REVIEW: Spinning Silver

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Page Count: 466 pages

Release Date: July 10, 2018

My Rating: 4.75/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father's inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk--grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh--Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar. But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.

Add to your Goodreads here!

My Review:

Going into Spinning Silver I was slightly nervous - the cover, the description, and my absolute ADORATION of Uprooted meant I had high expectations. How could they ever possibly be met? And yet: they were. Early into my read, I tweeted "y'all, spinning silver is less like a book and more like a gorgeous immersive experience" and I whole-heartedly stand by that. Novik's descriptions and details literally immerse the reader into another world. Everything is so atmospheric that upon finishing the book I was almost suprised to find myself in a 80 degree July day, rather than a Russian-esque fantasyland with perennial, cursed winter.

Okay, enough raving about the book as a whole. Here's what was so great about it: First, the fairytale elements are SO well done. They're pervasive throughout the novel, but just enough that it's still special and not overdone. It's loosely based on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin - loosely being the key word. At its heart it's not just a simple retelling, but a story of friendship, debt, love, forgiveness, and strength. I loved the story in general, too. I love fairytale retellings anyways, but this story transcended the typical retelling. How can one go wrong with winter kings, a cursed winter landscape, fiery demons, and girls being strong as hell? (You can't. You really can't).

The three main characters (Miryem, Wanda and Irina) were amazingly done: they were all likable while still having faults, they were strong while still having weak moments, and they just felt so real. I was rooting so hard for all of them, and I loved how their three separate journeys all interwove in unexpected ways. The one thing that sometimes drew me out of the story was that the three protagonists all narrated the story and all used the "I" POV, and there was nothing to differentiate between the three (except for reading on, and using other characters/events as in-text clues). Eventually I began to see slight changes in the writing style for each perspective, but for the first paragraph or so of each switch in POV I was slightly confused about whose POV I was reading from. However, this wasn't a huge problem by any means. All in all, I absolutely loved this whimsical, imaginative book!