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megs_bookrack

October 31 2018

**2.5-stars rounded up** As the sole survivor of a goblin raid on her village, Janneke is wracked with guilt. As if this weren't bad enough, she is also taken hostage by the raiding army and forced into a life of servitude at the hands of a sadistic goblin, Lydian. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1484662130ra/21739158.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Her life with him is nothing short of hell. We learn about this time through flashbacks, but let's just get the trigger warnings out of the way: <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="b2cc33af-b619-4fa5-a7f5-2394546b2976" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="b2cc33af-b619-4fa5-a7f5-2394546b2976">sexual assault/rape, torture, body mutilation, and emotional abuse.</label> If you are sensitive to these topics, tread with caution. The descriptions of these happenings do continually resurface over the course of the story, as they are a big part of Janneke's character development. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1547299431ra/26906251.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> 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. At this point, questions may arise for you, as they did for me, such as, how can a human girl live that long? <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1535624193ra/26222189.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Let me be frank, I have no idea. I never really understood the concept of time in this story. She is supposed to have been living with the goblins for hundreds of years, but is still the same as when she first got there as far as outward appearance is concerned. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1519391350ra/25109751.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> She is still written as a teenage girl. It is strange. I think it has something to do with the location. The Permafrost. The magical land of the goblins. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1547299431ra/26906252.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Soon after the story begins, the current Erlking, leader of the goblins, dies and a new leader needs to be chosen to replace him on the throne. In their world, the way this is done is through a 'stag hunt'. The magical White Stag is where the Erlking draws his power from, quite literally, during his reign. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1547299431ra/26906253.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Any goblin may become King by slaying the Stag. Hunting groups are assembled, alliances formed, and the hunt begins. Janneke, trained as a hunter since childhood, joins Soren on the hunt. They are both willing to do anything to ensure that Lydian doesn't become Erlking. They are joined by a ragtag group of allies and the real adventure begins. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1547299431ra/26906254.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> On the hunt, things are never boring, there is a lot of action and quite a few violent and intense scenes. New alliances are formed along the way and one of the best parts of the story for me were the various side characters. They added depth and humor to the story which was definitely needed. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1547299431ra/26906255.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Throughout their journey, Janneke and Soren's relationship begins to change. The intensity of the hunt pushes them closer together and they begin to rely on each other like never before. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1547299431ra/26906256.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> I really enjoyed their relationship. Soren is swoon-worthy for sure. Soren, you might ask? Isn't he a goblin? Yes, but keep in mind, these are not your standard goblins. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1547299431ra/26906257.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Oh no. These goblins are apparently quite attractive and described more like Viking warriors than deformed little monsters. I found it helpful to picture this when thinking of Soren: <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1546526256ra/26852950.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Not what you think of when you think of goblin? Yeah. Truth be told, it was a little jarring at first but I think, again, it has something to do with the magic of the Permafrost. At one point, Barbieri mentions something about their looks being an illusion. Then in another section, during a fight, you read of their illusion dropping and their true, more animalistic, form showing through. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1571297211ra/28307085.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Ultimately, I am not really sure how it all works as there was quite a bit of ambiguity with the magic system. Granted, maybe I just didn't get it, but I do read a lot of fantasy and felt this could have been ironed out a bit more. Perhaps we will get more clarification of the world in the second book. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1547299432ra/26906258.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> The conclusion is an absolute cliffhanger and I look forward to seeing how Barbieri continues this story. Janneke and Soren both had so much growth here and I am most interested to see if they continue to grow together in the future or if changing circumstances push them apart. For the most part, I enjoyed diving into the hunt and learning about Janneke and the goblin world. Was this book perfect? No, not at all. There were definitely some places that I felt could have been fine-tuned; some repetitive phrasing and unclear magical elements. That being said, it is impressive that such a young author is getting this out there as a debut novel. The world is vast and I think that Barbieri should definitely be proud. It draws you in. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1477325984ra/20939050.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review, as well as including me on the blog tour for its release. I truly appreciate the opportunity!</["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]>

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Chelsea Humphrey

November 03 2018

I think I'm going to have to mark this one DNF @ 25%. I initially requested White Stag because gorgeous cover + Goblin King = a happy Chelsea. The first chapter was incredibly suspenseful, dropping us right in the middle of an action packed, tense scene. It was a fantastic start and I was anxious to see how the author would fill in the backstory, along with bringing us forward in a tense race to hunt the stag. I quickly realized that perhaps this book needed a bit more work before being released via traditional publishing (the first two novels are available to read via Wattpad); the plot halted and it was stilted conversation up until about 20% in to the book. Even once the hunt had begun, I found myself tossing the book aside and picking up other things that were holding my attention more clearly. I think the author has a fantastic idea here; she's basically taken what S. Jae Jones did with Wintersong and, instead of musical love story, brought a darker, more violent and psychological component to the table. With a little work on developing her characters and adding in copious amounts of world building, I think this book could be something really special. CW for rape, violence, and murder. *Many thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

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Alana

August 21 2018

tw: mentions of rape, torture, violence Ladies and gentlemen, there's a new Rhys in town and he goes by the name of Soren. I honestly, didn't doubt for a second that I was going to end up loving this one. I mean, I freaking LOVED Wintersong, and it changed my life basically forever because I am now just one giant pile of goblin trash. So, its not really a surprise that the minute I heard about this book I knew I was going to spend the rest of my days eagerly anticipating the release of this book. I basically fell in love with this story from the first page. It's all the right amount of dark, twisted, and atmospheric. The story follows Janneke, captured by the goblins at seventeen years old after they burned down her village and killed her family. When the story starts she's currently bound to Soren, but recounts the horrors of being previously bound to his evil uncle, Lydian. Janneke, loathes the goblins but after spending a century with them she fears she is starting to become more monster than human. Especially as Soren takes her on the Hunt for the stag after the Goblin King is murdered. The rules are simple, whoever kills the stag becomes the next Goblin King, but the stakes are high. If Lydian becomes the Goblin King the world will never be the same, if Soren dies Janneke will be once again bound to the goblin responsible for her nightmares 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. Janneke, was such a lovable character and I absolutely loved her growth throughout the story. She struggles greatly with her feelings towards Soren, what being a monster means, and letting go of her past throughout the entire story. And while we do see this softer, doubting side to her, she continues to be an absolute BADASS and carry this story on her back. Remember what I said earlier about Soren being the new Rhys? I AM NOT LYING. Soren brought back all the ACOMAF vibes and I was screaming over the slow burn, hate to love, romance between Soren and Janneke. It was the perfect amount of angst and love without ruining the plot. I can't wait to see where the next book goes with the two of them. The only reason why I couldn't give this five stars is because it was a little bit predictable, but maybe that's just because I've read too many fantasy novels. Even though I figured out the end early on, it was still extremely enjoyable to watch the plot unravel and the mayhem ensue. Favorite Quotes <blockquote> "If I stopped because I was in pain, I would have killed myself a long time ago," I said. "I'm a survivor." </blockquote> <blockquote> "Things like that stay with you no matter how hard it is to forget them. It doesn't mean you haven't survived. It doesn't make you weak." </blockquote> <blockquote> "And I don't want to force you into something that will make you unhappy. And if that means that I release you from your bind and you go back to the human world and find a man of your own, then I'll do it. Your happiness means more to me than anything in the world." </blockquote> <blockquote> "I was chaos and darkness and balance and light" </blockquote> 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. <a href="https://thebookishchicksblog.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow noopener">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/thebookishchick" rel="nofollow noopener">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thebookishchick_/" rel="nofollow noopener">Instagram</a>

C

Caylin

December 15 2016

TW Mention of rape. At first, I couldn't figure out what bothered me about this story. I read it, and then read it again, trying to figure out why I just didn't feel comfortable with it. Then, after thinking on it, I realized what was wrong. The main character's rape is used for shock value. It's brought up again and again, to either reinforce how 'bad' the bad guy is, or to force sympathy for the character. It's a go to whenever the character is upset. It's a constant reminder bashed over our head whenever the author wants to elicit empathy for a character that doesn't deserve it. The rape is only in the story because the author said, "How can I elicit empathy for this character? How can I make people feel reeeeaaaallly bad for her? I've already tortured her, and enslaved her, and given her severe scarring and mild dysphoria.... I know! I'll have her be a rape victim too." It is not something handled with the care or delicacy something so horrible deserves. It's just a label thats been slapped on the main character's forehead to create a 'tortured protagonist.' If it wasn't there, absolutely nothing would change. Nothing. Now the rape isn't the only issue I have with this book, though it is the largest, and most contributing factor to this review. The story itself is simply a mix of everything Sarah J. Maas has ever written, with the word goblins in place of Fae. And really. Goblins. Goblins are more decidedly not creatures of unearthly beauty. Spend exactly five seconds on google images, and you can see that. Goblins are short, sharp toothed, and they like stealing stuff. They look like Dobby after six years of doing meth. The first time I read the book, I kept imagining a three foot tall monster thing following her around. The author could have chosen a myth that fit the characters she presented more closely , or taken some extra time and energy and created a race of her own. Hell, even changelings would have worked, with a bit of explanation and worldbuilding. Speaking of worldbuilding, there was very little. All we know about goblins is that most of them apparently live in the palace, there's ice everywhere, and they like killing each other. How did the humans and goblins come together? Dunno. Why is the stag so important in becoming King? Don't know. (One of the characters later calls it a 'game.') How is this world connected to Norse gods? Dunno. The Stags in Norse mythology "eat among the branches of the World Tree Yggdrasill," and quite possibly represent the four winds. There's another stag who such large horns that he creates rivers. (I am far from an expert on this, so if I am wrong please correct me,) but as far as I'm aware, there is no great stag in the mythology. Don't get me wrong, I know worldbuilding is hard as hell, but a loose base can be formed around the ideas of a certain culture. Nothing irritates me more when authors simply pluck out bits and pieces of research that they like, slap it in the story, and wipe their hands of the things that 'aren't important.' But I've been incredibly negative. The author is a good writer overall. She knows her way around a story, and the pacing was good. I even liked the main character at times, and I think that with a bit of editing, she can be a great protagonist. But the carelessness with which the rape was treated ruined it for me. I won't be continuing to read.

M

Mara YA Mood Reader

May 11 2020

Perfect for those who enjoyed Holly Black’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1981546605" rel="nofollow noopener">Folk of the Air trilogy</a> although you won’t find a “Cardan copy” (pun intended) here but maybe you will discover something else. Something magical happens inside me when I see the words Goblin King or Der Erlkonig or Faerie Prince in a book title or synopsis. Where I know I’ll be taken down into the hidden depths of Goblin Grove or a Realm of Faerie and whisked away into a wondrously dark fairytale filled with beautiful yet vicious and passionate otherworldly creatures *long contented sigh*. Dark, dangerous and bloody, White Stag is not for everyone but it was definitely for me. Labeled as YA (perhaps because the MC is 17) but I would not recommend for a YA audience of under 17 for its dark themes, violence and triggers of rape (retrospect), some sexual violence, depression, thoughts of suicide. A labeling of Adult or New Adult would be better suited. I knew all of this before picking up the book, so I knew this is what I was looking for. As an avid YA fantasy reader in my 30’s, while I do prefer and enjoy YA, I’m always left a bit disappointed how mild YA can tend to be due to the targeted age range and I just want my beloved stories to be just a bit darker, just a bit more dangerous, explicit or...well adult. But I struggle to find what I want in the adult genre....so anyway that’s why White Stag was perfect for me! It’s right on that precarious edge of my comfort level, walking the line between YA and adult, a perfect blend. White Stag is fast paced and sucked me in right from page one. It was driven by a good mix of both plot and character development so that if either slowed a bit, my intrigue of the other carried me through. Let him know how strong I am now. Let him know what I can do...let him smell the blood of the goblins I killed, let him smell the wild and the wind and the anger in my veins, so he knows I’m not the same as I was before A human girl many, many years bound to the Goblin world, the Permafrost, in servitude finally finds an opportunity to revive and show her strength and change her circumstances. Perfect for those who enjoyed Holly Black’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1981546605" rel="nofollow noopener">The Cruel Prince</a>! But with cruel and vicious Goblins in glamour to appear more...human like and attractive (and no, thankfully, the MC does NOT let us know every sentence “how beautiful” they are and does not drool about it constantly—kudos to the author). The original version is available on Wattpad but differs from the version published by Wednesday books. 5/7/2020 All I needed to know was Goblin King and dark fantasy !!! (Also love supporting a fellow Wattpad author getting published!)

T

Tomoe Hotaru

April 30 2019

There are two ways to judge this book. The first is to see it as a coping mechanism; a cathartic device the author used to deal with her own trauma. She acknowledges so in her preface, and for that reason, it feels a bit icky for me to review this book. It feels as though I'm reviewing her way of dealing with her trauma; that any criticism towards the plot, structure, voice -- is by extension a criticism of her coping mechanism. That saying this could have been written better somehow translates to she could have dealt with things better. <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1556615523i/27433813._SX540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> source: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/market/ellen_jewett" rel="nofollow noopener">Ellen Jewett</a> So if I read this book solely through that lens, then I definitely understand why things were written the way it was. I can see why the world of White Stag seems to solely rotate around our main character, Janneke; why its secondary characters are little more than cheerleaders to push our MC forwards; why many things were repetitive and half of the dialogue is filled with either reassurances or encouragements; and many more whys that you will see in my review below. The author needed it to be written that way. She needed that support and development through Janneke by proxy. For that, I concede the potential power this book may also have on other victims of assault -- or even for readers in general -- who desperately need support and encouragement the Real World is yet to deliver. I don't want to turn you off a book that may potentially help you, despite all my critique below. I also want to warn those of you who did find this book to be helpful and cathartic, that you should probably not read the rest of my review beyond this point, unless you are able to regard this review solely as criticism of the book as a story-telling device, and not as a coping device. ALSO: UNMARKED SPOILERS ALERT GOING FORWARD. First of all. Two stars, you say. Harsh, much? Yes, it was a dilemma. But ultimately, this book never passed the "it was okay" margin for me, and that is literally how goodreads describes 2-star ratings. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1556615969ra/27433831.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> 1) World Building The first issue came in terms of the world. We learnt absolutely nothing about the world in a larger sense -- yes, there was the Permafrost; cold and pretty much dead . . . and there were the human lands to its southern border. And that is all there really is to it. We know nothing about the history of anything, no deeper cultural insights beyond "Goblins are evil hunters" and "Humans can create things". So, it's not that kind of Fantasy. Not one where the author focuses on world-building. All right, I can accept that to a point. The only issue is, the lack of expansion on time and setting created a jumble of other problems. First, which jumped out at me from the very beginning, was the confusion in narrative voice . This is one of those books that tries to pass as a dark, mature fantasy . . . and a setting that could be described as not-quite-medieval-but-not-modern-either. However, the voice did not reflect that. From the use of modern medical terms: <blockquote> He didn't even smile when he was killing things; as far as goblins went, that was a symptom of chronic depression.</blockquote> to US-centric colloquialisms: <blockquote>I yanked myself away from his grip and suppressed the urge to wipe my hand on my tunic like a child wiping away cooties.</blockquote> to the use of modern speech tags that aren't even speech tags!: <blockquote>"Well," Seppo deadpanned, "he really wants to sleep with my mother." * * * "You just want to take me in the throes of passion," I deadpanned.</blockquote> If I read one more book that uses "deadpan" as a verb AND a speech tag . . . I think I might pop a vein. I don't care if google dictionary lists "dead-panned" as a verb -- it sounds far too lowbrow for a narrative voice that wants to be taken seriously. I could go on with more detailed examples, but at a core level, the narrative voice sounded too much like a modern, US teen for me to ever really buy into the Fantasy world the author tried to set up. Still related to lack of world-building, is the immense white-room syndrome that hits me almost non-stop. The descriptions were so sparse and threadbare, I found it never took an image in my head. The entire thing took place in the Permafrost and still, to this day, I do not know what it even looks like other than dead trees and ice. The lack of spatial imagery is even more compounded during actions scenes. In one particular series of events, I had envisioned some kind of ice forest, and our characters making a hike through the gradually sloping terrain. But suddenly we are ambushed, and we're trapped in some sort of valley between the mountains . . . but yet, somehow, suddenly, we are on top of that mountain because we're falling down a cliff, except we wake up in a cave, and after escaping grave danger, we're diving down some kind of body of water to find a cure . . . and the relation from Place A to Place B and where they all fit together is just an acid trip of whathefuckery. It isn't merely that any location -- when it is described -- is only ever described short and briskly; it's also the insufficiency in engaging any of the other senses: touch, smell, taste . . . the pacing came at the expense of giving readers any real opportunity to create a connection with the world around them. Our main character's emotions were only ever related to her trauma, that we never got to experience the physical setting around her in an emotional sense. Except, of course, a scene towards the end when she returned to her long-destroyed village. Priority was given, sadly, to over-descriptions of our characters -- Soren, in particular. Yes, I know he has lilac eyes. I do not need to read about them every other chapter. <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1556619095i/27434044._SX540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> 2) Character Relationship Every other character in this book only ever came into being and remained in the picture depending on how they served the Main Character in her quest for self-acceptance. But this is not a book about one character's personal growth and trauma-healing -- at least, that's not how it was marketed. That's not to say that that can't or shouldn't be part of the story, but it certainly should not become The Sun for all the plot-points and secondary characters to revolve around. This issue is painfully evident in the interactions between characters. From surface-level dialogue, to core character motivation. I am not exaggerating when I say over half of the dialogue is basically people giving Janneke encouragement, telling her not to kill herself, and reassuring her of how wanted and special she is: <blockquote>"You drive me mad, Janneke. Completely and utterly mad. I'm probably going to die in a few days, and all I can think of is you."</blockquote> The cringe is strong. <blockquote>"I could be surrounded by unearthily[sic] beautiful, naked women, and I would prefer you as you are, fully clothed." * * * "You are so . . . unbelievable. Do you ever stop? You nearly died. Multiple times. Everyone else I know (...) would have lain down and quit weeks ago. And yet you're here, a human for the sake of the gods, running yourself into the ground and somehow continuing to stand. It's unbelievable."</blockquote> Gee, Seppo, why don't you suck her cock while you're at it? Even light-hearted scenes were only ever included so far as to further shine that spotlight on Janneke. <blockquote>The black eye was my fault. When Seppo came back (...), he noticed Soren and me as we'd been before I fell asleep. His laughter and declaration that he knew it would happen was enough to wake me up and make me charge him--completely naked--and give him a few bruises.</blockquote> I mean, what is he, a child? For goblins claiming to be hundreds (thousands?) of years old, they sure act like fourteen year-old tweens. Yeah, they had sex. Yeah, someone knows you had sex. Get a fucking grip and grow up. Beyond their job of running around and making sure the stage light hits perfectly on Janneke's face, there is nothing else to our secondary characters. Lydian is the crazy villain, Seppo is the comic-relief, Soren is the brooding love interest. That is literally it. It does not help that we start 100 years (or so) into Soren and Janneke's "relationship" -- and by that, I mean a hundred or so years since she has been his thrall/sidekick -- and so from Chapter One, we can already tell that Soren is already in love with Janneke, and for the life of me I don't know why. We have skipped every single crucial key point in their relationship, that we just have to take the author's word for it that there is a reason why Soren's madly obsessed with Janneke, and that there is chemistry there somewhere. <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1454648377ra/17994776.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> 3. Plot Allow Janneke to summarise what happens for 75% of the book: <blockquote>"(...) Since we went to the Erlking's palace, I was almost killed by Lydian for the second time, got into a fight inside the palace, threw a man over a ledge, killed a goblin at point-blank range, pounded Helka's corpse into pulp, almost burned my arms off in the Fire Bog, fought and fell of a gods-forsaken mountain, had a shitty dream quest with a svartelf, kissed you, killed a fucking dragon, held my breath for six minutes inside a whirlpool in order to sing a song to a senile nokken who almost drowned me so I could save your life, found out Lydian might end up destroying the world, and now we might be facing a mystery monster if the thrice-damned wolves don't get us first!"</blockquote> That, my friends, is why on top of all my criticism, this book couldn't get beyond "it was okay" for me. The plot is just a series of jumping from one fight-scene to another , all the while grappling for Janneke's eventual self-love. It's just not the story I came in for. I wanted more depth, more gravitas. Even the impending end-of-the-world crisis did not feel urgent or important. I can't care about a world the author doesn't even portray well enough to feel real or relevant. Even if you cared for the world, you still would not feel any urgency or suspense over its outcome. Every plot-point came with its own Deux-Ex-Machina to help solve it; so why wouldn't the ending? There were points where you would be scratching yourself and wondering why. Such as Soren's decision to only bring Janneke along for the hunt. Apparently, he does not bring more of his allies to join his group, because he doesn't trust anyone not to stab him in the back, which is wont to happen during the Stag Hunt. OH but he does team up with Elvira and Rekke, the former whom he does not trust AT ALL and whom constantly tries to kill Janneke. So why, again, Soren, did you not bring anyone else from your own House? And then the fact that Elvira constantly tries to kill Janneke during high-action scenes . . . such as when they are running away from the Fire Bog, or when they were ambushed in the mountains. And these were not, like, low-key assassination attempts; no, Elvira tries to kill Janneke very openly. But why doesn't she just kill Janneke when they make camp and go to sleep? Your guess is as good as mine. It reminds me of that cartoon; Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, who punches in for work and proceeds to try and kill each other, only to punch out from work and return to drink tea together at the end of the day. And when you're writing a serious novel, perhaps being reminiscent of a Looney Tunes cartoon isn't a positive sign. But going back to the main plot. Even the answers to what Lydian had cooking up his sleeve literally fell out of the sky when Seppo dropped down to join their side and pour out all Lydian's secrets to them. When Soren is gravely poisoned, Seppo conveniently knows of a solution that is conveniently very close to where they are. Even the rules of the goblin-world was so gimmicky and convenient. So, every time the goblin king is too weak, the White Stag will leave it and disappear into the forest. Whoever can kill the stag wins the throne, and the stag will reincarnate to sit beside him until he, too, eventually becomes too weak. Oh, but they only have one month to hunt, and if by the month is up, no one manages to kill the stag, it will conveniently walk up to the two most powerful contenders (who will conveniently be in the same vicinity as one another, I suppose?) and just wait for whichever one of them to win. It's like the author ran out of ideas. Lydian's ultimate goal is to become forever king, and to do that he has to "permanently kill" the stag. Oh, but in order to "permanently kill" the stag, he has to kill the stag on the border between the human world and the permafrost, and he also has to kill his most powerful contender (two guesses who?) And of course Soren/Janneke can't let Lydian throw the balance off course. Of course they will not let a Mad King rule. Of course they will eventually fight Lydian, with the most foreseeable and predictable outcome ever. For all her journey for self-discovery and finding the power to make her own decisions, our heroine ultimately has no agency . She has no choice, in terms of plot progression. All the actions that propel this book -- and her -- forwards, is one Permafrost rule after another that binds the plot to one linear conclusion. And for that, I just could not enjoy it more than the average shrug of the shoulder. this was a buddy read with HBP

A

Ashlee » libraryinthecountry

October 15 2018

This isn’t going to be a warm and fuzzy review. I love dark fantasy stories that involve the folk and jumped on the opportunity to read and review White Stag. I discovered the origins of this story after I had started it (so cool!) and highly commend the author for getting her work published after originally publishing online. That said, this story needs A LOT of work still. The premise is very interesting and I enjoyed the main characters, Janneke and Soren, but the plot only gets more confusing and is all over the place. It’s clear the story is meant to read like a dark fairytale but there was far too much modern language in it – creating a huge distraction from the flow of the story. The writing could use a fine-toothed comb. Additionally, the whole story is a mishmash of various mythologies, creating an even more confusing world – that truly didn’t have much world building to begin with. I was so confused about how the lordships worked, where the different lords actually LIVED and just the general lifestyle of the goblins. And that gets me into another issue I had. When you think of a goblin, what do you picture? Don’t say David Bowie because it’s widely known that Jareth is never said to be a goblin and the general consensus is that he is something else. So, what do you picture when you think of goblins? Probably not creatures with ethereal beauty. Let’s call a spade a spade here. The author took all of the concepts of faeries and elves and essentially slapped the word goblin on them. But why? I get that goblins are folk as well, but this was not a goblin story. Not to mention constantly referring to them as “men.” These things bothered me throughout the book and I basically just stopped thinking of them as goblins and instead as fae. It helped, really. Also - Lydian is a terrible creature but also a highly confusing character and antagonist. Sure, he is five blocks away from sane - but there really was NO explanation at all as to his actions and incoherent ramblings. It felt as though we were building up to this huge reveal behind his craziness, but it never came. I have a feeling we could get answers to this in the next book but I really could do without Lydian’s character in every way – not to mention, I’m not sure I’ll even read the next book. Which saddens me, because I was so excited for this and wanted to read it so badly. Things I did like about this was the romance and growth of the two main characters. I felt like this was done well and felt believable. Janneke and Soren compliment each other nicely. Additionally, I enjoyed the idea of the Erlking and point of the stag hunt. These two things are what kept me pushing through this story, though it STILL took me two-and-a-half weeks to finish it. Overall - I did read an ARC and can only hope a lot of the plot issues have been cleared up before publication. I also read the synopsis for the second book on WattPad and can REALLY only hope it is greatly altered as I do not get great vibes for the direction it is going and doubt I’ll read it in that case. TW: rape, torture Review copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

M

Monica

February 12 2019

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.

d

destiny ♡ howling libraries

September 28 2018

Not gonna lie, if I'm on netgalley and see the word "goblin" I just start clicking buttons Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

D

Dark River

August 05 2020

Y'ALL ?? ARE ?? SLEEPING ?? ON ?? THIS ?? STORY I don't even really know what to say. Was White Stag perfect? No. Was it my fastest, most entertaining read in months? Hell yeah. The world is beautiful, the writing fluid and the story action-packed. It really doesn't get boring. And also let me just say that I loved Janneke as a protagonist. She's interesting and has a lot of baggage that's honestly heavier than I expected going in (the author does give you a fair warning before the start of the book. I mean before I got to that.) And personal side note: I am an absolute fall and winter child. I could live in perpetual cold year round and not miss a thing, so naturally that is something I seek out in my reading and most certainly have found here. The fact that Janneke is not yet another blonde, pale snow queen which I would typically find as the protagonist in a setting like this is honestly the cherry on top for me. Nothing wrong with looking like that (that's Soren actually. Pretty, pretty princess Soren ? Have I mentioned that I love men with hair that's longer than mine? lol And how very fucking rarely that happens? #longhairgirl4lyfe), but it gets old quickly when it's all you see, ever. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to find that for once, the protagonist actually looks more like me. Sweet. PS: I LOVE GOBLINS I'M ??? (Seriously, I'm half convinced I'm a changeling or something, idk how else to explain my love for Goblins in particular. But fuck normal men tbh. Gimme more Jodie Muir art, more Labyrinth, more Wintersong, more White Stag.) Straight on to book 2! PPS: I hope there's some more background info on Lydian's crazy ass?? Y'all know I have a soft spot for villains and even though there's pretty much nothing redeeming about this particular hellspawn, I want to understand what happened to him. (Not a spoiler btw; it's established from the start that he's the villain, don't fucking come for me :) Thx)

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