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ru_bunny's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
atthelibrarywithmegan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Tbh, this took me a month to finish. I think it was a combo of the fact that I had a massive book hangover and this is a pretty slow paced book. I do also feel like it would have been easier to read a physical copy rather than an ebook. That being said, I really loved it. This was my introduction to Naomi Novik and I really enjoyed her writing style; so much so I bought the physical book for Indie Book Day! This world is filled with so much detail, that I know I missed things. It’s told from 6 different POVs. Our main character is a Jewish young woman, Miryem, who works hard to bring her family out of poverty. She ends up making some unlikely alliances to help combat the evils around her. There’s found family and a little bit of enemies to lovers, but no spice. The imagery and details of the books, as well as NEEDING to know if Miryem, Wanda, and Irina succeed really helped pull me through this story. I cannot wait to read another one of her books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, and Child death
siobhan74's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
You know, most people spend their time writing bad reviews. I only really enjoy writing good ones. Spinning Silver immediately joined my Top 5 Books Ever list. I have reread it a half dozen times. It’s all about knowing one’s own value, the value of women, the value of stepping into the unknown. Spinning Silver is all about how much people are worth. Right there, that tells you something.
It’s a sort of retelling of Rumplestilskin without a Rumplestilskin. Or at least without a character with a direct Rumplestilskin correlation. That story begins with a father bragging about his daughter that she can spin straw into gold. Our primary heroine — because there are three stories here — is a young Jewish girl in the time when Christians were not allowed to lend money with interest so all moneylenders in Europe were Jewish (this little fact is a monumentally important part of history. European Jews lent to kings and financed wars and palaces, and religion was only the excuse used to chase the Jews out of any given country). She brags that she can turn silver into gold.
The wiring is incredible, the characters ARE complicated, the plot moves quite quickly. Nothing but wonderment here.
It’s a sort of retelling of Rumplestilskin without a Rumplestilskin. Or at least without a character with a direct Rumplestilskin correlation. That story begins with a father bragging about his daughter that she can spin straw into gold. Our primary heroine — because there are three stories here — is a young Jewish girl in the time when Christians were not allowed to lend money with interest so all moneylenders in Europe were Jewish (this little fact is a monumentally important part of history. European Jews lent to kings and financed wars and palaces, and religion was only the excuse used to chase the Jews out of any given country). She brags that she can turn silver into gold.
The wiring is incredible, the characters ARE complicated, the plot moves quite quickly. Nothing but wonderment here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Antisemitism, Sexism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
mar_gier's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really loved Spinning Silver, but it could be a bit of a slog to get through at times.
All of the characters were very wordy in both their thoughts and their descriptions of things. Also, dialogue exchanges seemed few and far between at times, and I do wish that there was a bit of them.
Nonetheless, I really did adore this book. The cast of characters were all relatively likeable to some degree, and they all felt extremely distinct from one another. Like, despite the fact that the chapters and scenes weren't labeled when there was a change in POV, you could always tell within the first sentence or three. (BTW, this book is all in 1st Person with like 6 distinct POVs.)
My favorite thing was seeing all the plot threads intertwining with one another, along with all of the characters' arcs. The character development and motivations are so deeply entrenched with the former that I think it's impossible to separate the two without having the story structure collapse.
But yeah, loved this book, but it was a bit slow-paced for my liking. You should read it.
(Also, all of the TWs I listed aren't super prevalent in the book except to one character really, but I wanted to be thorough just in case.)
All of the characters were very wordy in both their thoughts and their descriptions of things. Also, dialogue exchanges seemed few and far between at times, and I do wish that there was a bit of them.
Nonetheless, I really did adore this book. The cast of characters were all relatively likeable to some degree, and they all felt extremely distinct from one another. Like, despite the fact that the chapters and scenes weren't labeled when there was a change in POV, you could always tell within the first sentence or three. (BTW, this book is all in 1st Person with like 6 distinct POVs.)
My favorite thing was seeing all the plot threads intertwining with one another, along with all of the characters' arcs. The character development and motivations are so deeply entrenched with the former that I think it's impossible to separate the two without having the story structure collapse.
But yeah, loved this book, but it was a bit slow-paced for my liking. You should read it.
(Also, all of the TWs I listed aren't super prevalent in the book except to one character really, but I wanted to be thorough just in case.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
readwithde's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Misogyny
Moderate: Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Blood, Classism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and War
Minor: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Gore, and Confinement
haley49's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was such an intricate and beautiful fantasy. All the povs fit together so well and told a story that was masterfully done. There were some skimmable parts, too many povs, some pacing issues, and a need (in my opinion) for more side character character depth. However, in the end the world building and continuous story was so well done I couldn’t help but enjoy it. I liked how the MC was Jewish as I hadn’t seen that in fantasy and you can really see how it effects her life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Violence, and Torture
brie333's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have a ton of thoughts so just rapid fire bullet-points:
- the book was a bit too long, but somehow the ending was too short. I wish we could’ve gotten a more fleshed out ending. I came to love these characters and it was hard walking away when they were so unsettled. I also feel like some of the lore or the whys behind actions was not discussed enough, but we have whole flashbacks or memories on the clothing everyone wore. Sometimes it felt like the author focused undue attention on building the setting/visuals.
- that being said I loved the set up to the overall story, the world building, and Miryems storyline in particular. Novik is brilliant at details and really bring everything to life for you. Her descriptions felt familiar and well explored. I just wish this wasn’t always at the expense of explanations of how things came to be.
- I purposely picked this book because it was a standalone but I’m now wishing for a sequel to flesh out the ending and explain some of the castoff plot lines.
- I can handle multi-povs but with nothing more than a page break, sometimes I would be deep in a paragraph before getting clarity on who was speaking. I think maybe the intention was to keep time moving and explain everything while keeping the reader a little on the outside of the story. But for me, it was a little dizzying. I understand that there was language choices and symbols that differentiated the povs but while each person had a distinct voice I will admit to being a little lost at some points of the story.
- Overall, a great story, one of the best I’ve read this year. Well crafted and complex. One I would read again but the pacing and abrupt ending to all but one plotlline took away a star. I don’t want to leave the impression that this is not a book to pickup. It absolutely is and I highly recommend it. Novik can write and write well. I just found myself wanting to walk in her cold winter woods a little longer and with a little more knowledge of how we got there.
- this has nothing to do with the author but I was told this was a fantasy with romance and I completely disagree. It’s a fantasy retelling that speaks on love, found family, and how far someone/anyone is willing to go when more is demanded of you. From any side. What little romance there is, and I do mean little, it’s serviceable to the story but not important enough to merit a claim
- the book was a bit too long, but somehow the ending was too short. I wish we could’ve gotten a more fleshed out ending. I came to love these characters and it was hard walking away when they were so unsettled. I also feel like some of the lore or the whys behind actions was not discussed enough, but we have whole flashbacks or memories on the clothing everyone wore. Sometimes it felt like the author focused undue attention on building the setting/visuals.
- that being said I loved the set up to the overall story, the world building, and Miryems storyline in particular. Novik is brilliant at details and really bring everything to life for you. Her descriptions felt familiar and well explored. I just wish this wasn’t always at the expense of explanations of how things came to be.
- I purposely picked this book because it was a standalone but I’m now wishing for a sequel to flesh out the ending and explain some of the castoff plot lines.
- I can handle multi-povs but with nothing more than a page break, sometimes I would be deep in a paragraph before getting clarity on who was speaking. I think maybe the intention was to keep time moving and explain everything while keeping the reader a little on the outside of the story. But for me, it was a little dizzying. I understand that there was language choices and symbols that differentiated the povs but while each person had a distinct voice I will admit to being a little lost at some points of the story.
- Overall, a great story, one of the best I’ve read this year. Well crafted and complex. One I would read again but the pacing and abrupt ending to all but one plotlline took away a star. I don’t want to leave the impression that this is not a book to pickup. It absolutely is and I highly recommend it. Novik can write and write well. I just found myself wanting to walk in her cold winter woods a little longer and with a little more knowledge of how we got there.
- this has nothing to do with the author but I was told this was a fantasy with romance and I completely disagree. It’s a fantasy retelling that speaks on love, found family, and how far someone/anyone is willing to go when more is demanded of you. From any side. What little romance there is, and I do mean little, it’s serviceable to the story but not important enough to merit a claim
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
rafafinhass's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Abortion, Violence, Misogyny, and Alcoholism
Minor: Rape, Death, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
naomi_k's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Physical abuse, Violence, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Misogyny, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing, Classism, Animal death, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Reads like a fairytale! I loved the many interconnected elements, and it was great having a Jewish main character in the cast. The way the author expertly wove in themes of supportive and toxic family, good and evil (and neutral), magic, antisemitism, misogyny, poverty, and others really called back to folktales. My biggest complaint is that it took me a long time (an hour of listening) to realize the narrative was switching between characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death