A rewrite of Rumpelstiltskin, this is a great steady story to the end. I enjoyed Naomi’s writing style and the way she managed to layer many aspects of the story’s character’s together and still created a wonderfully cohesive story. It was published in 2018 as a stand alone novel, but I would welcome additional chapters into this universe. I gave this book an easy 5/5. This new version of the fairy tale includes a great battle between fire and ice, but the rest of the characters go through difficult and sometimes disturbing events to reach their happy ending.
** Alert, Spoilers Below **
Set in the world of Lithvas, with a medieval flavor of princess and princes, the story begins with Miryem and her father’s money lending business. Already impoverished, her mother soon becomes ill and creeps toward the edge of death, while her father remains incapable of collecting the full debt of his borrowers. Miryem decides she is done being poor and to procure medicine for her mother, she begin’s collecting her father’s debt for him.
She discovers she is good at it but holds the borrowers to their terms, forcing them to pay back their debts sometimes with non money items. Soon they have money for themselves and to fix the repair the house and Miryem discovers she is gifted and purchasing items from other locations and reselling them at a good price, or spinning Silver into Gold as the saying goes.
Meanwhile, while she is performing rounds on borrowers, one planter who can’t pay back his debt, she suggests his strong young daughter come to her house to perform chores and work off his debt. Wanda soon becomes irreplaceable addition to the household.
Miryem’s ability to create gold attracts the notice of the Staryk king who thrice brings her swaths of their magical silver, telling her if it isn’t transformed, he will turn her to ice or his queen if she succeeds. She takes the silver to a jeweler and they create first a ring, then a necklace and finally a crown. The Duke’s daughter, who is not especially beautiful, becomes breathtaking upon donning the trio of Staryk silver. All three times, she turns the silver to gold and he comes for her, ferreting her away to the magical ice kingdom of Staryk.
Meanwhile, Irina, Daughter of the Duke of Lithvas and the new owner of the trio of Staryk silver, soon becoming the wife of a Tsar, Tsarina herself. She has a great grandmother Staryk, which means the silver from their realm calls to her. Her new Tsar husband, Miryem, battled through life with a demon in tow. The demon of fire, intends to harvest her soul slowly and painfully. Her Staryk background and their silver, allows her to escape through mirrors and evade being in close quarters with the Tsar. She offers a bargain for the King Staryk’s soul instead of her own and her countrymen.
After a long battle between Staryk and the Fire lord, the Staryk becomes imprisoned within a silver chain and circle of candles from their realm. The Tsar intends to drain Staryk slowly and painfully ebb his life force away and demands to know his real name, which he refuses to relinquish. Killing the King Staryk, will stop the extended winter in Lithvas, but it will also kill the kingdom of Staryk, and everyone in it.
Miryem betrayed the Ice King and tried to kill him, but eventually realizes her mistake, and tries to free him from the silver chain’s imprisonment bonds. The fire lord catches her and injuries both of them heavily before they manage to escape into Lithvas. Miryem and her companions are forced to carry him to a special spot for crossing into the realm of Staryk. Before they can, the fire lord captures Irina again, and forces her to use her Staryk silver on a mirror to bring him into the realm, set to destroy the Kingdom of Ice.
The final twenty pages cover Miryem agreeing to help fight the fire lord, but on the condition that the extended winter must end upon Lithvas and that his people are not allowed on their side anymore. Riding a wild deer into holy frozen mountain only to find its frozen waterfall unleashed onto the people. Staryk and his people fight valiantly but are unable to overcome him. Miryem lures him into the mountain and changes silver to gold in an enclosed storeroom releasing the equivalent of sunlight on him, finally dispatching him.
The end is a happy one, where everyone gets who they want or need. I strongly recommend adding this to your reading list.
