The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil, #1)

by Gena Showalter

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who will perish when I call?

Apple babies—forever known as bonum et malum—would wield more power and magic than any of their peers...

But they would also suffer a tragic end.

Risking everything, they stole and ate one apple apiece. Except for the second queen. She ate two apples, just to be doubly sure. Nine months later, on the same day, each woman gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl. Actually, Queen Doubly Sure gave birth to two healthy, beautiful baby girls.

Evil never came dressed as a devil; evil came disguised as a dream, as tempting as the shiny red apples they’d once consumed.

“Every hero is a villain, and every villain is a hero. It just depends on who you ask.”

Roth speaking facts🗣️

Prophecy was fairy tale, and fairy tale was prophecy. While some parts were literal, other parts were symbolic.

“Today I am your judge, jury and executioner. Spoiler alert. You’re all guilty, and you’re all going to die. But we shouldn’t let the outcome taint our enjoyment. There’s fun to be had—for me. Shall we begin?”

“Evil isn’t born, it’s made. One thought and action at a time.” I paused for effect. “Take a good look at what you’ve made.”

“Your happiness is my happiness.”

“You’ve had my full attention since the moment we met.”

Smooth

Some wounds were permanent.

You have a pretty face. So what? You are not the architect of your DNA.

According to Mom, lies were the language of villains, and truth was the language of heroes.

“Physics makes the impossible possible, and helps us find solutions for the smallest and biggest problems.

Dogs loved me. If LOVED stood for Let’s Organize a Violent End, Dangit.

We were two halves of a whole, yet we didn’t look like sisters, much less twins. Her hair was black; mine was silvery-white. Her eyes were baby blue; mine were gunmetal gray and rimmed with gold. Her flawless skin had a dusky golden tint; I was ghostly pale, with a smattering of freckles across my nose. She was short and curvy; I was tallish and slender.

Hartly is summer, warm and inviting. Others can bask in her light, then walk away with a smile. Everly is winter, cold and driven. She’s fun, but she’s treacherous, too. Rouse her fury, and you will suffer.

We placed I-S-N before vowels, one per syllable. So far, no one had decoded our words.

This is going to break my brain

If you open that stupid thing as easy as pie after I’ve struggled for an eternity—

I am going to scream.

Freak-out was Mom’s default setting. She found hidden signs in everything, and all those signs pointed to the tragic death of her girls. The common cold = perishing in our sickbed. Tired = falling asleep and never waking up. Riding in a car = expiring in a crash. Without exception, the slightest change in our lives sent her into a tailspin of panic.

Telling ridiculous anti-jokes had become our thing, helping to take the sting out of a bad situation.

May your magic be strong and your heart be true.

A seedling of envy bloomed deep in her soul, her every thought like water, helping it grow. One drop of poison will kill her strongest foe...and the last remnant of goodness that burns in her heart. For she had forgotten a simple truth. Character meant more than beauty, always.

Because every lady should know how to sew, knit, swim, banter with kings and peasants alike, dance with grace and dignity, and defend herself from unscrupulous rogues.

All I know how to do from this list is swim and sew😭😭😭

At home, readings and spells are too expensive, even for royalty, a true sacrifice necessary. Here, readings and spells are so cheap. I must only part with stacks of green paper. I don’t understand why every peasant from every land doesn’t seek mystical aid.

Revenge is poison—for you. Revenge is evil.”

All my life I’d heard a million variations of evil is this, and evil is that. The one I’d internalized: evil is knowing what’s right and doing what’s wrong anyway.

“He’s got you there, Mom. If you wore a watch, it would only ever need to read Late.”

Underneath layers of vengeful crankiness are more layers of vengeful crankiness.”

Me fr

Greed is the beating heart of evil. Do not feed it, and it will not grow.

Mom speaking facts

Plaited snow-white hair twined around a crown of bloodred crystal roses. Thick slashes of kohl rimmed my eyelids, creating a smoky come-hither look. No sign of my freckles, my pale skin seemingly dusted with diamond powder. I—she—wore a skintight black corset embroidered with red roses, a perfect match to the crown. A deep V displayed her cleavage to its best advantage.

The first girl possessed a delicate yet edgy beauty, with white-and-black hair, tanned and freckled skin and bicolored eyes—the left blue, the right gray.

The second girl made me grin. My sweet Angel, with her long dark hair, white skin even paler than mine, and eyes the color of frosted shamrocks.

He had tousled dark hair of the deepest jet, brown skin and a face surely chiseled from granite, with broad cheekbones, a slightly crooked nose (from a break?) and a square jaw dusted with a dark stubble. His lips were red, plump and lush, and the softest thing about him. His eyes... Melting faster. Eyes the same frosted shamrocks as Angel’s glittered with affection as he helped an old man walk across the room and ease into the seat next to Angel.

If there’s breath, there’s hope.”

“King Stephan was a handsome man. Though he could freeze you with a glance, he could charm you with a smile. Queen Violet was his fourth wife. Though he’d killed the first three, she fell in love with him.”

Icy mountains with village valleys—the Empire of Sevón. Sand dunes crested by a glittering night sky—the Kingdom of Airaria. Flatlands carpeted by a dazzling array of flowers—the Provence of Fleur. Bodies of water and island clusters, laid out in a fishy pattern—the Azul Dynasty. The dragon-shaped woodlands—the Enchantian Forest, also known as the Forest of Good and Evil.

The most beautiful things are the deadliest.

He was drop-dead gorgeous, with dark hair, dark brown skin and whiskey-colored eyes. Massive wings the same color as a morning sky rose over his shoulders. He wore more necklaces and bracelets than the other avian, and I wondered if the jewelry was purely decorative or had a deeper meaning.

My man😍

And why would Aunt Violet keep Truly from Farrah? Did the queen not know her daughter was gay—bi? Something else?—or did she not accept it?

“Not every death signifies the end of a life. Sometimes death heralds a new beginning.”

Roth... a name found inside the word brother. The Brothers Grimm—bROTHers. Coincidence?

Be so serious😭😭

The heart wants what the heart wants, and no other will do.”

Bonum et malum—good and evil.

Aubrey Morrow died, a piece of my heart dying with her.

Poor Everly🙁

Hope is like a seedling. In darkness it dies, in light it thrives. How easy it is to love the lovable. The true test of strength is loving the unlovable. A dirty dollar bill isn’t worth any less than a clean one. Every life has value.

Apparently, we Morrow girls like to go for the gold. Well, except for me. With Peter, I went for rusted tin.”

Everly ended Peter with this one

No breaking down. Must stay strong.