Monday, August 24, 2015

Review: Stitching Snow

Title Stitching Snow
By R.C. Lewis
Genre YA Fantasy Retelling
Pages 338


Synopsis
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.  (From Goodreads)

First Sentence It took me seventeen seconds to decide Jarom Thacker's reputation as the sharpest fighter on Thanda had been exaggerated.



What it has going for it
I first heard of Stitching Snow from a blogging and IRL friend Jenni. She raved about this book. I knew it was a retelling but I didn't realize it was a retelling set in a scifi world much like The Lunar Chronicles. That being said, make no mistake this is not a ripoff of Meyer's work. This story is unique. The wold is unique and the retelling is done so subtly it feels fresh! A gigantic accomplishment, if you ask me. I loved Essie, our main character, she was braver than she believed her self to be. She was always determined to do what was right even if she was scared spitless. The adventure was awesome as well. The best part, really. Joining Essie in her journey from world to world to the final show down with the evil queen was just plain fun! I'll definitely be picking up any other book Lewis writes, starting with her sequel/companion novel Spinning Stars a retelling of The Wild Swans.

What's lacking
Stitching Snow was great, guys, but it wasn't perfect. The only things that really bugged be were 1) I just couldn't get on board with the love interest Dane. He bothered me, I won't say more because it's really not a reflection on the book. It was just a presonal preference thing. 2) The story was great but there was a choppiness to it that was a little jarring. I don't know how to describe it, really, it just didn't flow from scene to scene very well. Still, I believe, that this minute detail was due more to this being Lewis' first novel than anything else and I believe and hope that choppy feel will be absent in her next book.

Yea or Nay?
If you love retellings with awesome kickass heroines than look no further.  

14 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Sorry you didn't like those parts, but I'm glad it didn't keep you from enjoying the book. :D

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  2. I really enjoyed this book too! I agree it was a little choppy at times, but overall, I liked it more than I thought I would. Essie was definitely a great character to read about. Will you be reading the companion novel? It's going to be different characters so I'm not sure whether to pick it up or not...

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    1. I think I'll give it a try. The original fairytale is not my favorite so I'm nervous but I'm hopeful too.

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  3. I've seen this book around but hadn't heard much about it. It sounds really good! Your review definitely has me intrigued. I'll have to see if my library has it.

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    1. If you like Cinder etc, you'll love this one.

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  4. I definitely need to pick this one up. I've heard lots of good things about it. Glad you enjoyed it, even though it wasn't perfect!

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    1. Few books are perfect. You should check it out.

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  5. Glad to hear you enjoyed this. I think the choppiness would bother me too much. I find that if a book doesn't flow well I tend to not fully get into the story. I guess it's just one of my reading quirks.

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    1. Yeah it was a little troublesome. It was worth it though if you change your mind.

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  6. I've got this one on my shelf. I might have to pick it up and start it! Love the first sentence. (Didn't I just say this? You might be about to kill my book budget.)

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  7. Yes! This one was SO much fun! I'd seen you, Kami, and Jenni rave over it and finally picked it up. As you said, it definitely gives similar vibes as The Lunar Chronicles, yet it's different enough to not be the same at all. So glad I read it!

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  8. Love the sound of this one! Choppiness does bother me and I prefer the plot to be nice and smooth, but so long as the story is interesting I can overlook it. Thanks for the heads up!

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