SERIESous Spoilers: A feature where we discuss what happened in our favourite (or maybe not so favourite) books. Did you like the plot changes? The romance? What surprised you? What angered you? And what do you think will happen next?
This SERIESous Spoilers Pick:
Spindle Fire (#1) and Winter Glass (#2) by Lexa Hillyer | Spindle Fire Series
Please Note: I discuss the series as whole below. While I have included what books are discussed in each point by putting a (#1) and/or (#2) in the heading, if you plan on reading the sequel Winter Glass at some point and don’t want it spoiled, perhaps don’t engage in the discussion below.
So in the first book, I thought it was obvious Aurora was trying to force something for Health. And to be fair, maybe she did feel something platonic for him and couldn’t distinguish that from romance but I never really saw that romantic connection. So going into the sequel, I thought maybe she will just choose to go it alone. (Like the idea of “true love” was her love of her sister).
However, she started to develop feelings for Wren and that just felt like it came out of left field to me. Now, I listened to Spindle Fire as an audiobook so I definitely missed a few things and maybe that’s the case here. But I just didn’t see where on earth those romantic feelings came from. And as a result, I kinda felt like the author was just trying to check off a book of inclusivity instead of making it seem organic like it should have been.
Please tell me if I am wrong about that and I truly missed something in the first book?
I thought a lot of Isabelle’s travels throughout the series felt like filler (like the boating trip in the first book even if the whole narwhal thing links back to her mom) but I was so ANGRY about her journey to the North.
At first, I thought it was great that she had learned the true identity of the Hart Slayer (because at this point, Wren had hypothesized it was Aurora’s mom the Queen) but when Aurora and Wren discover the identity on their own, I had to wonder what was the point of Isabelle’s journey at all? The glass slipper was useless really. All she learned was that it held memories…which she didn’t need to know other than the fact it explains where her mother disappeared to.
And I know at the end she uses the slipper on Malefleur when she kills her but I’m not really sure what the point was other than melodramatics. She was the last of the blood line so she could have killed her without the slipper or knowing what winter glass was.
Unlike Aurora, I really liked both of Isabelle’s love interests. Gil was super sweet and I was on his team until I saw more of William and Isabelle together. So I’m really torn on who is the better fit is for her.
I’m glad Gil found love later, though maybe companionship is the better way to describe that. I’m not really clear if he found love or simply settled for what he felt he had to do.
After all the obstacles she overcomes, I was super upset that Isabelle felt like she needed to find her “own story”. What else had she been doing all series?
Sure, she ran away with Gilbert so she wasn’t “alone” and for her return journey in Spindle Fire she was with William. But most of what she did in Winter Glass was by herself and she learned all about her heritage. I can appreciate the fact that she maybe hadn’t had the most time to digest all that info since there was a war going on. However, it irked me that she felt like she had to go off an find herself even though both of these novels–from my perspective at least–seem like they have been about cementing her own identity from Aurora.
I hate vague epilogues and this one had the unfortunate added bonus of flowery language as well.
So do Wren and Aurora end up together? Same with Isabelle and William. It sounds like no? Maybe my anger blinded me to truly interpreting was was happening. I just know that I left with more questions than answers and some anger.