Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Based on the foundation of the classic fairy tale Rumplestiltskin, Spinning Silver is layers of old world religion, Eastern European fairy tales and the fantastic mind of Naomi Novik. Miryem is the moneylender's daughter who takes matters into her own hands after her family is faced with starvation due to her father's unwillingness to collect repayment of debts. Soon she is not only saving the family but unknowingly helping a young girl escape her father's brutality by taking the girl home with her to work off her father's debt. Miryem falls into a bad bargain with the Staryk shadowy king and soon must marry him and continue his bidding of turning silver into gold. There is an underlying theme of underestimating women and their role as property to be sold as a bride or servant. We also see the shortcomings of most of the dominant men. Fans of Novik's "Uprooted" will see the similarities but this is not a sequel and readers new to her books will soon be completely drawn into this mysterious wintery world.