Spinner of Secrets by Annie Louise TwitchellMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was given a ARC of this book in return for my honest review.
When her cruel step-father forces her to marry Crown Prince Kyle saying she can spin the finest linen thread from straw and moonlight, Letta Miller is caught in a complicated web of lies and deceit. Married to a man she is beginning to love, but who still loves another, Letta finds herself overwhelmed with her new life and runs away…straight into the arms of the very gypsies her talents are supposed to destroy. There she meets a strange man who, when she is taken back to the castle and locked in a room to spin the thread she is incapable of making, appears and offers to do it for her. But he requires payments, and on the third night, he demands her unborn child. Afraid, Letta agrees, but the promise tears at her and she withdraws into herself, becoming cold and silent, hurting Prince Kyle who has begun to care for her. Can Letta bring herself to tell her husband the truth and will she be able to save her child?
Gypsies, outlaws, rags to riches, Ms. Twitchell weaves together tales of love and loss in this unique re-telling of Rumplestiltskin…with a few surprises.
I have been privileged to know not only the author for many years, but this story since its beginning and of all the Rumplestiltskin re-tellings I’ve read, this is my favorite.
Letta had my complete sympathy. She loses her father whom she was very close to when she is young and is then treated like a slave by her step-father. Then he sells her off to a prince by telling ginormous lies and she is forced into becoming a princess and marrying a man who can’t stand the sight of her. She is no longer allowed to associate with her mother and then she begins to fall in love with her husband and he still doesn’t want anything to do with her.
Kyle was interesting. He has had some very tragic events in his life, but I think his obsession with removing the gypsies from the land was rather unhealthy. His sense of duty was quite admirable, but his treatment of Letta in the beginning I found very aggravating. I thought he could have made a greater effort to be kind to her. She didn’t want to be there anymore then he wanted her there.
I wanted to whack the King over the head with a wooden baseball bat.
Queen Isa was sweet. Kind and caring, but no nonsense.
I loved how loyal Jane, Letta’s maid was, even when obeying Letta meant risking Prince Kyle’s grave displeasure.
Rumplestilskin was a very well done villain, he seemed like just a kind old gentleman, but had that hint of black magic about him that made him feel sinister.
I rate this book 4 out of five stars.
Note: There is violence and a child’s death. I would not recommend it to anyone under 14.
