Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Challenge #31 ~ “A book by an author who uses at least two initials.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

My opinion in three sentences:

Lewis makes a mark with such a strong debut, twisting the traditional fairytale in such a clever manner that it’s instantly recognisable and yet totally distinct. As in all good books, the characters grow on you with time, and whilst I wasn’t the biggest fan at the very beginning, it quickly became an unputdownable read. For such an interesting world, however, I’d have loved to know more of the background (and visuals), which might have offer some reasoning as to why the villain was committing such evil acts, instead of leaving such a large aspect completely unaddressed.

(Without spoiling anything) the best bit:

People compare this a lot to Cinder by Marissa Meyer and the Lunar Chronicles as a whole. I can see why, but equally I think this stands as a strong, independent contemporary with it’s own ideas and retelling. And I loved what Lewis chose to do with the traditional fairytale. Drones? Planetary exile? Mind-invasion? Yes, yes, yes! If anything, I wanted more of them all. (Especially the drones.) Not to mention the layers Lewis sets up in the work, such that the more you look into the similarities between Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Stitching Snow, the more there is to see (and the cleverer the whole novel becomes!)

A warning for the book:

You’re going to need your imagination for this one. Taking place in space and centred around the politics of this civil war, you’d expect there to be some substantial world-building to create a vision of the society the action is focused upon, but sadly it’s a little lacking. More times than I care to remember, I had a scene envisioned in my head, only for a random detail to be tossed in that completely altered what/where I thought things were.

Recommended for fans of: