R.C. Lewis won me over last year with Stitching Snow so when I heard she was writing another book, it immediately went on my to read list. Spinning Starlight is based on a Hans Christian Andersen classic, The Wild Swans and I admit, I don’t really know anything about that tale. Despite that, I found this retelling to be quite entertaining.

This story introduces us to Liddi Jantzen who is the daughter of the most powerful tech family in the galaxy. She has been surrounded by her family and a load of expectations her whole life and when we are introduced to her, we find out quite a bit about her. First, since her parents death’s, Liddi has really only had her older brothers to rely on and these days she doesn’t get to see them as often as she would like. Second, Liddi is worried that she won’t live up to the expectations that being a part of her family bring. It is clear she doubts herself and she compares herself to her brothers all the time and in her mind, she always falls short.

Unexpectedly Liddi finds herself in the middle of a situation she has no idea how to handle and the wrong move (or word) could end up killing her brothers. When Liddi ends up in another world, she finds herself connecting with Tiav, someone who can help her but also someone who can cause a lot of trouble for her. As Liddi works with (and sometimes against) Tiav to fix the conduit problem and save her brothers, she has to do it without the use of her voice.

I thought the character development was well done. Liddi’s story and the background of her family history was done in a way that gave me the information I wanted when I needed it. I loved getting introduced to her brothers and her parents through the flashbacks. I also thought the science part was well done – not that I know anything about physics or traveling to other worlds but the way things were explained only added to the detail and believability of the story. The world building was also well done.

Tiav was a great character. He is kind and patient with Liddi and I have to admit, there was a time where I wasn’t really sure how things were going to end up for these two. Immediately he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and help her but she did end up burning him so I couldn’t really hold his actions against him. He is a great mix of smart, trusting, swoony, and loyal.

I can’t say much more about the details of this story only because I don’t want to give anything away. You do find out early on what is going on and why as well as who the bad guy is, but certain pieces of the whole story are revealed throughout the book. What I can say is that if you enjoy the sci fi genre and fairytale retellings, you should definitely check this one out. I enjoyed the whole thing and can’t wait to see what Lewis writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!