[ARC Review] Bianca & the Huntsman by Erica Ridley
My thoughts: This Snow White retelling from Erica Ridley was a fun, delightful novella and I can't wait to read more fairy tale reimaginings set in Regency England.
After Bianca lost both her parents in a carriage accident a year ago, her life as an out-of-wedlock child became even worse. Now relegated to a maid in the house of the only family she has left, Bianca expects to spend the rest of her days that way. When Harry, the Earl of Eagleton, offers an escape, Bianca takes it and never looks back. But Harry is known as the Huntsman for a reason. His reputation as a dowry-seeking rake proceeds him, but it's a reputation that Bianca wouldn't mind contributing to. Together with her seven newfound friends, Bianca decides what she wants out of life - and that's Harry. But as he works to repair his family, Harry must decide between his head and his heart, his reputation and his future. With life-altering revelations and two opposites who know exactly who they want, Bianca & the Huntsman was a fun Regency-era reimagining of the original Snow White story.
I instantly loved Bianca as a character. When we first meet her, she's a year out from having lost everything. But she wasn't sad and gloomy; she took things a day at a time and knew that things could only go up from there. The ton had every reason to look down upon her - her mother was a mistress, she was of mixed race, she had no money or property to call her own - but she didn't let the comments and degrading looks destroy her.
I loved seeing Bianca establish herself within her new friends group. Sure, her friends were modeled off of the seven dwarfs and one in particular offered more yawns than words of wisdom, but it was nice to see Bianca find her people. She especially needed that support as Bianca dealt with her feelings for Harry.
I thought Harry was a nice foil for Bianca. He was quite her opposite, but it was through her that Harry saw a different future for himself: one surrounded by love rather than cold, emotionless relationships. Despite the shorter length of the story, Harry was able to have quite the character development.
This was a fun (and a little bit steamy) historical romance fairy tale reimagining that I can fully get behind. Harry, Bianca, and her new friends were entertaining and I can't wait to see who gets a romantic ending next!
[A huge thank you to Erica Ridley for sharing a review copy of Bianca & the Huntsman with her Review Crew!]
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Release date: 1/13/23
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: Erica Ridley's Review Crew
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