Through the Woods by Shannon Myers

​CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Publication date: 02/01/2018
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

After failing to get through Operation Annulment, I thought I should give the author another try. (I was grumpy because I had really bad cold when I started reading that one, and the writing in it wasn’t awful, so I felt a little guilty for DNFing it. I thought reading this one was the least I could do, OK?) And thankfully, I was able to finish this one. It wasn’t awful. (There. How’s that for a recommendation?) 

First of all, this is a retelling of Snow White and Seven Dwarves with a drug addict as Snow White and bikers as the Seven Dwarves. That’s a pretty awesome concept, so I give the author mad props for original thinking. (I also LOVE fairy tale retellings, so this idea was my kind of catnip)

I also enjoyed that the heroine, Neve, wasn’t a complete Mary Sue. She had issues, dealt with addictions, and she worked to overcome them. She’d made horrible choices in her life and had faced grim consequences as a result, but she didn’t whine too often about her circumstances or blame others for her shortcomings. She owned up to her mistakes. That was a pleasant surprise for me as a reader.  

But…

Here’s the stuff that wasn’t so great:

1. Charm, the hero, is pretty much an alphahole. He’s not IN THE LEAST charming to Neve. I have a very low tolerance for alphaholes.
2. Neve reading Charm’s journal was a complete invasion of his privacy. He saved her life, gave her a job, and helped her detox and how does she repay him? By sneaking into his room and reading all of his most personal thoughts, of course. The whole thing made me dislike her as a character.
3. Charm and Neve had maybe one or two conversations before he decided that she was “his”. I also have a low tolerance for instalove.
4. There was a paranormal subplot at the end of the story that was really...weird. I don’t mind paranormal subplots at all, but this one popped up out of nowhere and didn’t really serve any purpose in the story. It could’ve been eliminated, in my opinion.
5. The other “dwarves” are pretty obvious sequel bait. I also have a low tolerance for obvious sequel bait.       

But, all that being said, if you’re a fan of MC romances and unique fairy tale retellings, you might want to consider giving this one a read. Like I said, it wasn’t awful. I’ve certainly read worse.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It doesn’t really contribute or crush the stigma. It’s stigma neutral.

Other reading suggestions
Biker romance fans should check out this “best of” list. And fans of fairy tale retellings won’t want to miss this.​

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