Gave it a good go, but was unable to get into it much. Shame as the premise sounds amazing! Unfortunately this is probably a 'me, not you' problem.

I wanted to love this one. I love retellings and dark female characters, but this book wasn't for me. I didn't feel like the characters were believable or relatable. I struggled to find anything to catch my interest. Since I didn't complete this one, I won't be posting any negative reviews anywhere. I hope this book finds readers who love it though.

As someone who has long been obsessed with Mongolian folklore and history, this inspired setting felt like an absolute dream come true. 
From the outset, I fell in love with Enebish's struggles and tribulations throughout the story, and felt as though I was growing alongside her as her character developed. Thorley's writing is expressive, and almost lyrical in nature, and weaves together culture and history and the "othering" of the individual in society beautifully. 
This story is incredibly fast-paced and filled with action, but I truly found myself drawn to the characters, and I have to say they haven't left my mind since. Goa and Enebish's relationship in particular was captivating to me, and reminded me of my relationship with my older sister so many times that I decided to share the book with her. The fact that Night Spinner is inspired by The Hunchback of Notre Dame just makes it ten times better. 
Truthfully, after I learned that this book was going to be part of duology my expectations lowered significantly, as in my personal experience they are frequently plagued by either packing the plot in or dragging it out longer than it needs to be, Night Spinner only surprised and delighted me more when the plot remained consistent and clearly thought out, and the characters so well developed that they felt nearly tangible. 
I am truly looking forward to the sequel.

<b>Rating:</b> 4.75/5 Stars 

I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Night Spinner is a gender-swap retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was one of my favorite Disney movies when I was growing up. I haven’t ever seen a HoND retelling before so I was excited how this story would unfold. I was even more surprised when I started getting some Grishaverse vibes thrown into the mix as well. That fantastic combo did not disappoint in the slightest! 

The story follows Nnebish who was once a great warrior for the Sky King’s Imperial Army but following the massacre at Nariin she has been banished to a monastery for losing control of her power and murdering a merchant caravan. When her adoptive sister offers her a chance to track and capture a notorious criminal, Temujin, in exchange for her reinstation as a warrior Enebish jumps at the chance. But as she hunts for Temujin she learns that a lot has changed since her banishment and nothing may be what it seems. 

What I liked: 
The character development and plot twists were so on point in this one! Enebish has so much character development through out this book. She starts out so desperate to hide from her past and scared of herself & her abilities and grows into a confident leader who you want to route for even if she is incredibly naïve at times. The side characters were also beautifully written. I thought each character’s complex personalities and they way that they all seemed to tie into the plot had me hooked until the end. You never really know who Enebish can trust and it makes for some amazing plot twists. 

What I didn’t like: 
My only complaint was that the pacing was a little slow to start. While that allowed for some beautiful world-building it did take me a minute to really get into the story. It didn’t hinder my overall reading experience though. 

Overall, I loved this book and I highly recommend it! I need the second book immediately!

The nice thing about going in with low expectations is you can be pleasantly surprised! While it took me a few chapters to really get into this; once I was in there was no getting out. If you think you know how this story might go because it’s a retelling then think again. There are twists and turns here I did not expect (or even see coming!). All of the plot points play well into the character personalities set-up (nothing cheap) and adhere to the constructs were given for this (somewhat gothic) fantasy universe. 

A Creative Retelling
The biggest mistake here would be to expect the Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney or original) characters or story in anything more than on the surface. While the basic construct of the story is similar, our lead gal is obviously the hunchback, and many themes are picked up; Night Spinner has so much more to give. In fact I think it probably doesn’t give enough credit to Addie Thorley to say this is ‘just a retelling’. The last 100 pages took me by total surprise (which was great) and is where Thorley really makes this plot her own once and for all. 

Themes
How many different essays could be written based on the themes, archetypes, and twisted plot of Night Spinner? Dozens at the very least! There’s so much to unpack here. Of course we have the major theme which is what makes someone a ‘monster’. Other themes include: desertion, morality, loyalty and betrayal, family versus blood, and finally treason. All these are globbed together in such a way that we feel every decision our main gal (and others) make. 

Characters
This may be on the one place where Thorley could make some larger improvements; but given most YA fantasy literature out there these days I’m willing to give it a pass. Our characters are very clear archetypes at times and make decisions as expected (nothing cheap here). Some are a bit one dimensional at first; but all of them play key elements in the end. I love the way many characters who seem to be ‘unimportant’ at first become critical players in the end. 

Coolest Magic!
I want our leading gals magic so bad! It’s different from most of the people in her land and seriously badass. The ability to gather darkness and surround yourself (or others) in it, so that you become almost invisible, is crazy cool and has a gothic feel I adore. 

”...as soon as I flex my wrists, the ribbons of  darkness wing from the forests like bats...”

Thorley uses this control of shadows and darkness in unique ways and ensures we are aware that the magic comes at a price and needs certain sources in order to work. Use of magic takes a massive physical toll on the user. Bringing me to one of my favourite elements of the novel, actual injuries and fatigue. 

Mortality
One of the constant themes in Night Spinner focuses on mortality. Although our characters are all from different areas, races and religions, they are all still human-like and mortal. And each of them is falliable and subject to injuries they can’t just ‘fight through’. 
Even more surprising is while there is magic to essentially revive someone or bring them back from the brink (and yes it’s used); it didn’t feel cheap to me when used. Thorley is selective about using the magic and healing; instead generally defaulting to having characters that need actual rest and sleep to heal. It’s refreshing to not have characters that seem to be unbeatable and have an endless amount of energy. In fact our lead gal spends most of the story needing rest and pushing herself to accommodate and overcome her physical disabilities and it’s probably 50/50 whether she can find reserve strength or falters entirely. 

Overall
What I have no doubt of is that Thorley has set us up with a beautifully constructed fantasy world. There is so much to explore still. This could be the type of series that runs past a trilogy if continuity is held up and advance thought out into the plot. Given how much happens in Night Spinner I don’t think plot or twists will be a problem for Thorley to continue to deliver on. As each time our characters do (almost) anything it’s subject to a morality test there are innumerable number of circumstances available. 
My recommendation, get in now and be a part of what could very well be the next big YA fantasy series. I hope that even though this is with a smaller publisher it gets the marketing and attention it deserves. This gothic fantasy universe has so much more to give and I can’t wait to read more! 

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Review-

If you love reading about warriors, magical powers, THIS IS THE ONE. It is full of twist and turns which you will never expect. It will catch your attention the moment you start reading it. Female protagonist with powers. I am all up for it.

The book revolves around Enebish, she is known as Enebish-The Destroyer. She hates when people call her by this name. Before people loved her, respect her but now she is considered as a traitor to her own country.

She believes in first gods. She has one of their powers. Power to spin the night. Power to engulf herself and people around with night. The character building is done very beautifuly. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

p.s The book ends with a big cliffhanger. I WANT THE SECOND BOOK ALREADY.

2.5 stars

Enebish is a Night Spinner - someone with the ability to control darkness and pull down the stars from the sky. She was once a great warrior and fought for the king, but after losing control of her powers and killing innocent people, Enebish has been locked away at a monastery and is now known as Enebish the Destroyer. Enebish knows she should be grateful to still be alive, but longs for her old life.
When the commander of the king's army, Ghoa, (who is Enebish's adopted sister), offers Enebish the chance to leave the monastery and return to her old life, she can't say no.
Enebish sets off on a journey to find Temujin, the leader of a group of rebels that seize army supplies. 
Can Enebish find Temujin and return to her former life?

I enjoyed the author's previous novel so I was intrigued to read Night Spinner, especially as it was inspired by/was a retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. However, I unfortunately ended up disappointed.
Enebish was an OK character, but I didn't feel that I fully connected with her. I did feel sorry for her at times, but I also found her a little bit annoying.
The plot took a while to get going for me and I struggled to get into the storyline. I did think about DNFing, but decided to keep going, and in a way I'm glad I did because there were some good twists at the end that I didn't see coming.
The setting and magic were interesting and I would be interested in finding out more about them.
I'm not sure if I will be continuing with this series.

Overall, this was an OK read.

Good book. I did not completely connect with the writing style but otherwise an entertaining and interesting read.

A retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame... sign me up. The Night Spinner sucked me in right from the get go. There was so much action, twists and turns I didn’t see coming, lies, betrayal, and of course a bit of romance woven in. The story follows Enebish from her banishment for her losing control of her magic to her search and capture of the rebel Temujin with a lot of fun in between.  I absolutely loved this book and did not want it to end. Another 5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟read.

Night Spinner is another one of those books where I just didn't care enough to be invested in the character's journey. I was initially interested because it's marketed as a re-telling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and I do love an unusual re-telling (compared to the slew of Beauty and the Beast stories, for example).

Much like Thorley's An Affair of Poisons, I wasn't connecting with the female protagonist, in this case Enebish. There was a distance there that not even switching to the audiobook could fix (sometimes that works for me but not here). I do think Thorley did a good job in developing Enebish's character over the course of the story and her relationships with the other characters, but in the moment I watched the book unfold from a distance and it left me feeling more apathetic than anything toward Night Spinner. 

This was compounded by the generic world-building. I read a lot of YA fantasy but, for the most part, each book stands thanks to a particular character or world-building element. Wasn't the character here, and can't say it was the world either. Individuals having elemental-type magic isn't new, though that didn't bother me, but the setting and the descriptions could have been set just about anywhere. I never saw what made this world unique. If I went to my shelves to recommend a book, Night Spinner wouldn't even come to mind which is a shame. I had high hopes for this re-telling but even those elements I just didn't catch on to if they were there at all.

To be fair, it's been a long time since I read The Hunchback of Notre Dame so missing the tie-ins could very easily be on me. 

Once again, I put aside a Thorley book in favor of other stories and struggled along to the finish line. Night Spinner isn't a bad book by any stretch but it's not memorable and I never found it engaging enough to feel compelled to read it once I started. Likely not a series I will be continuing in the future.

It is no surprise that I love anything with a nordic/slavic/Russian setting and this book went on my TBR as soon as I was made aware of it. That cover! Also, it's very loosely based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is another reason I had to pick it up. I'm so glad I did. This seems to be flying under the radar and it's a bit of a shame because it is a very good book. I know there will be the inevitable Grisha comparisons (especially with the main character's ability resembling the Darkling) but it would be a disservice to the book to make that comparison. It's much more than that. There's some amazing world building going on here and the writing is very well done. I sadly didn't realize that this was actually going to be a duology, so I was a bit surprised when not everything wrapped up at the end (my mistake, not the books) but now I have a second book to look forward to! I was very impressed and I will definitely be recommending this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Hunchback of Notre Dame retelling! From the first page I was sucked in by the magic system and it got better from there. There were twists within twists and by the end, you don't know who to believe.

The world-building could use some expanding but I think that will be rectified more in a 2nd book. I really appreciated how much grey area there was in terms of who was good and who was bad. Overall rating 4.5 stars!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the Publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love any retellings, and this one is no exception! The one thing that stuck out the most was the world-building. I truly loved it in this book. I could connect well with the characters, and the writing style really spoke to me. There were some parts that were a little slow for my taste, but all in all this was an amazing title, and I really enjoyed myself whilst reading it.

What a great story. I love a story with a strong female character. Addie's writing is very well done. The words flowed without any problems. Plot points and narrative were so well done. It held my attention the entire time.

Night Spinner by Addie Thorley
Night Spinner Series, Book 1
5 Stars
I was given an ebook ARC of this book by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Night Spinner brings us into the world of Enebish, also known as Enebish the destroyer. Locked away for a terrible crime, cut off from society and her magic, Enebish is offered a task that will not only offer her redemption but save her kingdom. Her job? Infiltrate a rebel group, reveal their secret hideout and bring victory to her King and her people. But once Enebish meets Temujin, and his crew of rebels, she learns that there are two sides to every war, and that she may be on the wrong side.
This is what fantasy adventures are made of. The twists, the characters, the world, I loved it all! I devoured this book. It was the fantastic escape that I was hoping for, and I will be on pins and needles awaiting the next book (which at this point in time doesn't have a release date or title) and painstakingly await what happens next to Enebish!
First, I must talk about the characters in this book. I loved everything about them. We have some amazing villains and we have some amazing character growth along with some fantastic interactions! While romance isn't a major factor in the plot, love and loyalty are. When I first heard this was a retelling of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", I was super intrigued, but as I was reading it, I failed to really see any of the similarities. (Full disclosure, I have never actually read the book, my only reference is the Disney movie that we all know and love) But looking back now, I really can see the wonderful details that do make this an excellent retelling. To see the battle between Enebish the Destroyer and Enebish the warrior, was a fantastic inner dialogue that helped me fall in love with this story.
The world and magic were amazing. I understood about the different kingdoms, I understood the conflict going on and the results they were having for everyone, I understood where magic was from, how it works, and its pros and cons.
This book had me stressin. Like big time. I did not see some major twists that came about, and I loved every single one of them. There was just enough crazy to make it exciting instead of outlandish and unbelievable. I get a little tingly feeling in my heart when I think about how much I enjoyed this book. To me, it has all the classic elements of a great fantasy adventure, with enough unique elements to make it exciting and fun. I truly got lost in this world for a bit, and I highly encourage you to do the same.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My goodness I enjoyed this. This was such a magical read and I couldn't put it down. It was so well written and had amazing world building. I felt like I was right there! I loved the characters, especially Enebish. 

Overall this was an excellent fantasy novel that should immediately be added to your shelf! 


Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

So, so, sooooooooo good!

Apparently this is a loose retelling of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and to be honest, I couldn't really see the parallels, but that didn't matter because this book is absolutely captivating.

I thought I knew where it was going.

I thought that it would employ the same cliches as so many other YA fantasy books.

I was wrong.

There are some twists in this book that I NEVER saw coming, and I frigging loved being blindsided like that. I means that I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen in the sequel, but I am unbelievably excited for it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this amazing story :)

I really enjoyed this book! My only familiarity with the Hunchback of Notre Dame is the Disney movie, not the original book, so I can't say I noticed all the Notre Dame references in this if any at all. I thought the author's take on the story was very creative though, I loved the world building, and the plot, though maybe a little slow initially, came together for a really exciting climax. The main character was great and I loved seeing her growth over the course of the novel. I'm really excited for the sequel of this book to release next year!

So the beginning of this story was kinda boring. I don’t say it because I’m expecting great action from the start but it wasn’t until about 30-40% of the way through the book that things got really interesting. There were some seriously slow moments in the story that had me going “do I even want to finish this”? Well, I read the whole thing and I really enjoyed it. I thought the plot was good and loved the aspect of the world. Besides the slowness there were some things I wasn’t a fan of - like the main character’s demure. She kept repeating how weak and small she is even though previously she was one of the strongest and most confident warrior. It wasn’t very believable that someone’s personality would change that drastically. Would I believe they would doubt themselves more? Yeah. Would I believe they wouldn’t take as many risks? Yeah. But to go from warrior to a soft noodle didn’t comprehend for me or for the character.

Another thing I wasn’t a fan of was the unanswered plot point. I won’t spoil it, but this point was made over and over again but after every twist, turn, and reveal, this question still was not answered. I hope it will be answered in future books because I’m curious why it was brought up so frequently with no answer or follow up. Besides that, I liked the book. Some characters annoyed me but you don’t get a long with everyone you meet and that’s fine. Overall, great read and I am interested in reading the sequel for sure!

A Hunchbank of Notre Dame retelling is not something you come across every day but this is a wonderfully dark read that totally swept me away!