Yuki: A Snow White Retelling

Tales of Akatsuki, Book 2

By: Nicolette Andrews

Narrated by: Joanna Roddy

Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Hotaru is in need of a wife. Yuki has no intention of marrying, ever.

To get the alliance he desperately needs, Hotaru must make Yuki fall in love with him. It's not going to be easy.

Hotaru was never meant to inherit the role of clan leader. Unprepared for his new role and on the brink of war, Hotaru is desperate to find strong allies to help him protect his clan. Yuki's clan is his last hope for an alliance.

Yuki has never been like other girls. She's more at home in the forest than in silk and satin. Everyone thinks she's strange. After her father's sudden death, her brother is all she has left in the world. Though he would do anything to please her, his chronic illness means he doesn't have much time left.

Desperate to see her settled before it's too late, her brother pushes the two together. Yuki isn't interested. At least, she thought she wasn't.

She swore she'd never fall in love, but Hotaru might be able to get through all her defenses.

©2018 Nicole Trushinski (P)2021 Nicole Trushinski

Mostly predictable but so much fun! Loved it!

A retelling of Snow White with a Japanese folklore twist.
The author takes some dark elements of the original German tale, intermingled with some elements from the Disney version and adds her own twists. This retelling thus provides a refreshing experience of Snow White.
I loved how smoothly the setting has been transferred to Japan. The Japanese setting is very well used, not just with the locational details but also with folklore characters such as tanuki and yokai having a strong role to play in the narrative.
You already know who the villain is if you know the original. I liked the build-up to her evil deeds, which are very clear to us readers though no one in the story knows who it is. However, the scene where she gets her due is too short and over before it even begins. This was the only real disappointment in the book.
The audiobook, clocking at 5 hrs 14 min, is narrated very well by Joanna Roddy. She provides the right inflections and character voices without resorting to clichéd Japanese accents. I enjoyed her performance and would definitely recommend the audio version.
Overall, I loved this retelling. While staying true to the original, it adds enough of novelty to ensure an entertaining experience. I want to read the rest of the series for sure.
Recommended for older teens (15+) and those looking for an unusual fairy tale retelling.
4.25 stars.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book at my request and these are my honest thoughts about it.

A Lovely Tale

I really enjoyed the tale of Yuki and Hotaru. I can see where there are elements of The Brothers Grimm's "Snow White" fairytale, but there was more mystery involved and a more convoluted plot than in the original tale. I was very entertained by the story penned by Nicolette Andrews. I recommend it to others who enjoy this genre. Joanna Roddy's narration was entertaining and kept my attention. I was given a free copy of the audiobook and I have voluntarily left this review.

Baskerville Book Reviews

I have no prior knowledge of the original story. I think there are 7 elves that are dopey and sleazy or something. I’ve always been interested in the original, but have never bothered to look into it.

This story utilizes a bunch of Japanese names and creatures I’m only vaguely familiar with. Tanuki’s (raccoon dogs), Yokai (?), I think they mention Oni in passing which I only know by name and a few other Japanese words or garments.

Despite not knowing what the hell most of the creatures are or do, I still found myself enjoying the story. The romance between Yuki and Hotaru seems strange. Every time she starts to feel a bit interested in him, something happens and she does a total 180. Despite this, their relationship does at least feel genuine. They have chemistry and things don’t just fall into place immediately.

I did find a few of the character arcs to be predictable. I had a chunk of the plot slightly figured out early on. I didn’t know 100% how things were going to play out and that kept it interesting for me. I did find the bit of background plot of the wars to not really be of import. It’s brought up from time to time but it never feels as noteworthy as the characters make it out to be.

The narrator did a good job of reading and acting out emotions. The voices she does for male characters are a bit lacking and often times just sound close to her general narration voice. Without context clues in the book, it would be difficult to tell who is speaking.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

Enjoyable

Omg! I am really thoroughly enjoying these books by Nicolette all of these beautiful fairytale retold stories are so all thought out and written. The more I listen to her stories the more I fall in love and can't wait to discover more books by Nicolette .

YA Japanese Fairytale Snow White Retold

This book picks up with Hotaru from the first book and tells his story. Hotaru had gotten his brother to step down and he is now the clan leader, which caused a backlash from the other clans and is now dealing with being on the brink of war. He goes to the forest clan to propose a marriage alliance between him and Yuki. Once there it is clear that the clan leader (Yuki's brother) is very ill and possibly dying. Trying to convince and win over the strong willed princess and gain the allies he needs becomes a larger challenge then he expected. I am really enjoying the Japanese Fae element in this series I love learning a little about their fae creatures and seeing a fairytale that I grew up with spun in another culture. The author does a beautiful job in the world building and character development.

Parents- PG13- more young adult +15 and up
Language: some but no f-bombs
Violence: mild
Sexual Content- undertones and insinuations, heavy desires, seduction attempts but no actual sex scenes

Just like book 1, the narrator was great although I thought it was better at 1.3x speed. She had good differentiation between characters and the overall acting was well done.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

REALLY GOOD FAIRYTALE TWIST. I ENJOYED IT A LOT

THE STORYLINE IS WELL WRITTEN AND EASY TO FOLLOW
ACCEPTABLE FOR TEENS AND OLDER AGES. STORY IS GEARED TOWARDS MATURE AUDIENCE.

NARRATOR IS GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

YUKI SNOWWHITE

ANOTHER GREAT AND UNIQUE TALE, THE. NARRATOR DID A GREAT JOB WITH THE STORY.

Very Enjoyable book

Very Enjoyable book, nicely narrated, well written and thought out. I didn't think it was an obvious Snow White retelling but a good story in itself. I really liked Yuki's character and her suiter's soft heart and empathy towards her.
Recommended

Loved this retelling

Hotaru's clan needs an alliance, so he travels to another clan to arrange an alliance through marriage. Yuki has no intention of ever getting married, though she may not have a choice if her clan is to be saved. At first intent on driving Hotaru away, Yuki has her tanuki friends play tricks on him. But Hotaru proves to be determined, which turns out to be a good thing because someone is trying to kill Yuki.

This was a really interesting retelling of Snow White. All the basic elements from the original fairy tale are there, but their placement within an ancient Japanese clan culture was interesting, as was the inclusion of elements from Japanese mythology. Though I did get a little frustrated by the back and forth that Yuki and Hotaru go through - it would be so much better if people would just talk to each other! - it wasn't terrible. And the tricks played by the tanukis, who clearly loved Yuki and wanted her to be happy, made for some great comedic relief.

Listening to the audiobook, narrated by Joanna Roddy, also enhanced my enjoyment of the book, as Roddy's performance was very good. Her voice work was good, and it was always easy to tell who was speaking the dialogue. Given the option, I would enjoy listening to Roddy read the other two retellings that Andrews has written. I also look forward to reading them. Especially the Little Mermaid retelling with a kitsune instead of a mermaid.

Entertaining Retelling!!

I enjoyed this Japanese culture retelling of Snow White! It was fun to hear the story with a culture I'm not particularly familiar with. The author does a good job including elements of the original fairy tale, while adding new elements to create an intriguing and entertaining version of the story. The tricks that Yuki plays on Hotaru were hilarious! I found all of their interactions entertaining. The mystery factor of the story, plus Yuki's backstory/characterization really added to the retelling and new interpretation from the traditional one.
A fun bonus to the story is learning a little about Japanese culture and I thought that was quite fun.

I love Johanna Roddy as a narrator! She always does a fantastic job! And she did an excellent job getting into the characters and giving each character their own voice, plus differentiating the masculine and feminine voices!