What happens when happily ever after period ends for Snow White with the death of her prince Charming? The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith is a clever and tasteful insight into the heart of the grieving queen. The timely death of Prince Charming leaves Snow White feeling alone, terrified, and abandoned. In the midst of her daughter’s wedding preparations, she isolates herself from all the merrymakings and finds herself in the chamber of her long gone stepmother, lady Arglist. Her famous mirror speaks to Snow White and challenges her to look into it. The voice of the mirror claims that it shows only the true reflection of one’s own heart. It does not manipulate or advise. Contrary to her better judgment, Snow White decides to look in the mirror and walks down the memory lane. She relives her past, both happy and dark, to discover her real potential.

The story of a distressed child bashed by the brutal attacks of a jealous stepmother is no mystery to any of us. However, that story always ends with Snow White and Prince Charming getting married and living happily ever after. The curious minds, like myself, are left to wonder what establishes the author to claim that they lived happily ever after. Did they not succumb to the forceful impact of the daily trauma that all of us tend to suffer, nobility included? Thanks to David Meredith, the questioning readers finally get an answer. As Snow commemorates the intense and selfless love between her and Prince Charming, she recalls the troubled times, as well. She is not portrayed as just a damsel in distress, like most of us remember her by, she has been colored in many other shades. A girl who was forced to love alone, wear rags, eat leftovers by her stepmother, must have felt lonely, and this loneliness must have left many unresolved issues. These obvious characteristics are rightfully captured by the author in this book. He has done a remarkable job in presenting her dearest desire to make friends with the ladies of her age and her naiveness in choosing ones.

The plot progresses flawlessly and transitions the grieving queen into a stronger one in a step by step fashion. Her sorrow of losing a loved one is quite relatable and never seemed exaggerated. Her sadness is contagious, and it has the capacity to overwhelm the readers. This book delivers a strong message that the loss of a husband, or any loved one for that matter, is devastating, but one cannot sit and whine; the life must go on. By using narrative style of writing, the author presents many unexplored characteristics of Snow’s personality. The mood of the book is centered to melancholy, but it celebrates other emotions, too, like love, surrender, conspiracy against throne, brutality, and humor. An in depth physical description of the characters is provided, which helped me in imagining them in my head. This is important to be able to connect with the characters. Throughout the read, I did not feel like skim reading, and that is saying something. I find myself unable to suggest any area of improvement to the author, even after scratching my head for hours. I have one suggestion, though, which is not related to the plot; one more round of proofreading would make this book perfect.

I would recommend this book to three type of readers:

1. Readers who love reading fairy tales.
2. Readers who are not satisfied with a happily ever after ending and wish to know more about their favorite fairy tale character’s life.
3. Readers who are going through a loss of a dear one and are unable to find a ray of hope.

P.S. I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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