Review: THE EVIL QUEEN by Gena Showalter

Gena Showalter is a rockstar for so many readers. Her series are among some of the most popular in the paranormal romance / urban fantasy / fantasy genres, for both adults and young adults. We were so excited to check out the first book in a brand new series Gena started this summer… THE EVIL QUEEN, from The Forest of Good and Evil.

Author: Gena Showalter
Series: The Forest Of Good And Evil, #1
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Pages: 576
Review Copy: Contest prize

Blurb:
Once Upon a Time meets Game of Thrones in New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s magical, romantic dark fantasy series, in which the fairy tales we know and love are prophecies of the future.

Welcome to the Forest of Good and Evil, where villains may be heroes and heroes may be villains…it all depends on who you ask.

In the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm, and fairy tales are real.

Raised in the human world, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a fairy-tale princess—until she begins to commune with mirrors. Soon, a horrifying truth is revealed. She is fated to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen.

With powers beyond her imagination or control, Everly returns to the land of her birth. There, she meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed. As Everly faces disasters and betrayals, giving in to her dark side proves more tempting. Can she resist, or will she become the villain she was born to be?

Initial Thoughts/Expectations:
I was really excited to get my hands on the first book in Gena Showalter’s The Forest of Good and Evil series. I love fairy tales and Snow White is one of my favorites. Plus Gena Showalter wrote it, and I haven’t read a book of hers I didn’t like. Since I HAVE read a lot of Gena Showalter’s books, my expectations were very high. I expected to be thoroughly captivated from beginning to end. (To the exclusion of anything getting done around my house.)

What I Loved:
Great worldbuilding. I easily could visualize each scene, be it high school, or the fairy tale realm. But what I liked the best was the sister’s love and loyalty to her sister. How she felt the need to keep her safe. I found the different perspectives of who was the Evil Queen, Snow White, her protector a refreshing take on an old tale.

What I Didn’t Love:
I like to say nothing, but unfortunately, there was a major problem. I had a very hard time getting into this book. Normally, I’m hooked on the very first page or two. However, that did not happen. I actually had to restart the book a time or three. Part of the problem was I kept getting pulled away, but it was also the fact that straight off we’re pretty much told that Everly was going to do something unforgivable. It made me very anxious. I actually had to push myself to finish reading the book.

Final Thoughts:
I am so very happy to say, that while the beginning was much slower than I expected (or I prefer), it was worth the effort. At about page 115 the story started to pick up and my interest was piqued. I will recommend this to others and add the next book in the series to my TBR reading list.