The perfect blend of hunger games and game of thrones.
Just wow. I loved this book so much. The writing was somewhat immature. But the plot and the way ir was carried were marvelous.
Recommended to fantasy lovers.

It sounded like my perfect recipe for a YA fantasy: Norse mythology-inspired, wintery setting, a goblin king. I had such high hopes for this one but sadly it just was not my cup of tea. It reads precisely like fan fiction for The Cruel Princewith toned-down characters with very little chemistry and some Norse mythology sprinkled in to appeal to the folklore crowd. Just replace ‘goblin’ with ‘fae’ and the story feels redundant.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing my this book in exchange for an honest review*
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I couldn’t do it. The synopsis drew me in because I love a good animorphs story but after a few chaothers, I had to stop.
I’ll never understand why authors use sexual assault or r*pe as a plot device to show that the main character has become hardened and is now ready to fulfill their destiny. I stopped immediately following the mention of this assault. I was unable to finish what seemed to have been, potentially, a good story.

Oh, I love this kind of book. The Goblin world is one that I haven't delved in and love to read more about. This story was a wonderful ride of emotion and war. There were so many intense moments where you could feel the emotions tensing. The characters were wonderful and really melded together well. The one thing that I would have liked to change was how quick Soren and Janneke fell in love. It could of had a little more tension, but other than that, I blasted through this book and couldn't put it down.

This review was written by Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina http://www.exballerina.com it will go live on 1-1-19

One of the few stories I have read this year, this whole year, that actually met expectations.

Our main character, whom I love almost the most of all the main characters I know, manages to not fall into the trap of romantic Stockholm Syndrome that many other captive, female MC’s do when part of a story such as this. She is also not a flat character, and the supporting characters around her, for the most part, are not flat either.

After a string of reads that are full of political innuendo, preachy plot points, and horribly hypocritical stereotypes, it was nice to sit and just read a story. Aside from a few F-bombs, about three, which I don’t think fit in the age group for this genre, I did not find this wholly inappropriate for the 14 or so and up age group for which it is marketed.

I will definitely either advocate for its purchase at the local library or just buy it myself and donate it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, for which I give my own opinion and review.

White stag

Thanks to the publisher for a copy to read and give my honest opinion!

This is a rare gem of a book! Some of my favorite types of genre exist in only small amounts of books that I could count on one hand and this is that genre. Since the first time I had read a goblin book I have been hooked and that is why I chose to read this copy. The author stays true to form as she releases us in this goblin world and the story building is so amazing it transforms us. White stag was an amazing read, and if you love to fall into fantasy....this is definitely a page turner.

What did I like? Janneka was an amazing main character, although she was human her story doesn't really start until mid book when we understand how she became. The other two characters Lydian and Soren are two male goblins that hold the dark and the light sides of what being a goblin entails. One has hurt Janneka horribly and the other has saved her. Her own destiny lies with herself and it's her choices that really make the book wonderful.

Would I buy this book? Absolutely, I really love this genre and when it comes out I would definitely buy a copy. I hope there is more to this story. This genre doesn't get enough credit and not many authors will write it.

Thoughts for the author? I would beta read anything this author wrote, that's how much I loved this story. Great imagery, world building, and strong characters. Five huge stars!

This is one of those books that upfront I was not really a fan of and was really unsure of but by the end I was pretty happy with how it ended. It's also one of those books that I have a hard time figuring out how to review it. I gave the book the benefit of the doubt with these, because this is a debut so improvement can always be made on your writing.

A few things early on in the book made me pretty unsure about it. The plot of the story is about a girl that was taken as a teen when her village was burned down and she lives it what is called the Permafrost with Goblins. Due to the magic of this place, she has been living as a 17-year old girl for over a century. That made me a little eh about it, because what is the point on her being that young? It also made me question if this book is really YA, or is it marketed as YA just because the age of the character? It's something I have been questioning a lot in YA books lately, so I don't think this is something specific to this book.

The other thing that bothered me was the Goblins themselves. It seems to be explained MUCH later in the book that they use glamour and their true forms are the grotesque Goblins we are thinking of, but up front they are written as really beautiful. I almost felt like I could replace the word "Goblin" in this novel with "Elves." I'm going to call them "David Bowie Goblins" because to me it seems like the author was really just writing them as the Goblin King in The Labyrinth. Also there is a She-Goblin named Elvira in this book, and I'm sorry but I can't read that name and not think of The Mistress of the Dark!

These were kind of nit-picky things, because I found the plot of the hunt for the White Stag to determine the next Goblin King to be really interesting. There is a lot of action here and it somewhat takes on a Quest Narrative with Janneke having to go through trials to get to the end. There was a lot of cool magical creatures as the book progressed, so that did start to hold my attention more.

I did find Janneke's background really interesting, and at times I thought I might have liked a story about her early life a little better. I also was interested in how far things have progressed since her village burned down. It seems like she was around during an early Nordic time period, but when she meets men in this book it seems like no time has passed. I was interested to see if the human world is in the modern time yet, but it's never explained.

I liked the end of this book, and was pretty happy with it, but I am unsure if I will want to continue with this series. I think if you liked Sky in The Deep by Adrienne Young you will like this book.

*I received a review egalley via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review

This was ok. It started off just throwing you in and i was confused. The characters were good for the most part although they seemed a little wooden at times. The story which started out confusing did get better but it was just ok to me. I would definitely read this author but this one just didn't do it for me.

3,5 stars
White Stag left me feeling a little mixed overal. There were certainly a lot of elements that I enjoyed but there were others that were a bit too much for me overall. Even so I think it is a solid read overall.

The book introduces us to Janneke, a survivor from a town slaughter by a goblin who then gets taken as his property. He abuses and tortures her before tossing her to a family member. In his care she heals and stays alive for almost a 100 years. When the Goblin King dies the Great Hunt begins and her master takes her along with him. It is then when revelations are made towards her true being.

This book focuses on Goblins. These goblins are pretty. I don't think I'm wrong in assuming that most would find Goblins not exactly pretty but in this book they are. However they use illusions and glamor. Their true self is not so pretty. So I wasn't quite so disturbed by this. Also these goblins are based on those from the Norse mythology and as such this takes place in the Permafrost and come across a few Gods (mentioned or seen). I liked this.

However when it comes to world building I have a few notes. I think the world building could have been a lot stronger. The Norse Gods just get casually thrown in without little explanation, the white stag also got little explanation seeing as how important it was. The goblin king just toppled over and that was it. The whole Permafrost and Goblin society also didn't quite come alive for me. It just needed more shaping in places. And for a human I think Janneke was allowed to too easily kill other goblins...

Plot wise I also have a few points though I can't quite go into these without spoilers. Lets just say that some things in Janneke's history were too far-fetched for me and felt tossed in. The ending also didn't work for me at all alongside the romance.

Having said that though, I did enjoy reading most of this book. There is a certain grittiness to the story and our main character, Janneke. She is a fighter, she won't go down, no matter what happens to her. As a rape and abuse survivor this is something that does come back to her throughout the book. Even though it was almost a 100 years ago, still seeing her abuser, her rapist, triggers things in her. That was realistic. But she also kicked his ass which I appreciated too. Which is why, seeing the synopsis of book 2 upsets me. Don't read it until you've read this book because the synopsis has spoilers but once you do you will know what I mean.

As far as the characers go I really enjoyed Janneke's character as mentioned above. Soren I liked as a person but his position in Janneke's life makes me a little uncomfortable. Even so I do think he truly cares for her. Rekke was the sweetest, and the banter between Janneke and Septo was great. There was certainly humor in this book and I truly enjoyed that.

* I received this ARC from Netgalley galley in exchange for my honest review *

I have to say that I didn’t care much for this book. It was alright, the beginning was good then it kind of slowed down for me. I had an extremely hard time staying invested in the story. ( it might’ve just been me and not the book). I wasn’t a major fan of the writing style either.

This definitely exceeded my expectations. However, this wasn't the easiest read. Yes, I enjoyed myself and the story, but the was a lot of triggering content here. Which is fine- it matches the world the characters are in, but I did have to pause and take a break a few times. The middle did start to drag despite there never being a scene without action and world-building was minimal, yet the lack of setting didn't bother me much. I did have mixed feelings on rape being used as a central plot point. I’m still unclear if this is a a story of a rape survivor surviving and healing or an untactful plot device. Even still, it didn’t leave a good taste in my mouth. I’m still unclear if this is a a story of a rape survivor surviving and healing or an untactful plot device. Even still, it didn’t leave a good taste in my mouth.Which in turn, made the villain non-complex, leading me to… not really care about him? He’s a big bad for the sake of being bad- we eventually get some back story, but it didn’t add any depth to him… and rape shouldn’t be something to lean on when presenting said villain. But what this story did right for me was getting me to care about these characters and as far as characters go, I liked them. I did end up guessing a few things plot twist wise, but the ending felt oddly conclusive, despite the epilogue and the the way things ended in general, but I genuinely enjoyed this read.

Janneke is the youngest in a family that consists of all girls. As her sisters got married and had children, Janneke was raised to be the male heir. She was taught to track, hunt, and fight. Then one day, the goblins razed her village. The sole survivor, Janneke is taken prisoner by Lydian. After suffering brutal rapes that disfigured her body, Janneke is brought to Lydian’s nephew barely alive. Soren is nothing like Lydian. She is allowed liberties that none of the other thralls are allowed. That includes becoming Soren’s right-hand woman in combat. Soren and Janneke are at Court when the current Goblin King dies. Soon begins The Hunt, where the nobility of Permafrost competes to be the first person to capture the White Stag. During The Hunt, Janneke must come to terms of her family’s death over 100 years ago. When she gets wind of a plan that threatens Permafrost, Janneke must do the impossible. She must stand up to her demons and banish them to save the world that she calls home. Can Janneke do it?

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I had read a few books that were based on Der Erlkonig by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. The books before this were romances and were well written in their own way. What excited me about this book was that it wasn’t a romance. Instead, the main character was a captive in the goblin’s world. That fascinated me and was the main reason I decided to accept the invite from the publisher. I was curious.

I am glad that I did accept the review to invite this book because I was blown away. The author chose to have the goblins be humanlike instead of what people’s preconceived versions of they look like. They actually reminded me of Elves in a way. But they were able to morph into these frightening beings when angered. It was creepy to see how Lydian and Soren looked like when enraged.

I also liked that the author had this book take place in the Arctic. The other books that I have read had the books taken place in Bavaria. Which is OK but having the book set in made more sense to me. I also liked that she took a combination of Swedish, Norse and German mythology and melded them into the story. It made for an interesting read.

I thought Janneke’s storyline was heartbreaking. She suffered so much trauma that I wondered how she coped at times. She suffered insane survivor’s guilt that manifested in nightmares. My heart broke for her because up to the middle of the book, she was existing. I didn’t blame Soren for what he did to her either. If I were in his position, I would have done the same thing. I also liked that the author had Janneke deal with her issues. I cried during that scene but it needed to be done.

I didn’t like Lydian for 90% of the book. He was insane and evil. What he did to Janneke was awful. But, when Soren explained what happened to Lydian when he was younger, I felt pity for him. It didn’t excuse what he did to both Soren and Janneke but it explained a lot.

The plotline with the hunt for the White Stag was well written. I didn’t get why Janneke had such a connection to it at first. But the more I got into the book, the more the connection was explained. I was still surprised by what happened at the end of the book. I was not expecting that.

The end of White Stag was interesting. So many questions were answered. The author did a great job at ending some plotlines but leaving others open. There was a definite lead in for book 2 and I can’t wait to read it!!!

I gave White Stag a 5-star review. This is one of the best takes on the Erlkonig poem that I have read to date. I connected with each character. The plotlines were beautifully written. I couldn’t find anything to nitpick about either. A fantastic book!!

I would give White Stag an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is language. There is extreme violence. There are triggers. They would be rape and survivor’s guilt. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book. There is a graphic rape scene. There is are also several graphic battles.

I would reread White Stag. I would also recommend this book to family and friends. I would include a warning about the triggers.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review White Stag.

All opinion stated in this review of White Stag are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

I don't know of very many books about ladies surviving among goblins.

This reminded me somewhat of Merry Gentry by L. K. Hamilton (albit less sex). A good thing in my opinion! It could do with some smoothing out on what European culture's creatures and gods are being used and why, goblins being users and abusers of slaves, calling them thralls. Janneke is such a thrall, only ...not. She has suffered abuse and the loss of her entire family and village, only to find a master, Soren, who is kinder than his rapist uncle Lydian was.

The Wild Hunt of goblins starts when their Erlking dies, a person we don't know much of anything of, despite the importance of the white stag that becomes the focus of the plot, because the Erlking's power is tied to the border of life and death of the white stag of the Permafrost. A cycle of power goblins live and die for.

Erlking means elf king and try as I might, I couldn't forget that it's a title for the king of fairies. There's not really any other type of fairy/elf that goblins claim domain over, despite that we meet swartelves, lindworms, nokkens on Jeanneke's Wild Hunt.

What somewhat threw me off is Janneke's mentioning Hel, because we in fact do meet the giant goddess Skadi, implying that the white stag would be Elkthyrnir, or perhaps one of the four harts Dainn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Durathror from Norse mythology.

I was sad that Janneke has no goblin or human lady friendships, in fact no ties outside Soren, save briefly Rekke and Seppo. Especially no human ties, as explained away by them being jealous/resentful because she's not as much of a slave/thrall and seems to get special status, even within Soren's household. Humans, by the way, are kept by goblins as thrall because they can create, use iron, and goblins can not.

I do find myself intrigued with where this is going with the hints of the world serpent and how the power balance between Soren and Janneke has changed.

I was super excited to read this one. I’d only ever read one book before that had goblins in it. Thoughin that book they were more cruel and menacing. That one was just okay and this one is about the same for me. It wasn’t as enjoyable as I hoped it would have been.

There is very little character and world growth. Something that is very important to me as I like to feel a part of the story. I had hope for this one but it didn’t deliver.

Jenneke is a human who’s been living amongst the goblins in the Permafrost since they raided her village a hundred years ago. When a fight between two powerful goblins leads to the death of the Erlking, a hunt ensues: the goblin who fells the escaped white stag (the embodiment of the goblin king’s power) will become the next Erlking.
Jenneke accompanies her master Soren on the hunt. Though he is one of the most powerful of goblins, Soren has treated Jenneke as more of a friend than subservient. But Soren’s biggest rival is his uncle Lydian, an appallingly brutal sort who has inflicted tortures on Jenneke that continue to haunt her. Jenneke is torn between her hate for the goblins for the destruction they caused her family and the kindness she feels toward Soren, who has done nothing other than protect her. To make matters worse, Jenneke discovers she may be transitioning into one of the monsters she hates most—a goblin. But can she accept becoming that which she hates most, and must she give up her last shred of humanity to do so?
White Stag (Permafrost #1) is an epic, fantastical journey ensues, ripe with battles and creatures. But the one thing I found was that, while the concept is rich, the world-building was not. I wanted more details, more to anchor me into the world and make me feel as if I was right there alongside the characters. Some of the dialogue also felt a bit stilted and lacked a natural rhythm.
Kara Barbieri has a brilliant concept, but sadly I was hoping to love this book more than I actually did.

*I received an ARC courtesy of Wednesday Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

"White Stag" is a really fantastic YA fantasy that I was absolutely pulled into and found it hard to put down. We mainly follow Janneke/Janneka (male/female declension as she was raised to be a male heir), a human who was captured and brought into the Permafrost by a goblin. Since then, she has been a thrall (slave) to goblins. The first goblin (Lydian) who enslaved her tortured her (see warnings below) before giving her as a gift to his nephew (Soren). Soren has treated her quite differently, as a friend/confidante, and in that time, Janneke has begun to trust him although she has never forgotten what he is (a monster as she was raised to believe).

Janneke both fears and hates Lydian, determined to kill him but frightened of the terrible torture he inflicted on her. At a goblin gathering, she begins to fight with him (and thus Soren joins in to protect her). The fight ends because the Erlking (goblin king) has died and the stag has been released. The white stag is the embodiment of the goblin king's power and belongs to the strongest goblin. The deadly hunt begins, all the goblins who wish to become king heading out to find the stag and become the next king, forming temporary alliances and frequently backstabbing. Before they leave, Soren tells Janneke something she finds quite frightening- she may be joining with the permafrost as a changeling, transforming into the "monsters" she fears- a goblin. Determined to fight it with every beat of her heart, Janneke is thrust even further into the dangerous realm and the deadly politics that are arising.

Full of magical creatures, battles, and even a touch of romance, this book was absolutely incredible, and I really loved every step of the journey. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who loves engaging YA fantasy. However, I would add warnings for rape (in the past/acknowledged, not described in too much detail), torture (physical and mental), and mutilation (could fall under torture).

One of the major themes of the book is that our choices are what make us monsters, not our very essence, and that everyone could be a monster to someone else/elements of perspective (you are a monster to the animals you kill for food or to the grass that you walk on, etc.). This was a really important and intriguing discussion which underlies a lot of the epiphanies in the book. To add to that, the characters were all very well fleshed out and there were so many I really enjoyed, especially Seppo, but also of course the main two of Soren and Janneke. Although the description talks about Janneke being raised as a male, this was a relatively smaller piece of the story and only mentioned occasionally in reflections/was not as big a part of the book as I expected from the description. Instead, we mostly see Janneke's journey to come to terms with all her past, present, and future and understand/appreciate who she is.

Overall, I really loved this story, and I cannot wait until the next is released. While there's a bit of a lead-in to the next book, this one is wrapped up/not a big cliffhanger. This was an incredible world, and I absolutely loved every second I spent in it.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

I have picked up this book when it was available in the read now section of NetGalley. I did not feel engaged or immersed in this fantasy book enough to enjoy it. Many times I felt bored of what was going on in terms of events. The main characters Soren and Janneke felt to me shallow somehow and had one dimension to them only. They lacked the depth needed to stir your inner feelings along with them.

Be warned that the story contains "rape", so if this will trigger anything bad for you, then you may need to skip the book. The love story between the main characters was not convincing enough. The other characters had no such importance and did not make any significant appearance. I feel for a fantasy more characters should've been given scope and footage. The book is not too bad but to me, a fantasy story has to be enjoyable before anything and unfortunately, White Stag was lacking in that area. I will have to go with 2.5 stars out of 5.0 for this.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of White Stag by Kara Barbieri. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

White Stag is a story about a girl Janneke who has lived among the goblins in the Permafrost for a 100 years. When the Erkling - Goblin King dies the Hunt begins. The goal of the Hunt is for the strongest goblin to kill the White Stag and become the new Erkling. While joining Soren on the Hunt, Janneke discovers more about herself and the choice between the human world and the Permafrost.

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. As this was my first book about Goblins and I didn’t know what to expected. This story is build up slowly while revealing more and more about the world and destiny of Janneke. The world-building was done nicely and the suspense was written really well. I loved the way the story turned out and ended. Halfway through I kinda expected the story to go this way and I’m glad it did.

I felt the relationship between Janneke and Soren was well developed and progressed in a natural way. It didn’t felt rushed, which I appreciated due to the circumstances.

Janneke is a strong survivor, brave but also driven by fear and revenge and somewhat insecure about herself but also about where she belongs. As a reader you’re taken on this journey with her where she discovers more about herself and the life she wants to life.

I’m very excited that there will be a sequel and I can’t wait to read it. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy and magical worlds and a kick-ass female main character. But I would also like to point out that this story contains rape and violence - so be aware of that.

This is not a book that I would have picked up by myself. I had not heard much about it at all, before the blog tour. But I am so thrilled that I ended up reading it. Because it was pretty amazing. A four star read for me. A few things bothered me, but this book was exciting from start to finish. I'm so glad I picked this book up.

Though I must admit to having read reviews right before I started the book. Which I shouldn't have done. Felt for sure that I would not like White Stag because of reviews I had seen. I was wrong. I got sucked into this book, the world and this story. It did not let me go until the very end. And I enjoyed all of it very much. Sigh.

Yes, there were a few parts that I disliked with a passion. But I never hated this book. And truly enjoyed reading it from start to finish, always needing to know what would happen next. Writing was not fully perfect, but I did not have trouble connecting to the characters or the world, so I am happy with that. For most of the book this was a solid four star reading for me. Sometimes three, because of some things that happened in the past that I couldn't get over and that were mentioned a bit too much for my taste. But the story was so good. The characters were awesome to get to know. And I loved this world a whole bunch. While I did not completely love this book, I enjoyed it something fierce. And am so glad that I read it. Think that you should all give it a try too.

This book tells the story of seventeen year old Janneke. Except she is not really seventeen. Which I did not know before starting this book, which was a huge surprise for me. She has been living in the goblin world for the past one hundred years, her body not aging. It is not a safe world for a human. She's been doing pretty well, though. I enjoyed learning about the goblins. They are described in so many different ways. Mostly human looking, but eating all things living. Most of them pretty horrible. But not everyone.

Like Soren. The goblin that has been a friend for Janneke for a hundred years. He has lived for almost a thousand himself, though. All those years alive were maybe a little too much, but it was interesting too. I liked getting to know about the goblin world and how they lived and such. I do wish there had been even more of all of it. But oh, Soren. I loved this boy a whole bunch. He was pretty fierce and strong yet gentle and loving too. Though maybe a bit too human at times, hmm. Yet I could not help loving him so so much.

The story in this book is how there is a new goblin king to be chosen. The book begins with the old king dying, the stag running. Those that are strongest in this world will hunt down the stag, killing it, and taking the place as the next king. Soren is one of the strongest goblins there are. And so he will hunt it, Janneke going with him. They start growing a lot closer over those few days hunting. Janneke learns more about herself, learns more about how to deal with her past and all of that. And how to care for Soren differently.

There is romance. But there has been no romance between Soren and Janneke for one hundred years, which is how long she has been with him, mostly as a friend. He has treated her kindly for all those years. And they have grown close. I do wish it had been more about those previous years, though. I wanted to know more. Hmph. It takes a lot of time for Janneke to admit to feeling more for him, for the romance to start. But once it did, it moved pretty fast. I did not mind, though. I shipped them together so very much.

The reason for why I had some problems with this book is because of four months that happened when Janneke was first captured by the goblins, after her whole village had been killed and burned down. She was the only survivor, and a goblin man decided to capture her as a toy for himself. She was tortured and raped for four months alone with him. And there are some details in this book. And they are often there. It was too much for me. Not too brutal, as it could have been, but still too much. Also, it was heartbreaking.

But despite that, the book was good. Janneke had focused too much on what happened to her in the past. I felt like maybe she should have gotten more past it by now, considering one hundred years had gone past, where she had not spent time with this man. Hmm. She acted too much like a child at times, when she should not have been one, since she is a hundred and seventeen years old. Hmm. But I also adored her. So much. Janneke was strong and fierce and an awesome warrior too. I did love her much.

There were also some other great characters in this book. While it focuses most on Janneke and Soren, there are others in this story too. I adored the young goblin girl that were with them for a very short time. Sigh. And then the boy that ended up spending time with them after her. He was pretty adorable and I liked reading about him too. A few bad guys in this book as well, and I disliked them a bunch. But they were all written pretty well and I liked how the story went about all of them. Mostly awesome characters.

White Stag was more than I had hoped it would be. And I am so happy about it. The world was stunning and written well. The characters were amazing. And the story was exciting and thrilling at times too. The ending was pretty much perfect, though I know there are two more books to come. Ah. I'm nervous, haha. But pretty sure I will continue with this series. Want more of the characters. I also did not know the whole Wattpad story before, but I am so curious to know more about it. Also think that it seems pretty awesome.

When I had the chance to take part in the blog tour for this book, I could not say no. Because that cover is killing me with beauty. And the summary sounded awesome too. Was thrilled when I got accepted for the tour, and could read a copy of this book too. My Q&A post will be up in January. So excited for that. Huge thank you to Wednesday Books for letting me take part in the blog tour and for sending me this eARC to read and review via Netgalley. I cannot wait to pre-order a hardcover of this stunning book too. Go read it.

This book was a cluster fuck of everything a 12 year old would want to read in a novel.

I just... I just don't even understand what the author was trying to do with this. Firebogs, goblins, svartelf, dragons, nokken (which is basically a mermaid), palaces, Hunger-Games to the death in the woods scenario, Twilight "the lion falls in love with the lamb" (no... guys quite literally the author <i>says this</i> in the novel, "A wolf shoudn't lay with a rabbit"), talking wolves, some kind of all knowing mountain Goddess, over dramatic orphan girl who's a super special snowflake, absolutely cringe worthy writing...I could go on.

Every single cliche you could ever think about in a fantasy novel is here. All the way down to the classic "you are not real, you are an illusion trying to trick me, so I will be badass and stab you" to singing mermaid-like creatures that lure you to the water.

The writing barely helped at all, either. All the way down to the fact that the writer tries to be clever and won't even write out Hell, instead spelling it out Hel because why the fuck not? It was just cringe.... I have no other word for this. I cringed and cringed and cringed.

<i>"I was breathless. I was on fire. I was floating and falling at the same time. I was everything, but I wasn't afraid."</i>

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/PprHjp7DCw4BW/giphy.gif" width="250" height="170" alt="description"/>

Please, spare me.

And put aside the plot, the characters themselves were insufferable too.

Let's start with Janneke. She's supposed to strong and smart and cunning, but (although I won't deny her strength cause she does go through some heavy shit... I'll give the author that), she's literally.... I wish there was a nice way to put this.... dumb as hell. My favorite example of aloofness is when she meets this depressed mermaid dude (called a Nokken or some shit) gives her the answer she's looking for, and then the only thing he asks in return (which, might I add the author spends like 3 pages talking about how terrifying this creature is), is for her to sing a song. This is her response to his super simple request:

<i>"I seethed with rage. Sing him a song? Anything remotely songlike was ripped from my lips the moment my village turned to ash. No lullaby, hunting tune, or ballad survived the destruction. Sing him a song."</i>

JUST STOP THE "awww my life is so tragic, everything is so tragic" AND SING HIM THE GOD DAMN SONG! And on top of this, she's supposed to be sUpEr smart (as all the side characters always praise her to be), and she didn't even make sure that a way out of the cave was part of the negotiation.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/XD4qHZpkyUFfq/giphy.gif" width="230" height="170" alt="description"/>

I could give you a thousand more examples, all the way from when she finds humans in the forest to when she meets whatever the fuck svartelves are, she is like this.

The side characters have no personality. I just don't even want to waste my breath. They are like all her personal cheerleaders, always praising Janneke and talking about how amazing she is for breathing and existing. Soren literally just existed in the story to boost Janneke's ego, I swear.

<i>"'I could be surrounded by unearthly beautiful, naked women, and I would prefer you as you are, fully clothed.'"</i>

<i>"'You drive me mad, Janneke. Completely and utterly mad. I'm probably going to die in a few days, and all I can think about is you.'"</i>

<i>"'If I kiss you, will you kill me?' he asked, eyes sparkling. 'Only if you stop,' I said and finally gave in."</i>

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/l4FGJ2FJpaXorunWo/giphy.gif" width="250" height="170" alt="description"/>

The author literally pulled that out of what my dream romance would have been when I was ten years old.

ALL IN ALL,
This book was a no. If anything, the only reason I didn't DNF it is because it was utterly hilarious how cliche and cringeworthy it got.