Does anyone have this problem where you have so many books on your TBR list that you end up only reading the most recent additions, and the older books just languish on the metaphorical shelves? Because I have that problem, especially for the Google Keep list (I have my list in two places because why not?). But on my latest visit to the library, I decided to check off one of the first few books on the list – Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis.
Spinning Starlight is a science-fiction retelling of The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Anderson. Liddi Jantzen is the youngest child and only girl in the major tech company in her galaxy. But when her eight brothers disappear and her voice is taken in a cruel betrayal, Liddi must escape to a planet she never thought existed and there, find allies and the way home for her brothers.
I really liked the setting of this world. Going in, I was a bit worried that science fiction wouldn’t really gell with a fairytale retelling but I was proven completely wrong. The worlds felt extremely real and I loved the ways technology was used. The setting was fundamental to the plot and it was pretty hard to believe that this was a retelling at times!
Liddi was a great protagonist to root for. She’s grown up in the eye of the paparazzi, so she basically has this inner voice that critiques her actions the way a news article might. It turned out to work pretty well and I felt a lot of sympathy for her; she wasn’t just this poor little rich girl but felt more like a down-to-earth person that I’d want to be friends with.
I also liked the supporting characters – her brothers and the love interest, Tiav. If someone wanted to write a story featuring her older brothers, I would definitely read that because it’s so cute to see the way they dote on her via flashbacks. Speaking of the flashbacks, they were unrelated to the story but helped to flesh out character so I enjoyed them and didn’t think they interrupted the flow of the main plot.
All that said, the love story between Tiav and Liddi was not my favourite part of the book. It’s thankfully not insta-love because they take a few chapters to fall in love, but it does feel a bit strange for Liddi to fall in love fairly quickly after suffering the shock of being almost kidnapped, having her brothers disappear, having her voice taken away, and then being brought to another world. Their romance wasn’t unbelievable, but I think the pacing of it was a bit quick – something that started towards the end of the book, when things are settling down, would have been a lot more convincing to me!
(But I’m also not a huge romance person so this is really just my take on the whole thing! I was just taken aback a few times)
Overall, I really enjoyed it and it made me a bit sad that there are so many books on my TBR that have been languishing there. I really enjoyed this re-interpretation of The Wild Swans and would definitely be interested in reading other stories by R. C. Lewis.
Featured Image: Photo from Canva Photo Library