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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
It was a little hard to follow along while listening, but a good fantasy retelling of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is fast-paced with lots of twists and turns. There is a lot of moral ambiguity and gray areas that Enebish (and me) has trouble with. There is a mystery here that I will have to read the 2nd book to understand.
I’ve never read a retelling of Hunch-Back of Notre Dame before, and this was a good first. I was unsure about this in the beginning, but as the plot picked up I didn’t want to put it down. At first I was uncertain about how I would feel about the end twist but I liked the way Thorley finished it off.
I’m kind of surprised by how much I like this book. There’s a lot of things that are good - but only just - about this book: good characters, good world building, good dialogue. With few exceptions, I didn’t find too much of that memorable or distinctive, but I never found that I was reading the book in spite of any of that either. I would find myself getting pulled into the plot like a leaf in a tornado, and completely losing myself in the book. It had me worried for a few pages that it was going to end on a sour note but then it really turned itself around and I’m looking forward to the next book.
ALSO Night Spinner gets EXTRA BONUS IMAGINARY POINTS for being... I don’t know what the right phrase is here. The MC has a disability but the book never handicaps her, if that makes sense. It never expects less of her for her disability. Only she expects less of herself for it and that changes as she goes through the book (and not because the disability magically disappears). So props for being the book I can point to next time someone asks me how fantasy books are supposed to handle disabilities.
ALSO Night Spinner gets EXTRA BONUS IMAGINARY POINTS for being... I don’t know what the right phrase is here. The MC has a disability but the book never handicaps her, if that makes sense. It never expects less of her for her disability. Only she expects less of herself for it and that changes as she goes through the book (and not because the disability magically disappears). So props for being the book I can point to next time someone asks me how fantasy books are supposed to handle disabilities.
Title Night Spinner
Author Addie Thorley
Description from Amazon
Before the massacre at Nariin, Enebish was one of the greatest warriors in the Sky King’s Imperial Army: a rare and dangerous Night Spinner, blessed with the ability to control the threads of darkness. Now, she is known as Enebish the Destroyer―a monster and murderer, banished to a monastery for losing control of her power and annihilating a merchant caravan.
Guilt stricken and scarred, Enebish tries to be grateful for her sanctuary, until her adoptive sister, Imperial Army commander Ghoa, returns from the war front with a tantalizing offer. If Enebish can capture the notorious criminal, Temujin, whose band of rebels has been seizing army supply wagons, not only will her crimes be pardoned, she will be reinstated as a warrior.
Enebish eagerly accepts. But as she hunts Temujin across the tundra, she discovers the tides of war have shifted, and the supplies he’s stealing are the only thing keeping thousands of shepherds from starving. Torn between duty and conscience, Enebish must decide whether to put her trust in the charismatic rebel or her beloved sister. No matter who she chooses, an even greater enemy is advancing, ready to bring the empire to its knees.
Release Date February 11, 2020
Initial Thoughts
I was really excited to read this book. The first picture on my Bookstagram was of An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley (it’s not my best picture
Author Addie Thorley
Description from Amazon
Before the massacre at Nariin, Enebish was one of the greatest warriors in the Sky King’s Imperial Army: a rare and dangerous Night Spinner, blessed with the ability to control the threads of darkness. Now, she is known as Enebish the Destroyer―a monster and murderer, banished to a monastery for losing control of her power and annihilating a merchant caravan.
Guilt stricken and scarred, Enebish tries to be grateful for her sanctuary, until her adoptive sister, Imperial Army commander Ghoa, returns from the war front with a tantalizing offer. If Enebish can capture the notorious criminal, Temujin, whose band of rebels has been seizing army supply wagons, not only will her crimes be pardoned, she will be reinstated as a warrior.
Enebish eagerly accepts. But as she hunts Temujin across the tundra, she discovers the tides of war have shifted, and the supplies he’s stealing are the only thing keeping thousands of shepherds from starving. Torn between duty and conscience, Enebish must decide whether to put her trust in the charismatic rebel or her beloved sister. No matter who she chooses, an even greater enemy is advancing, ready to bring the empire to its knees.
Release Date February 11, 2020
Initial Thoughts
I was really excited to read this book. The first picture on my Bookstagram was of An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley (it’s not my best picture
I didn’t know how much I needed this book until I read it. I ended up become so invested in Enebish’s story that I found it almost impossible to put down. This is the first book I’ve read by Addie Thorley and it most certainly will not be the last. Her writing style is beautiful and the world she has created is beyond amazing and magical that I already cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
The character development in this book is spot on, especially with Enebish who ends up being a strong yet incredibly relatable character. Enebish is not your typical heroine but that made me love her even more.
The twist in this book was absolutely perfect and I honestly did not see it coming. I had doubts on the character involved but never to that extent! I was blown away and honestly just needed more once the book was over!
Night Spinner is a beautifully written re-telling of Hunchback of Notre Dame and is the first in a new series by Addie Thorley. I definitely recommend giving this book a read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
The character development in this book is spot on, especially with Enebish who ends up being a strong yet incredibly relatable character. Enebish is not your typical heroine but that made me love her even more.
The twist in this book was absolutely perfect and I honestly did not see it coming. I had doubts on the character involved but never to that extent! I was blown away and honestly just needed more once the book was over!
Night Spinner is a beautifully written re-telling of Hunchback of Notre Dame and is the first in a new series by Addie Thorley. I definitely recommend giving this book a read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this because it’s a retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and that’s something I’ve never been interested in
The characters were amazing (some obviously were douche bags
The characters were amazing (some obviously were douche bags
solid. good worldbuilding, and a genuinely compelling and realistic depiction of a woman unlearning propaganda and reclaiming her culture. there are definitely some stretches in logic, and the romance is incredibly tiresome, but overall fairly enjoyable
I really liked the vibes early on of our main character who is disabled due to war wounds as well as being physically scarred by the king, branding her a criminal, who lives quietly in a monastery. Her best friend, turned away from joining the army due to his non magical abilities, defends her against the monks who would like nothing more than to catch her doing something nefarious and report it to the king.
However, this thread was dropped after a few chapters when things shifted to politically-charged rebel versus empire vibes. Now our main character must root out the rebel element in order to restore her name. The plot then follows a familiar pattern after that. At times, I felt our MC was way more dense than she should have been. She's been a high-ranking soldier, and she gets tripped up by a few "subtle" clues a bone seer relates to her or confuses easily when new evidence appears.
Besides that, I liked the characters, particularly a delightful feathered friend. I thought the hideout of the rebels was very cool. The world building was a bit piecemeal as some ideas were dropped in favor of other ideas as the story progressed. Overall, though, an interesting story with elements inspired by The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
However, this thread was dropped after a few chapters when things shifted to politically-charged rebel versus empire vibes. Now our main character must root out the rebel element in order to restore her name. The plot then follows a familiar pattern after that. At times, I felt our MC was way more dense than she should have been. She's been a high-ranking soldier, and she gets tripped up by a few "subtle" clues a bone seer relates to her or confuses easily when new evidence appears.
Besides that, I liked the characters, particularly a delightful feathered friend. I thought the hideout of the rebels was very cool. The world building was a bit piecemeal as some ideas were dropped in favor of other ideas as the story progressed. Overall, though, an interesting story with elements inspired by The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
You know what I love? I love retellings of stories that don't get told often. One of my favorites is House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig, a retelling of The 12 Dancing Princesses. How often do you see a retellings for The 12 Dancing Princesses? I know there's a few out there, but better yet...how often do you see a retelling for The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Because I'll tell ya, this is the only one I know of.
I loved how loosely inspired this is on THoND. You can clearly see the parallels between Night Spinner and the original story, and yet Night Spinner still has a story that's all its own. I loved following Ebenish's journey, physically, emotionally, spiritually, internally, really all of it, as she discovers what life is outside the walls of the monastery. Such a great read, really can't wait until May for Sky Breaker!
I loved how loosely inspired this is on THoND. You can clearly see the parallels between Night Spinner and the original story, and yet Night Spinner still has a story that's all its own. I loved following Ebenish's journey, physically, emotionally, spiritually, internally, really all of it, as she discovers what life is outside the walls of the monastery. Such a great read, really can't wait until May for Sky Breaker!