White Stag by Kara BarbieriMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be released on January 8, 2019.
I loved the premise of this. It has a fairy tale feel with some Norse mythology mixed in. It is very dark and violent. I would caution anyone with a weak constitution and if you are triggered by mentions of rape, violence or torture this may not be for you. THis is also placed in the YA genre, but it is fairly violent. Just because the main character is 17, doesn't make this YA. This is for mature readers. Overall I did enjoy this, but I did have some issues with the information development and delivery throughout the story. Having received an ARC, this is something that may be resolved by the time the book is published and this is a good start for such a young author.
While there is a great deal of potential with this story, there are almost too many fantasy elements that don't have enough details. I was often confused about what was going on and felt like I missed something. I went back several times to see if I missed information and it just isn't there. Often times things just aren't explained well in terms of what information the characters are seeking or why they are doing the actions they are doing. There are times of great detail and action which is commendable, I just think there are parts that need flushed out a bit more. For example there is a ritual that one character wants to perform and other characters want to stop, we never actual find out what that ritual entails. There are entire scenes devoted to finding out about this ritual but we never actually learn what it is. This type of unresolved information happens several time in the book with the plot and the character development. Having read an early release, this may be resolved by the time the final publication is out. The author has already done the hard part in coming up with the ideas, a couple sentences here and there would have done a lot to clear things up for me.
Our main character Janneke, is the 7th daughter and being raised as her father's heir. She is taught to hunt and track and pretty much her identity as a woman is taken from her because she is being raised as a boy. Janneke is 17 when goblins burn her village to the ground, and she is captured by Lydian who is pretty much awful and insane. Janneke is tortured by Lydian until the brink of death until he gives her to another goblin, Soren. Soren is kind and while Janneke is technically his slave, he treats her with respect and doesn't hurt her.
Janneke is tormented by the horrors she suffered during her time under Lydian's hands, but she has become stronger and more skilled in the 100 years she's spent with Soren. As the goblin's gather to pay their respects to the current king in his last days and begin the hunt to determine who will become the new king, Janneke learns that she is much more powerful than she ever knew both physically and mentally. She overcomes some very tough battles within herself, in her relationship with Soren, and they have some pretty epic battles on their hunt for the stag.
I did really enjoy Soren and Janneke's relationship. He never pushes her to hard to or too far, he lets her decide what she wants to do. Janneke has had a pretty traumatic life and this journey to find the stag really comes into herself. I feel like her character developed well throughout the story. There were also some really good side characters that complimented the main characters nicely.
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