I read most of this book in a day. It was so charming and lovely. In the vein of Uprooted, Spinning Silver is another loosely inspired retelling of a fairytale, this time Rumplestiltskin. I’m honestly not sure which book I liked better. It’s been a while since I read Uprooted, and this book is one of those that gets better in your head the longer you sit with it after you finish. Our Rumplestiltskin is actually one of our heroines, Miryem, the daughter of a moneylender (a historically […]
Why is it always the deal breakers that end up the hero in fairy tales?
While I definitely grew up with all the normal fairy tales that inspired Disney movies, I also remember Rumpelstilzchen (German version) leaving a deep impression. I can’t remember if it was because the story creeped me out (I mean, he tears himself in two when he loses the deal) or if I thought there was something unjust about the treatment of either him or the spinner’s daughter but I certainly thought it was an interesting choice when he became such a central figure in Once […]
Enchanting, atmospheric (and timely) read
This week, the UK has been hit by massive* snowstorms that disrupted travel pretty much everywhere, as well as practically-arctic winds that have dropped temperatures to shockingly low*. Also this week, I was supposed to fly across the country for my PhD viva. Well–that didn’t happen. So I read The Bear and the Nightingale instead. And it was just the most perfect book to read during this kind of weather! The book takes place in a barely-fictional Russia in the Middle Ages. The fantasy elements come […]
What Did I Just Read?
The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
This wasn’t a bad book. The writing was good enough that I blew through it in about 3 sittings and I wanted to keep reading, so there’s that. But I was disappointed. And I feel guilty that I was disappointed, especially since Lavalle is a talented writer and a lot of things in this story worked really, really well. But there was also a lot that didn’t, at least for me. I can’t appropriately talk about this book without spoilers, so stop reading here if […]
For the night is dark and full of terrors
Disclaimer! I recieved an ARC copy of this through NetGalley. That has in no way influenced my review. Pyotr Vladimirovich is a boyar, the lord of northerly and remote Lesnaya Zemlya in medieval Russia. A part of the world where the winters are long and harsh and isolate the populace, it’s no wonder that the cold, dark nights are spent telling fairy stories, like those of Morozko or Lord Karachun, the Frost demon himself – who sometimes rewards those who are brave and pure of […]
A marked improvement on the first one
3.5 stars Spoiler warning! This is the second book in a trilogy. I will be unable to review the book without possibly giving away spoilers for the first book in the series, Shadow and Bone. Which is obviously the one you should start with if you’re interested in this series. After the rather dramatic show-down with the Darkling at the end of the last book, Alina and Mal are on the run, trying to get as far away from Ravka as possible. Having to hide […]