Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by The Bionic Book Worm.
Today’s topic: Top 5 Winter Reads
Feel free to click on the photograph to be linked to my review or the book’s Goodreads page.
Tag Archives: Naomi Novik
If It’s Not A Rant, It’s A Rave: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Title: Spinning Silver
Author: Naomi Novik
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: July 10, 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Retelling
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.
Spinning Silver is the second book I have read by Naomi Novik, and once again I fell in love with her characters and storytelling. You guys, I spent weeks savoring this book because I did not want it to end. Naomi Novik’s gift of writing is enchanting, mesmerizing, and overall, purely a magical experience.
Told in multiple points-of-view, Spinning Silver weaves together the fairy-tale features of “Rumpelstiltskin” with a new tale of female empowerment. Multiple characters provide details of their surroundings but their narratives are intricately bounded and immersed into one main story. At times the storytelling can become so complex and dense that you have to pay attention to detail to acknowledge whose point of view you are reading. But overall the pacing is executed so well, which allows the narration to mirror a theatrical experience.
In the end, I highly recommend that if you love fantastical fairy-tale retellings, you have to read Spinning Silver. I loved that there are multiple villains in this novel, and both of them are just as sharp and biting as the wintery setting. I admired the idea that romance and relationships are not taken lightly in this book; the fierce female characters make sure that love and respect are earned. Overall, Spinning Silver is a slow-burning fantasy that interweaves rich magic, cunning and bold female protagonists, and antagonists that teeter on being morally gray, and in all honestly, this book was a delectable morsel to read.
My Rating of :
Note: Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Although I was provided a galley of the book, my review is of the final published copy of the book. All statements and opinions are my own.
Top 5 Tuesday: Favorite Fantasy Books/Series
Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by The Bionic Book Worm.
Today’s topic:
Click on my book cover or my photographs to be linked to my review or the book’s Goodreads page.
What are some of your favorite Fantasy books/series?
Treat Yo Shelf: July 2018 Recap
July 2018: Monthly Recap
Welcome to my monthly recap post, in which I highlight the books I read in the last month, bookish items I acquired, book events I attended, bookish news, and/or subscription boxes I received this month.
(Click on the banner to be linked to blog post)
Netgalley/E-Arcs
Physical ARCS
I signed up for Miss Print’s ARC Adoption program and received Bring Me Their Hearts. I meant to read it in July, but I went through a huge reading slump. Hoping to get to it in August. Thank you for the book, Emma.
I received an early copy of Escaping from Houdini from Jimmy Patterson Books. I also received an extra copy from an awesome bookseller a few days before I received my publisher copy, so I gifted that one to a huge Kerri fan. Thank you, Jimmy Patterson Books, I cannot wait to read it.
A huge thank you to First Second for this ARC of Check, Please! and all these wonderful goodies.
July’s Book of the Month
BOOK EVENT: KERRY WINFREY
I met the sweet and talented Kerry Winfrey at Joseph Beth Booksellers. Look at that lip cookie she made for her event; it was so good.
Uprooted and The Night Circus prints from Noverantale
New Candles from Canterbury Road Co.
How did you treat your shelves in July?
If It’s Not A Rant, It’s a Rave: Review of Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Title: Uprooted
Author: Naomi Novik
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Genres: Young Adult/Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis:
“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.
Uprooted reads like a dark fairy-tale that ignites the most luminous story of courage, female empowerment, whimsical magic, and a hint of romance. I read this book back in November 2015 and this year I decided to do a re-read, because honestly I cannot get this story or the characters out of my head. And once again, I savored Uprooted to the very end.
Every chapter of Uprooted is captivating and beautifully written. The main character, Agnieszka, is a fierce heroine that is very in tune with her natural ability to be bold and selfless. I loved that Agnieszka is portrayed as being very intuitive to her magical gifts, but she never tries to outshine those around her. She observes, learns, and reacts with her instincts. Although her teacher, the Dragon, often gets irritated with her because she doesn’t stick to the rule book of magic, you can definitely see that he respects and cares for her.
Along with Uprooted being an enchanting, fairy-tale-esque story, the book also contains a slow-burn romance that will make your insides tingle. I loved reading the pages where Agnieszka and the Dragon argue and banter. The chemistry between these two characters is deeply rooted with passion, care, and respect for each other.
I also want to rave about the portrayal of female empowerment in Uprooted. While men in the novel try to play by traditional (patriarchal) standards and set rules, the female characters listen to their intuition and solve problems by their innate reactions. The female characters do not try to cut each other down. Instead they work together, often becoming each other’s saviors instead of the men being the “knights in shining armor.”
Overall, once again, I loved every second of Uprooted. The magic is dark but the characters are incredibly stunning. I really enjoyed the whimsical twists and gruesome turns. But most of all, I love that the quiet, simple girl doesn’t get lost in the pages or overshadowed by potential heroes; instead she uses her fears, instincts, and vulnerabilities as strengths to conquer evil.
Note: I was not provided a copy of this book by the author or the publisher in exchange for a review. I bought this book with my own funds, and I reviewed the book at my own discretion. All statements and opinions in this review are mine.
Waiting on Wednesday: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights pre-publication/upcoming releases that readers cannot wait to get their hands on. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
Title: Spinning Silver
Author: Naomi Novik
Publication date: July 10, 2018
Publisher: Del Rey
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Retelling
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.
Top Ten Tuesday: FREEBIE!
HOSTED by The Broke and the Bookish
This week’s topic is a FREEBIE!…
Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time
(Click on the book cover to be linked to its Goodreads page or my review)
Top 5 Wednesday: Books That Took Me the Longest to Finish
TOP 5 WEDNESDAY is a weekly meme created by Lainey @ GingerReadsLainey and is currently hosted by Samantha @ Thoughts on Tomes. Every Wednesday a new topic is listed on the Goodreads group, and you list your top 5 books related to the particular topic.
This week’s topic is…
Books That Took Me the Longest to Finish
So a side note about myself. I am a quick reader; I can usually read a 350-paged book in less than 4 to 5 hours. But as a mood reader it is hard for me to just sit down and read any book from my shelf. So on weekends, I usually binge read at least 3 to 4 books. It’s very unusual and rare for me to set a book aside and read it over a weekly or monthly period, but I have done it, and the books below are proof.
Station Eleven took me 7 months to finish. I loved the book, and honestly I think I did not want it to end. Check out my review HERE.
I savored Uprooted to the very end. Every chapter was captivating and wonderfully written. I tried to make this book last as long as I could. This was also the last book I read and gushed about with my mom before she passed away. I think she would have loved reading it. Check out my short review HERE.
I had a hard time connecting to My Lady Jane. I really had to push myself to read and finish this book. Check out my struggles in my review HERE.
I think Truest is one of the most underrated books I have read in the last 2 years. It is truly spectacular and heartbreaking all at the same time. Check out my short review HERE.
I read Mosquitoland last year over a monthly period and loved it. I checked my Goodreads account to see if I had written a review, and it turns out I’m still “processing” my thoughts on it. Yeah, I need to get that review up ASAP, because this book deserves all the praise!!!
rants and raves of a bibliophile 