Stealing Snow (Stealing Snow #1) by Danielle Paige
Published By: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Publication Date: September 20, 2016

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling

I was really excited for this book because it's a retelling of the Snow Queen and I always enjoy a good retelling. Snow was locked up in a mental institute when she was five because she tried to walk through a mirror with her friend. She has spent most of her life in Whittaker drugged up on a cocktail of pills she named after the seven dwarfs. When Snow and her boyfriend, Bale, kiss for the first time, something very strange happens, he breaks her wrist. Not the kind of reaction one would expect from a first kiss. Bale has also been at Whittaker for many years. One night he is pulled through a mirror and abducted, and now Snow is determined to find and save him because she "loves" him.

The beginning of the book was interesting and I was flying through the pages, but once Snow met Jagger and escaped Whittaker I started having a few issues. I began having a difficult time connecting with Snow. Her personality was bland, the decisions she was making didn't make much sense to me, and soon after she met Kai this happened,

"It had taken me years to work up the courage to kiss the boy I loved. The boy I wasn't even sure I liked had closed his lips on mine within a week."

Well, that's okay. I can tolerate a love triangle here and there as long as it works well with the story line. Snow's "love" broke her wrist in two places so I can't say I cared very much for Bale to begin with, but then

 "My heart was racing at the future and maybe also a little at Jagger. It was both exhilarating and frightening at the same time. I was going to be his Robber girl."

 Wait, what happened to Kai? Okay, I can't say Kai was my favorite. He was kind of a jerk at times...

"Some part of me felt insulted. I hadn't thought of Kai with anyone but me."

Aaand we're back to Kai. But let's not forget, she's in "love" with Bale.

Aside from the love square, or whatever it is we are dealing with, there wasn't much world building, and it kind of seemed like Snow learned how to use her magic overnight. One minute she didn't even believe she had magic the next she was making snow tornadoes, champions and beasts. I didn't really understand the magic system, but this is only the first book in the series, maybe Paige will plunge deeper into the dynamics and the workings of her world in the next book.

I enjoyed the end with all of the action, a few surprises and a showdown with the evil King. Paige's writing style isn't bad and I have heard good things about her Dorothy Must Die series, which I haven't read, so I would definitely read more books from her, but I'm undecided if I will continue with this particular series. Snow will need to go through some major character development in the next installment and narrow her love interests down a bit. For goodness' sake, just pick a boy!   

 

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