Welcome back to Goodreads Monday! It’s been a very hot minute since I did one but I figured I might as well get back into it! This weekly meme was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners and it invites you to pick a book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it. Easy enough, right? Feel free to join in if you want to! I’ll be using a random number generator to pick my books from my insanely long GR Want-to-read list.*

*Sorry if a book has been featured twice. I need to make better note of which ones I’ve done already!

This week’s featured book is Night Spinner by Addie Thorley. This is a YA fantasy and is the first book of a duology. It’s apparently a retelling of The Hunchback in Notre Dame? 😍

Before the massacre at Nariin, Enebish was one of the greatest warriors in the Sky King’s Imperial Army: a rare and dangerous Night Spinner, blessed with the ability to control the threads of darkness. Now, she is known as Enebish the Destroyer―a monster and murderer, banished to a monastery for losing control of her power and annihilating a merchant caravan.

Guilt stricken and scarred, Enebish tries to be grateful for her sanctuary, until her adoptive sister, Imperial Army commander Ghoa, returns from the war front with a tantalizing offer. If Enebish can capture the notorious criminal, Temujin, whose band of rebels has been seizing army supply wagons, not only will her crimes be pardoned, she will be reinstated as a warrior.

Enebish eagerly accepts. But as she hunts Temujin across the tundra, she discovers the tides of war have shifted, and the supplies he’s stealing are the only thing keeping thousands of shepherds from starving. Torn between duty and conscience, Enebish must decide whether to put her trust in the charismatic rebel or her beloved sister. No matter who she chooses, an even greater enemy is advancing, ready to bring the empire to its knees. thousands of shepherds from starving. Torn between duty and conscience, Enebish must decide whether to put her trust in the charismatic rebel or her beloved sister. No matter who she chooses, an even greater enemy is advancing, ready to bring the empire to its knees. 

Why do I want to read it?

This book was put on my radar after seeing it on one of Joanna’s posts last year and while it was the gorgeous cover that immediately caught my eye, I knew I definitely wanted to read it after checking out the synopsis. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame before so I thought this was a unique element to the story. I’ve come to really appreciate the movie and the soundtrack is one that I listen to often as I work, so I do have a bit of a soft spot for it (I also think the movie is criminally underrated)! 😂 Overall, it just sounds really good—plus, I think the final book is out next month, so I guess now might be the perfect time to read this? 😉

Have you read Night Spinner or is it on your TBR too? Thoughts?