I loved Miryem and her practicality, commercialism and bargaining skills, which proves to be her saving grace later on. Told through six different perspectives, including a farmer’s daughter who works to pay off her debts and a nanny who would do anything to protect Irina, a complex, detailed plot is woven within Spinning Silver. It’s a loose retelling of Rumpelstiltskin that stands on its own as a feminist fantasy retelling focused on friendship, sacrifice and empowerment. Grounded in folklore, Spinning Silver tells us a story of a Miryem, a moneylender who masters the art of tax collecting and Irina, a daughter of a duke who gets married to a tsar possessed by a demon of fire. I love a good slow burn fantasy that really draws you in with a rich, detailed setting, and Spinning Silver provides a rich, wintery fantasy filled with magic and whimsy. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold.īut 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. 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. 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. Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders. Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy & MagicĪmazon | Book Depository | Publisher | Booktopia | Barnes & Noble Published by Macmillan Australia on July 10, 2018

Spinning silver cover