Nameless by Lili St. Crow

ARC, 328 pages
Release Date: April 9, 2013
Read in: December 2012
Published by: Razorbill
A Tale of Beauty and Madness #1
Source: Sent from publisher for review*
For fans of: Re-tellings, Vampires, Fairies, YA


When Camille was six years old, she was discovered alone in the snow by Enrico Vultusino, godfather of the Seven—the powerful Families that rule magic-ridden New Haven. Papa Vultusino adopted the mute, scarred child, naming her after his dead wife and raising her in luxury on Haven Hill alongside his own son, Nico.

Now Cami is turning sixteen. She’s no longer mute, though she keeps her faded scars hidden under her school uniform, and though she opens up only to her two best friends, Ruby and Ellie, and to Nico, who has become more than a brother to her. But even though Cami is a pampered Vultusino heiress, she knows that she is not really Family. Unlike them, she is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until she meets the mysterious Tor, who reveals scars of his own, that Cami begins to uncover the secrets of her birth…to find out where she comes from and why her past is threatening her now.

New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow thrilled legions of fans with her dark paranormal series Strange Angels. Now she has crafted an evocative update of Snow White, set in a vividly imagined world and populated by unforgettable new characters.


*MY THOUGHTS*
     With its original take on the classic tale of Snow White, this story actually reminded me of the show The Grimm that comes on ABC. But unfortunately, unlike the show, it wasn’t one of my favorites.
     In the beginning of the story, Cami is six years old and found in the snow by one of The Seven. He brings her into their home when he realizes she’s a mute and doesn’t even know her name. Ten years later, Cami is no longer mute and has found a life with The Seven and her two best friends Ellie and Ruby. One day a mysterious boy walks into her life and her world turns upside down from there. 
     The biggest problem I had with this book was the world building. This book really had the potential to “rock my world” (no pun intended lol) but I just could not connect to it. There were so many questions I had that could have easily been answered with just a hint of explaining. And it really sucked because it seemed really interesting and I really wanted to know more about it. But in the end, because I could not connect with the world they live in, I also could  not really connect with the characters. 
     As the book goes on, it is revealed who some characters are and what they like and things like that. It was fun realizing what characters I was dealing with. But the actual main character wasn’t all there for me. I was actually more drawn to Ellie and her story. 
     What I did like about the book, was the actual way the re-telling was done. Snow White wasn’t really a favorite of mine growing up, but reading it this way has definitely made me like quite a bit more. I loved how every part of Snow White (the apple, the Queen, the hearts, and the mirror) were incorporated clearly and you could tell their purpose. 
     All in all, Nameless wasn’t a bad story, but it just didn’t meet my expectations. I’m hoping in the next installment in the series it features Ellie and a bit more information on the world they live in.