Night Spinner (Night Spinner, #1)

by Addie Thorley

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 remote monastery for losing control of her power and annihilating a merchant caravan.

Guilt stricken and scarred, Enebish knows she should be grateful for this sanctuary. But when her adoptive sister, Imperial Army captain Ghoa, offers her a chance at reinstatement, she eagerly accepts. All she has to do is track down the notorious rebel leader, Temujin. But upon leaving the monastery, she discovers the tides of war have changed, and Temujin’s rebels are the only ones standing between the people and death on the tundra.

• ISBN10: 1624148883
• ISBN13: 9781624148880
• Publish Date: 1 March 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 12 July 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Page Street Publishing Co.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[tweetybugshouse]

Do you like retellings? Do you like retellings that are based on a classic? If you do then this book is a treat it a retelling of Victor Hugo Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was epic beyond words. The plot starts out kind of slow but then oh my does it take off with a bang and never lets you go. The character are and raw to the point where your just not sure who the bad people are. I fell in love with our main character Enebish who is basically playing the part of the hunch back, shunned by the people and trapped n a tower for a heinous crime during the war.

Then you have her “sister” who took her in and raised her from when she was very young. She really ends up being a very layered character who shocks me to my core in ways i could not imagine.

The key thing you have to keep in mind is that there are two type of people in this world those that worship the old gods and those that worship the new religion. Enebish still clings to what she always known but the rest of the world has moved on but it that faith that leads her in all her decisions. This ends up in some ways being a crutch to the point where she can’t see what is truly unfolding around her.

The part that really made this story is the world building. Thorley truly blends mythical lore and political strife into a world plagued by war. I truly could picture the goddess world, the starving shepherds on the frozen tundra and see the world spinning when EnBishop is strung up and is praying for rescue. The plot twist at the end are epic and the one small let down is the non kiss that should totally of happened. I can’t wait for the second part of this amazing duology.

[jeannamichel]

Two years ago, the famed Enebish the Destroyer was exiled from her home after killing innocent merchants in the war effort. Her half-sister, Ghoa, persuaded the king to allow Enebish to live the rest of her days, comfortable, in a countryside monastery. However, when it seems that the country is losing the war, Ghoa returns with a proposition for Enebish. She must go undercover to unmask a Robin Hood-esque troop, and only then can her title as warrior be reinstated. In this gorgeous retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Night Spinner by Addie Thorley whisks readers into an intriguing world of twists and turns.

It wasn’t hard to get swept into these characters' lives. Their emotions seem so close on the page that it was already 20 pages in and I was ready to cry along with them.

When reading, I tend to gravitate toward interesting sibling relationships, whether close or estranged. Night Spinner follows two half-sisters, Enebish and Ghoa, who were inseparable in the past but circumstance has deeply changed that. Enebish is in exile while Ghoa still ranks as a commander for the king. The power dynamic that these two have is astounding, making for some riveting scenes. The sisterly bond, however tainted, here is almost tangible.

Night Spinner is inspired by the classic tale, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I have not read The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo so I cannot attest to its similarities though the Disney movie is one of my favorites. Even though I'm not familiar with the original work, I still appreciate Thorley’s fantastic work that brings such an underrated tale to life.

Enebish is quiet and reserved, certain traits that she accumulated while living at the monastery. Yet, there is a fire within her. And even though she herself saw this fire as a monster at first, the journey to self-acceptance is truly lovely.

The action sequences are incredibly well constructed throughout the plot. More than half the book reads as a war novel so there’s quite bit of strategy discussion and politics. Books that take place during wars, that deal with such elements like politics and war strategy usually isn’t something I like, but with Night Spinner, Enebish’s journey of accepting her magic and gaining her confidence made me push through the grit of war to reach the character development underneath.

Night Spinner will leave you on the edge of your seat. Thorley writes these cast of characters in such a way that at multiple points in the book, you will never know who to trust. As much as Enebish was fast to trust everyone in the beginning of the book, she quickly becomes wary of everyone. There were moments where I was sure she was on the right path with one group only to be turned around in the next scene and start rooting for another group.

Thorley’s writing is compelling and urges readers onwards. The world building is absolutely superb! Instead of dumping all the world information on you at once, she shares the history through her characters’ dialogue. Most of the past is cleverly shared through Enebish’s anecdotes. Also, since Enebish has been in exile for quite some time, Thorley shares information about the world (its politics, history, and more) with the protagonist as well—so as we learn about the world, Enebish is also seeing it for the first time.

The ending reads as a new beginning, swiftly ready for the continuation that readers will receive in the sequel. It makes the series easy to binge if you have the second book on hand. Alas, I’ll have to wait until the sequel releases to find out what happens next. Night Spinner leaves readers with tons of questions that I hope will be answered in the sequel. The sequel, Sky Breaker, releases in May 2021.

Night Spinner by Addie Thorley is an incredible retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame that will take readers on a wild ride. Despite an open-ended conclusion, readers will be clamoring to read the sequel as soon as they finish this one.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight .

This book ended up being a lovely, pleasant surprise for me, for two notable reasons. First, I have been having kind of the worst time with fantasy lately, so I was wary when I started. I needn't have been. Second, there are birds. It's kind of a big deal. And yet, it didn't turn me off!

What I Liked:

• Who on earth can be trusted? Heh I like when everyone's a mess and you're pretty sure that no one is the least bit trustworthy. I mean, our girl Enebish didn't always get that memo, but to be fair, I am trusting to a fault too, so I feel her pain.



• This world is pretty dismal. Yes, I consider that a thing I like, okay? I mean my favorite show contains three apocalypses, so. Yeah so I guess it kind of is par for the course with all the lying, but things are not going great here. People are starving and killing each other and Idk even why completely, but I think it's just because this is what humans do sometimes. The point is, Enebish would probably rather be hanging out with her bird friends somewhere, but alas. Sometimes you have to try to fix things because god knows they can't get a whole lot worse.



• Both Enebish and the side characters are very complex. Like, very much so. They all have reasons for their crappy acts, and while it doesn't always excuse them, it does make seem more sensical. I really enjoyed watching her relationships with various characters unfold, because with a lot of dreadful actions comes the consequences.



• On that note, gray morality is clearly a factor here. I mean, what if doing evil things can help do away with evil? I feel like we can almost understand these questions in our current landscape: we may want to take the moral highground, but what if doing so lets the bad guys win? Lots of great questions are asked during this one!

What I Didn't:

• Okay so I did kind of predict a lot of the stuff that was going to happen. I mean. This isn't a dealbreaker or anything, but it happened, so.

Bottom Line: Enjoyable, full of very complex characters, and asking a ton of thought-provoking questions. I will definitely pick up the sequel!