What drew me first was the book cover. What drew me in next was the blurb. But I wished they hadn't, because I only enjoyed the last 30% of the book.

'The First Girl Child' is the biography of Bayr throughout his twenty-four years. Every little detail was not ignored, carefully written, beautifully described, but extremely tedious to read and terribly dull. The blurb did mention this: '... with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.' I thought that its two decades would mean after the first-quarter of the book, but I had to keep waiting. Bayr only grew up at about the 60% mark. Sadly, it was also two decades later in the book that everything got a little bit more interesting. His life as a child and a teenager wasn't remarkable in any way.

I try to understand that this story is written based on the times in the past, but I got extremely frustrated by the events that befall the poor women. Yes, Bayr's mother did curse the land, but at what end? Instead of punishing the men, the women were the ones who suffered the most, and I hated that. There were so many bastards in this book that saw women as objects for breeding only. All they aimed to do with them was to plant their seeds — as they call it. It was the curse that started everything, and it was because of this that I loathe the concept of this book.

So why did I continue despite it all? I wanted to know what happened to the king at the end; I wanted to read about the demise he deserved.

But I do have favourite characters of my own. It's not Alba or Bayr — honestly, they were quite unimpressionable, as were many others. You'd have thought with so much writing, the characters would feel developed, but no. Even so, I found myself being partial towards Ghost and Dagmar. There was just so much strength in them, so much goodness, that I can't help but root for them from the very beginning. The idea of runes was terribly clever, too. But that's about it. If I wanted to read a book that includes Norse gods and the like similar to this book, I would turn to 'Sky in the Deep' by Adrienne Young instead.

**Review will be posted on blog site http://pastmidnight.home.blog a month before book publication date**

Thank you to 47 North and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the e-arc of this book.

This book was so gorgeously written and I wondered when I finished reading, why have I never read a book from this author before? Where have I been? This story gave me the feels. It made me cry and it’s rare that a book can do that.

I felt like this story wove a spell on me. I could not put it down (of course I had to because I’m a mom first haha), but when I had a chance to pick it up again, I finished it quickly.

It’s a story fictionally based on Norse mythology. As the author notes, Saylok was a god she created – but if I didn’t read that note, I was about to google Saylok and read about this god, that’s how believable this story seemed to me was. Bayr is born, but before his mother dies from childbirth she curses the land. There will be no more daughters in Saylok. This puts into motion a series of events for the future of Saylok and it’s demise.

The author depicted the life in early Scandinavia really well. I was immersed in this world. It’s brutal, harsh, and only the strong survive. It’s a land that believes in Gods, blood sacrifices, and the power of runes. And with the blood curse ruling the land, the clans are desperate for women and girls. If there are no girls, Saylok would cease to exist. How can there be babies, without women?

It wasn’t only the setting that captivated me. I loved the bonds that develop between the characters, blood ties or not. I felt their love, anguish, trepidation and joy. I was so immersed into the characters I felt all of them. Their stories made me happy, angry, and it broke my heart sometimes too. Each character had a journey, not one path was easy, but through their sacrifices and actions, I witnessed so much character growth.

I experienced a full circle when this book came to an end and it was so beautifully done. That ending. That fantastic ending, it was powerful. I wanted to stand up and cheer but it was midnight in my house and everyone was asleep! The First Girl Child, is definitely one of my favorite reads in 2019.

I’ve enjoyed books by Amy Harmon in the past so I expected The First Girl Child to be equally good, and it was. I really enjoyed the Viking-esque setting and Norse mythology aspect of the book. The runic blood magic practiced by the Keepers and select others was an interesting bonus. I enjoyed the main characters, Bayr and Alba. Their relationship developed naturally over time and was completely believable and very sweet. The other cast of characters were equally enjoyable. I particularly liked Dagmar. I really enjoyed his relationship to his nephew Bayr, his complicated relationship with his father, and his romantic relationship with Ghost. I think I liked reading about him more than Bayr - very well developed character. The story had a good pace, and I never felt bored. The First Girl Child was definitely worth reading.

A tale of love and sacrifice.
Of being more than what others see.
A story that holds your heart and makes you feel.

The First Child is a whole new world created by Amy Harmon. There is some foundation in Norse mythology but you do not need to have awareness of that to read this book. The world and characters the author created are beautifully described. The reader feels truly immersed.

In true Amy Harmon style, this book really evokes the reader's emotions. We feel sadness, anger, despair, hope, and happiness right along with the characters. I felt fully invested in the characters and their outcomes. I very much wanted to see the love stories play out but also wanted the fantasy world of Saylok to be saved from tyranny.

I highly recommend this book and feel it would appeal to many, fantasy and romance readers alike. There are mentions of sexual acts so be aware of that before reading to younger audiences though. I feel this would be a great audiobook and hope to give it a listen if I have the chance.

This is a top Amy Harmon read for me! I was so lost in this world when I was reading and I couldn't wait to dive back in between taking breaks. I hope we get more Saylok stories. I would be excited to read those. I really think this author thrives when it comes to fantasy books. I have yet to read a fantasy from another author that are as good as hers. And add some romance in there, which is my absolute favorite, and you have great book.

Reading the description for this book will give you a good idea of the kind of world you are about to embark on. It’s hard to explain in your own words because it’s a complex storyline. There are many characters to love. Some of them are so endearing and tug at your heartstrings while of course there are ones that you’re hoping vengeance against. This is a multiple POV read and you really get a well-rounded story because you’re in the head of so many different characters.

I will be reading this book again ASAP. It’ll help to be able to understand the dialogue better and catch more things the second time through. Perhaps closer to the book’s release date and then I can write a more comprehensive review. I loved it and I can’t wait for the official release so everyone else can love it too!

I'm struggling with this review.

The story was truly interesting, and I love the background of Norse mythology. It was a beautiful tale and the author built a whole world.

On the other hand, it left me feeling empty. It was written with the same tone as fairy tales. Once upon a time... I just didn't feel anything when reading this. I even found myself skimming in places just to get through it.

I see other reviewers who just love this book and I wonder what I'm missing. But I can only give my own personal thoughts.

I do appreciate the advance copy from netgalley, which did not influence my review.

Wow, just wow! Amy Harmon has done it again! She is my favorite author and I am sad that I have read all her books and I have to wait for her write more so she can sweep me away with her writing. I am in awe. Amy is an amazing writer, She writes romance, historical fiction, and fantasy! The first girl child was like nothing I have read before. I loved the characters in the book, especially Bayr, Dagmar, Ghost and Alba. I can't wait for it to become available on audible so I can listen to it. I listened on audible to her book The Queen and the cure and it was beautifully done, I loved every minute of it. I have never heard another book on audible as well done and I have listened to a lot of audible books. I am hoping The first girl child will be done as well!!! Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read this book early. I will be telling all my friends all about what a great book this is , as they all know that Amy is my favorite author. Thank you!!

Amy Harmon is the queen of storytelling. This book is so beautifully written. It captures Norse mythology while providing characters that are so easy to love. It's a story about friendship, love and conquering one's fate. This book should be read by all.

This book. Oh, this book. I shouldn’t be surprised, because every Amy Harmon book I’ve read has left me wanting more. If you only read one book this year, read this one.

The story of Saylok, the runes, the clans, the Temple, all of it. I am hooked and this place and its magic will be with me for a long time.

This was a beautiful book. I loved every page of it. It conjures images of feudal Ireland, or Norse-men, or Vikings, without being any of them. Set on a country and world that is wholly fantasy, this clan like group of counties live under a king, who is chosen by the keepers, akin to the countries monks.
This book questions what happens when the keepers make a mistake, due to the scheming of an evil individual. It also uses a type of runic blood magic that weaves another layer of curses and intrigue throughout.
However, the stand out part of the book is the characters. I loved each of them. As this is a standalone novel, and quite a lot goes on, they were perhaps facets of the true gems they'd be undoubtedly if the book were longer, but I still very much enjoyed all of them.
Fans of Amy Harmon already will enjoy this book, and I'd recommend to fans of Bardugo, Lani Taylor and Maas

This book is neither what I expected nor what I wanted from Amy Harmon. I flat-out wanted a tender, pure romance like The Queen and the Cure. I expected a fantasy world-building like The Lumatere Chronicles with the scope and emotion of Quintana of Charyn. What we have instead is a patient, subtle, character-driven story like Daughter of the Forest but with several characters.

The First Girl Child, contrary to the blurb description, isn't centered around Bayr's or Alba's romance. Spanning the time period of twenty-four years, we follow the lives of Dagmar, Bayr, Ghost, and Alba as they experience sacrifice and tenderness and trust and hardship and love. In true Amy Harmon style, there's a serenity and tenderness to every word she writes. Also in true Amy Harmon style is her ability to include Christian themes better than actual Christian fiction.

THE GOOD
1) No one includes Christian themes better and more subtly than Amy Harmon. The Queen and the Cure and the character of Sasha felt influenced by the story of Ruth, particularly with the tone of gentleness and tenderness. The First Girl Child draw its influence from the story of Moses, particularly in the characters of Ghost and Dagmar.

She collapsed beneath the boughs, hiding her face in her arms. She didn’t want to live, but she was too tired to die. She was hot and cold, rage and resignation, but she’d made a choice. Alba could be a princess instead of a slave, a daughter of a queen instead of the offspring of a ghost. She would never look on her mother and see a monster or an aberration.

“I have nothing to give,” she moaned, her face pressed to the earth. “I have nothing but love, and my love will not shelter. My love will not save, or clothe, or feed. My love will only harm.”

She had hate—bitter and biting. She hated the king and she hated his queen. She hated the moon and the moor and the innocent door in the wall that should not have been so easy to find. She hated the burn in her heart and the faith she couldn’t shake, even though life had never given her reason to hope. She hated the people of Saylok for bowing to a king who lied to them.

But her hate was no match for her love.

“I have nothing to give you,” she moaned again, and this time she spoke to the child she’d borne, the child who’d grown in her body and reshaped her heart. “So I will give you a queen. I will give you a beautiful queen who sings to you,” she wept. “I will give you a father who rules a kingdom, and a boy to watch over you. I will give you a life without hiding, a world without fear, a home I cannot give you on my own. This is what I will give you—the only thing I can give you. A life without me in it is the only thing I have to offer.”

--------

"Moses was like you, Bayr. God gave him his power, yet Moses resisted because he could not speak.”

“What did his . . . g-god say?” Bayr asked, abandoning the book to entreat his uncle.

“His god said, ‘I have made thy mouth.’”

Bayr frowned, not understanding.

“He made his mouth weak for a purpose. Just as he made you the way you are for a purpose. He made your mouth weak to keep your heart strong. Do not question it,” Dagmar continued. “Do not fear it. You are perfect—you are marvelous and terrible—in your weakness.”

“T-terrible?” “Men will tremble before you. Yet when you speak, you tremble before god. That is how it should be...It is your weakness. But weakness can make a man wise. You will listen more. You will think before you speak. You will never believe yourself all-powerful and all-knowing. You will never say what you do not mean.”


2) More Biblical nods, this time to this beautiful parallel to Revelations.

So he held her—held them—and studied the runes his sister had drawn into the bloody ground. She’d drawn the sign of the woman and child, but the tail of a snake encircled them, its head and forked tongue rising up through a crown with six spires. Six spires for six clans of Saylok.

--------

“The sign of the girl child,” Dagmar murmured. “The wrath of a woman, the pride of men. It is all there in her rune, but we will add something new.”

Bayr raised tormented eyes, the blade faltering.

“Trace the lines,” Dagmar urged, “but where there is a serpent, we will draw the sun. Where there is hurt, we will draw hope. Man, woman, child, distinct but interdependent, and around them, life.”


3) Good, pure-of-heart characters that still have flaws.

It hurt to stand beneath the boughs and remember the child, the boy born to a mother who would mark him, a father who would forsake him, and a world that did not welcome him. For all his strength and humility, for all his goodness and grace, Bayr had never once asked for anything. In that too, Dagmar had failed. Dagmar had kept secrets to protect him, and in keeping secrets, he’d allowed a bitter rune, powered by bitter blood, to shape their lives.


4) The theme of sacrifice, particularly in the case of Ghost. And Dagmar. And Desdemona. I'd say Ghost is actually my favorite character with the scorn she's endured her whole life, her quiet grief she keeps to herself, her loneliness...and still, there's a sweetness and kindness about her that stands out the entire book.

“And in the end, we can only sacrifice ourselves. To sacrifice others is no sacrifice at all.”


5) The overall tone, character growth, and themes of this book are lovely. This book isn't about action or dramatic politicking or sexual longing or surprises. I feel like it's filled instead with characterizations you wouldn't typically expect, a pacing that forces you to mull and consider, and themes that tug at your spirits the more you look into them.

I'm thinking about the character of Dred in particular. Man, what a gruff and callous character that I didn't think anything of...but a couple dozen chapters later there he is again, still gruff and tough but surprisingly someone I came to respect and forgive. Who knew. Amy Harmon knew, that's who.

THE BAD
1) The story spans twenty-four years, and we're in no rush to get there. I'm a lazy, simple-minded reader, remember, so trust me when I say I was definitely antsy to get there wherever "there" was. "Where are the swords and fighting? When does boy meet girl? Where are the mind-bending plot twists? The angst?" By the epilogue, I'd long resigned myself to the knowledge that this wasn't one of those books.

2) When and where are we? I was fine with the fantasy setting, fictional clans, and the vague nods to Norse mythology, but then we offhandedly mentioned a few times the Romans and the spread of the Bible & Jesus Christ. So...where are we? When are we? It was as jarring as seeing Ed Sheeran in his Game of Thrones cameo all over again. "Oh. Hey. Thanks for ruining my moment."

3) Overall book chemistry wasn't what I wanted or expected and while that's not the author's fault, it still is a factor of pacing and content that prevents this book from being a five-star for me. Shrugs.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Amy Harmon knows how to write, but her books (at least her fantasy books, which are the only ones I've completed reading) probably aren't commercial and formulaic in the modern sense of "what sells." This book in particular is slow & patient and driven by the character experience in a more subtle style of Juliet Marillier. The writing isn't sensory or lyrical like Robin McKinley's and the scope of emotion it demands is nowhere near the extent of Melina Marchetta.

What Amy Harmon does best is take a simple idea or theme and craft an entire novel around it. It's not always sexy or heart-pounding or epic, but it'll always have a quiet purity that'll make you long for the day when those tender joys & sorrow in life will be restored to their intended brilliance and hope.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this. Refreshing read, great job. Full review on the blog coming shortly. . Really great job!