Son of Bitter Glass – A Book Review

Eira does not remember her own mother’s death, but she remembers the day Prince Isbrand’s mother died—for Eira loves her best friend as much as any person can love another. On the day Isbrand’s mother was murdered by the Snow Queen, her best friend was cursed—along with all the kingdom of Ravenia—to a slow and icy doom. But Isbrand’s curse is special, and to save him from the fate his mother suffered, his father, the king, imprisons him in a glasshouse and searches far and wide for ways to save his son.

Isbrand has always loved Eira, but now that he lives under the Snow Queen’s curse, he finds himself fated to marry another. Eira is stuck living at his side in the glasshouse where her fate is tied to his own, trying to protect him from the Witch, who calls to Isbrand, tempting him, even within the safety of the glasshouse. And as the curse’s deadline draws near, no plan of the king’s—or Isbrand’s love for Eira—can keep the Snow Queen from stealing him away.

Left desperate and hopeless, Eira must set off on an impossible journey into the frozen north to save Isbrand. In a world of old magic, fae tricksters, and creatures out of time, it just might be enduring friendship and true love that save a kingdom destined for destruction.

A Fae Tale

We all know how much I love K.B. Hoyle.  If you’ve read previous blogs or talked to me in person you will eventually probably hear about her and The Gateway Chronicles, potentially several times.  No apologies.

Anyways!  K.B. Hoyle has written another book in her Fairytale Collection series.  It fully released February 20th and I am excited to review it for you, my dear readers!

The neat thing about the Fairytale Collection series is that they don’t have to be read in order.  I personally think it enhances the books for the reader if they are imbibed in the written order; but it is not required and there aren’t serious spoilers if you read them in a separate order.  Anyways, enough of this chit-chatting, I’ll get to the review.

I have to admit, this may be my first time actually reading a truly fae fairytale.  I didn’t find out until quite recently that the magic I generally think of and fae magic is not quite the same thing.  I’m not fully sure yet how to describe the difference, but I can tell you this: fae magic is weird.  It’s not just super-strength, invisibility, communicating with animals, or carrying a staff.  This book is full of curses and enchantments, sorceries and ill magic.  However, for the dark stories I have seen floating around based in a fae world, Son of Bitter Glass is not written to startle, disturb, or scare!  The point is not the magic of the fae that the characters encounter, but the love and sacrifice that ultimately determines the outcome of the story.

Speaking of love and sacrifice, K.B. Hoyle has once again masterfully weaved together a tale that at turns surprises and excites, but also teaches and guides.  I myself felt properly chastised when a certain character that I didn’t like was explained in a different light.  The old adage of “walking a mile in another man’s shoes” comes to mind.  I won’t reveal the character and spoil some of the story for you, but consider this: villain retellings or chapters written from a villain’s perspective often legitimize their fall from common grace, producing commiseration and illegitimate empathy.  However, similarly, to hear the daily tribulations and sorrows of a peer whom you merely dislike gently transforms your perspective to a godly and right compassion (or at least it should).

Selfishness or blind disdain can prevent us from observing the life of another person beyond our small interactions with them.  When the grace of God kindly interrupts our routine and allows us to see the heart and desires behind another person, beautiful things can happen.  Though the grace of God was not necessarily involved in this fairytale, beautiful things did happen in different relationships, specifically as Eira learned to look beyond the surface of her companions.  Add in the age old examples of love and sacrifice that I mentioned earlier and you have quite the lovely moral tale.

As for the story itself . . . once I started reading, I didn’t stop.  Some unique characters combined with my lack of fae tale experience made for a page turner.

Eira and Isbrand are friends nearly from birth.  Sometimes friends-to-lovers has some rough spots of hatred, loathing, and utter shock . . . and sometimes it’s a soft and natural transition.  In Son of Bitter Glass we get a lovely picture of the slow but natural change that can happen in male-female friendships.  Does this work out practically in real life?  Not really.  Most of my friends have married someone they truly only became friends with through dating.  But friends-to-lovers can be a sweet, tender, and encouraging romantic plot nevertheless.  Again – the beauty of K. B. Hoyle’s romances capture my heart every time.  While K. B. Hoyle’s romances are clean, chaste, and pure of sexualized writing, I will offer one note to parents of teen girls.  Even in books written by those who are careful to write cleanly, who desire to build up and not tear down their readers, there is sometimes the opportunity for unrealistic expectations.  Take K. B. Hoyle’s Fairytale Collection as an opportunity to discuss realistic expectations and examples of what we do and do not want to see in potential boyfriends and spouses.  She has some good literary examples to get you started.  🙂

To read or not to read?

As I sat with a blank blog post, deciding how to start my review, I was watching a YouTube video by Morgan Long (I love her bookish videos).  She brought up the series A Court of Thorns and Roses (supposedly somewhat of a retelling, also a fae tale) of TikTok fame and glory.  Morgan finally pushed my curiosity over the edge to hear her talk about “ACOTAR” so glowingly (I’ve ignored the series for many years).  I took the time to read a synopsis on each of the books, which I now thoroughly regret because of the ungodly and graphic content.  Can I ask you to please put down Sarah J. Maas and pick up K.B. Hoyle?  I don’t care what TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube are telling you.  This fantasy series is not youth fiction, it is not worth your time, it is not an example of what fantasy should be.  From my perspective as a Christian critic, ACOTAR and its sequels are trash.  Case in point, a reviewer I peeked at mentioned that adding a bunch of sex is not genuine creativity, specifically in fairytale retellings.  That’s called trashy romance.

Allow me instead to point you once again to K. B. Hoyle’s beautiful Fairytale Collection!  You will not be disappointed, feel dirty, or regret reading when you finish one of her books.  You can find her books at B&N, Owl’s Nest, and Amazon.

Until next time, happy reading!