Recipe: Tomatillo-Cilantro Bean Salad

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“By morning, Lorelai was strong enough to get up and eat breakfast without help. Gabril boiled a small pot of beans and sliced the last of the apples they’d stolen from the queen’s garrison. She ate the beans but ignored the apples.”

I sided with Lorelai and forwent the obvious choice of an apple dish to coincide with this Snow White re-telling by C.J. Redwine. I got so tired of hearing about the gross beans Lorelai and company were dining on every meal.

“Lorelai shoved a spoonful of beans into her mouth. They were hot and tasteless.”

I submit that with a bit of foraging, Gabriel really could have elevated those beans to a fresh, crunchy, delectable meal.

For my review of The Shadow Queen, click here.

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Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

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“The faint aroma of apples filled the air, and the lingering stain of rot smeared the teeth of those who smiled at Irina.”

The apples in this book never sounded appealing. For a non-apple recipe that Loralei and company could have taken on the road, click here.

3/5 stars

The Story:

A Snow White re-telling with a few twists, though it stays fairly close to the classic. After the Evil Queen overtakes her kingdom, Princess Loralei becomes a fugitive determined to win back her crown.

I liked this book more than I expected to. It was an entertaining, quick read. I did dock it a few stars for gaps in the plot, a deus ex machine, if you will…. …though I suppose anyone being saved from death by true love’s kiss is a deus ex machina? Mostly, I was disappointed with the Evil Queen’s characterization. The effort was there, but no follow through.

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