WHITE STAG is a highly promising YA fantasy novel, with a sweeping romance and fantastical world-building.

The world-building was definitely my favorite aspect. It's (loosely) based on Norse mythology, which so wonderfully came to life on the page. I loved encountering these new magical creatures, weapons, places, etc.

Janneke was a decent protagonist. She annoyed me at first, because she fell into a lot of bland, cliché YA Heroine tropes. But her character ended up going in a direction I didn't expect, and I enjoyed seeing her work through various moral quandaries and develop as a person.

The romance also worried me at first, due to the power imbalance. But as I kept reading, I was pleased to find that Barbieri handled that aspect well, and that the two characters didn't progress in their romance until they were on equal footing. (I do find it hard to believe that Janneke would initially be so clueless about Soren's attraction to her, considering they've known each other for 100 years, but that's a different matter.)

The side characters were delightful. None of them were developed enough to where I truly cared about their fates, but I did enjoy seeing them on the page. I'm hoping the subsequent book will give Barbieri the opportunity to flesh them out.
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As for the parts I feel could use improvement:

- This book largely felt like a sequel (especially at the beginning), rather than a start to a new series. There was a LOT that happened in Janneke's life before the story of WHITE STAG even began, spanning over a century. I wish I could have seen that. And sure, that backstory was delivered in WHITE STAG through flashbacks and other methods, but because there was SO much of it, I was never able to grasp it to my satisfaction. And without being able to grasp it, I was left feeling confused and/or apathetic at times.

- On a technical level, the writing needs a whole lot of polish. There were excessive info dumps, plot holes, awkwardly worded sentences, repetitions of phrases, comma splices, filler words, typos, etc. Of course, I understand this is an ARC, and I never take off stars in my ratings due to minor things like typos. But I will say that the majority of ARCs I've read have been more polished than this one. The writing just seems...amateur. With a few more rounds of heavy developmental and line edits, though, I think the story could shine.

- There was far more about rape than I had expected. That's not something I want to read, but, okay, I understand it's the author's choice. However, I should also have a choice at to whether I read it, which is why this book needs a note at the beginning about trigger warnings--especially since the topic of rape wasn't handled with the degree of respect I would've hoped for.

- The story lacked tension. Part of that came from me not knowing the side characters well enough to care whether they died. But even with the main characters, a significant portion of the plot involved them traveling from one obstacle to another, during which I never had any doubt they would triumph and move on to the next location. It wasn't until the very end that the stakes became dire and the outcome became unknown. That's when things really got interesting for me, and I started to feel some emotional investment. I didn't expect the plot twist during the climax (pertaining to Janneke's character), so that was an exciting surprise.
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I appreciated that Barbieri included POC in her cast. I did really hope for queer characters, though. Perhaps in the sequel? Please?

I am definitely interested in reading the sequel, and I think Barbieri has a lot of creative ideas. The execution could use a fair amount of work, but this is a promising start.
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ARC provided from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Wednesday Books!

I really liked this book. The writing pulled me right into the world, which reminded me of the Winternight trilogy books. The plot is well paced, and keeps you interested. The author establishes the characters and their relationships well. and I felt connected with the main character and emotionally invested in her journey. There is mentioning of rape, which took me a bit to realize. I don't think this was a plot device that was needed and could have been left out.

I felt like the major story lines have been established and some have been tight up and finished, but there is room for more. I'm looking forward to the second book and will keep an eye on this author.

Four out of five stars.

ARC provided by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was incredible. The writing is at the same time lyrical and cinematic and absolutely breath-taking.

I was thouroughly invested in Janneke's love/hate relationship with Soren and how she dealt with the effects of her horrendous torture at the hands of a sadist.

Brilliant book.

White Stag starts out with a fairly interesting beginning, a king is killed (though in the background to the main character's opening fight) and the eponymous white stag, which lends its magic to the realm and ruler, runs free to be recaptured by the next king. But despite having an interesting conflict, I found this fantasy novel to be rife with plot holes and development issues (character and story).

Seventeen year old Janneke, our main character, turns out to actually be about one hundred seventeen because her past one hundred years has taken place in the Permafrost, which [I think] is the magical realm of the goblins. But...her age doesn't show...neither in physical changes nor her emotional maturity. It's not that she seems so dumb, she doesn't, but she seems stunted and immature...almost stubbornly so—which only feels very written.

On the surface, the characters are fairly likable. Janneke isn't wimpy, and her goblin companion Soren is kind and thoughtful—though technically Soren owns Janneke, as she is a thrall in his service. But there's not much beyond that top layer, as the characters remain pretty static and unchanging. In fact, within those first few chapters, I found it incredibly hard to believe that Janneke, after spending nearly 100 years with Soren, could ever have been oblivious to his feelings towards her—or that he was even capable of such feelings and not just the monster she grew up hearing about.

Lydian is the bad guy. He's crazy because I'm told so, and he's villainous because of his past actions towards Janneke. Lydian is Soren's uncle and Janneke's previous captor. He maimed her, tortured her, and raped her, but all that seems to be because Janneke needs some flaws and vulnerability. Or perhaps, just something that can be set up to have pushed her to this point in the story where she is hard, tough, and uncommonly driven.

Seppo is a character who joins up at a timely moment and ends up saving Janneke's life several times but who is relegated to being the worst kind of sidekick/third wheel. The establishing of any of the relationships is either told and not shown or completely devoid of any basis, but most especially here with Seppo. He pops up for the occasional stab at humor, but is also often dismissed in a condescending manner by Janneke and Soren, and provides no real role fulfillment. Neither of those two really seems to try to get to know him, and though a brief synopsis of his character is given, there's very little to go on for Seppo to feel alive and breathing as a character.

Goblins. Barbieri's goblins are magical and beautiful, going against nearly every other portrayal of goblins. Though this felt odd, I might've been fine with this except the world-building was so lacking and messy—I came away with very little understanding of the world and scope at which Barbieri is aiming.

The Permafrost. The name alone indicates that it's cold and possibly in the northern hemisphere of whatever planet they are on, but I don't know. There are many mentions of a border that apparently separates the goblin-kind (and other magical beings) from humans. The main crux of understanding this place and its beings, seems to rely heavily on having a basic running knowledge of every other novel that boasts this kind of world—namely a Sarah J. Maas universe. Honestly, this feels like one of those books whose life began as a fan fiction story based on Maas's works. First and foremost, A Court of Thorns and Roses.

So much deux ex machina. The introductions of secondary and tertiary characters seemingly only occurred when they were needed...and they were really conveniently placed throughout the book and near Janneke in the story. From an antidote for a poison, to transportation problems, and even information required, solutions were just around the bend. Svartelves and halflings, a giantess god (I'm not even sure what this could mean other than she's tall) and huge wolves with telepathic powers, everything is everywhere and without much explantation.

All-in-all, if this were a movie, it would be one of those which you could play on a Sunday afternoon while you're doing laundry. Not a total loss, but not one you'd really recommend. I don't have an interest in continuing this series—I think I'll stick with Maas's creations for now.

I stopped reading about 50 pages in and will not be leaving a review for this book. I was not connecting to the main characters and the info dumping and lack of grounding to the world left me jarred.

A true fantasy book that fans of The Bear and the Nightengale will enjoy, White Stag kept me engaged with the trails of a human survivor living in a goblin world during the greatest Hunt in centuries. Barbieri does a great job describing the scenes and really drawing you in, but I do wish she had spent a little more time world building to support the characters. This has great potential for a continuing storyline and I will look forward to more from Barbieri.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warning: Rape and explicit aftercare.

Utterly fascinating and riveting, Kara Barbieri’s White Stag attempts to upstage the Young Adult fiction world.

I’ve always found myself attracted to anti-heroes and protagonists who were greyer than their fellows. In White Stag, Janneke surprised me, angered me, and humbled me. At times, I was forced to put down the book due to scenes and emotions that wouldn’t let me continue. In other moments, I couldn’t put the book down. That’s how moved and riveted I was.

Barbieri puts a new spin on old European myths, as well. Her use of goblins in White Stag fondly reminded me of Jareth from Underground, although the lack of tight leather pants was both a let down and hopeful start. However, there are moments in which there is a lack of finesse or finagling that the author could have done with her protagonist.

Janneke’s rape was brutal. There is no doubt about it. However, as it was brought up again and again in the book, I couldn’t help but be slightly intrigued and simultaneously disgusted with how the author handled it. On one hand, I acknowledge that every sexual assault survivor’s tale is played and handled differently, but in White Stag, it often seemed to be a complement to the plot rather than a central part in the character’s development. There is also the continuous disturbing trend of using sexual assault as a plot device in books throughout history that also seems to echo within White Stag.

Nevertheless, I am utterly and wholly absorbed into the world that Barbieri has created. I want to see more of what this author has up her sleeves and whether Janneke will survive both her circumstances, the Goblin King, and the world she has discovered.

4/5 stars.

I know morality and/or villainy (monsters) was heavily emphasized in White Stag but I admit that I didn't like the outcome in this novel. I thought there was something missing despite how the author tried to describe what makes one a monster, and other descriptions about the Permafrost. There truly wasn't much of a back story especially when it was needed. Examples include: the reader doesn’t even know what the original Erlkönig was like or if Soren and his uncle were the only “royal” Goblins (but they’re under the Erlkönig).

Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed with any of the characters nor this book’s world-building. However, I think Barbieri is a good writer but there are just some areas in this novel that can be edited and/or improved such as the chemistry (romance) and character depth (and/or character development) just to name a few. Even if this had been the case, the story was still slightly entertaining. My only gripe was that there really was nothing unique about this novel. Replace “goblin” with “fae” and there really will be no difference. There was no significance for any of the characters to be a Goblin.

Additionally, if you strip away the mc’s name/identity, the main character can be similar to Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses and/or Jude Duarte from The Cruel Prince. Again. There was nothing unique about the main character except for the fact that she was skilled in battle and had a very difficult childhood.

While this book wasn't my cup of tea, I would recommend this book to fans of Sarah J Maas’s books and to those who wanted to get into YA literature. However, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this one to those who have read many YA novels.

Finally, trigger warning: rape, all kinds of abuse, etc.


**Huge thanks to the publisher for the electronic copy in exchange for an honest review

I hate DNFing books that I really really wanted to love. I've seen the hype White Stag has and it sounded interesting. The cover is absolutely gorgeous. I love dark books and White Stag is definitely dark. Maybe it's a case of it's me, not you but I just couldn't get into the story. And I don't like goblins. I hope other people find it and enjoy it.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to review White Stag.

★★★★★

(4.5 stars)

This is a review of an ARC, which I got off netgalley for an honest review.

This is far from the first time, also, I've read a book where I have a small connection to the author- but again, I do not let this color my review, and I've in the past given books from friends low ratings.

Hey, Wattpad! Now, I don't want to come off as too rough, but as someone who was active on Wattpad for many years, a lot of the books on their are hot garbage, especially the most read ones. Books like 'After', 'Lailah', 'My life with the Walter boys' do not set a good standard for Wattpad fiction being... good. Often you end up with poorly written books that got popular due to various circumstances, but don't hold up in the mainstream market, least of all to outside critique.

I knew the author of this book in passing, though not particularly well. We were both active for a while on the same quiet chat thread, and while we were in no way friends, I kept her on my radar over twitter (where it turned out we had an absurd amount in common) and in passing. Seeing her book on Netgalley was a very pleasant surprise, so I requested it right away, still with a twinge of 'Wattpad Worry'.

Luckily, White Stag came through.

Aw yeah.



Plot
It took a little bit to understand the initial plot and get into it, as it's unclear from the summary- however, it is a relatively simple one. Janneke is a human who was taken into the world of the Permafrost- a borderline realm where goblins, monsters, and fey-folk live- over a hundred years ago.

Goblins (think David Bowie in labyrinth, not DnD) are beings unable to create, only destroy, and live by strict rules of power, hunting, and code. After being captured in a raid that left her the only survivor of her village, Janneke led a very unpleasant life as a slave before being saved by Soren, the Goblin lord she now works for. Unlike Lynaian, Soren's horrible horrible Uncle and Janneke's previous owner/abuser, Soren acts more as a friend to Janneke, and Janneke follows him as a thrall with an increased amount of power.

Goblin hierarchy means all bow before the Erlking- but when a goblin becomes stronger than the Erlking, the White Stag that kneels at their throne flees, the Erlking dies, and the goblins must hunt the stag and determine who is next in line to rule.

When the stag flees, Janneke joins Soren on the hunt, a long journey where a lot of decisions are made, secrets are revealed, and general drama and story happens.

Worldbuilding
I don't know a lick about Norse/Scandinavian mythology, so it was wonderful to read this book and experience many elements about it- I only have vague ideas of stuff like the idea of Permafrost, what lindworms are, and Gods/Goddesses in that world, and it was a wholly new and enriching experience to read up on the myths, and read this book itself. Norse mythology is a lot of fun, and this book is seeped in it- with plenty of artistic freedom.

The take on goblins is very akin to what you see in fey books these days, but a lot better- they are true monsters. Certain tropes carry, as goblins are part of fey technically (iron hurts them, they can't lie), but on a whole it was much better to read a book where the allies were all bloodthirsty monsters who ate raw flesh, relished fighting, and frequently showed their 'true', more grotesque forms. Hell yeah! Stop it with that unearthly beauty (there's some of that) and give me the weirdos.

A lot of this book is travelling, mostly through the arctic forests and plains of the Permafrost. There's good description about these places, even for an environment that is quite limited on changing. To keep the freshness of 'another day another frozen wasteland', there's other encounters and places explored, mostly in the form of crossing paths with a creature from Scandinavian folklore. All of this still keeps the plot moving, but also provides fun 'side-quest' breaks from the main hunt.

Characters
Janneke is a character I haven't seen in YA fiction really, and that's wonderful. She is decisively scarred and mutilated- most notably to me is that she is missing her right breast, which I've never seen in a book before, let along YA. She never has a moment where she has to put on a fancy gown and look pretty, or make a remark about 'cleaning up'- she's a very dirty, rowdy lad.

A lot of Janneke's character arc is related to trauma, and defining herself. As part of being in the Permafrost as long as she has, she has begun to turn into a goblin herself, and is losing slip of her humanity. She struggles with this, as well as her own identity- she has notable struggles with her gender, as she was raised as a boy and denied the right to both be a girl, and be a hunter like she enjoys. Her story involves a lot of making peace with her past and scars (mental and physical), as well as getting the determination she needs to keep surviving, and chose her own fate. It's all very well done, honestly!

One caveat, and a large TW: Rape on this one: There's some pretty repeated mentions, with a variety of detail (often a bit too much, even without graphically showing it) of Janneke being sexually abused when she was first captured in the Permafrost. This is all through flashbacks and never painted as anything but 'boy that was horrible', but it is also frequent. The common reminders of sexual assault/rape can make it hard to read this book at times, and at points even when it was being implied or barely described, it was still a lot to read rape scenes.

I know the author did not intend this to be as troubling as it is, and I think the book does a very good job in handling it and showing her own issues and growth related to the abuse- there's simply too much rape on page. The point was much more to understand and talk about trauma, which does happen, and I totally get- the author wanted to work through/explore a serious issue. However, this is for sure a book someone with trauma would have a very hard time reading at several points.

Soren, the other character, is a very well done YA love interest (am I really spoiling anything?). He's fun to be around, at no point ever harmful, rude, or abusive to Janneke, and an obvious friend that turns into more. I'm not a romantic, but a big thing for me in YA is actually liking the love interest, so good job. I could enjoy Soren, a lot of his dialogue was fun and funny, and he also had a good, caring heart.

There was a lot less for minor characters, though I found myself less interested in some of the later party members than the first couple, to be vague.

Writing
The writing in this book is crisp and vivid, with several passages being truly engaging, and a good few lines feeling pithy and quotable. There were times where descriptions would wallow for too long, and far too many dream/hallucination sequences (the worst of all sequences), but I found the book fast paced. Despite a time around 69% (heh) in where I took a week off reading, most of this book was read over two sittings, with me being reluctant to stop.

I categorize Wattpad writing, even as an affectionate user, as vapid and amateurish. Happy to report, this book is not so- in fact, I look forward to it on shelves, and hope it can change mine (and others) opinion of books that first began on the digital market. Yes, they can be good.

Better than a lot of modern YA, in fact.

It has been a long time since I was able to obsess about a book like I do with this. I cannot sing enough praises, it is truelly a magnificent piece of work. Unbelievable!
I see another hit among the YA/ New Adult readers. There is violence in this book and might be a trigger for some but I felt thr author took it too a level that was not too far.
The story line and and romance was exquisite. I look forward to reading more from this author.

This was a very Interesting take on human/goblin interactions and interrelationships. I think most YA readers who like fantasy would really like this book. It had enough action, drama, romantic interest, etc. to keep readers engaged. I was disappointed that the author felt that she had to throw in the “F bomb” a few times. Not that I’m prudish (or students haven’t heard this), but it did not add anything to the story. As a middle school media specialist, this gives me pause to recommend it to my more advanced/mature readers. Due to that particular language, I would recommend this for high school readers.

I hesitated with this one - while I love the idea of mythical creatures, it can very often be done in a heavy handed and/or trashy romantic way. I was afraid this would take that route. I mean, hey, nothing wrong with occasional brain candy, I just was in the mood for something more meaningful. I started reading it one night and put it down a few pages in. But then I went back.

White Stag is about goblins. But its also about a young woman who was never quite...right in her family. A seventh daughter who was expected to take up the mantle of a son, since no sons were born. It's about her losing her family, her village, and being kept in an enchanted land far from her kind. Experiencing torture, abuse, being enslaved. That bit was done quite well, I thought, though there were times I expected it to be a bit....darker. This is young adult, after all. There is humor, and the goblins are very well written, which surprised me.

Overall? A solid tale. Decent plot, and though Janneke is unbelievably lucky at times, even she voices her disbelief, which kept me in til the end. As for the end....well. I suppose you'll have to read it yourself.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

I didn't really care for this one. I think some of you will really like it, but it was too slow and it tried too hard to be dark for me.

I want to start my review by saying I really did enjoy this book. It was definitely a page tuner and kept my attention the whole time. We have a strong female lead, NORSE MYTHOLOGY (should've been better relayed in the beginning of the book because I didn't realize it until the MC said something about her people also used to raid - we all know Vikings were raiders - and then you get more Norse references towards the end of the book), Goblins, and ROMANCE with a side of action. Oh, but it was a slow burn romance and it was done very well. Beautiful writing, I liked that the goblins were more like the evil cousins of Elves rather than what we would traditionally think of goblins. I enjoyed the POV in the book and the journey of the MC's internal battle with who she knows herself to be and who others want her to be. The MC is a strong female lead with internal battles, relapses to her rape experience, and lives in a hostile environment.

As much as I enjoyed this book there were some small things that bothered me, but nothing that would keep me from recommending it to another reader.

- I really didn't understand the need for the MC to have a pet name, it didn't anything for the story and it is a personal pet peeves when authors use multiple names or nick names for characters. Like no, just no, keep their name the same unless they are undercover or something that has to do with the plot.

- I didn't care for all the "And" and "Then" 's, primarily because there were to many of them and it kind of made my reading experience awkward.

- I also caught some typos that hopefully will be fixed before final release because they were blatant, although common to EVERY PERSON who has ever written anything. "My hair had been braided in the style the boys wor.;" So clearly that meant to be wore. Closed instead of close, feel instead of fell, etc. Nothing that ruined the book but worth pointing out to any protentional editors that may read this review.


<I>I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.</I>

For good or bad, this follows the typical YA formula, but with goblins (think David Bowie, not ugly), a questionable age difference, some Norse Mythology (admittedly a nice touch), and mostly predictable outcome. If I am being fair, it hooked me quite well in the very beginning, but then felt like it dragged, and that ending was hinted at perhaps a little too much. Overall, a decent read, with a few fresh touches, but don't expect anything massively different from others similar in nature to this novel.

A young woman with both goblin and human traits is captured, raped, and mutilated by goblins. Given to a nicer goblin, she develops Stockholm Syndrome and falls in love with her "master," who exploits the power inequality of their relationship by taking her as his lover and forcing her to help him fight to become the supreme ruler of the goblins. Psychologically very disturbing, this novel also reinforces the problematic tropes of light=good and dark=bad, that gender identity is chosen, and that adult women are always rivals with one another.

I certainly didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, and I admit that I was wary of it at the beginning, but boy did I love it.

Just a heads up, this book features rape, death, animal cruelty, lots of blood and violence so if you're sensitive to those aspects, I'd advise you against reading this.

One of the highlights of this book was the main characters. Janneke and Soren were the apple of my eye and I loved both of them for different reasons. Also, I adored Soren from the moment we met him, which is weird for me because I'm not impressed by the love interest right of the bat very often and by the end of the book I had major heart eyes for him. Seppo was a great character as well, and I can't see how anyone couldn't like him.

The only complain I had with this book was the fact that we didn't get more information about the goblin world. It almost felt like I was reading about any other generic paranormal creature, but I wasn't that bothered by it. Other than that, the writing was good and the story was fast paced so like I said above, I ended up really enjoying this one.

White Stag immediately reminded me of both C.S. Lewis's Chronicle of Narnia and Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials of the White Stag I've World Type of field. Everyone can learn and be inspired by Janneke's tenacity, strength and motivation being the only line survivor of her family destined as the heir of her family's legacy. However, it was a little intense when Janneke gets captured and gets classified as a "monster." Overall though however, this book was very enticing and such an enjoyment to read.

thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review and we are sure to consider this title for our YFantasy collection and that is,why we give this book 4 stars.

This book was a breeze confusing in the beginning but if you stick with it I guarantee you’ll like it! It was complex and yet so simple. The end kinda kinda makes me wish it was wrapped up better but perhaps there will be another book.