Spinning Silver weaves a tale of magic, resilience, love, leadership, and family through the eyes of myriad interconnected people struggling to survive a harsh winter made worse by the Staryk, a people made of ice and snow. Among them are Miryem, a young Jewish woman rescuing her father's moneylending business from ruin; Irina, a duke's daughter thrust into the spotlight as a result of her Staryk ancestry; and Wanda, hardworking daughter of an abusive father fighting to protect herself and her brothers. Naomi Novik does an amazing job of bringing these characters and their feelings to life in a story inspired by Rumpelstiltskin and other Polish folk tales. Spinning Silver grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go!

Novik's skills as a storyteller are simply outstanding! I read this novel through an ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review and feedback will be sent to publisher (privately) -- I this title was included in a feature post for July.

Courage sparkles!

A gripping story that seems to combine Rumpelstiltskin with overtones of several other traditional tales and comes up with something completely different.
The lands of Lithvasn are under perpetual winter, frozen in place by the Staryk, a deadly race that remind me of high elves, far above humanity in their scale of being.
A young Jewish girl, Miryem, daughter of a moneylender, takes it upon herself to regain debts owed the family. Debts that have left the family close to starvation. In doing this she shows a solid business head and the family fortunes are turned around. She turns dross into gold. And this is exactly why she attracts the attention of the Staryk King, who seems to be a cross between an arrogant Elf Lord and the male equivalent of the wicked Ice Queen.
Another young woman from the same village is hired by Mirym to work off her father's debts. This is a turning point for Wanda. Her father is physically abusive and this new position enables Wanda to not only secret away some money, but she learns the magic of reading and numbers. And has at least one meal a day.
Meanwhile at the nearby city of Vysnia where Miryem's grandparents live, the Duke's plain daughter, Irina, captures the interest of the Tsar. Staryk silver that Mireym has had made into jewelry plays no small part. The Tsar it seems is possessed by a demon. Of course all three women's lives become entangled, magic, devastating continual cold and the demon's insatiably loom large. Death by winter or demonic assault seem the only choices. Continual surprises kept me focused. Just as events look like being resolved, another pathway opens up, another layer is added.
I loved Novik's steady building of tension and creative turns in the story. I loved the way all three families intertwine. We are privy to their stories and the consequences of actions and choices in all three families. Just when I could see what was happening, an unpredictable turn would be taken.
At times I was left feeling sorry for the Staryk King, and then the Tsar who's possessed by a fire demon. The resolution had me glued to the final word.
A fascinating read!

A NetGalley ARC

I really enjoyed Uprooted so was looking forward to Spinning Silver. I liked the characters, and how many strong female characters there were, but I felt the book was overly long; it dragged quite a bit in places. I also was not invested in the romance of the characters at all, and was surprised by the ending. I think this book needed some additional editing on the plot. There were also times when each character's voice sounded exactly the same, and plenty of instances where I didn't need an additional chapter of perspective from yet another character.

Who doesn't love a fairy tale? And one retold, and masterfully, even better. Novik shows again that she is a skilled storyweaver in this re-imagining of Rumpelstiltskin is fantastic.

There are six main voices--always a gamble, but expertly handled--that bring us the tale. We have some strong female characters (who are not unnaturally so, but who are flawed and fragile and who must sacrifice for their strength, which is truthful), some lovely side characters (who really do play a big part, they just don't get POV time), and a beautifully crafted world that rings of Russia and Eastern Europe. It's hard to tell at times which character is which, but that's because this is a re-imagined fairy tale that builds and improves. From the moneylender's daughter, to the tsar, to the hired help, this novel crosses into all levels of society and draws them into discussion of what it is to be human.

I look forward to re-reading this one many time in the future.

As soon as I heard there was going to be a new Naomi Novik fairytale retelling, I was incredibly excited. Uprooted is on my favorite books of all time shelf and I had high expectations. Spinning Silver more than met those expectations, much to my pleasure. This has absolutely gorgeous writing and an amazing cast of characters. The women in this are all amazing - Irina and Miryem in particular are some of my new favorite characters. The men are generally terrible, but in a good way (except some are genuinely terrible and I hated them). I will absolutely be picking up anything Naomi Novik writes, especially if it's another retelling. She writes them so beautifully they're like their own fairytales.

Spinning Silver is Naomi Novik’s second book that retells and elevates classic folklore and fairy tale elements, spinning and weaving them into something deeper, richer, and original. Spinning Silver isn’t a sequel to 2015’s Uprooted, but it could take place in a neighboring kingdom. It begins as a riff on the Rumpelstiltskin tale but ends as a story of clever, confident women, their bonds to friends and family, bargains, and debts. I read and reread fairy tales when I was younger. Even today, when I travel, I like to come back with a new collection. Once again, Naomi Novik has created a new tale that stands alongside those classics.

Miryem Mandelstam is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders. When her father proves unable to collect on his loans, her family is reduced to poverty. While her fellow villagers take advantage of her father and live comfortably during the harsh winters, Miryem goes hungry, and her sick mother is bedridden. Miryem’s anger freezes and hardens her heart. She goes door to door to collect what her family is owed. She will not hear excuses or accept delay. She will not leave until she has been paid in coin, medicine for her mother, goods that can be quickly sold at a profit in market, or even the housekeeping services of Wanda, whose father drank away the money he borrowed when he wasn’t beating Wanda and her brothers.

Miryem is determined and stubborn and an excellent moneylender. She boasts that she can turn silver into gold, accidentally drawing the attention of the Staryk king. The Staryk are a powerful, dangerous race that exist in a parallel frozen world, and when the king opens a road between worlds, the Staryk raid, destroying homes, killing defenders, and stealing gold. The Staryk king demands Miryem turn his silver into gold three times. If she fails, he will kill her. If she succeeds, he will make her his queen. Although Miryem wants neither of these outcomes, with the help of her cousin’s fiancé, she turns the silver into three pieces of magical jewelry, which she sells to Irinia who then marries the tsar.

When Miryem is taken to the Staryk land, she is forced to transmute warehouses of silver into gold and bring about a perpetual winter for her home. When Irinia learns that the tsar is sworn to a demon whose hunger will never be sated even if it consumed an entire kingdom, she builds a trap while protecting her subjects. And when Wanda’s father arranges her marriage against her will, she must find her freedom while also protecting her brothers. The women must work harder and smarter to find a way out of their impossible situations.

I mentioned above that Spinning Silver is inspired by Rumpelstiltskin. The elements are there if you look for them: a boast, a greedy lord, the power of names, the magic of the number three. But Miryem isn’t the helpless girl, locked up in a tower and traded by her father to the king. She is confident, capable, and clever, able to quickly identify the rules of the system and make the most of them. Similarly, Irinia and Wanda are observant, quick learners, and refuse to back down from the cruelty of the powerful men in their lives.

These are women of agency. They know how fragile their respective positions are, but they fight to protect the people with whom their share a bond. And watching them discover their strengths is one of the best parts of the book. Even some of the men in this story get satisfying character arcs: men who at first appear weak, cruel, or greedy grow and change over the course of the story. As much as I liked the worldbuilding on display in Spinning Silver, it’s the characters that will stick with me. And while some might complain that there are too many points of view, I think the mix of narrators allows Novik to pull a few tricks of her own as the storylines come together in a climactic showdown.

There’s a quote by G. K. Chesterton that goes, “Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” Naomi Novik is an expert in dragons. She wrote nine books in the Temeraire series that brought dragons into the Napoleonic Wars, and she wrote Uprooted, the story of the Dragon in the tower, taking young women from a village. But with Spinning Silver, she does Chesterton one better: She tells children that sometimes it’s not the warrior who can swing the biggest sword or rides the most powerful horse that slays the dragon. Sometimes it’s the woman with the keenest intellect, the fiercest determination, and the deepest love for others.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik is an enchanting fairytale inspired story loosely based on Rumplestiltskin. Set in a world beset by Winter's own lord of the fairies when a dangerous bargain leads three heroines on separate quests in order to free their realm from an everlasting Winter and the Staryk's cold rule.

Dark magic, dangerous bargains, and gorgeous folklore fill the pages of SPINNING SILVER making it a wonderful addition to the fairytale enthusiasts library.

Uprooted remains one of my favorite retellings and Spinning Silver follows close behind. Novik excels in creating a world touched with historical details where the enchantment of magic lies right alongside it. Pastoral life mingles with the frosty world of the magical Staryk.

What I love about this story is its strong themes of sistership, family, and empowerment. When I originally picked up the story, I thought it was about one heroine, but with Novik, we get three wonderfully rounded heroines.

Miryem, Wanda, and Irinushka are linked to each other in a powerful way in a tale that weaves together strands of silver and gold, of frost and fire, and of bargains made and bargains met. Each walks a different path and I found all their stories captivating.

Novik also writes beautiful details of Miryem's Jewish family roots and traditions, bringing together a story rich in lore which plays an integral part in the intermingling plot threads—perfect for readers wanting an authentic and diversified voice in literature.

My one complaint is the many viewpoints beyond Miryem, Wanda, and Irina seem to convolute the already complicated plot threads.

In the End
For fairytale and folklore enthusiast, SPINNING SILVER has so many great elements that readers look for. A world that feels real with bits and pieces of fairytale lore usually found in the classics and a strong message to take away from it.

Highly Recommended

For readers of Novik's work and those who enjoy literature rich in folklore and fairytale elements. Strong themes of female empowerment, Jewish traditions, and strength of family make this a keeper.

I was a huge fan of Uprooted so I was thrilled to receive this book to review, but sadly I think my expectations were a little too high. I think the story suffered from too many first person POVs as well as a world that wasn't built up quite well enough. I would have liked to know more about the winter world as opposed to the sunlit world and more about the Staryk and their people. The first part of the story felt like a completely different book and I didn't think it was explained well enough how Miryem went from just being able to fiscally make gold from silver to magically turning it with just a touch and the second part of the book simply dragged. Fans of fairy-tale retellings and strong female protagonists may find this an enjoyable read, though.. Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[i]ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review[/i]

I have to start this out by saying that I was looking forward to this book so very much. I loved Uprooted and devoured that one in a day. Spinning Silver didn't live up in comparison. Instead of finishing it the moment I downloaded the book it took me many times of picking it up and setting it back down to finish. I feel like this is due to the fact of how many narrators are in the book. In the beginning, there are two to follow. After a while a third is added and then, not too long later, three more are added. Towards the end, there is even another thrown in for good measure. If you are counting with me this is five in total. None of them are named when they are first thrown into the mix. instead, the reader is left wondering who exactly is speaking until it is finally made clear.

I really wish that was my only fault with it. Sadly, the ending left a bitter taste in my mouth. The romance seemed so rushed and tacked on to the end. It felt more like an afterthought than something that was slowly being built up to. There is the addition that it is left open how two of the characters end up. Do they get a happily ever after? It seems like they might but we don't know because their story arc is just left hanging.

Due to the fact that I finished the book and enjoyed a few of the narrators this book gets two stars. I would have loved to recommend everyone to read this book, but instead, it is going on my shelf of books that could have been great but didn't quite succeed.

I loved Uprooted, so I was excited to read Novik's newest fairy tale retelling. It takes me longer to get invested in a book with multiple points of view, and this one has more than most, but once I did it was hard to put down. The multiple plots intersected so cleverly to reach a satisfying conclusion.

I hope this won't be Novik's last fairy tale retelling.

Spinning Silver, the newest fairytale from Nebula award-winner Naomi Novik, is a journey. It is a spectacular, sometimes overwhelming tale of many journeys, mostly of women defining their own destinies.

First, we meet Miryem, the daughter of a moneylender who isn’t very good at moneylending. Instead of accepting her future as a poor woman, she takes a the role of moneylender for herself, cold and successful. Then we meet Wanda, the hardworking daughter of a drunk, abusive father, who sells her daughter’s labor to pay off debts to Miryem’s family. Wanda is quite content with the turn of events; instead of being sold for a few goats to a man in marriage, she can have a freedom of her own helping Miryem balance her books. As fortunes improve for Miryem and Wanda, people begin to take notice. The king of a mythicized far off land of ice and frost has noticed how quickly Miryem seems to turn silver into gold, and wants that talent for his own. He makes a bargain with the her, exchanging silver to be changed into gold for the joking promise of making her queen of his kingdom.

This is when the story truly begins to take shape, and we meet a final woman forging her own future. In the frantic days between visits from the winter king, Miryem uses the wit that has served her so well to melt the frost-given silver into jewelry and sell it to wealthy duke looking for anything that might serve the purpose of turning his homely daughter into the next tsarina. The fated woman who will end up with this magic jewelry is Irina, and the ploy is successful. Irina, in her cold, frost-bitten jewelry, Miryem, having delivered on her end of the bargain, and Wanda — caught in the middle of these two women and their ambitions — all work to improve their situations and make their own decisions in their own right.

For those looking for another UPROOTED, with its romance and grand sense of dread, will not find that in SPINNING SILVER. Told much in the same way, this fairytale is not one about the monsters in the forest. Instead, it is about the monsters that claim to love us — Irina’s ambitious father selling her daughter’s happiness for the benefit of political capital; the winter king’s willingness to pluck a woman from her comfortable home for the benefit of his kingdom; and the savage, brutish whims of a man that sells his daughter’s life for not much more than a drink.

SPINNING SILVER is a fairytale, but it is also much closer to reality than another other of Novik’s works. It toys with more complex ideas than UPROOTED tackled — the main character is Jewish, and it is not a minor thing. Where works of war and lore so often draw lines between countries and peoples, Novik clearly places Miryem in the middle of that divide, rightfully blurring the lines for a woman with people but without a homeland to call her own.

Both the beginning and the end of SPINNING SILVER are stunning, and Novik brings together loose ends beautifully. Just when you think you may have found a forgotten detail, it finds its way back into the narrative. The middle, though, is something that could be struggled through, especially for readers looking for a quick and action-packed fantasy. This novel is the definition of a slow burn, where many exciting things happen, but they happen slowly.

I would recommend, SPINNING SILVER to those that have enjoyed Novik’s other works, as the writing is clever, thoughtful, and biting. The world-building is expert as ever: Novik creates a lush world of mysterious and deadly winters and demon-drawn wet summers. I would also recommend it to anyone that loves a book with stunningly independent and witty female characters — this is a fairytale, but it is also a tale of female empowerment, and working together with your sisters to make a better world — a world with much more room for female choices.

I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about “Spinning Silver” but it’s been a while since I’ve read an epic fantasy. I wasn’t sure if I’d be up to it so I actively searched for an excerpt, found one, and wow! With just the first line alone, I was completely convinced that I need to read this. And now here I am having just finished the book, utterly amazed with its magic.

The book started with Miryem telling us how they are ostracized because of her family’s moneylending business and how they are driven to poverty because his father is not very good with it. Miryem’s mother got sick and the thought of losing her made Miryem took over her father’s job. She began knocking on the houses of people who took a loan from his father to collect what’s been owed to them. It’s been a hard and long winter for everyone in their small town so most of the time, Miryem took goods and services as payment. Here enters Wanda. Her deadbeat farmer of a dad owed Miryem’s dad but has no money to settle the loan so he agreed to pay through his daughter’s housekeeping services. Miryem proved to be an ace moneylender, literally turning silver into gold. And with the business growing, she took on Wanda as her apprentice. Later, their lives intersect with that of Irina, the daughter of a duke who thinks that his daughter has no royal marriage prospects because of her plain looks.

With these women, the book showcased strong characters who do not cower even when they realized that the world can be such an unfair place. Miryem harnessed the anger from years of prejudice against her people to be the cold and calculating successful moneylender that she became. Growing up in a castle, Irina knew the power plays surrounding her and when fate had it that she become a pawn, she in turn used her calm and cunning to outsmart them all. The pleb in me can so much relate to Wanda. Among the three of them, she has the least prospects in life but there is this shining moment when she finally found what her inner strength is about and I felt my soul washed and healed from all the happy tears I shed for her. All three of them are not straight up righteous heroines, but their flaws combined with their virtues made their characters stand out more. They have their own set of biases and morally gray choices, but they always try to do right by the people around them.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, other precious characters are given the chance to narrate. Wanda’s younger brother, Stepon, made me cry because who wouldn’t weep for an orphan? And Irina’s aging personal attendant, Magreta, also made me cry because of her loyalty and motherly love. They provide the insular view of things as the three lead women’s world gets wider, with their alliances forming and ever shifting. Soon our power trio are not only fighting for their survival but for the fate of the humanity itself when a king of an ice kingdom and a tsar hosting a fire demon inside him are thrown into the mix.

I know beforehand that this is a re-imagined Rumpelstiltskin. But even a reader who is familiar with its source would find it hard to foresee how everything’s gonna end up as the plot gets thicker and the stakes get higher. Gah, there is so much to like that I haven't talk about yet: how the book explored the price of power, the complex family dynamics and the subtle romantic subplots. And finally, without spoiling anything, let me just say that the ending is perfectly inevitable. Set in a lush fairy tale world with Jewish and Russian inspirations, "Spinning Silver" is magical.

***4.5 STARS***

PLOT

I'm not quick to say I have a type when it comes to books or anything for that matter however, this slower paced wintry read seems to fall in line with some of my favorites (think The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden or The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco). Spinning Silver is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, an adult fantasy that takes on real life hard hitting issues (please see Content Warnings above) while weaving a tale about debts owed and the relentless winter that is plaguing the land. A tale about three daughters left to pay the price of bad decisions made by their fathers. Their lives intertwined--Miryem, Wanda, and Irinushka have every odd set against them in a world that would soon rather have them married and birthing children than in a position of power.

CHARACTERS

Told through multiple points of view, we start off with Miryem who loves her father for the good man that he is but recognizes how terrible he is as a money lender. Miryem and her family are struggling in poverty while those in the village that have borrowed from her father continue to prosper whilst not paying their debts. Money lending runs in the family & just like her grandfather Miryem has a knack for collecting from those that owe her. She sets out to settle the books and quickly makes a turnaround of their fate. However, she also manages to capture the attention of the Staryk King aka Lord Winter himself. The Staryk believes Miryem may have the power to transform silver into gold and promises her his hand in marriage if after his 3 visits, she has made into gold all of the silver he brings her. Each load he drops off being impossibly larger than the last because deep down inside, this Staryk King doesn't see Miryem as a worthy Queen. Meanwhile, Miryem's "Cold" approach seems to match the Satryk King quite well IMO 😂

Wanda works for Miryem's family tending to the house-chores and any manual labor. Miryem teaches Wanda her #'s and takes her long when collecting monies owed. In Miryem's home, Wanda learns what love looks like and it isn't the daily beatings she gets at the hands of her alcoholic father. Sort of an adoptive daughter, Wanda finds herself looking after Miryem's parents and plays an important role later on in the story. I really love Wanda's character, she's someone who if shown even a little love to, will honestly go hard for you. We see this play out with her own brothers which made her scenes so heartfelt

Irinushka daughter of royals, Irinushka's father has already promised her hand to a Tsar as a way to gain political favor. The Tsar has a deep dark secret he's keeping & is the reason for which he has yet married and produced an heir. There's a ton of pressure on Irinushka & instead of succumbing to it, we see an intellectual rise up and make some interesting power plays. Irinushka is a natural at politics

There are also a slew of supporting characters that come in throughout the story. Many are memorable like Irinushka's Nana of sorts who raised her and only wants to see her happy. We also travel a bit with Wanda's brothers. In the Staryk King's world we meet a different kind of people who at first come off as cold hearted but end up being quite the opposite

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS

There are very few books I've come across with the power to transport me from the very first page. Usually it takes some settling in and getting to know the world a bit. Spinning Silver however is already set-up and literally feels like opening the door in the back of the closet that leads you to Narnia. These make for some of my favorite reads and linger behind even after I've closed the book. At times this book was heavy on the heart with scenes of violence in Wanda's home. Seeing her & her siblings being physically hurt mercilessly and the fear they carried was tough to get through. Paired with the very different home life of Miryem and the love her family has for one another made for a deeper connection to these characters lives. We see a village deeply rooted in antisemitism, Miryem is Jewish and is seen honoring the Sabbath even in the most undesirable circumstances. In the background we have the threat of an endless Winter and we see the effects it takes on the people. I only docked it half a star because we get so many POV's throughout & although it was written in a way so as to not make it overwhelming, it still felt like I could do without some. I found myself wanting to get back to certain fave characters quicker than others but that is not unheard of in a multi-POV story. Overall, I highly reccomend this spell-binding tale over a cup of hot Cocoa or Tea 😉

I wasn’t sure what I would think about this one going in, but I had heard great things about Uprooted and it is definitely moving up in my list now. The story of Rumplestiltskin is not my favorite, so I’m glad this was a very loose interpretation. I really liked the world-building and character development throughout the book and found myself really enjoying all of the characters and storylines, which is rare in a book with multiple viewpoints. I would highly recommend this title and will be purchasing for my high school library.

A new book from Naomi Novik is always a cause for celebration. Like all her previous novels, this one did not disappoint.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The writing was so lyrical and the story was intriguing and interesting. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen. I have already talked about how much I liked this book on several of my YouTube videos and on more than one YouTube livestream. This author really knows how to tell a story and gives you a sense that you're really there experiencing what's going on.
I give it a 4.5/5 and really recommend it to everyone.

This retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the bestselling author of Uprooted is a beautifully spun story of family, freedom, and promises made and kept. Once again, Novik’s world-building is first rate, she creates a new kingdom with magical ice warriors, a fire demon, and not one, not two, but three young, strong heroines determined to fight for their lives, their rights, and their people. The novel uses first person narration that passes from character to character as the story develops, showing how each one’s decisions affects others and how two kingdoms ultimately can be changed…but also what that will cost. This is an amazing new fantasy novel and one that I predict will be another bestseller and award winner. Highly recommended for fans of Uprooted, Seraphina, and The Bear and the Nightingale.

Novik works her magic spell on this expansive retelling of the classic fairy tale Rumpelstiltsken. Set in a land reminiscent of medieval Russia or Poland, the story revolves around Miryem, a Jewish village girl, who takes over the moneylending business from her inept father, making such a success of her task that she seems to make silver into gold. But her stellar reputation attracts the unwanted notice of the Staryk king, the ruler of a sort of elven people who wield powers of winter, He demands that she spin silver into gold for him, gold being most desirable to the Staryk. Miryem has no choice but to comply for her own safety and that of her family, leading to unforeseen complications and consequences.

Novik tells her story from the perspectives of several characters, the most important being Miryem, Wanda, a poor village girl who becomes a servant to Miryem's family, and Irina, a duke's daughter who marries a tsar possessed by a fire demon. Novik weaves together plots and subplots, never losing sight of the brave, strong, resourceful women at the core of the tale. The world created by Novik feels as real as our own. Fantasy devotees and Novik's fans will not be disappointed by this richly reimagined fairy tale. #SpinningSilver #Netgalley