One of my favourite authors - love her fairy-tale like novels the most. I'll be picking this up regularly for re-reads for sure.

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

3.5 stars. Loosely based on Rumpelstiltskin. Miryem, a Jewish moneylenders daughter, finds she can turn silver coins into gold through hard work and great business acumen. We are also introduced to two more female characters: Wanda and Irina with their own storylines, which all intersects towards the middle of the book.

I am not a big fan of YA, but I enjoy this authors books. I love her descriptions, and she always adds interesting elements to her story. This plays off in a medieval Eastern European setting, and Miryem's Jewishness plays a big role which adds depth to this fairy-tale spin-off. The female characters are strong and all have flaws. There is very little romance in this book, and no insta-love, which is always a plus for me.

This was going to be a solid 4 stars, but unfortunately the ending felt a bit dragged out, and too many characters were introduced - in the end there were six narrators, I think it would have been better to keep it to the primary three.

If you enjoy well-written fantastical adventures filled with magic, elfin winter kings, demons, haunted tsars and young women taking control of their destinies then you should add this to your to read list.

I am unable to review this copy of Spinning Silver as the download did not work even after several attempts. I'm sure I will buy a copy at some point though. It was disappointing as I was looking forward to reading more of Naomi Novik's work.

Spinning Silver threads together the tale of three women: Miryem, the Jewish daughter of moneylenders who makes a boast that she can turn silver into gold within earshot of a Staryk king; Irina, the distinctly un-beautiful daughter of a duke, who buys jewellery made of Staryk silver off of Miryem and ends up marrying the tsar, who isn't quite as beautiful inside as he is on the outside; Wanda, an extremely poor child of three whose father is in debt to Miryem's father. They have nothing to give so Wanda goes to work for Miryem.

The story was slow and winding and full of magic and I loved it. Mostly. I did think there were too many POVs; not only do we have Miryem, Irina, and Wanda, but there's also Irina's maid Margretta, Wanda's two brothers, and the tsar. It's a bit much. But the three women are fantastic. Wanda is hurt but hardworking and a simple kind of girl, who ends up finding a home with Miryem's family. Miryem herself is frustrated with her father who never collects on the money he lends; when her mother falls ill because they are so broke, Miryem takes over her father's business. Then she ends up in trouble with the Staryk. Irina is clever and cunning.

I loved how these three women are drawn together and the twists and turns they take. It is about love and friendship and finding family and sacrifice and fairy tales.

I had very mixed feelings about this novel. On one hand it is gorgeous, very well written and intelligent. But on the other hand I didn't really love the ending and the way the "romance" appeared/evolved. I had the same issue with Uprooted by this same author, I love everything BUT the romance is just a complete no from me.
That would still be a book I'd like to re-read, and might not feel as pissed about the "romance" now that I know to expect it. All the characters are great, fleshed out and recognizable even when their name isn't at the top of the chapter with their point of view. Having such distinctive voices for multiple characters like that is not something I find that often in multipov fantasy book.
Overall a great fantasy standalone with only one flaw for me that might not be for others.

A dark fairytale of a world, complete with a fire demon, a frost king and three young women who defy them all to rise up and forge their own paths. I adored Miryem the most, the daughter of a money lender who saved her family by stepping up to do the work her village abhorred her for. She grew throughout the story, first saving her family, then reluctantly sacrificing her own wants and needs to defend those who could not defend themselves. A true heroine.

A very beautiful story, complete with Novik’s rich and gorgeous language and world building. Easily a 5* read!

This was a great holiday read! I love fairy tales so when new versions of them come out I’m always looking forward to them and see what new twist has been added. And Novik definitely does not disappoint, nor even a little bit.

This is a coral novel with different point of view and different plots but everything happens for a reason, you will see. But in my opinion way too many. In my opinion the book would have been much more dynamic and addictive if they were less point of views, as I do not find some characters as important as to have their own point of view. I felt it was a bit dragged and mostly confusing in the beginning.

I found very interesting one of the female leads, a Jewish money lender. Novik is a descendant of Jews and I just loved how she used her character to break the stereotype and explore the antisemitism around it. I just loved the depth that this gives to the novel, the background and its characters.

Her writing style is gorgeous, her descriptions so vivid and the plot is equally traditional yet surprising for me. Definitely what I was looking for in this retelling and will look forward to read more of her books

I did love Uprooted, and there was something so solidly satisfying about it, so I was eager to give Spinning Silver a try when I could. I was a bit surprised, halfway through, why I was seeing a couple of reviews saying that it was a bit too like Uprooted, but having finished it I can totally see the point. There’s something in the shape of the story, and in the type of the reveal, that makes it very like Uprooted. That’s not to say it’s not satisfying, but unfortunately it’s one of the weaker aspects of Uprooted to me that is duplicated here in Spinning Silver…

In any case, the story: Miryem’s father is a moneylender, but a fairly useless one. She takes over from him, improving the prosperity of her family to no end, until the point where she boldly boasts that she can turn silver into gold. Naturally, the wrong people hear that and the Staryk king comes to demand she prove herself. The reward for success is ultimately to marry him and leave for his kingdom — a fate Miryem’s not so sure she wants for herself. Alongside Miryem, there are other protagonists: Wanda, a poor girl from the same village; Irina, a girl who might just (through her father’s machinations) become a princess… and a number of other POV characters, for some reason.

Mostly, it was just dragged out too much, with too many voices for the narration — who all sounded a little too alike. They’re not demarcated well on the page either, which doesn’t help. You can be reading for half a page before you realise there’s no way it can be Wanda talking.

There are definitely things to like about this, and the plot itself — and the cleverness of the fairytale retellings (because there’s more than one going on) — is definitely a draw. But it got a little bit too long, a little bit tedious, a little too bogged down in detail. And, like I said, there was something about the shape of the story which was very like Uprooted.

I enjoyed it well enough, but it certainly won’t get my Hugo vote.

Novik doesn't explain much, just launches you into the story and lets you catch up with the world and how it works. I enjoyed the mix of classic Grimm retelling with Slavic folktales too. Whilst it's an excellent story - and a Jewish protagonist is great to read about - it does suffer in comparison to the other Slavic/Russian inspired stories I had recently read, by Katherine Arden. but to come 2nd to that trilogy is still high praise!

I didn't finish this as I couldn't get into it. I may try again in the future but at the time of reading it just wasn't for me.

DNF page 150

After reading and really enjoyed "uprooted" by this author, I couldn't wait to read her new novel "Spinning Silver", however, unfortunately, this wasn't my cup of tea.

I just want to note, the Kindle edition of this book didn't actually work for me, so I had to read via an app and the formatting was all over the place.

Overall, this story had a lot of promise and I can tell why people love it! But for me, it was very slow going and I prefer much faster plots. There were also a lot of perspectives from different characters and I just couldn't connect to any of them.

Overall, I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this title, unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.

A lovely and lyrical adult fairy-tale re-worked from Rapunzel. You ca feel the finger-numbing cold in each page. The writing is so evocative and you lose yourself in this fantastical world. Beautiful.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Miryem's father might be one of the worst moneylenders of all time. While the people of her village have food on the table, Miryem's struggle to survive as her father has trouble collecting debts until she decides to take control and soon, the money is flowing. But this attracts the attention of the Staryk fairy king who heard Miryem can turn silver into gold and now wants her as his queen.

Naomi Novik has a way of weaving fairy tales we all know and love with a fabulous Russian twist, and presenting them to us in an illuminating new light. Just like Uprooted and Sleeping Beauty/Rapunzel, Spinning Silver takes what we know about Rumpeltiltskin and makes it even more magical with a fantastic female lead.

I loved how female-driven this book was from Miryem to Irina and Wanda, as well as Miryem's mother and Irina's carer. This book truly shows women rising from the ashes and becoming forces to be reckoned with and I really enjoyed reading their character progression from young girls to powerful women in their own right. Miryem is also clearly stated to be Jewish in this book, and though it doesn't appear that the book is set i our world, it almost feels like it could be because of how Miryem talks about her Jewish heritage and some of the terrible history her people have had to go through.

I loved the Staryk and it was almost weird and wonderful how everything about them screamed ice and silver. I really could imagine the Staryk kingdom as some amazing ice wonderland that is both dangerous and beautiful.

There were parts of this book that felt very long, and there were other parts I wished would have had a bit more attention put to them by the end. I would have liked more emphasis and growth in Irina's relationship with the Tsar which while bubbling with sexual tension, didn't exactly feel full of romance either. I did love all the interactions and scenes between the two though.

I thought I had already left a review so because this is older I'll be brief: I adore this book and recommend it (and all Novik's work) constantly to my customers.

Spinning Silver was one of my favourite books of 2018. It's a beautifully written, complex and deeply magical story. A loose retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, this dark story is a layered exploration of fear and magic. There are three main female characters and I loved each of them completely. I was just blown away by Naomi Novik's skill as a storywriter.

I don’t read fairy tales often.
There’s just something about them that I don’t particularly enjoy. Maybe it’s the story that I already know, the characters I’m already familiar with. However, the ones I have read and loved are the ones that are different. Either the story is so far removed from the original that it doesn’t feel like the same fairy tale (Cinder by Marissa Meyer). Or, the characters are so different from their fairy tale originals that it feels like a whole new cast of characters (To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo).

Spinning Silver was actually a story that, while I knew was a fairy tale retelling, I had no idea what the story was. It’s the story of Rumpelstiltskin, in which I decided not to Google until after I’d read it to avoid any potential spoilers. But it meant that it was like reading a whole new story with a fantastic setting and new characters to fall in love with.

Unless you’re not British or not in Britain, it’s been hot. And I’m not talking a pleasant summer; I’m talking months of wanting to climb into your freezer. I sat in air-conditioned cafes for hours, took 3 cold showers a day, sucked on ice cubes like they were Werther’s Originals. Spinning Silver came through the door just as the UK decided it wanted the nickname ‘the hot fires of Hell’.

Spinning Silver is one of those fabulous books that works for both extremes of weather. You can read it in the winter, when you’re all cozied up in your fluffy socks and drinking hot chocolate. Or, like I did, trying to picture myself rolling around the snowy village that our three protagonists lived in.

And it certainly worked. I stopped dying from the heat every time I read a chapter!
Unlike Uprooted, Spinning Silver took a little time getting my attention. For a good 150 pages, we are given exposition and weirdly simple sentences. An example would be ‘I walk out the house and then I pick up the logs and bring them back into the house’. It took me a little longer than usual to realise that this character in particular is supposed to sound like this due to lack of an education. It seemed really obvious after said character started calling basic mathematics ‘magic’.

Nothing much happens during these chapters. But this was nothing compared to the switching of narratives without any notification of it happening. Considering the first two narratives we get are two girls, living in the same village, interacting with the same people, my mind started spinning. Thankfully, after complaining about it on Twitter, I got used to it.

But then more narratives came. And more, and more, and MORE until we got six. SIX.
I have a feeling not stating the change in narrative with the character’s name is more of an editing faux pas instead of Novik. Just because it seems a little weird that that would be an ~artistic direction~ that she would want to take. It didn’t serve any reason to not state who’s talking, and I don’t think I’ve ever come across this in another book before. It’s certainly not a deterrent, but it’s something to consider before reading. PREPARE YOURSELF.

Once you get over not knowing who’s narrative you’re reading straight away, Spinning Silver is an epic tale with perspectives from the peasants of the village to the rulers of the land. I loved the twists and turns and how each character has an important story to tell, although if some got lost in edits, I wouldn’t have minded.

I still gave Spinning Silver five stars despite it not being the same five stars as Uprooted. Uprooted is so special to me. I think to so many others too, but Spinning Silver feels a little different. It’s still an incredibly epic and eerily creepy tale that also felt largely historical. But while it was cold and creepy and epic, it didn’t feel entirely magical as Uprooted did. Whether it was the character’s reaction to it or the way it was described, it didn’t feel like a shocking presence. Magic existed. People coped.

But I don’t think it takes away from the story, it somehow feels right. What we got instead was a tale of the people, of the time period, and characters that fleshed out the culture more than just one character could.

Uprooted is one of my all time favourite books so you can imagine how excited I was when I found out she was writing another story in a similar vein but this time inspired by Rumpelstiltskin instead of Beauty and the Beast. I had incredibly high expectations for Spinning Silver but if anything it was even better than I'd hoped it would be.

The story is told from multiple points of view but the three main characters are Miryem, Wanda and Irina young girls with very different stories that all tie together in some way. Miryem is the daughter of a moneylender but although her father is happy to lend people money he finds it very hard to get people to pay him back. Life is tough for their family, food is scarce while people who have borrowed money from them seem to have more than enough to go around so Miryem decides to take matters into her own hands and take over the payment collections. It turns out she has quite a head for business and when she gets a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold she catches the attention of the Staryk King her life gets more difficult than ever.

Wanda is from a poor family, her mother died in childbirth and her father is a drunk but she does her best to look after her younger brothers and keep things going. She's horrified when she hears her father planning on selling her into marriage so when she's forced to work for Miryem to pay of her father's debts instead she's thrilled to delay an unwanted marriage. Especially when she realises that earning a wage may enable her to create a much better life for herself and her brothers.

Irina is the daughter of a duke so she has led a sheltered and privileged life but things change when her father comes up with a plan to marry her off to the tsar. When Irina catches the eye of a demon she realises she is in mortal danger and if she doesn't come up with a way to thwart him then the entire kingdom is in peril.

Spinning Silver is a fantastic tale and a perfect read for the winter months when you're wrapped up warm inside in front of a fire. Just like Uprooted it feels like an old fashioned fairytale, one that people could have been telling for centuries, but at the same time it's a new and fantastic take on the idea of Rumplestiltskin. One of the things I loved most was how strong all three main characters were, they're living in a time when women had very little in the way of rights but they all manage to take control of their own destiny and choose a future for themselves. There are so many layers to this story and Naomi Novik very cleverly takes each separate storyline and weaves them together into something magical. It's hard to decide which of these two books I loved the most but one thing for sure is that they've both earned a spot on my favourites shelf. I'm really, really hoping that the author will write more of these fairytale style books in the future because the first two have been absolutely fantastic.

*I received this ARC via netGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Oof this was a hefty book, it kind of just kept going. I loved the Eastern European fairytale setting and the magical aspects of this were really interesting, however all the different POV's were a bit overwhelming and meant things became very cluttered, and I found myself going oh here we go, another one, whenever a new POV was introduced. I really wanted to like this more than I did but somehow I just didn't love this and wished it were shorter also.