Night Spinner by Addie Thorley // Book Review

This is what I dreamed of, all those days we spent lying under the larch trees,” he murmurs. “You and me, against the world.”

Rating: 4/5 stars
Format: physical

Synopsis

Before the massacre at Nariin, Enebish was one of the greatest warriors in the Sky King’s Imperial Army: a rare and dangerous Night Spinner, blessed with the ability to control the threads of darkness. Now, she is known as Enebish the Destroyer―a monster and murderer, banished to a monastery for losing control of her power and annihilating a merchant caravan.

Guilt stricken and scarred, Enebish tries to be grateful for her sanctuary, until her adoptive sister, Imperial Army commander Ghoa, returns from the war front with a tantalizing offer. If Enebish can capture the notorious criminal, Temujin, whose band of rebels has been seizing army supply wagons, not only will her crimes be pardoned, she will be reinstated as a warrior.

Enebish eagerly accepts. But as she hunts Temujin across the tundra, she discovers the tides of war have shifted, and the supplies he’s stealing are the only thing keeping thousands of shepherds from starving. Torn between duty and conscience, Enebish must decide whether to put her trust in the charismatic rebel or her beloved sister. No matter who she chooses, an even greater enemy is advancing, ready to bring the empire to its knees.

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Review

I love retellings. I love being able to compare this new story to an older one. When I heard there was a Hunchback Of Notre Dame retelling, I was on it as fast as I could. Hunchback Of Notre Dame is my all-time favorite Disney movie!

Night Spinner follows our main character, Enebish. She has night spinning powers. Which means she can basically wield the night as a weapon and she can hide herself and others in darkness. She is placed in isolation at Ikh Zuree for something she did a little over two years ago. Her powers are contained.

Until she and Serik are tasked with bringing Enebish's birds to a festival that the king is attending. At the festival, things go completely wrong and Enebish is placed on a zurig to hang for two hours. She gets saved by Temujin, who escapes capture as he is a deserter who is plotting against the king.

Once Enebish is back at her santuary, Ikh Zuree, she's visited by her sister Ghoa. Ghoa wants Enebish to find Temujin and turn him in to regain her trust back with the king. Enebish goes on this journey to find Temujin, but she learns that she may not be on the right side of this war.

This book was beautifully done. It's loosely based off The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. The aspects that were used were obvious. The sanctuary, the disability and the festival. There are other similarities that I will not share in order to avoid spoilers.

Night Spinner is filled with plot twists and a ton of betrayal. I couldn't decide who to trust throughout this book! I cannot wait to see what awaits Enebish in the second book.