The pacing of this books combined with the Fae backdrop was very slow coming for me. The characters are complex, however they seem a bit saturated within the market at the moment. I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to read this DRC, as it was able to help me through a difficult time with a family members Chemotherapy treatments. Thank you for the opportunity!!

I would recommend it to people who like standard fantasy, but not for people who are looking for something new in the genre.

DNF @ 15%

I was highly anticipating loving White Stag because of its unique elements, but unfortunately it was simply a case of not being able to get into the writing. I found myself struggling to connect to the characters or fall into the world as effortlessly as I should've, and because of that it made reading feel like an upward battle. I attempted to push through after taking a few weeks away from it, but wasn't able to be successful upon return. I know many are loving this story so I'm chalking it up to being one that simply wasn't for me.

While I wouldn't recommend this book to the youth that I work worth (for numerous reasons in relation to the violence that occurs), I would however recommend it to friends (giving them warning). Twisting our ideas of goblins was interesting but a clearer picture of how the magic works would have added to the story. The world was interesting and the characters were great and I look forward to what is next after that ending!

Trigger warnings: sexual assault/rape, torture, body mutilation, and emotional abuse. If you are a reader who is sensitive to these topics, tread with caution. The descriptions of these happenings do pop up continually over the course of the story as they are a big part of Janneke's character development.

As the sole survivor of a goblin raid on her village, Janneke is wracked with survivor's guilt. This would have been bad enough, however, to make matters worse she is taken hostage by the raiding army and forced into a life of servitude at the hands of the sadistic goblin, Lydian.

After some time, Lydian grows tired of his plaything and for one reason or another gifts Janneke to his nephew, Soren. When the story begins for us, Janneke has been living with Soren for 100 years. How can a human girl live that long? I have no idea. I never really understood the concept of time in this story. She is supposed to have been there for a hundred years but is still the same as when she first got there as far as outward appearance?

Now, the Goblin King dies, and when he does, the Hunt comes. Any Goblin that joins the hunt can become the new King. I'll say that reading about the hunt was quite thrilling. New relationships are formed, we are introduced to very interesting characters, and the relationship between Janneke and Soren take new turns.

The world building in this one is off the charts, it was so good and super atmospheric. I basically wanted to live inside of this evil little world, especially with Soren at my side. This book starts off strong and never stops. It's action packed with an tons of plot twists, secrets, and an epic adventure through the Permafrost that will introduce you to monsters straight out of your nightmares.

All in all, if you're looking for an epic adventure, with a fierce female MC, lovable side characters, and lots of secrets than this should definitely be on your radar.

When I saw this book on netgalley, I was intrigued enough to request it. The cover is beautiful but unfortunately, I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to.

One of the things I didn't like was how bored I was. The world didn't make a lot of sense to me, and it's not really clear how the humans and goblins came to be. The Stag and it's importance to the Goblin King wasn't clear, and the hunt didn't make a lot of sense. It's an interesting idea, but I just needed more details.

The mythology was a little odd to me. It seemed like a mix of different mythologies, which could have been cool but didn't work because it made things more confusing than they should have been. It felt like the goblins weren't really goblins- they felt more like faeries to me than actual goblins.

The book was also pretty forgettable and even though I finished the book pretty recently, I also couldn't tell you most of what happens in the book. It felt like a blur, and I think I kept reading in the hopes I would end up liking it more. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and while I can see why people really like it, I just needed more from it.

I also wish I had more to say about White Stag, but I really don't. Unless I want to start repeating myself, of course.

My Rating: 1 star. The cover is beautiful and I liked the premise of the book. But I was bored, and thought there needed to be more world-building. We get too little about the world, and what we do get is too confusing.

Got about 3/4 of the way through this book and I'm struggling to finish. My interest in the main character is minimal at best. There's very little drawing me into this world or this character's struggles. It feels like many of the books I read as a young kid with nothing new or captivating to draw me in. The main character's angst gets old fast and the constant bashing over the head of the rape is exhausting.

Unfortunately I can not recommend this book.

The darker side of goblins and fae that gets explored in White Stag is fascinating. This novel also reminded me quite a bit of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, which could be a huge positive for readers looking for something to pick up while waiting for the next book in that series. However, I ultimately felt like the magic system needed a little more explanation and the characters a little more development for me to truly get invested in the story. More details could be coming in the sequel(s), but I'm not sure that this first installment whetted my appetite enough for me to come back.

Trigger warning: rape and PTSD. Tons of angst.

Janneke was abducted by a goblin, Lydian, at age 17, and was brutalized, raped and tortured, by him. Then, and no one explain the reason, she was delivered as a slave to his nephew, Soren. One hundred years later, the Erlking dies and the ritual hunt of the White Stag begins.

I have a question: how can they say that this is Y.A. when the protagonist is the youngest with 118 years of age? Yes. That's what I thought. Soren is about eight hundred years old btw. Of course, they all look young.

quote: Goblins stole humans for work the Permafrost wouldn’t let them do themselves. So many of the things they had — their clothing, their agriculture, their buildings were because humans lived among the monsters doing the skills they couldn’t. Humans created, goblins destroyed. It was known.


The Barbieri's Goblins are more Fae than the subterranean sort, they are beautiful and cruel - more similar to the Malediction Trilogy than the Tolkien kind. They live in the magical land of Permafrost of the eternal winter where when you kill something you absorb therir power.(think of the Quickening in Highlander the series)

Soren, in the other hand, is super comprehensive and patient. And has lilac eyes...hehe.(I know!)

quote: “You’re not just any thrall.” His words made me swallow.
I was painfully aware that despite Soren treating his thralls with a considerable amount of respect, honor, and social mobility, the way he treated me surpassed all of them. “Aren’t I?”


Note: Seppo looks like a trickster to me. Is the character conveniently there.

There are some secrets about the Soren/Janneke situation still not talked after what the lady said. And Lydian ramblings... /SPOILERS---->well, now it is obvious that Lydian's incomprehensible babblings are actually visions of the svartelves cavern, and that in them he saw Soren and Janneke. Why he did not kill her and why he gave it to Soren instead, uniting them both, that I can not understand and it remains unknown.<---SPOILERS/

The bad: -Janneke is emo-girl, all the time is poor poor me. Realy annoying.
-Also she is really speshul - Mary Sue level.
-The story dump all the Nordic folclore in one place. Maybe the author could better save them for the other book(s)?
-The dialogues of characters are really modern for this kind of darkfairytale style, that feel out of place. After all we are talking of swords , bows and horses. Hunting to feed.

The mostly-Good: She can fight (she was raised as hunter). All the women -or she-goblins- have to (all kill and fight for higher positions)
-Also she is non-white, scarred and maimed.



quote: Every creature is prey of something . . . or someone. That doesn’t mean we’re evil. Besides, I always thought that a being was only a monster when they became blinded to the outcome of their actions.”

White Stag was a good novel, but not amazing. My main problem with White Stag has to do with main characters Janneke and Soren. I'm conflicted on how I feel about Janneke because she was fleshed-out so well, but I couldn't make myself care for her because she was no different from much of today's YA fantasy heroines. Janneke has a believable reason for being on the side of good; it's not just because she's a human and her kind has fought the opposing goblins for a long time. She's seen evil in the fact in the form of Lydian, who's a pretty good bad guy.

There's also Soren, who I have a definite stance on: I never cared for him. I guess it's hard for a character who's only redeeming quality is his attractiveness to have every reader be their fan. But he's got a heart, too! He's different from the other goblins! ...Whatever. Also, this is just a personal note, but none of the goblins I've read about before have ever been considered hot.

I loved the beginning of White Stag and the whole premise that when the stag gets up and runs, the Hunt has begun. I'll admit that I was expecting a Battle Royale-style fight to the death inside the palace, so I was a little disappointed when Janneke, Soren, and everyone else immediately left the grounds. How are you supposed to find and kill every other creature in the Permafrost, then? Apparently, it didn't matter because Lydian and Soren were already established to be the strongest goblins.

The ending was well-done, too-- I wasn't expecting what Janneke really turned out to be-- but the middle was boring to me. Did the ending make up for it though, you ask? I'm going to say not really because that revelation was the only good part. The rest was pretty much what you'd expect.

White Stag had its good parts and its bad parts, so I'm going to play it safe and give this novel three out of five stars. It's not the best YA fantasy ever, but it wasn't that bad.

What a fantastic story! ⭐️ Brilliant writing and such originality! This is definitely not what I expected when I read “goblins”. There’s a hint of Beauty & the Beast... but only if Beauty was a terrifying hunter and warrior.

Other reviews mention some trigger warnings and I try to be very sensitive to that as well. The scenes aren’t overly graphic but I suggest reading with caution... would not recommend for young or pre-teens.

Overall just an awesome fantasy that moves at a good pace, well developed characters/creatures who I definitely want to read more about.

Many thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the advanced copy of this book.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

TRIGGER WARNING(S): Abuse, rape, sexual violence

This is a heavy book, mainly in terms of its content. I can appreciate a dark fantasy with twist and turns, but I honestly don’t know what to make of this book. I do love how the overarching theme has the main character coming to terms with what happened to her in the past and how she’s strong despite it. The first half of the book was really slow, and it didn’t pick up until they part one particular character. Everyone else before then was really just fodder for the plot. I thought the plot has a whole was interesting, especially toward the end with the stag.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect to any of the characters. The main character, Janneka, strongly dislikes the goblins due to what her previous master, Lydian, did to her. After a long while with Soren, her new “master”, her feelings morph in a positive way, especially when she’s confronted with her past. I enjoyed Janneka and Soren together, and their playful bits, which increased even more when they met Seppo. I think most of what the main character did was for her own strength and good, not necessarily in a way to prove herself to anyone. Along the way, we meet a few unsavory creatures, which adds some layer to the story and the world-building, which I thought was a bit vague.

Honestly, I don’t have much to say in terms of writing style. The author writes action really well, but there was nothing to keep me on the edge of my seat, nothing that really pulled at my heartstrings. And maybe that’s why I wasn’t able to dive fully into the book. Toward the end, it felt a bit like a chore, but I wanted to finish the book. It just took me a longer than I had anticipated. 😅

I stopped reading this about 20% of the way through. The main character's assault and repeated bringing up of said assault seemed contrived to me as a way to move the plot forward without giving much depth to the character herself or to the story. I also felt like some of the world-building needed a bit more set-up and polish for me to really get into the story. I can definitely see how this would appeal to readers of Twilight and Game of Thrones, but ultimately it wasn't for me!

After reading some content warnings for this one and trying out the first chapter, I decided it's not for me. I'm glad I got the content warnings prior to reading too far into it (from other reviews on goodreads).

As a reader who didn't read Kara Barbieri's Wattpad chapters, I got to read this novel fresh without being guided by what I had read before the story was revised. So, I am not sure what has changed and what hasn't. If you read Ms. Barbieri's Wattpad chapters and what I say doesn't go with what you read, I apologize. This is my error, not Ms. Barbieri's.

I wasn't sure what to expect from White Stag, except that it was going to be Scifi/Fantasy. I was fascinated with Janneke's character after reading the publisher's blurb about the book, so I requested an advanced read. I was pleasantly surprised that this book wasn't like so many other fantasies where the premise of the story is the same. Yes, there is the " strong heroine ends up in a mythical land where there are beasts and she wants to go home" premise, however, there is so much more to the story than that. It goes deeper, where segregation between humans and creatures of more depth than we think can live without tearing each other apart. It, to me, was a message of how life can be lived when everyone is different. Did good over evil prevail? You will have to read the book to find out. Did Jenneke's humanity reign over the Goblin's power? Read the book to find out. Can we live together in harmony if we don't find a common thread of value or traits? Read the book to find out.

Just a warning (although I didn't keep my kids from reading at their reading level or believe in banning books from them. However, I know that some of my followers are looking for clean reads,) Ms. Barbieri's book is dark, super dark as there are flashbacks to sexual abuse and death.

Although the recommended reading age is 12 to 18 years old. I am not sure if you really want your twelve-year-old to read it as it holds a clear sexual tension through many chapters and then literary prose & allusion to a sexual relationship in the following chapter lasting about a paragraph long. I would recommend this for an older teen. It truly is no different than say, Divergent or Twilight, although I believe the writing skills level for White Stag is much higher than the previously mentioned books.

I enjoyed this book because Ms. Barbieri's writing painted a picture of the world that Jenneke was living in enough that you could feel the burning of an iron nail, the power stemming for the Permafrost and so many other wonderful sensory filled emotions. I like reading where it's not all telling and it doesn't truly feel like showing but feeling what is happening as if you were in the book.

I give White Stag a 4 out of 5 based on the age level, reading enjoyment and storytelling.

WHITE STAG by Kara Barbien wasn't for me. I was very interested, but the more I read, the more I realized that maybe it wasn't a book for me. Sadly. I had high hopes. Maybe one day I'll pick it up and try again.

Wow.

Simply wow.

Kara aka Pandean, which is how I know her from Wattpad, has really created something special here. The worldbuilding, which somehow relates to Nordic mythology with mentions of Hel and Valhalla, was done really well and information was released bit by bit at just the right time. Also, because I’m Danish (and have thereby grown up with Nordic Mythology) books that include Norse Mythology in some way is automatically that much more interesting to me.

Janneke is fierce and strong, having spent 100 years as a thrall (slave) in the Permafrost where Goblins rule. I love her character, her scars, both physically and mentally, and her development throughout the book, how she grows and slowly comes to terms with what is happening to her. She’s not a perfect person, which is the best kind of book character there is.

Now Soren.. Oh Soren. Another character to add to the ever-growing list of Characters-I’d-Like-To…-Get-To-Know-Better.. He’s the strong protector and despite being a Goblin Lord and the one who owns Janneke, he’s very likeable, especially in the early moments when he’s clearly trying to get the grip of using sarcasm (but then also throughout the rest of the book). The glimpses of humanity in him made his character interesting and also his development and feelings towards Janneke was very well written.
Applause appplause to Kara.

The story of a hunt, a “race against time and goblins” was thrilling and exciting and I’m sort of a sucker for those kinds of plots and White Stag did not disappoint. I’m almost tempted to go straight to Wattpad and start reading the sequel, Goblin King, which is already up on Kara/Pandean’s profile, however. I think I’ll wait until it gets published as I don’t know how much was changed in White Stag from Wattpad to the published version.

I know I’ll have to get myself a physical copy of this book because I’ll definitely be rereading it again at some point, that’s for sure.

So, do I recommend this book?
Absolutely, 100 % YES!

To whom?
To all YA and fantasy lovers because it deserves to be read

“If there was only one solution to every problem, the world would be insanely dull, don’t you think?”

Janneke is the sole survivor of an attack by goblins on her village. She has been taken in by goblins, seen and experienced horrible things, and has become stronger yet harder for it. She is terrified of the changes in her, and fears she is losing her humanity.

“It takes time to forgive yourself, even if there’s nothing to forgive in the first place.”

I loved the world building in this novel. Goblins based off Norse mythology. There’s a truly appalling villain and all kinds of creatures. The romance is slow but surprisingly sweet. It’s well balanced with the plot, so if romance isn’t your thing, the plot stands on its own. I couldn’t put this book down. I think it will be on a lot of best fantasy 2019 lists. It’s already a favorite from this year for me.

I think fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses series will enjoy this. And even if you hated that series, it’s different and darker so you may enjoy this one. I am looking forward to the sequel.

I received this arc through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

White Stag is the dark story that follows Janneke as she struggles with humanity versus monstrosity. As a thrall she struggles with PTSD from the tortures she has suffered through, yet also struggles with survivors guilt as she is the sole survivor from her town. 100 years after she was captured, she realizes that she is becoming more like the creatures she deems to be monsters.

The story itself was really easy to read, however, you could tell this was a debut for Kara. While I loved the concept of the story and the pitch of the story, the flow of the writing seemed disjointed at times. I felt that a little more editing could have really gone a long way, and I am eager to see the growth that Kara achieves after this book as the series continues. While set in old timey/fairy tale world the book read much more modern in language. Don't get me wrong, I really liked this book. In fact, it un-slumped me. I went from zero book completion to actually making it through a book, granted it took me a few weeks to do so.

This is where the book really stood out to me. Here we have goblins that fit well into the beautiful fae world that has been somewhat popular lately. There are these beautiful goblin like creatures that remind me of the goblin race you find in other books like Wintersong by S. Jae Jones or Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen. What I love about this goblin race is that it's all sort of just a mirage, as the creatures become more violent or monstrous the more hideous and beast like they become. It is when they are acting somewhat civilized that they resemble the human race.

Again, Kara could have done a little more explaining or developing some details of this world, but there is definitely opportunity as the series progresses. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the additional creatures that were introduced in this book and the role they ultimately played.

I loved Janneke. I love how much she has endured and survived and still clung to the idea of humanity despite her need for retribution. Through her character and her relationship with Soren she shows that the title of monster is loosely applied. I love that she craved more power, yet understood the consequence of acquiring it, both physically and in the sense of the pain as well as what it was doing to her human body. She danced on this fine line of what she was willing to do to live and what she thought was right - yet she stuck with her morality through and through.

DNF at 28%

I really, really wanted to like this. Goblins, a snowy setting, action and adventure -- all things I enjoy reading about. However, the story didn't deliver. It might have been my review copy, but there were a lot of inconsistencies that really detracted from the book. Also, Janneke has supposedly been around Soren for a century, but the two acted like total strangers.

“No, I mean, does your kind normally have that really cute nose crinkle when they make certain facial expressions, especially ones of humor or anger?"

I would assume that was something he'd have noticed in their ninety-nine years together, but it was like they were seeing each other for the first time. Additionally, Soren didn't seem like the type to use words like cute. Janneke was also equally surprised by his actions, even though they were things he's been doing forever. Their relationship was unrealistic and it would have been difficult to picture a romance between the two.

Janneke was always angry or feeling guilty about something, but it was hard to tell where those feelings were directed. Herself? The goblins? Humans? She seemed be angry with everyone and everything. Based on what I read, Soren never gave her a reason to hate him. He tried to keep her safe (albeit against her will at times), and was quick to offer comfort and reassurances (as much as a goblin can manage), but she still distrusted his intentions.

I thought the world-building was interesting, and I liked the idea of goblins and The Hunt, but a lot of the story was repetitive and the language was often redundant. It also wasn't believable when Janneke fought Goblins, especially when just showing their power crippled her. It seemed unlikely she'd ever be able to get the upper hand.

In the end, there were just too many things distracting me from the story. I think it's worth mentioning that there is a lot of brutality, detailed accounts of rape and abuse, and psychological torment. Goblins need humans to create (since they're only able to destroy things themselves), and some humans are treated better than others. Janneke's past has influenced her present, and it was often dark and unpleasant.

This review can also be found at Do You Dog-ear? on January 31, 2019.