightful, dark but still somehow cosy fantasy, complete with cats, romance and brightly colour blankets.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Hemlock & Silver. I'm rating it 4*.

The thing about reading a T Kingfisher book is that, while every book is recognisably written by her, the type of book you get can vary a lot. Are you going to get something humorous, something horrifying, or both? With Hemlock & Silver, I'd say that you get both but with the emphasis firmly on being humorous.

You can expect: some Terry Pratchett vibes, an interesting world with intriguing mythology, a loveable middle-aged protagonist with a deep interest in poisons, and a sweet romantic side plot. The book verges into horror but mostly at the end, when you'll get both body horror and psychological/coercive control.

I went into Hemlock & Silver wondering if it would be similar to Kingfisher's A Sorceress Comes to Call, since they're both fairy tale retellings focused on dangerous mothers and vulnerable children. However, the tone in Hemlock & Silver reminded me a lot more of A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking.

The plot was fun, although I did occasionally get bored waiting for the protagonists to realise what seemed to me to be obvious. (Then again, it's a fairytale retelling, so to a certain degree it was always going to be predictable.) I also personally would have liked to know if Snow really was okay at the end and how the experience shaped her, but that's a minor niggle.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed our healer Anja, who likes to go on tangents about things she finds interesting and doesn't entirely understand people but absolutely wants to solve problems. And, who even though she doesn't see herself that way, very much cares about people as well as their problems.

Oh, and did I mention the magical talking cat? He was an absolutely delightful character.

Having read multiple stories from T Kingfisher, I know I can trust her to write at least entertaining, if not very fun stories, where comfort manages to steal the show despite some gruesome and dark happenings. With 'Hemlock & Silver' she does just that, spinning Snow White's tale in a different way, with a great deal of little horrors and humour.

Anja, our narrator and protagonist, is the kind of woman I do enjoy a lot in fiction. Competent in her field, in her thirties, a bit weird, not so good as social skill but doing her best, strong but not in a brutish or warrior kind of way. Don't get me wrong, I like tha warrior type too. But I don't want all my female characters to be physically strong and super trained, with a mind for battle I also want them to be silly, not so fit, and a bit of a mess (I do like my fictional men like that too; we need variety, that's all). As usual, the background romance elements were very nice, in a cute and fun way. Does it change between all the books T Kingfisher wrote? No. But it works and I like reading it, so it's not a weakness for me.

The first chapters are a bit slow, but they set the scene nicely. Once Anja travels to meet with Snow, things go a bit quicker, with discoveries, setbacks and false trails. Anja is really keen on understanding what is happening and is sometimes hindered by her own ideas of how things ought to be (hi scientific method, kinda), which is as frustrating as it is entertaining, creating another kind tension.

I enjoyed the book a lot, it is well written, well thought, with great characters and enough ideas spilled into the world to have things to discover while keeping that familiar fairytale feel. As usual, T Kingfisher delivers.

I was thrilled to receive this ARC. T. Kingfisher is a new-to-me author and I have finally realised why her work is so highly praised. Hemlock & Silver is a fantastic story. A twisted retelling of Snow White with wonderful characters, plenty of humour, a touch of romance and a complexing mystery. Anja is asked by the king to determine what/who is poisoning his daughter, Snow. This sets Anja on a journey to firstly find out if it is poison and, if so, how to treat it. The answer is not what she expects! Anja's first interaction with the king is hilarious and she's such a brilliant, quirky character. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Thanks to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan, and T. Kingfisher for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

I loved A Sorceress Comes To Call, predominantly because of the strong-willed and intelligent protagonist, Hester, who is much older than FMCs normally seen in fantasy books. So I was very happy to see another T. Kingfisher FMC with experience, wisdom and years of life under her belt! The FMC in Hemlock & Silver is Anja, and she is completely unique and fascinating, both as a child first discovering an interest in poisons and antidotes and then as a 35 year old woman, now an expert researcher in her field. I just loved her as a character - she was odd, interesting, funny, blunt, logical and intelligent. Her general stream of consciousness entertained me throughout. Please keep these older and wiser FMCs coming please!

I particularly liked the romantic subplot for Anja. It was sweet and adorable, and only added to the overall plot rather than it being a distraction or feeling like a bolt-on.

This spin on Snow White is fresh and interesting and I was fully engaged from the first page. The world felt so well thought out, like the author had worked out all the physics and rules of the world in minute detail to avoid plot holes.

A very inventive take on the Snow White tale with a strong and quirky FMC.

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley, but this is my voluntary and honest review.

Another great book from this author. If you like fairytales and fantasy you will love this Snow White inspired story. Well written as always with a sense of humour and wonderful characters this is not to be missed

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

This was such an original take on a classic story. It had a fully realized world and characters that were complex and interesting. The use of the mirror was so interesting as both a literal magical object and a metaphor for the intrigue going on around the main character. The pacing was also excellent! I loved this book and will definitely be reading more from this author!

I went into this book completely blind, and I must admit it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize this is a Snow White retelling.
To be fair though, it's only loosely inspired, as it has Snow, apples, mirrors, a King and Queen...
T. Kingfisher brings so much original worldbuilding into this, along with really enjoyable and in parts surprising characters.

Anja is the FMC, a socially awkward and somewhat sarcastic Healer specialized in poisons... I mean, antidotes.
The King brings her to his castle to find out if his daughter Snow is being poisoned.

What unravels there is really unexpected, somewhat dark but also very humorous in the kind of tone only T. Kingfisher can provide.
Among a couple of side characters there is also a talking cat that is really enjoyable.

The author's books are a bit hit or miss for me, but this one I really really loved. It has great pacing, delves deep into poisons and alchemy, and ultimately has a very satisfying ending.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @panmacmillan for the eARC!

#HemlockAndSilver #Netgalley #Bookstagram #SnowWhite

This is the first time that I have read a book by this author and I intend to read more because the author is already among my favourites based on this book.
It is cleverly written, humorous and I got into the story and characters straight away.
An expert on poison and antidotes receives an unexpected visit from the King. The story concerns his request, but I will not say any more for fear of spoiling the novel.
Highly recommended.

I loved the first two T. Kingfisher novels I tried, Bryony and Roses and Nettle & Bone, but I've been on a losing streak ever since. I found Thornhedge twee and this new fairytale remix, Hemlock & Silver, was a slog for me for different reasons. On paper, it sounds great. Anja is an expert on poisons who is asked by the king to try and figure out the mysterious illness that's afflicting his daughter. But when she happens to walk through a mirror and enter the 'mirror-world', she embarks on an even darker exploration of this place where normal rules do not apply. Kingfisher brings her talent for horror to bear in her evocation of the mirror-world, and there are some genuinely shivery moments. But we seem to spend a very long time with Anja scientifically analysing how the mirror-world works (with help from her bodyguard and a talking cat) until the plot wraps up with some quick action sequences. Hemlock & Silver is more than a hundred pages longer than Nettle & Bone, and I didn't think it bore its extra length well. And while the mirror-world is beautifully written - I loved how Kingfisher described the wrongness of light that doesn't reflect from surfaces - the outside world felt under-described. We're mostly stuck in Anja's head. I'm not sure that I'm clicking with Kingfisher's work like I want to, even though I admire her imagination and originality, and existing fans may get more out of this.

3⭐️

When Anja is summoned by the King to Witherleaf Villa to heal his daughter Snow, the Healer is wary of the scale of the task ahead of her. But when she arrives, she discovers poison may be the least of her problems. A magic mirror acts as a portal to a dark alternate dimension which, contrary to holding a cure for Snow’s sickness, houses an evil which may just consume them all…

I’ve been wanting to read a T. Kingfisher novel for a really long time, and I can see why they’re so popular! Hemlock and Silver is a clever and humorous dark retelling of Snow White, filled with mystery, tension, and unexpected plot twists. The writing is clever and witty, and I was immediately drawn to the alchemy of poisons, which is always a great basis for a good story! The dry humour had me chuckling and acts as a great counter to the tension in the book. I also loved the aesthetic of Four Saints in the desert landscape. It wasn’t what I was expecting in a Snow White retelling, but it was a fun surprise!

I found the start quite slow however, and by the time the story really got going 30% in I was a bit weary and struggled to connect with it. The narrative wanders a bit, and it was hard to follow the trajectory at times as result.

I wasn’t wholly drawn in by this one, but I’d be keen to read more by the author as I genuinely enjoyed their sharp and witty writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is an unusual and intriguing retelling of Snow White. Instead of a teenage princess as our main character we have a 35 year old poison specialist who is summoned by the king to find out why his daughter Snow is ill. Perhaps someone is poisoning her? With the help of one of the bodyguards, our heroine Anja, tries to solve this mystery.

This book is really slow paced. Anja keeps thinking and talking about various plants and poisons, in detail ..a lot. I admit I was a bit bored at times but the plot kept me curious and it was still hard to put down. It’s really well written and you get swept into the story right away. I also like that Anja is over 30 since a lot of authors seemes to think they are really wild an crazy if they let their characters are 25 or older.

I’m also a fan of how the mirrors are vowen in to the story and used in the plot. How several of the fairytale elements are incorporated in this story in a fun, and at the same time, horrifying way.

T. Kingfisher is turning into one of my favourite authors! I actually read this book in one day and that barely happens anymore.
I loved Anja’s character. She was awkward, sarcastic, obsessed with poisons and had a soft spot for animals. The romance was cute, if not entirely necessary, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Even though this was a fairytale inspired story, the world was very unique and not what I was expecting at all. It also was only very loosely inspired at best.
The central mystery was well done and I really felt like we were unraveling it with our main character. I just wish we’d seen a little bit more of the cat!
As usual I loved the authors signature dark humour and had so much fun with this story I didn’t want to put it down!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!