ARC Review: Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 6 by Sorata Akiduki

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 6 by Sorata Akiduki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A romantic retelling of a classic fairy tale about a beautiful herbalist and a lovestruck prince.

Shirayuki is an herbalist famous for her naturally bright-red hair, and the prince of Tanbarun wants her all to himself! The prince from the neighboring kingdom, Zen, rescues her from her plight, and thus begins their love story.

The banquet in Tanbarun arrives, and Shirayuki and Obi are dressed to impress. But it’s not all frills and lace, as Zen learns those aiming to kidnap Shirayuki have pinpointed her location. Against his brother Izana’s wishes, Zen rides for Tanbarun! But will he reach Shirayuki before danger strikes?

Warnings: child abuse and torture

While Shirayuki has been at the Tanbarun royal palace, the threat that Zen and his retainers were hoping to contain moves towards there, making them having to move fast towards Tanbarun to hope to intercept the pretty boy who is after her. Meanwhile, Raj’s new interest in politics and the running of this country has the palace staff and his siblings hopeful for a longer stay from Shirayuki, so that he will improve, if only to impress her. (They also hope for romantic feelings between her and their first prince, but as Obi said, she is not for him) On the day of the ball, though, Shirayuki gets double-kidnapped (it makes sense in the story, don’t worry) and two new groups come into play into the story – a clan of rebels in the mountains, who clash with a ruthless pirate group. Zen and Raj work together to save her, and also apprehend the culprits, and here we can see Raj taking his cues from Zen as to how to be a leader who people look up to and follow. It was a nice collaborative effort, and tense escape/rescue, though I wish it wasn’t so rushed for the latter part. On the feels side, we get Obi finally showing some feeling for Shirayuki, and the duo Mitsuhide and Kiki being badasses together (they were so cool!) As for the artwork, I loved the outfits in this arc so much – I mean, even the regular outfit design is pretty cool, but this arc has nicer outfits! Overall, it was a thrilling read!

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Viz Media LLC, via Edelweiss.

Previous books in the Snow White with the Red Hair / Akagami no Shirayukihime series