Stitching Snow

by R. C. Lewis

[Berls]

This review appeared first on Fantasy is More Fun.

I decided to request Stitching Snow from NetGalley when I heard it was even better than The Lunar Chronicles. This I HAD to see. My verdict? I wouldn’t say it’s better, but Stitching Snow is in a similar league.

When I started Stitching Snow, I was a bit worried. It may have been because I had it setup in my mind as a comparison to The Lunar Chronicles, but it seemed a bit TOO familiar. The main character, Essie, is basically a mechanic. She has built and constantly repairs all these drones that work in the mines. These drones have personalities and are all a little “off”. There’s Cusser, who (as his name implies) has a gift for foul language. There’s my favorite, Dimwit, who is like a faithful puppy. He follows Essie around and can’t be trusted to get much right – she never sends him into the mines. But he’s great and I dare you not to love him. Does all that sound a little like Cinder to you too?

Well, I’m really glad I didn’t put too much stock in those similarities because that’s pretty much where they ended. Stitching Snow was actually very different and had quite a few surprises in store. So don’t let the beginning shut you down!

I really liked the world for Stitching Snow. There’s a brief hint that we’re in the future – so far into the future that earth is part of a game (kinda like Risk) and Essie doesn’t even recognize the map as a real place. There are several planets belonging to this system, ruled by a King and Queen. There’s a war going on between the royal planet and the exiles – who happen to have some “magical” abilities.

The story line was lots of fun – Stitching Snow was action packed and there were quite a few unexpected twists and turns. I really liked Essie – I’m always a fan of a female character who’s in a traditionally male role, and that’s Essie. She’s a self-taught mechanic or engineer or whatchamacallit – she calls what she does stitching – and she earns extra cash by cage fighting with the miners. Yep, the girl is both smart and tough! She does have her secrets and insecurities though, and I enjoyed unweaving those twists.

There is a romance element to Stitching Snow – after all Snow White needs her Prince, right? I liked Dane, a boy who crash lands on Thanda and Essie helps to repair his shuttle. I thought R.C. Lewis did a pretty good job making him complex and making him more than just the dashing hero. Because Essie is the hero of her story, Dane’s just along for the ride – which I loved. Their romance itself was just ok. It definitely took a backseat to the rest of the story for me and while it worked, I didn’t particularly care too much about them ending up together. I just cared if they both survived.

And that tells you something about Stitching Snow–> I cared if they SURVIVED. This is more of a sci-fi action story than a romance – which may be a disappointment for those who like their fairytales sweet and romantic. I most definitely wouldn’t call Stitching Snow sweet – I was surprised by some of the brutality and even more so by a sub-theme of sexual abuse – but it was handled well and helped transform the sweet romantic fairytale into something a bit more serious and way more action-packed. I definitely recommend it for fans of Sci-fi & Fantasy, regardless of how you feel about Snow White.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.