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letheaster's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Really enjoyed this book. The multiple POVs were well done, and each one did a good job of differentiating themselves from each other. Miryem was probably my favorite character :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death and Rape
directorpurry's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Antisemitism, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse
Minor: Child death and Pregnancy
vigil's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hmmm. okay. so, subjectively i enjoyed this book, but i love fairytale-esque novels and inhuman boyfriends so in some ways i was very easy to please. objectively, i have several issues.
this book is the definition of "well done, but didn't need to be done at all" let's start with irinaher plotline felt like an entirely different book that was weaved into the base story of miryem's plotline for padding, and while i didn't dislike it, not do i think it was poorly done, it felt highly unneeded. she mostly seemed to exist to introduce the antagonist of the novel chernobog, i don't think that was the required way, nor the best way to introduce him. he felt do distanced from miryem, and her storyline, that when they intersected, i couldn't invest in it too much beacause i felt very little personal stakes on her behalf. it should have been miryem encountering and dealing with chernobog primarily. not to mention i felt like irina's prescence sent the plot of the rails, she's clearly only there for the sake of introducing the villian, who also didn't really need to be here in my opinion. the staryk king was a good enough antagonist. but if we must go with chernobog i would've preferred a different implementation. something more grounded in the already established plot with miryem and wanda (who should have gotten the plot importance that irina had) or in all honesty, introduce the witch character that was spoken of and whose house the characters occupied. that was a massively missed opportunity in my opinion.
and the sheer amount of unneeded povs.i've already discussed irina, but did we need her husband, nanny, and stepon's povs??? no, we did not. again, not poorly done, naomi novik's pen game will not be denied here, but we simply didn't need to do it. also, the middle dragged quite a bit. i feel like cutting some pov's and centering miryem and wanda's stories would've assisted that.
this book is the definition of "well done, but didn't need to be done at all" let's start with irina
and the sheer amount of unneeded povs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Miscarriage
panoply's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Antisemitism
cottagecoregrandma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Overall, pretty mid. The concept in several was unique and interesting, beautiful writing, great characters, some very captivating scenes, and the audio narration was great. However it took about 50% before anything really happens. Lots of different perspectives and kept adding more as the book went on, and it quickly got confusing especially since tHey're is no indicator of the POVs changing/who is speaking (at least in audio book., not sure about print.) There were so many points where I had to rewind because I had no idea what was going on.
By 85% I was just ready for this book to be over, then by 92% or so I turned up the audio speed because I was just so ready for it to be over.
By 85% I was just ready for this book to be over, then by 92% or so I turned up the audio speed because I was just so ready for it to be over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Minor: Murder
alexduarte's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
bethann_coleates's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism
sinceraly's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ideally, I'll write a longer, more well thought out review at some point, but for now:
Spinning Silver is an excellent adaption/retelling of Rumpelstiltskin that does a great job of setting itself apart from the original. The book is excellently written with some of the best prose I've read all year, and Novik is so incredibly skilled at describing things so well you really can picture them all in your head.
The only thing stopping me from rating the book 5 stars is the amount of perspectives the book gets written through, and the nonsense order of how they happen. At first it's as simple as Miryem/Wanda/Irina, but then you toss in perspectives from the tsar, from Irina's handmaiden, from Wanda's brother, and they all happen randomly, it feels like. Though I loved the switch in perspectives at first, eventually it led to the middle section of the book feeling disjointed and not as cohesive as it could have been. Maybe on a second read, I'd feel like it's worth it, but it was a big enough negative for me to keep the book from 5 stars.
Also wish the book would have given me an epilogue if only because I wanted to see more of the Staryk king post "you fight good" moment. I'm a sucker for proud bitches and a redemption arc.
Spinning Silver is an excellent adaption/retelling of Rumpelstiltskin that does a great job of setting itself apart from the original. The book is excellently written with some of the best prose I've read all year, and Novik is so incredibly skilled at describing things so well you really can picture them all in your head.
The only thing stopping me from rating the book 5 stars is the amount of perspectives the book gets written through, and the nonsense order of how they happen. At first it's as simple as Miryem/Wanda/Irina, but then you toss in perspectives from the tsar, from Irina's handmaiden, from Wanda's brother, and they all happen randomly, it feels like. Though I loved the switch in perspectives at first, eventually it led to the middle section of the book feeling disjointed and not as cohesive as it could have been. Maybe on a second read, I'd feel like it's worth it, but it was a big enough negative for me to keep the book from 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
matcha_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Great story, I enjoyed seeing the characters evolve and women outsmart their situations. Wanda was my favorite heroine. My biggest critique is while the women were single they were protrayed as intelligent and determined to survive, yet at the end Irina and Miryem stayed married with their captors. I know this is a fairy tale re-telling and the men changed for the better, but the romance felt so shallow.
I had a good time listening to the audio book, but it was challenging recognizing when POVs changed. The narrator sublty changes her voice between the female characters so it's really easy to miss if you aren't fully paying attention.
I had a good time listening to the audio book, but it was challenging recognizing when POVs changed. The narrator sublty changes her voice between the female characters so it's really easy to miss if you aren't fully paying attention.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Death and Rape
nofrigatelikeabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse