Honestly, this is my first foray into Viking fiction. I've always been interested in the history and while that part of the book was enlightening and fun, this book dragged a bit after a few chapters. It just didnt end up being for me.

I enjoy Viking books but somehow this one I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy it. It was really frustrating to read. I didn't complete reading the book completely. Only read about two chapters. As much as I tried to give the book a break I couldn't finish it.

i really enjoyed reading this viking series, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot and time period.

Aeva The Wild grabbed my attention from the very beginning. I have read quite a few viking novels but never any that had the vikings as the antagonist so it was very refreshing,

The story shows Aeva's struggle on attaining freedom and happiness throughout the entire novel. I really enjoyed the descriptions of each particular mood or experience she was having. It was also very interesting to see the protagonist travel so much.

The ending of the book was very abrupt and left me as the reader wondering what Aeva's future entailed.

Definitely a good read and would recommend to another reader who enjoys Vikings, and female struggles to find their confidence and safety in such a male dominated world.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book!

I was pleasantly surprised with this book! I have not really delved too much into the Viking world so I was unsure what to expect but I found myself draw in from the start. I did have some frustration with how much AEva seemed to follow along with what she is told instead of standing up for herself, but you see how she grows from the naive girl who gets caught stealing food to the woman willing to die for love. I may have hated the cliffhanger ending but it definitely is going to make me keep my eye out for the next book!

Although I found this book a quick read, I also found it incredibly frustrating.
Our heroine is not so much a heroine, so much as someone who let's things keep happening to her.
As the daughter of a king, albeit by herself, she is not without her own power, if she chose to use it. Instead she is a shivelling, useless nuisance, and whilst I am aware that this is a YA book, I would not want my daughter reading this, as I feel it is an awful example of how to let the world treat a woman.
The character building is little to none. And the ending was such a cliffhanger that I seriously thought there was a glitch in my copy, and re-downloaded it to check!
1.5 stars, purely, because I did care enough to finish to book, but I'm not sure why. I definitely will neither re-read this book, nor will I be reading any sequels.
Thank you very much to netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review
#AevaTheWild #Netgalley

In a literary, young adult and historial fiction world, Marion makes several unconventional and unpopular choices in the telling of "ÆVA The Wild." This is extremely brave of her. Many of these choices worked (e.g. her realistic ending) and some simply fell through. Off and on, the story felt like it was leading somewhere, but in actuality, most of the events and scenes did not add value to the story. It is unfortunate because the writing style was lovely as Marion paints beautiful, comprehensive scenes with her words. I think this story has potential, and Marion has a wonderful voice. But, I do think it needs to be gutted of many elements that don't add to the story and replaced with scenes and events that do.

I found this YA historical fiction had great potential. This girl who doesn’t really know why she survived the Vikings is now relying on the friendship and support of three warriors to learn to survive. It’s endearing her relationship with them for the most part. However, I imagined the book would go another way when they start to teach her to fight. I had this image of her as this wild warrior, this woman to who would fight for her destiny, but instead it all just dwindled from that point onwards, until the abrupt conclusion. I mean the ferociousness is there but something was missing.
I hope there’s another book and I might read it because there’re so many unknowns. I want to know more about those three warriors, their backstory, why they took her in, why they love her even though eventually will help force her into a path she doesn’t wish to thread. Most of all I want to know why she’s AEva the Wild and not AEva the meek, which really is what she is for the last half of the book.
It was an easy read, and entertaining, well written and paced but all the aforementioned facts simply can’t be ignored.
I hope the next book (there has to be a next book, right?!) redeems the lacking of this one.

I absolutely loved the first half of this book, I devoured it in a few hours, but once I passed that 50% mark I just couldn't bring myself to go any further. This book is good, I know it, I loved the writing style, the characters, where it was headed but something felt missing. Once Bayan entered the story things just seemed confusing to me, I couldn't tell who she was romantically interested in, who was the villain, what was the major thing to focus on.

Im giving it 4 stars because I did enjoy the first half, and I know many enjoyed the second half too, it just wasn't my sort of thing. Maybe I will give it a reread at some point.

I absolutely loved this book. The writing style was perfect, the plot was engaging and the characters each had their own personality. I couldn't put this book down, it was that good. One thing that annoyed me was the ending. I thought the ending was very abrupt, and not what I expected at all. I hope there's a second book because I have a lot of questions.

I had never read anything set in the viking era and it intrigued me, however I should have processed the reality of how vulgar the vikings were into my decision to pick this book up. It is very violent, including sexual violence. And though there wasn't a ton of language for most of the book, it oddly picked up in the last twenty percent of the book. So while the author was fantastic and the plot was very well done, the ratings are a lot higher than I'm comfortable with.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so Aeva: The Wild started off great. I was thoroughly intrigued by this girl who was just wondering alone in this world barely surviving. Then she tries to steal meat from three good looking soldiers.. and that's that.

No, the story isn't over - the adventure is just beginning!

Honestly, this was a roller coaster ride for me. I liked it up to a certain point because I feel like the ending was just super frustrating. It wasn't the only thing that frustrated me either. I get that Æva was weak in the beginning. Then she was sort of practicing how to protect herself with
Wulfram, Ælric and Iden. Yet, once Bayan entered her life/the story.. things just kind of went downhill.

I did not like Bayan one bit. Still don't and I'm so freaking worried about what the next book might bring me. If there is ever another book. Ugh, I just feel like something should've happened but no, now she's trapped and so am I.

Maybe, just maybe, a second book could redeem everything that happened in this one.

I got this as an arc.... the first 3 chapter were incredible! They had some much detail and you could relate to the character. Then after that is became really mundane and quite boring... I thought it the book would take a different path.. I would read the second book!

So I adore Viking era stories. Which the world seems to be short of unfortunately. So this book immediately sparked my interest. It has great world building and character development, mixed in with a great romance and some adventure. I inhaled this book and I think anyone who enjoys anything Viking should give it a try.

It's rare for me to finish a book in one day, but Æva's story took me by surprise with it's raw look at moments of war, political intrigue and the honor among warriors.

From the moment Æva stumbled out of the night into the midst of three warriors, I was intrigued by the dynamics and growing relationships between them. And while she made some bad decisions due to her innocence, I could understand why the three men chose to protect her.
As Æva meets Prince Bayan, everything is beginning to change, and she must finally learn to take responsibilty for her actions because sometimes it can others cost dearly.

The worldbuilding in this book is great and every character has a distinctive voice, which added wonderful depth to everything. I especially loved the small band of the three warriors with calm Wulfram, the leader, clearly my favorite.
I hope we get a second book because the cliffhanger is brutal and I wonder what Wulfram's end goal is.
Because there's much more to him than he lets on and I have the strong feeling and hope that he has a plan...

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Partly thanks to the success of Netflix’s The Last Kingdom and History’s Vikings, the stage has been set not just for stories that take place during the creation of the English monarchy, (starting with the absorption of lesser kingdoms into three great ones, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex), but also for stories that present this world with heroines who do not mold themselves to the damsel-in-distress cliche. Set in 862 AD, Claire Marion’s Aeva the Wild is a winner in the young adult, historical fiction world, diving straight into the bloodshed of a fragmented nation that will one day be England as it faces the onslaught of Viking hordes.

It is easy for a story of this magnitude to get lost in political explanations and battle schematics, but Marion deftly weaves a coming-of-age yarn where a young girl first survives hunger by stealing, and then has to survive the realities that, as a woman with a secret royal lineage, she will always be a pawn in the eyes of too many men. Protagonist Aeva makes split-second decisions that keep the pace moving, and there is no discomfort of having to suspend disbelief in order to ride along on this journey. The camaraderie that she initially forms with a group of battle-weary soldiers almost has a Lord of the Rings quality to it, and yet, her gender is constantly the wedge that keeps her from ever entering a real brotherhood. She is the consummate outsider who has to keep a wary eye on the decisions and reactions of others. Though she was reared in a nunnery to hide her illustrious birth, Aeva is not so innocent that she doesn’t recognize that succumbing to the advances of certain men will afford her protection in a world where there is none. Still, she possesses a sense of self-determination and cannot stop herself from falling in love, even when battles rage and outcomes force her into futures not of her own design. Luckily for readers, there will be more of this heroine’s tale to come.

Interesting viking story and a quick read.
The viking era isn't something I know a lot about, but I do enjoy stories set in that time. I wish there had been more about the vikings, we basically just learned how terrible they are as enemies, but I think in the next book we'll see more of their culture. Aeva is young and scared and doesn't know how to take care of herself. She's lucky when she stumbles across Wulfram and his guys since they feed her and take her to a village. I enjoyed their friendship and that they tried to take care of her and teach her to defend herself.

Unfortunately, Aeva gets entangled with Bayan, who wants to use her for personal gain and treats her poorly. I was definitely hoping Wulfram, Idin, and Aelric would save her and take her away somewhere. The ending is the worst cliffhanger I've read in a long time so beware! Things are completely hopeless and I'm disappointed in pretty much everyone for their choices. I hope a sequel is on it's way!

<i>I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

4.5 stars

Hold still my heart.

I could not put this book down. That's how much I loved it and how angsty the story was. I cared deeply for the characters and for Aeva, our main character who is trying to survive in this brutal world while at the same time hoping for an happy ending with the man she falls in love with. However, someone is standing between their happiness and I have no idea how they'll overcome those obstacles or if it's even possible. One thing I know for sure, I will read the sequel as soon as it's out. I really hope I won't have to wait too long to continue this series.

If you want to read a story set during the vikings era with a breath-taking romance, you need to pick up this book. It's available on kindle unlimited so you really shouldn't hesitate <3. Now be aware that this world is far from gentle and it might not be for everyone but for me, this book gave me everything that I didn't even know I needed.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an arc via Netgalley)

From the first words, this story was engaging and intriguing. I struggled to like the main character as there were times when she made choices that really frustrated me. As I got to the end, it almost felt like the back story of a villainess. The scene of this book is drive and war time and the author doesn’t pull any punches for her heroine. Although there are adult themes, this is a clean book. If you enjoy a good intrigue with more questions than answers, this would be a great book for you.

Great storyline blended with history... thoroughly enjoyed this story of Aeva and the friendships and relationships with the other characters she experienced. This is the first book in the series so the ending is definitely a cliffhanger. Can’t wait for the next one!