The Poisoned Prince: A Snow White Retelling by Kristin J. Dawson (Once Upon a Prince book 6)

She’s the illegitimate daughter of the king. He’s the son of the huntsman sent to kill her. What could possibly go wrong?

Max has been best friends with Snow since they were children, but ever since she found out her father was the king, she’s been keeping secrets from him. With the kingdom on its way to ruin under the control of the queen, can he put his feelings aside for the good of the people?

Snow has always felt too much — her own emotions and those around her. So she’s built a wall to protect herself. But when she finally lets Max in, she’s confused by what she feels. Can she trust him enough to do the right thing?

“True queens cannot rebuild kingdoms on the bones of their friends.”

I wish I loved this story more, but I just didn’t. It was too slow to start, and Snow was just pulled along with things happening to her. And this story is part of “Once Upon a Prince” yet the male lead didn’t really have a character arc at all. We were also supposed to be sympathetic to the king, but he had nine children by numerous women, none of which he married, and other things that just made me dislike him a lot. 

The dwarves and the caves were my favorite part. The underground world was delightful, and I loved the banter between the dwarves. The twist toward the end was predictable but good.

If you liked Disney’s Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita, then you’ll enjoy this book.

3.5 Roses (Rounded up to 4)
A couple kisses. But several mentions of the king fathering multiple children by his mistresses.
A few minor injuries
Some in-world swearing. A magic system that had a bit of an occult feeling to it.

(Thank you to the author for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review.)