Title: Driven Snow
Series: Pennymaker Tales 2
Author: Tara Lain
Narrator: Kale Williams
Genre: Contemporary, Urban Fantasy
Length: 6 hr, 45 mins
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC (23rd June 2016)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Blurb: Young Snowden “Snow” Reynaldi is brilliant, beautiful, and alone. Though he’s shy, weird, and tolerated by the NorCal University students because he’s a renowned whiz at chess and helps put the school on the map, that doesn’t keep him from dreaming of the object of his desires: Riley Prince, championship quarterback.
When Riley needs a physics tutor, Snow jumps at the chance, and their relationship heats up – but Riley has to come out of the jock closet to get anywhere. Meanwhile, Snow’s one true friend and mentor, Professor Kingsley, marries a woman who secretly wants the chess tournament glory and money for herself. Soon after, the professor collapses and Snow finds himself underwater – literally. In a car!
Seven frat brothers from Grimm College rescue Snow just in time for his life to get even worse, and Snow discovers the one relationship he always wanted slipping away. With evil looming at every turn, Snow must survive if only to prove he’s the fairest of them all and regain the trust of his handsome prince.
Product Link: Audible US | Audible UK
Reviewer: Prime
Review: Everything about Driven Snow is absolutely awesome! This is a reimagining of the Snow White fairytale, so luckily you don’t need to read book 1 (based on Cinderella) to get all the characters. Once again the narration by Kale Williams just tops off a most wonderful and whimsical tale which takes us into the world of college and grand chess masters.
Snowden Reynaldi, aka Snow, is a champion chess player and a feather in the cap to his college because he is basically unbeatable. He’s shy and super smart and basically the type of nerd everyone can love, especially if you can relate to him. His Prince Charming is the popular jock, Riley Prince. The problem being for any romance is that Riley is deep inside the closet. With a beloved teacher/chess mentor/father figure in addition to a conniving witch who doesn’t want Snow to succeed at the chess championships, all our players are in place.
Well most of them – after all the traditional story is “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”. I have to admit, I was really curious about how this part was going to play out, although the blurb does tell us it’s seven frat brothers from nearby Grimm College but that was only enough information to pique my curiosity. Plus, you know, that whole glass coffin thing – I was really wondering if there was more to that too than we see in the blurb. I have to say that I loved the frat guys, they were all funny and at one point they definitely had more brains than Prince Charming!
Of course being a Pennymaker tale, I was looking forward to the appearance of the fairy godfather elven man himself (I still don’t know what he is). He isn’t in the story as much as I would have liked but he definitely has a helper in the guise of Riley’s friendly neighbor, a kind old lady who is something of a fairy godmother. And now I want to get into book 3 because I am totally charmed by the worlds that Tara Lain has woven using the modern world and fairytales!