Release Day Review: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (Spoiler Free!)

Synopsis:
Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders… but her father isn’t a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife’s dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty–until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers’ pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed–and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold.

But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it’s worth–especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand

Plot: The beginning of the novel really sets the scene and creates intrigue, I was hooked from the beginning. I really had no idea where the story would go but I couldn’t stop reading so I could find out. The middle slowed down a bit for me, I did find some parts a little boring and I wasn’t a fan of some of the POV character’s but they were important to the story.
I liked the beginning of Uprooted but it went downhill for me from there and when this got slow in the middle I was beginning to think I wasn’t going to like the rest of the story.
The writing is beautiful, I wasn’t a huge fan of Uprooted but I did love the writing.
The last 150 were fast paced, that’s when I become really addicted and could not put the book down!
I didn’t see the ending coming at all, it was adorable!

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Characters: I had no idea going into this that there would be multiple POV’s, from the synopsis I thought Miryem was the only POV character but there’s actually quite a few, around 6(?) I think. The thing that bothered me is that there’s nothing to indicate who’s perspective the chapter is. I have no issue with multiple POV’s but it can be hard to realise who’s chapter it is when there’s no name at the beginning of the chapter. I’d much prefer having the name of whoever’s chapter it is at the beginning.

Miryem: She was definitely my favourite character, her chapters were my favourite to read and her journey. It’s actually really refreshing to see a character act ‘cold’ and not be a pushover to people who have wronged her and her family. Nothing annoys me more than when the main character/ their family is treated badly and it’s just kind of brushed off and they’re too nice to do anything!?

Wanda: It’s not that I found her chapters boring but they weren’t as gripping as Miryem’s. I did feel sorry for Wanda, she’s had a hard life, been abused and living in poverty.

Irina: I liked Irina, her chapters were interesting, as was her part of the story. I overall like Irina as a character but there was *something* that made me like her a bit less towards the end. But no spoilers 🙂

Rating: 4 Stars!

*Spinning Silver was sent to me for review, all opinions are my own
Thank you to Jamie @ UKTor + Pan Macmillan for sending me an early copy!

Spinning Silver is out TODAY! 12th July;
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