Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis
Read By: Mia Barron
Publisher/Year: Disney-Hyperion | Octoberr 14, 2014
Audio Publisher/Year: Recorde Books | October 14, 2014
Pages: 336
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Retelling,
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher through Librarything (Thanks!)
I recieved this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. That did not sway my opinion in the least.
Summary (From Goodreads)
Princess Snow is missing.
Her home planet, once known for lush landscapes, is now filled with violence, fear, and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his new wife as they attempt to punish the princess’s captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.
Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid.
In her enthralling debut, R.C. Lewis weaves the tale of a princess on the run from painful secrets (and a poisonous queen). With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.
Shannan’s Summary
Essie is living the best life possible on a frozen planet patching drones. For fun and some extra money, she fights anyone that thinks they can best her, but none can. It’s not a perfect life, but she finds it good enough, until Dane shows up. Dane has plans of his own to help his family and future, and they center around Essie, but maybe not in the way he originally planned. Together, the start a plan in motions that could very well change life for everyone.
First Off…
I read a ton of good reviews about this book before it was published and added it to my TBR list. It seemed right up my ally being a retelling and sci-fi. So when it was on the list at Library Thing and I won it, I was super stoked!
Thoughts:
This book did not disappoint. The hardest part was settling into the narrator’s voice. It was just a different sound and took a chapter or two to get into, but by the end I couldn’t imagine Essie sounding any other way. Mia does a great job through the whole book encapsulating Essie and making her character come to life, along with Dane and even the robots that Essie has. I think I’m glad I listened because it made it easier to distinguish one robot from another because of Mia’s characterization of them all.
As for the story I loved so many parts of the book that I’m not even sure where to start. It was well thought out and written and was a true retelling of the story rather than a twisted retelling like the Splintered Trilogy. Essie was great, a ruff and tumble Tom-Boy, she had spunk and was happy being on her own. I love that she’s a fighter and a good one at that. The droids and a second level of color to the characters involved and by the time Dane shows up, you’re as hesitant as Essie as to whether you want him to change things around.
Dane is a great character that stands strong next to Essie. You wind up realizing that he has as much of a past as Essie does, and want them both to find a better future than the pasts they have had. Their relationship is not a typical one as it goes through the book, which I like. I hate when books have a girl falling for a boy two pages after they met. Essie, more or less, wants to kill Dane two pages after they meet, which makes things much more exciting to see unfold, and even by the end, you’re not really sure what will or won’t happen between them, because seriously, the last fourth is a nail bitter. Prepare your “Don’t bother me I’m reading” signs for the end of this book, because it will be true.
In the End
This is a great book and seriously if you love retellings or sci-fi, you should move this to the top of your TBR list. It’s also great because it’s a stand alone, so you know you’ll have all your answers by the end of the book.
10 Second Summary:
- Great Character Developments- I talked mostly about the main characters, but everyone in the book has a clear character and intentions that are believable and beneficial to the story lines. You will have strong opinions of almost everyone.
- Familiar story without being boring- Yes it’s a retelling of Snow White, but it’s still a story unlike any other and while there is a small thread of familiarity running through it, most of the story is new and unpredictable.
- A Distinct Narrator- Mia makes not only Essie’s voice stand out, but the whole world. She does a great job of adding to the story and not distracting, so by the end you can imagine any other voice.
Even though I own this book in Audio form, I really want to have the hardback book for my favorites shelf. This one will probably get re-read one day too. It was that good.