The Glass Queen by Gena Showalter is the second part to The Forest of Good and Evil trilogy, preceded by Showalter’s first novel in the series The Evil Queen. Published by Inkyard Press, The Glass Queen follows the story of Ashleigh, a princess who is born with a weak heart and destined to fulfill some role in the fairytale Cinderella. What role she is fated to play remains a mystery as she struggles to survive being the servant of Saxon, the avian Crown Prince, while a tournament is being held by her estranged father.
There are a lot of aspects to enjoy about this book that The Evil Queen just couldn’t get quite right. For one, the characters are much more like-able this time around. This is most likely aided by the fact that we get to hear Saxon’s side of the story just as much as Ashleigh’s. Both characters are much more endearing and garner more empathy than Roth and Everly ever did in the first book. Additionally, the mix of modernity and classic fantasy was very awkward at times throughout the first novel. Now that Everly is no longer the main character, these awkward moments are fewer and allow the reader to truly fall into the world of Enchantia. Overall, The Glass Queen feels more cohesive.
However, for all its improvements, The Glass Queen does fall into some of the same pitfalls as its predecessor. Clunky dialogue and unnecessary drama litter the pages. There are far too many times where a character will explain they can’t tell another character the truth because of x, y, and z becomes excessive as the story goes on. At times, the dialogue feels completely unnatural. It’s these moments that really take away from the interesting premise this series set out to create.
The Forest of Good and Evil series has a lot of potential. It’s basic premise of characters being forced to become parts of a fairytale is an interesting one. Characters can be quite charming and the plot never fully goes where you expect it to. There is always a twist readers won’t see coming, even if they think they have everything figured out. However, the faults of this series cannot be overlooked and while some readers won’t be bothered by these faults, others will definitely be turned away from a potentially great series.
If you’re looking for a good-old-fashioned YA fantasy novel with the classic tropes of love triangles, questionable romances, and the like, then this series is definitely for you. Or, if you are just dying for some new fantasy content centered on beloved fairytales, you’re definitely in the right place. But for someone who is looking for another Children of Blood and Bone and the like, this is something that you’ll want to pass on.
The Glass Queen is available today.
