Spinning Silver

"One of Naomi Novik's best works, undoubtedly. Everything about this book is mesmerizing. The characters, Slavic folklore, Jewish and Eastern European cultures, fae, politics... Usually I'm not a fan of multiple POV, but this was done with such skill I couldn't help but love it. The only thing I wanted more of this book is the story of Irina and Mirnatius, what happened to them afterwards. This was an absolutely fantastic book! "

"A Rumpelstiltskin retelling...yes please.<br/><br/>This author has a very unique writing style. Very easy to read except for the multiple perspectives that are slowly added on it time. Which don't get me wrong I liked but often you didn't know who's story you was in for a paragraph or two trying to play a game of elimination. Then I would have to read them over slowing the momentum of the plot.The different perspectives was surprising though and Naomi Novik has a cunning way of bringing all the pieces together.<br/><br/>Nothing happened like I thought it would which was great because you can never guess what's coming but also not great because I was shipping characters something fierce and not much happened in that department. I'm not usually all about the romance but this book deserved more than it got. Honestly would have gave this 5 out of 5 stars.<br/><br/>That brings me to my next topic the Staryk's. They are very dark and mysterious throughout the story which made me not want to put it down. But so little is said or known about them. I was definitely disappointed in this fact. Even less is gleamed about the Staryk king. He was clever and prideful he reminded me a lot of Meoraq from The Last Hour of Gann. I just wish I could have learned more about him. Even though he was a huge center piece of the story you only got glimpses most of the time.<br/><br/>The characters throughout were solid. Miryem is an intriguing and endearing. Oh and smart with that money honey. Wanda reminds me of Brienne from Game of Thrones. Tall and tough. Miryem and Irina together are two very clever girls. I really enjoyed their meetings and laughed at the shared misery.<br/><br/>I was kind of baffled halfway through the book when descriptions were given for people I knew at the beginning. It was just something I think should have been mentioned as soon as I had read about them instead of the 50% marker. There was very nice world building but like the characters some of it was toward the end too when you have already seen the place.<br/><br/>The magic was wonderful and this story was very atmospheric. This would have been a great book to read last winter. And if you like this story I would definitely recommend House of Salt and Sorrows. It had the same air about it. <br/><br/>Last but not least those ending words of the book. Oh my gosh I love it when they give you chills or make you grin in outrage of it's cleverness."

"A solid 4, maybe even 4.5 star book. It was interesting how all 3 stories/lives end up tying together. I actually was not sure how it would end and liked the way it was done. "

"A great fairytale read! I liked Uprooted a bit better even though the two books have the same beautiful writing style. There are several different points of view to keep track of and things get a bit slow in the middle, but it picked up again near the end. Also if you’re expecting a substantial love story this is not the book for that, there are about 3 pages with any romance lol. "

"Couldn’t put the book down!!"

"Perhaps the best last sentence ever. I loved this book. I listened to it on audiobook and Lisa Flanagan did an incredible job embodying all of the different characters. Loved it loved it loved it. A fairytale that anyone can love."

"This book was almost 500 pages, and yet we couldn’t see how Irina and Mirnatius’s story ended up?! <br/><br/>Besides that, this book read just like a fairytale. I enjoyed getting to pick out all the details from the Rumpelstiltskin story the author intermixed with her own. Each character was complex and well fleshed out. The romance was incredibly slow burn, and I would’ve appreciate more put into it than the ramblings of side characters (this book was from multiple POVs, which was both very well done and at times annoying). I loved how the author critiqued the antisemitism behind the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale, which is not something fantasy authors often venture to do. Overall, I enjoyed Spinning Silver, but got a little bogged down by its length. I will definitely be reading more of this author."

"Listened to the audiobook while skiing through a forest under a full moon. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️book and experience I wish I could have again."

"This book. It's like a fairy tale, but deeper and darker and warmer. With a more fully sussed out moral and cautionary tale."

"I loved this fantasy fairy tale story!"