Naomi Novik’s story, steeped so much in old-world lore and rich in setting, had much the effect on me as her previous, similarly set book, Uprooted.

All three women face difficult choices and huge responsibilities as they have to figure out how to protect themselves, their families and their country’s citizens. Both the Staryk king and the tsar are causing dangerous reverberations in the country where the young women live. Irina finds out soon after her marriage that the handsome tsar has a horrible secret. Miryem’s skill leads her to boasting, and she catches the attention of the king of the faerie-like Staryk, who live in an icy world that’s always winter. Though it’s long been expected a young lady of higher rank than she would marry the young tsar, because of a series of events involving Miryem’s gift and the duke’s aspirations, Irina finds herself tsarina. Wanda works hard and finds she has opportunities to even earn some money to save for herself. Her father sends her to Miryem’s house to work every day to help pay off his debts.

Wanda is the daughter of one of the debtors. Miryem then finds she has quite a knack for trading and making good deals, turning smaller items into larger ones and smaller sums of money into larger ones. Seeing her mother sick pushes her to act: She goes out and starts firmly collecting money. Miryem’s father and grandfather are moneylenders, but her father’s hesitancy to actually go and collect on debts has left their family in dire conditions.

Spinning silver review