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416 reviews for:

Stitching Snow

R.C. Lewis

3.72 AVERAGE



I'm reading Stitching Snow: Excellent!! This futuristic retelling of snow white is just the best. Slow burn romance and a heroine to love.

Between 3.5 and 4 stars

I am a HUGE fan of fairy tale re-tellings and am so happy that this is a vastly growing new genre! I have found while reading books in this category that there are two different plot styles: those that follow the fairy tale perfectly but with different given circumstances and those that use the fable as a kick-off point to create something else entirely. For Stitching Snow, I found that this had fallen into the latter.

Essie was very different from the stereotypical Snow White character which is definitely something that I am happy about. She's able to fight, can program robots, and takes no sass out of nobody! She is a very capable and independent young heroine and I found I really enjoyed reading her story. Her development was extraordinary and I was really able to see the maturity in her blossom as the book progressed. My only issue came after her journey takes her off of Thanda.
Spoiler Each time someone fights her, she gets less talented and more damsel-in-distress-like. Or rather too Dane-dependent. My biggest peeves came once when Tobias captured her and she was just a tad too defenseless;then again on Windsong whenever she was fighting someone, I felt she was incapable of really knocking them out without Dane's assistance. The beginning just builds up her strength and fighting capabilities and I feel that this should remain reflected throughout the piece especially after her training on the ship with Dane.


Dane I found to be way more interesting in the first half of the book. There was an air of mystery about him, as well as, a wonderful charisma that makes us like him from the get-go. However, he gets way too lovey-dovey too quickly. Considering Essie is always pushing him away and that there are points that she even demeans him (sometimes cruelly) you would think he would lose some interest and she would have to really fight to get him back. The ending got better where Dane is concerned but overall I wished the mystery/alternative motives kept up a little bit more throughout the book.

The two as a couple was 75/25 for them working out. More often then not I believed that they could be a real thing and that they were meant for each other. However, there were enough moments where they just didn't mesh. At all. She pushed him away too much and he fell for her too quickly then became clingy. I really wanted there to be more tension or motives pushing them a part so they would have to fight hard to be together in the end. Clearly, if people have read my other reviews, I am not a fan of love triangles or romance taking over a storyline. That being said, this is a FAIRY TALE!!! Romance is a key component and although I do not in any means want it driving the story along, it would have been nice to spice up their relationship as a good sub-plot.

My absolutely favorite part of this book was how good the story building was. The different planets with their own histories and climates were amazing to explore. It added a great element to this version of Snow White and made it that much more fascinating to read. Nothing excites me more than an amazing and creative world-building capability. I do think that they should have been more complex, though. You could literally say, "This is the ice/mining planet. This is the desert/techno planet. These two are rival, ruling siblings." But other than that, it was great.

This next section is about the plot, which overall was a great idea! There are a few things I was expecting to see and when they didn't happen I was a little disappointed. And, yes, sorry but they are also spoilers.
Spoiler I was really expecting the twin planets to actually be at war and that the tale of Essie's father faking everything would be a lie. The counsel would be manipulating both Essie and Dane causing more friction to occur in their relationship and creating a more suspenseful ending. Maybe not this event specifically but I do feel that there needed to be an extra surprise or twist at the end to really complete Stitching Snow.


Overall, I would say that although there was a simplicity to this book where some great added elements could have been added, I would still recommend this book to those who enjoy this genre. Do not expect the next big thing in your hands, however, you will also receive a good read and will definitely enjoy yourself. Pun completely intended.

Well this was a very creative and original retelling of Snow white! I liked it a lot, it was well paced, full of drama and twists and a dash of romance! I absolutely LOVE that the dwarfs are little drones ❤️

3.5

saluki's review

4.0


Tanked-up action, good plot-twists, the cyber-tech stitching elements are creative, and we get a slow-building realistic romance.

This sci-fi retelling of Snow White is on a par with Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles. Lewis offers a kick-ass princess, a charming prince, an evil queen, an apple, a huntsman and more... but it's the mining dwarves droids in Stitching Snow, especially Dimwit and Cusser (Dopey and Grumpy), that I totally adore.

Terrific standalone novel.

This is a total rip off of The Lunar Chronicles. Unlike The Lunar Chronicles, this books was terrible I did not like it at all.

I would rate this 0 stars if I could

I really enjoyed this book. Essie was a really epic character!

I love, love, love Fairytale retellings and this book did not fail me. I know that a number of people have been comparing this story to another series that I absolutely adore and yes, there may be some similarities but overall I didn’t strictly identify it with that as this is Snow White’s story.

Essie has been living on the planet Thanda for a while now and she has done her best to avoid strangers and anyone that could figure out who she is. One thing we learn about her is that she is great with technology and is a fighter. When a mysterious stranger crash lands on the planet and Essie makes the decision to help him, things take a turn and she finds herself on her way back to the danger of her home planet, Windsong and within easy reach of her stepmother Olivia.

As the story progresses, we find out how Essie really escaped Windsong and I’m not going to tell you what happened because that would give a bit of the story away. Just know that there were some people within the palace that recognized the danger she was in and due to promises made, did whatever they possibly could to keep Essie safe. Even if it meant sending her to a freezing planet to make it on her own.

We also find out that Olivia hasn’t given up. She will do whatever she possibly can to get rid of Essie and eventually take over ruling Windsong. Once Essie comes back, the only thing standing between Essie and Olivia’s plans are Dane….the mysterious guy who crash landed on Thanda.

I loved how Lewis built out these worlds and the way the characters were developed. If you know me at all you know I love a good character driven story and Essie and Dane as the main characters were done well. Essie is strong, tough, and smart - Some of my favorite aspects to a female lead. At first she is standoffish to everyone around her with the exception of Petey but I couldn’t blame her for it. She was protecting herself and doing so by keeping her distance.

While at first we didn’t get to know Dane very well, as he spent more time with Essie, I found him more interesting. I don’t think I would consider him as well developed as Essie but in the end it didn’t bother me. We found out the important stuff about his background and what he was trying to accomplish when he crash landed on Thanda. Add to that the fact that he delivered on the important parts which were helping Essie and the swoony bits and I was happy. For the record, I would have loved more of the swoony stuff.

One of the things I didn’t care for was the twist with Essie’s father. I don’t know that it was necessary but it is what it is. I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to ruin any of the story – even this part. I also would have liked to know more about Olivia’s drive for power. It wasn’t very clear (to me at least) why she wanted it. It could be possible there wasn’t a reason but I guess I wanted there to be one.

Overall I really enjoyed this one. The plot follows through and provides a solid ending and it has plenty of action and romance. If you enjoy fairytale retellings, definitely check this one out. I found myself engaged in the story and hope you do too!

Thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for the review copy!

Review to come.

Stitching Snow was (as you might have guessed by the cover) a retelling of Snow White. It also happened to be in space (and no, it is not a rip off of Cinder, but a totally different sci-fi take).

In brief, Essie, a cage fighter on a lonely mining planet of Thanda, gets kidnapped by a *mysterious young good-looking dude named Dane. Essie is a brilliant inventor, and she "stitches" machines together (the coding, programming, and designing is referred to her as stitching), which I thought (as a crafty person) was a cool metaphor. Essie's only companions pre-Dane were seven mining droids with disparate personalities (one of the more original takes on the Seven Dwarves, for sure) . . . read the rest of this review at http://rlhendrian.blogspot.com/2015/03/since-i-am-not-so-great-at-blogging.html