A Taste of Poison: A Snow White Retelling (Entangled with Fae)

The author knows about love - self love and love to others. I’ve read several of her books and enjoy her stories and the wisdom she imparts about the the great human story. The story of Astrid is one of learning to trust herself to be authentic, allowing herself to be a mess sometimes and realizing she doesn’t have to be perfect to be worthy of love. The author also delves into the difficult subject matter of addiction, which is treated with kindness and compassion. Very well done! If you are looking for a great story with sweetness and surprising depth, you will enjoy this book.

If you like grumpy/sunshine characters, then Astrid and Torben are 100% that. Astrid is sunshine through and through, she doesn't stay mad or upset for long when there are animals involved. Or the poison that she takes to avoid her grief. She doesn't stay on the drug the entire time, but she does go through a journey with it. Torben, on the other hand, is grumpy. He had a gambling addiction that resulted in him being forced to become a bounty hunter for 100 years to pay off the debt. He also has given up on love after his previous paramour betrayed his secret about using scents to sense lies while he was playing cards to win enough money for their engagement.The two end up agreeing to prove Astrid's innocence and finding the real individual who poisoned the pie crust that killed her father. Astrid believes that Tris was responsible due to the jealousy the queen had towards her as a result of the magic that Astrid couldn't control. But Torben is not convinced seeing as Tris cannot lie. Though he does agree to help after they learn a female in the Spring Court is behind several events that happen during Torben's capture of Astrid. This leads them to investigate several individuals in a pursuit of proving Astrid's innocence.A Taste of Poison is engaging throughout the book with a lot of character growth. Astrid learns how to be comfortable in her own skin and learn how to control her magic, so people can actually see her. Only Torben and her father were able to do that previously. She also works through her drug addiction to face her trauma and grief with the help of Torben. As she didn't realize it was an addiction until it was pointed out to her, and she was kind of forced to deal with it. While Torben learns how to let people in after swearing never to let anyone close enough to him again where they might interfere with his sense of smell.I received an ARC copy of this novel, and all opinions are my own.

Another 5 star read, because I absolutely love this world of Faerwyvae & these unique characters she's recreated from old fairytales!This was one more fabulous read in the Entangled with Fae series! A Snow White retelling with a fae twist, set in a fantasy Regency world of humans and fae living on the same island. Fae in this series are in a human form as Seelie, and their Unseelie form is basically their wild side, be it bear, wolf, raven, tree, lake, etc.Enemies to lovers, one bed, cuffed together, yep, I'm a sucker for all of these tropes! This is spicier than the others, but no more than say🌶🌶. There's saving from addictions, and  dealing with grief. I adore how Tessonja deals with real world problems in such a heartfelt way. Each of these in the series has had something to overcome, and done it well.This retelling has the Huntsman, (I imagined Chris Hemsworth as a ginger), a bear shifter, ordered to bring the runaway princess Astrid Snow's heart back to the palace, after her father is found dead at her feet, poisoned by the "medicine" she takes to calm herself.  The Spring Court Queen Tris wants Astrid dead after killing her beloved husband, and makes the Huntsman a deal he can't refuse.The problem is Astrid is half Fae and her magic is being a mirror, she reflects what people love or hate most about themselves. Thus, no one really knows what she truly looks like. Good thing the handsome devil has a super heightened sense of smell. What he doesn't expect is to find her annoyingly irresistible, and annoyingly devoted to dumpster kittens.The fact that Astrid loves furry animals only gets better when he shifts and turns into a large bear.One of my favorite parts includes these snippets after an altercation where he should be terrifying."Astrid: "You're so..." Huntsman: "Terrifying?""Frightening?"Astrid: "Fluffy."Huntsman: "What?"Astrid: "Can I please touch your fur?"Such a fun read! I couldn't put it down and was up half the night finishing it.

I quite liked this fourth story in the series of Fae Fairy Tale Mash Ups. It kept me very engaged. The characters were well rounded with major flaws, but that made them all the more relatable. I like how the author wove so many elements of the snow white fairy tale into the magical world she built. It was quite entertaining and imaginative!