A MIRROR MENDED

A woman who specializes in helping fairy-tale princesses is kidnapped by a villain who wants her own happy ending.

Zinnia Gray has a very special skill: She can travel through portals to different versions of “Sleeping Beauty.” A former Sleeping Beauty herself, Zinnia uses this ability to help other princesses reach their own happily-ever-afters. But one day she looks into a mirror and sees not her own reflection, but an evil queen on the other side. The queen reaches out of the mirror and pulls Zinnia through. Suddenly, Zinnia isn’t in the Sleeping Beauty–verse anymore; she’s in the world of “Snow White,” and the infamous evil queen wants her help escaping the grisly end promised to all fairy-tale villains. This short novel, the sequel to Harrow’s A Spindle Splintered (2021), makes efficient use of its limited word count, wasting no time before immersing the reader in Zinnia’s many fairy-tale worlds. Zinnia and the evil queen have wonderful chemistry, and Harrow guides both characters through compelling arcs as they consider what it means to be the protagonist of your own story. Zinnia’s snappy, pop-culture– heavy dialogue can sometimes come across a bit smarmy, but it suits the genre well.

A lively, engaging fairy-tale retelling perfect for devouring in a single sitting.