saluki's review against another edition
4.0
Tanked-up action, good plot-twists, the cyber-tech stitching elements are creative, and we get a slow-building realistic romance.
This sci-fi retelling of Snow White is on a par with Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles. Lewis offers a kick-ass princess, a charming prince, an evil queen, an apple, a huntsman and more... but it's the mining
Terrific standalone novel.
ali_jenna's review against another edition
1.0
This is a total rip off of The Lunar Chronicles. Unlike The Lunar Chronicles, this books was terrible I did not like it at all.
I would rate this 0 stars if I could
I would rate this 0 stars if I could
everthereader's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Essie was a really epic character!
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
I love, love, love Fairytale retellings and this book did not fail me. I know that a number of people have been comparing this story to another series that I absolutely adore and yes, there may be some similarities but overall I didn’t strictly identify it with that as this is Snow White’s story.
Essie has been living on the planet Thanda for a while now and she has done her best to avoid strangers and anyone that could figure out who she is. One thing we learn about her is that she is great with technology and is a fighter. When a mysterious stranger crash lands on the planet and Essie makes the decision to help him, things take a turn and she finds herself on her way back to the danger of her home planet, Windsong and within easy reach of her stepmother Olivia.
As the story progresses, we find out how Essie really escaped Windsong and I’m not going to tell you what happened because that would give a bit of the story away. Just know that there were some people within the palace that recognized the danger she was in and due to promises made, did whatever they possibly could to keep Essie safe. Even if it meant sending her to a freezing planet to make it on her own.
We also find out that Olivia hasn’t given up. She will do whatever she possibly can to get rid of Essie and eventually take over ruling Windsong. Once Essie comes back, the only thing standing between Essie and Olivia’s plans are Dane….the mysterious guy who crash landed on Thanda.
I loved how Lewis built out these worlds and the way the characters were developed. If you know me at all you know I love a good character driven story and Essie and Dane as the main characters were done well. Essie is strong, tough, and smart - Some of my favorite aspects to a female lead. At first she is standoffish to everyone around her with the exception of Petey but I couldn’t blame her for it. She was protecting herself and doing so by keeping her distance.
While at first we didn’t get to know Dane very well, as he spent more time with Essie, I found him more interesting. I don’t think I would consider him as well developed as Essie but in the end it didn’t bother me. We found out the important stuff about his background and what he was trying to accomplish when he crash landed on Thanda. Add to that the fact that he delivered on the important parts which were helping Essie and the swoony bits and I was happy. For the record, I would have loved more of the swoony stuff.
One of the things I didn’t care for was the twist with Essie’s father. I don’t know that it was necessary but it is what it is. I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to ruin any of the story – even this part. I also would have liked to know more about Olivia’s drive for power. It wasn’t very clear (to me at least) why she wanted it. It could be possible there wasn’t a reason but I guess I wanted there to be one.
Overall I really enjoyed this one. The plot follows through and provides a solid ending and it has plenty of action and romance. If you enjoy fairytale retellings, definitely check this one out. I found myself engaged in the story and hope you do too!
Thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for the review copy!
Essie has been living on the planet Thanda for a while now and she has done her best to avoid strangers and anyone that could figure out who she is. One thing we learn about her is that she is great with technology and is a fighter. When a mysterious stranger crash lands on the planet and Essie makes the decision to help him, things take a turn and she finds herself on her way back to the danger of her home planet, Windsong and within easy reach of her stepmother Olivia.
As the story progresses, we find out how Essie really escaped Windsong and I’m not going to tell you what happened because that would give a bit of the story away. Just know that there were some people within the palace that recognized the danger she was in and due to promises made, did whatever they possibly could to keep Essie safe. Even if it meant sending her to a freezing planet to make it on her own.
We also find out that Olivia hasn’t given up. She will do whatever she possibly can to get rid of Essie and eventually take over ruling Windsong. Once Essie comes back, the only thing standing between Essie and Olivia’s plans are Dane….the mysterious guy who crash landed on Thanda.
I loved how Lewis built out these worlds and the way the characters were developed. If you know me at all you know I love a good character driven story and Essie and Dane as the main characters were done well. Essie is strong, tough, and smart - Some of my favorite aspects to a female lead. At first she is standoffish to everyone around her with the exception of Petey but I couldn’t blame her for it. She was protecting herself and doing so by keeping her distance.
While at first we didn’t get to know Dane very well, as he spent more time with Essie, I found him more interesting. I don’t think I would consider him as well developed as Essie but in the end it didn’t bother me. We found out the important stuff about his background and what he was trying to accomplish when he crash landed on Thanda. Add to that the fact that he delivered on the important parts which were helping Essie and the swoony bits and I was happy. For the record, I would have loved more of the swoony stuff.
One of the things I didn’t care for was the twist with Essie’s father. I don’t know that it was necessary but it is what it is. I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to ruin any of the story – even this part. I also would have liked to know more about Olivia’s drive for power. It wasn’t very clear (to me at least) why she wanted it. It could be possible there wasn’t a reason but I guess I wanted there to be one.
Overall I really enjoyed this one. The plot follows through and provides a solid ending and it has plenty of action and romance. If you enjoy fairytale retellings, definitely check this one out. I found myself engaged in the story and hope you do too!
Thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for the review copy!
lawbooks600's review against another edition
3.0
Trigger warnings: Near death experiences
This was a book that was part of the library reading challenge of the month. One of the goals were to read a fractured fairy tale.
7/10, this book started off badly but got better as I read more of the book. I really liked the main character since she can be annoying at times but most of the time she can kick butt. The main character was really complex as well with flaws strengths and a backstory which is not a thing I see all the time in books. I liked the worldbuilding as well since it was really immersive due to the fact that there was some sort of solar system like the solar system we know but it's a different one, and based on that it seems like in this book humans are powerful enough to colonise other solar systems so I can definitely see this book set a few centuries in the future or something along those lines. Definitely recommended if you like an epic sci-fi YA book but I'm not sure whether it holds up 10 years after it was published and did I mention that it's such a shame that it's not as well known as the Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent series or 1984 since it is a good book after all. Speaking of I enjoyed them more than this so there's that.
This was a book that was part of the library reading challenge of the month. One of the goals were to read a fractured fairy tale.
7/10, this book started off badly but got better as I read more of the book. I really liked the main character since she can be annoying at times but most of the time she can kick butt. The main character was really complex as well with flaws strengths and a backstory which is not a thing I see all the time in books. I liked the worldbuilding as well since it was really immersive due to the fact that there was some sort of solar system like the solar system we know but it's a different one, and based on that it seems like in this book humans are powerful enough to colonise other solar systems so I can definitely see this book set a few centuries in the future or something along those lines. Definitely recommended if you like an epic sci-fi YA book but I'm not sure whether it holds up 10 years after it was published and did I mention that it's such a shame that it's not as well known as the Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent series or 1984 since it is a good book after all. Speaking of I enjoyed them more than this so there's that.
onewinternight's review against another edition
3.0
Stitching Snow was (as you might have guessed by the cover) a retelling of Snow White. It also happened to be in space (and no, it is not a rip off of Cinder, but a totally different sci-fi take).
In brief, Essie, a cage fighter on a lonely mining planet of Thanda, gets kidnapped by a *mysterious young good-looking dude named Dane. Essie is a brilliant inventor, and she "stitches" machines together (the coding, programming, and designing is referred to her as stitching), which I thought (as a crafty person) was a cool metaphor. Essie's only companions pre-Dane were seven mining droids with disparate personalities (one of the more original takes on the Seven Dwarves, for sure) . . . read the rest of this review at http://rlhendrian.blogspot.com/2015/03/since-i-am-not-so-great-at-blogging.html
In brief, Essie, a cage fighter on a lonely mining planet of Thanda, gets kidnapped by a *mysterious young good-looking dude named Dane. Essie is a brilliant inventor, and she "stitches" machines together (the coding, programming, and designing is referred to her as stitching), which I thought (as a crafty person) was a cool metaphor. Essie's only companions pre-Dane were seven mining droids with disparate personalities (one of the more original takes on the Seven Dwarves, for sure) . . . read the rest of this review at http://rlhendrian.blogspot.com/2015/03/since-i-am-not-so-great-at-blogging.html
miaricks's review against another edition
4.0
I received this audio book as a giveaway arc. I am so glad I received it. I listened to the last 4 cds back to back to see what happened next and while I had a good idea it would end happily, there were several twists that surprised me. The reader had a clear voice with good inflection and it was the kind of ending that I listened to twice because I didn't want the story to end yet.
atris_lauraborealis's review against another edition
5.0
I love retellings of fairy tales, so I'm predisposed to like this. I also love sci-fi and space stories so I'm additionally predisposed to like this. It was awesome, I enjoyed the characters, setting and story so much. It was well-paced sans a small part just before the 3rd act, and there was a secondary storyline I didn't think was necessary, but overall it was a rich, wonderful story right up there with the lunar chronicles.