Reviews with content warning for Rape - Spinning Silver

My friends told me I would love this book and they were right (I was worried I wouldn't, since I didn't really like A Deadly Education). Every chapter very carefully built up pieces of the narrative that had super rewarding payoff. The characters were so vivid, and the different perspectives had such strong voices. Even characters like stephon, whose POV I worried I would not enjoy, grew on me.
Mirantius's POV was super fascinating. I loved how every character made difficult choices, and even worked against each other at different points, but you could feel their reasoning was completely sound. Irina and Miryem are brilliant and cutthroat but in different ways. I loved Miryem's selfishness borne out of her parent's selflessness, and how it was both a flaw and a strength. These characters are so rich and complicated.

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scoulson2011's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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misssophiereads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

This book is so exquisitely crafted, it was an absolute joy to read. There are a lot of POVs interwoven to tell the story and despite all of them being told in first person, I found it (mostly) easy to follow who was speaking just from the writing style. I also loved seeing the representation of different parts of society, including what these people would know or not know simply because of their upbringing. The magic was interesting (though perhaps not explained in enough detail) and the retelling (of Rumpelstilskin) cleverly done.
My favourite part was definitely the moral strength and determination of the three main female characters. They all did the best they could with the situations they were faced with, relying on their intelligence and experience, trying to make the best choices while not betraying themselves or their families. Found family also plays a huge role, as do kindness and empathy. I already know this is a book I will want to reread as soon as some of the details have faded.
My only complaint would be that I would have liked to see a bit more of the love stories, but then this is not a fantasy romance, so it is not the fault of the book at all.

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