"White Stag" is a really fantastic YA fantasy that I was absolutely pulled into and found it hard to put down. We mainly follow Janneke/Janneka (male/female declension as she was raised to be a male heir), a human who was captured and brought into the Permafrost by a goblin. Since then, she has been a thrall (slave) to goblins. The first goblin (Lydian) who enslaved her tortured her (see warnings below) before giving her as a gift to his nephew (Soren). Soren has treated her quite differently, as a friend/confidante, and in that time, Janneke has begun to trust him although she has never forgotten what he is (a monster as she was raised to believe).

Janneke both fears and hates Lydian, determined to kill him but frightened of the terrible torture he inflicted on her. At a goblin gathering, she begins to fight with him (and thus Soren joins in to protect her). The fight ends because the Erlking (goblin king) has died and the stag has been released. The white stag is the embodiment of the goblin king's power and belongs to the strongest goblin. The deadly hunt begins, all the goblins who wish to become king heading out to find the stag and become the next king, forming temporary alliances and frequently backstabbing. Before they leave, Soren tells Janneke something she finds quite frightening- she may be joining with the permafrost as a changeling, transforming into the "monsters" she fears- a goblin. Determined to fight it with every beat of her heart, Janneke is thrust even further into the dangerous realm and the deadly politics that are arising.

Full of magical creatures, battles, and even a touch of romance, this book was absolutely incredible, and I really loved every step of the journey. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who loves engaging YA fantasy. However, I would add warnings for rape (in the past/acknowledged, not described in too much detail), torture (physical and mental), and mutilation (could fall under torture).

One of the major themes of the book is that our choices are what make us monsters, not our very essence, and that everyone could be a monster to someone else/elements of perspective (you are a monster to the animals you kill for food or to the grass that you walk on, etc.). This was a really important and intriguing discussion which underlies a lot of the epiphanies in the book. To add to that, the characters were all very well fleshed out and there were so many I really enjoyed, especially Seppo, but also of course the main two of Soren and Janneke. Although the description talks about Janneke being raised as a male, this was a relatively smaller piece of the story and only mentioned occasionally in reflections/was not as big a part of the book as I expected from the description. Instead, we mostly see Janneke's journey to come to terms with all her past, present, and future and understand/appreciate who she is.

Overall, I really loved this story, and I cannot wait until the next is released. While there's a bit of a lead-in to the next book, this one is wrapped up/not a big cliffhanger. This was an incredible world, and I absolutely loved every second I spent in it.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

I have picked up this book when it was available in the read now section of NetGalley. I did not feel engaged or immersed in this fantasy book enough to enjoy it. Many times I felt bored of what was going on in terms of events. The main characters Soren and Janneke felt to me shallow somehow and had one dimension to them only. They lacked the depth needed to stir your inner feelings along with them.

Be warned that the story contains "rape", so if this will trigger anything bad for you, then you may need to skip the book. The love story between the main characters was not convincing enough. The other characters had no such importance and did not make any significant appearance. I feel for a fantasy more characters should've been given scope and footage. The book is not too bad but to me, a fantasy story has to be enjoyable before anything and unfortunately, White Stag was lacking in that area. I will have to go with 2.5 stars out of 5.0 for this.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of White Stag by Kara Barbieri. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

White Stag is a story about a girl Janneke who has lived among the goblins in the Permafrost for a 100 years. When the Erkling - Goblin King dies the Hunt begins. The goal of the Hunt is for the strongest goblin to kill the White Stag and become the new Erkling. While joining Soren on the Hunt, Janneke discovers more about herself and the choice between the human world and the Permafrost.

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. As this was my first book about Goblins and I didn’t know what to expected. This story is build up slowly while revealing more and more about the world and destiny of Janneke. The world-building was done nicely and the suspense was written really well. I loved the way the story turned out and ended. Halfway through I kinda expected the story to go this way and I’m glad it did.

I felt the relationship between Janneke and Soren was well developed and progressed in a natural way. It didn’t felt rushed, which I appreciated due to the circumstances.

Janneke is a strong survivor, brave but also driven by fear and revenge and somewhat insecure about herself but also about where she belongs. As a reader you’re taken on this journey with her where she discovers more about herself and the life she wants to life.

I’m very excited that there will be a sequel and I can’t wait to read it. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy and magical worlds and a kick-ass female main character. But I would also like to point out that this story contains rape and violence - so be aware of that.

This is not a book that I would have picked up by myself. I had not heard much about it at all, before the blog tour. But I am so thrilled that I ended up reading it. Because it was pretty amazing. A four star read for me. A few things bothered me, but this book was exciting from start to finish. I'm so glad I picked this book up.

Though I must admit to having read reviews right before I started the book. Which I shouldn't have done. Felt for sure that I would not like White Stag because of reviews I had seen. I was wrong. I got sucked into this book, the world and this story. It did not let me go until the very end. And I enjoyed all of it very much. Sigh.

Yes, there were a few parts that I disliked with a passion. But I never hated this book. And truly enjoyed reading it from start to finish, always needing to know what would happen next. Writing was not fully perfect, but I did not have trouble connecting to the characters or the world, so I am happy with that. For most of the book this was a solid four star reading for me. Sometimes three, because of some things that happened in the past that I couldn't get over and that were mentioned a bit too much for my taste. But the story was so good. The characters were awesome to get to know. And I loved this world a whole bunch. While I did not completely love this book, I enjoyed it something fierce. And am so glad that I read it. Think that you should all give it a try too.

This book tells the story of seventeen year old Janneke. Except she is not really seventeen. Which I did not know before starting this book, which was a huge surprise for me. She has been living in the goblin world for the past one hundred years, her body not aging. It is not a safe world for a human. She's been doing pretty well, though. I enjoyed learning about the goblins. They are described in so many different ways. Mostly human looking, but eating all things living. Most of them pretty horrible. But not everyone.

Like Soren. The goblin that has been a friend for Janneke for a hundred years. He has lived for almost a thousand himself, though. All those years alive were maybe a little too much, but it was interesting too. I liked getting to know about the goblin world and how they lived and such. I do wish there had been even more of all of it. But oh, Soren. I loved this boy a whole bunch. He was pretty fierce and strong yet gentle and loving too. Though maybe a bit too human at times, hmm. Yet I could not help loving him so so much.

The story in this book is how there is a new goblin king to be chosen. The book begins with the old king dying, the stag running. Those that are strongest in this world will hunt down the stag, killing it, and taking the place as the next king. Soren is one of the strongest goblins there are. And so he will hunt it, Janneke going with him. They start growing a lot closer over those few days hunting. Janneke learns more about herself, learns more about how to deal with her past and all of that. And how to care for Soren differently.

There is romance. But there has been no romance between Soren and Janneke for one hundred years, which is how long she has been with him, mostly as a friend. He has treated her kindly for all those years. And they have grown close. I do wish it had been more about those previous years, though. I wanted to know more. Hmph. It takes a lot of time for Janneke to admit to feeling more for him, for the romance to start. But once it did, it moved pretty fast. I did not mind, though. I shipped them together so very much.

The reason for why I had some problems with this book is because of four months that happened when Janneke was first captured by the goblins, after her whole village had been killed and burned down. She was the only survivor, and a goblin man decided to capture her as a toy for himself. She was tortured and raped for four months alone with him. And there are some details in this book. And they are often there. It was too much for me. Not too brutal, as it could have been, but still too much. Also, it was heartbreaking.

But despite that, the book was good. Janneke had focused too much on what happened to her in the past. I felt like maybe she should have gotten more past it by now, considering one hundred years had gone past, where she had not spent time with this man. Hmm. She acted too much like a child at times, when she should not have been one, since she is a hundred and seventeen years old. Hmm. But I also adored her. So much. Janneke was strong and fierce and an awesome warrior too. I did love her much.

There were also some other great characters in this book. While it focuses most on Janneke and Soren, there are others in this story too. I adored the young goblin girl that were with them for a very short time. Sigh. And then the boy that ended up spending time with them after her. He was pretty adorable and I liked reading about him too. A few bad guys in this book as well, and I disliked them a bunch. But they were all written pretty well and I liked how the story went about all of them. Mostly awesome characters.

White Stag was more than I had hoped it would be. And I am so happy about it. The world was stunning and written well. The characters were amazing. And the story was exciting and thrilling at times too. The ending was pretty much perfect, though I know there are two more books to come. Ah. I'm nervous, haha. But pretty sure I will continue with this series. Want more of the characters. I also did not know the whole Wattpad story before, but I am so curious to know more about it. Also think that it seems pretty awesome.

When I had the chance to take part in the blog tour for this book, I could not say no. Because that cover is killing me with beauty. And the summary sounded awesome too. Was thrilled when I got accepted for the tour, and could read a copy of this book too. My Q&A post will be up in January. So excited for that. Huge thank you to Wednesday Books for letting me take part in the blog tour and for sending me this eARC to read and review via Netgalley. I cannot wait to pre-order a hardcover of this stunning book too. Go read it.

This book was a cluster fuck of everything a 12 year old would want to read in a novel.

I just... I just don't even understand what the author was trying to do with this. Firebogs, goblins, svartelf, dragons, nokken (which is basically a mermaid), palaces, Hunger-Games to the death in the woods scenario, Twilight "the lion falls in love with the lamb" (no... guys quite literally the author <i>says this</i> in the novel, "A wolf shoudn't lay with a rabbit"), talking wolves, some kind of all knowing mountain Goddess, over dramatic orphan girl who's a super special snowflake, absolutely cringe worthy writing...I could go on.

Every single cliche you could ever think about in a fantasy novel is here. All the way down to the classic "you are not real, you are an illusion trying to trick me, so I will be badass and stab you" to singing mermaid-like creatures that lure you to the water.

The writing barely helped at all, either. All the way down to the fact that the writer tries to be clever and won't even write out Hell, instead spelling it out Hel because why the fuck not? It was just cringe.... I have no other word for this. I cringed and cringed and cringed.

<i>"I was breathless. I was on fire. I was floating and falling at the same time. I was everything, but I wasn't afraid."</i>

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/PprHjp7DCw4BW/giphy.gif" width="250" height="170" alt="description"/>

Please, spare me.

And put aside the plot, the characters themselves were insufferable too.

Let's start with Janneke. She's supposed to strong and smart and cunning, but (although I won't deny her strength cause she does go through some heavy shit... I'll give the author that), she's literally.... I wish there was a nice way to put this.... dumb as hell. My favorite example of aloofness is when she meets this depressed mermaid dude (called a Nokken or some shit) gives her the answer she's looking for, and then the only thing he asks in return (which, might I add the author spends like 3 pages talking about how terrifying this creature is), is for her to sing a song. This is her response to his super simple request:

<i>"I seethed with rage. Sing him a song? Anything remotely songlike was ripped from my lips the moment my village turned to ash. No lullaby, hunting tune, or ballad survived the destruction. Sing him a song."</i>

JUST STOP THE "awww my life is so tragic, everything is so tragic" AND SING HIM THE GOD DAMN SONG! And on top of this, she's supposed to be sUpEr smart (as all the side characters always praise her to be), and she didn't even make sure that a way out of the cave was part of the negotiation.

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/XD4qHZpkyUFfq/giphy.gif" width="230" height="170" alt="description"/>

I could give you a thousand more examples, all the way from when she finds humans in the forest to when she meets whatever the fuck svartelves are, she is like this.

The side characters have no personality. I just don't even want to waste my breath. They are like all her personal cheerleaders, always praising Janneke and talking about how amazing she is for breathing and existing. Soren literally just existed in the story to boost Janneke's ego, I swear.

<i>"'I could be surrounded by unearthly beautiful, naked women, and I would prefer you as you are, fully clothed.'"</i>

<i>"'You drive me mad, Janneke. Completely and utterly mad. I'm probably going to die in a few days, and all I can think about is you.'"</i>

<i>"'If I kiss you, will you kill me?' he asked, eyes sparkling. 'Only if you stop,' I said and finally gave in."</i>

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/l4FGJ2FJpaXorunWo/giphy.gif" width="250" height="170" alt="description"/>

The author literally pulled that out of what my dream romance would have been when I was ten years old.

ALL IN ALL,
This book was a no. If anything, the only reason I didn't DNF it is because it was utterly hilarious how cliche and cringeworthy it got.

White Stage: Violence, Rape, Murder

First, I waited a few weeks to review this book. I wanted to like the book. The writing is engaging, and the author has talent. The story premise intrigued me. To be fair in my review, I gave myself time to think about the story and my reactions.


White Stag, a debut fantasy novel by Kara Barbieri, is at its heart a quest adventure.

Jenneke is a human living among goblins in a bleak, frozen world of the Permafrost. She was orphaned when Lydian invaded her village, killed her family, brutally tortured and raped her, and later gave her to Soren, his nephew. She was 17 when this happens and has lived with the goblins for a hundred years. Throughout the story, she mysteriously acts like an immature 17-year-old, rather than a human who has lived 100 years among another culture.

The story opens with Soren and Janneke at the goblin court, paying tribute to the goblin king. In this culture, the White Stag sits with the king and symbolizes the king’s power and strength. If the stag gets up and runs away, the king is no longer the most powerful person in the kingdom.

While Soren and Janneke are at the palace, the stag runs. The quest to kill the Stag begins. The person who finds and kills the stag becomes the next king, and the stag resurrects to sit beside the new king. Becoming king is based on hunting ability and brute strength rather than wisdom, knowledge, or other skills.

Janneke accompanies Soren on his hunt for the stag, and as she has done since her capture, she survives by determination and willpower. Lydian, the villain of the story, is also hunting the stag and has a sinister plan, which they must stop.

Barbieri writes breathtaking descriptions and weaves somber humor throughout the story. At first, the mythical qualities of the story and the goblin culture appealed to me, but as I got into the novel, there were two issues I couldn't get past: the handling of rape and torture, and the goblin society, which has few if any redeeming qualities.

Janneke's rape and torture happen before the story begins. Instead of handling these issues in a sensitive and meaningful way, the author uses flashbacks of the trauma as a strategy to elicit pity or empathy for Janneke or to show the reader that Lydian is a one-dimensional bad guy. The repeated use of the device and the inattention to the trauma and repercussions of sexual assault wore thin. The story shows a disregard for the magnitude of rape and sexual violence and the effects of those acts. Using a human tragedy as a device sidesteps the often debilitating and life-changing results of sexual abuse and violence.

This insensitivity is magnified by the harsh and brutal goblin culture. From beginning to end, the world is excessively cruel and violent and becomes more violent as the story progresses.

Others in the society tease, taunt, and bully Janneke about the violence done to her. She and the goblins murder with impunity. Life is cheap. The dead are left in the forest to decay—in a warrior society, this wouldn’t happen. There are a couple of characters who exhibit a few good qualities, but their actions don't make up for the one-dimensional world building.

This society is based on slavery and murder. This includes killing parents and siblings to inherit. Even in a primitive society, would a slave murder without repercussions?

Lydian, as well as most of the goblin characters we meet, is sadistic, brutal, and a sexual predator. I found the world both repulsive and unbelievable.

There is a fairytale twist to the story, but it didn’t work for me.

I usually don't review a novel I can't give a positive review, but I felt it necessary to address these areas.


Thank you to NetGalley for a free digital ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Exciting intense beginning that morphed into an entirely to dark of a tale for me. I had a difficult time reading and wanting to read this book. It seems a bit much to be geared toward any young people.

I adore stories with goblin/troll like characters. So I was so excited for this tale! Indeed, the story had an intriguing beginning, but the subject matter was a bit too dark for me. I did not finish the book, but what I read was well written. I certainly saw why the author was ao popular on Wattpad.

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

White Stag was an interesting book. It started off slow and kind of boring, but once you got to part 2 - it definitely picked up. Janneke was a pretty interesting main character. I wanted to know more about her since she's pretty much rare in the permafrost. She's survived far longer than anyone else has and that makes her unique. Then there's her relationship with Soren that also intrigued me. I wanted to know more about them and how deep their bond went.

Besides those two, there's Lydian. Ugh, I hated Lydian so much. Especially with what little we got from Janneke's past with him. Janneke was broken under him but with Soren, she learned to thrive and take care of herself - well sort of. She did end up making her own decisions and learned how to protect herself.

I will admit, the dreams were probably what kept me engaged. Although the action/battle scenes were really good. The romance was okay in the beginning but definitely picked up towards the end. Other than that, I'm happy that Janneke finally made her own decision about her life and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next for her.

Plot/ Story. Y’all, this is the goblin story I’ve always wanted to read. I’ve read a few of the more popular goblin re-tellings and I actually didn’t like any of them. Whoops. But this story blew me away! It was gritty, bloody, stabby stab, adventure, and awesome sauce. Janneke and Soren’s hunting adventure (that’s putting it extremely mildly) is non-stop action packed. There was seriously never a lull. I was entertained throughout the entire shebang.

Magic. This was actually a unique system where if you defeat another being, you absorb their strength. It was actually really cool! Anyone could get stronger at any point in time.

Characters. Janneke was BA. Her character growth was done really well too. She started off as sour and hating everything and everyone. But she grew into a social butterfly. Just kidding. She kills a bunch of people and gets cray strong.

Writing. Barbieri skips the whole “first writer slump”. It’s literally like she’s a seasoned writer. She was descriptive, but not overly so. She got into the mind of her characters like a psychologist. Serisouly. You could feel what Janneke was feeling. Her worries were yours. It’s good stuff y’all!

Final Thoughts. I can’t wait for the next book! I seriously need to know what happens right now. Also, I freaking love Soren and Janneke. My favorite character is Seppo. Also, let me leave you with this: Wolves that they ride and can speak in their minds.

What to say about the The White Stag? Well. I loved it, to start with. I picked it up intending to read the first chapter or two and couldn’t put it down until I really, really, had to go to bed. I also think the description on the back cover isn’t particularly accurate. It’s true, but doesn’t encompass the full depth of the story. This is a book that asks you what “human” and “monster” mean, and ultimately lets you decide for yourself. The book follows Janneke as she navigates the world of the Permafrost, where she was trapped after goblins raided her village.

Janneke’s story is compelling and very real as she struggles with the aftermath of kidnapping and torture. The dialogue is meaningful and the interactions between characters subtle. I was able to suspend disbelief at the world Kara Barbieri created and simply follow where it led. I want to avoid spoilers, so I will only say that there is a subtle shock that occurs after the first two chapters that was only possible with very careful storytelling. I loved the connection between Soren and Janneke and was thrilled with their development (and it was great fun watching Soren try to be human sometimes). I was enchanted with the world of the Permafrost and can’t wait for the next book.

I would recommend The White Stag to fans of S. Jea-Jones (Wintersong), Danielle L. Jensen (Stolen Songbird), Katherine Arden (The Bear and the Nightingale) and Kelly St. Clare & Raye Wagner (Darkest Drae).

White Stag by Kara Barbieri 
Book Review 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This title is set to release January 08, 2019, I was gifted an eGalley arc on behalf of the publishers St. Martins Press / Wednesday Books, in exchange for my honest review. 

First book in a vividly wild, and stunning new sci-fi/fantasy series!! Our tale involves a young girl, she is beginning to lose herself, becoming more monster than human. She must uncover dangerous truths, mostly about herself, but also who she is and the place she has called home for the last 100 years. 

Jenneke was born the last child in a family of only daughters, 17 years old she was taught to become the male heir... To hunt, to track, and fight. Tragedy strikes her village and her home, when it is burned to the ground everyone but her dead...she was the only survivor, and eventually was taken captive by Lydian.  Of course it was already known that the creatures of the Permafrost did so every few years. This was different, eventually she was sent to his nephew Soren. Now Jannekes survival in a court of monsters has come with a price - her connection to the human world is fading fast. Over time she has become more animal, more monster - more like them. Then the Goblin Kings death bring forth an ancient hunt. Soren sensed a change, an opportunity for her to finally accept the ways of the Permafrost and the monsters she despised. Now she must make a choice, let go of her connection to the human world or letting go of them to survive anywhere?! 

Full of thrills, action, magic and romance. With character and story twists throughout the pages. I loved the relationship between Soren and Janneke, her strength is a tribute to strong women!! What choice will she ultimately make?

This book was everything I had wanted it to be. I hadn't even realized that a major part of it had to do with the wild hunt, and when I realized that i was like omg. Not very eloquent, but this book was amazing and I really enjoyed this one and would read it again and again and again and this book is definitely something to keep an eye out for!

Going into this story, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Based on the synopsis, I am curious and interested enough. But I had a few reviewers that I follow determine the story was a DNF for them. One of the reviewers is a reader which I jive with rather well in regards to ratings. They gave up around 25%. Knowing this, I pushed the story off until the expiration date began creeping up on me. So with a deadline ticking away like the jeopardy theme song, I gave it a shot….

And I am pleasantly surprised that I actually enjoyed this story. Around 25%, I found myself fairly interested but nervous of a similar fate. But around 30% I knew I was in it to win it and I did finish it. It wasn’t a punishment or chore finishing it either. Would I say this is one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read? No. But it was still enjoyable and the folklore was a good touch.

That being said, I would rate this between a 3.5 and 4, but rounding to 4.

So we have our heroine, Janneke. She is a human who was captured by a vicious goblin named, Levian. Levian is pretty much the scum of the Earth or rather Permafrost. He does some disgusting and triggering things (fair warning) to his human victims. Eventually the tides turn and Levian gifts Janneke to his nephew as an insult, but it doesn’t quite go as planned since Soren isn’t a rat ass bastard like dear old Uncle Levian. About a hundred years later, Janneke is stilled “owned” by Soren, but their relationship is unique and special. And from there an epic battle/hunt take place.

Okay, now to break down some of my issues and praise. Readers don’t deal with the classic beginning of a relationship scenario in White Stag. We don’t have to deal with watching our main character’s fall in love. And for this, I am pretty much grateful. Romance ironically is a turn off for me when reading. It isn’t something I dig, but fantasy commonly does this in the first book of a series. So skipping over that whole scenario was something that I found myself appreciating with this story. It was a bit lovey dovey and the gushiness may have been laid on a bit thick at times. I caught myself rolling my eyes a bit, luckily they never got stuck in the back of my head. But I think for young adult readers, this will be right down their alley as I know this book is primarily catering to a younger crowd.

Another thing, this story honestly moves at the speed of light. My epub ended up being around 250 pages total. And so much happened, so quickly during those few hundred pages. There are fantasy novels averaging 500 pages which have far less going on in them. Some will love the hell out of this approach. Others will find it to be a bit too busy and might feel it lacked story telling. Overall, I enjoyed it for the adventure which was presented. Each chapter is action packed and moves on fairly quickly. There really isn’t a whole lot of dwelling. I think this would be a great recommendation for non-readers. It gets to the point each chapter and moves on just as quick.

Now as far as issues, this story goes back and forth from current times to past times to dreaming times. The author differentiates these moments by italicizing the words, but since we are using this method for past times, dreams and other situations, it could be a bit confusing sometimes. But it was definitely manageable.

Overall, this story isn’t a contender for YA Fantasy of the year. But it has a really fun albeit dark feel. This story is clearly not going to be for everyone (hell, what story is?). But I wouldn’t necessarily take it off my to-be read list. This will be a story that one must feel out for themselves. If you give it a shot and work your way to 30%, I think many will find they want to proceed.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Marin’s Press for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

And don’t forget, everyone is someone’s monster.

Five stars for world building. Five stars for realistically depicting PTSD. Five stars for reviving the Beauty and the Beast trope.

The only unrealistic detail, for me, is that a village location after an entire 100 years would be still as devastated as described. In our world, the ashes would long since have been reclaimed by greenery and the bones lie at the root of huge trees already. This reassures us that the goblins exist far from our own world.

We need that reassurance because Janneke is drawn so very much like the monsters in us all. How 'human' is our species anymore?

I want to start this with some warnings.  Abuse, graphic fighting, death, animal death, and rape.  



I'm having a hard time gathering my thoughts for this one.  I enjoyed this book, but also felt that certain parts dragged a bit.  The fighting scenes made up for it.  I think it was repetitive at times because Janneke had so many doubts and also relived things often.  She was in her head a lot which was understandable.  It just made it a bit slower for me.



Janneke has been living in the Permafrost for about 100 years.  She is still human, but also changing into a goblin.  She feels human, but there are things she is noticing.  She was originally taken by Lydian.  He was abusive and raped her.  She was his property.  She was eventually given to Lydian's nephew, Soren.  While still a powerful goblin, Soren treated Janneke differently.  They fought together and he didn't touch her in a sexual way at all.  He does have feelings for her, but Janneke still believes goblins are monsters.



When the Erlking dies, it starts The Hunt.  Lydian and Soren are the strongest goblins, so one of them will become the new Goblin King.  Janneke and Soren battle different creatures along with goblins.  They find a new friend in Seppo, a halfling that was fighting with Lydian.  During this time, Janneke not only battles to live, but she battles with her feelings about goblins and her past.  She realizes that everyone can be a monster.  Not just goblins, but humans, too.  



Normally I'm a huge fan of the female characters in books, but I actually liked Soren and Seppo more than Janneke.  Maybe that will change in book two, but they were favorites for me.  The ending was interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing where the story will go.



I gave this one 3  1/2-4 stars (rounded up to 4).  I think it's a good start to a series.  I tend to like book twos a bit more, so I definitely want to read the next one.



Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for my copy for review.

Goblins, magic, kings AND a sprinkle of romance? It's like this was written just for me! This was so good. SO GOOD! From the very first page, this book had me hooked. I became obsessed with Janneke and Soren almost immediately and was so captivated by this unique story.

The world-building was seamless and perfected with every word. It was easy to read, easy to visualize and easy to become obsessed with.

Thank you for making me look forward to another fantastic series! I can't wait for the next one.

A girl raised to be the male heir, a girl raised to be a huntress among goblins. And there is a Goblin King, which at first glance gave me echoes of Labyrinth...and while the last Goblin King type book (Wintersong) left me wanting, this one was quite different. It has strains of many different books and series, yet feels something wholly new.

Janneke is one of the more interesting heroines I've read in a long time. She's lived in the goblin realm for a hundred years now, at first tortured by a goblin every day, hoping to one day be able to return to the human world. That first torturer soon tires of her, and has passed her on to his goblin nephew, Soren, who is a much kinder goblin. A lot of this information is front-loaded into the first few pages of the book to kind of catch you up to speed to the story in progress, which isn't always my favorite approach. More tell, less reveal, while I typically prefer the longer game on the reveal. Anyway...

As far as this being a young adult novel, I would beware, or at least have a parent read it first to be able to help talk about the torture, rape, sex, and breast mutilation. And as with many other stories, be warned that their is violence and murder. Pretty heavy items, even if not super graphic, for a young teen to tackle without a healthy comparison and safe place to discuss. That said, if you read about the author and her drive to write this, I can understand why these elements are included, and, honestly, these shouldn't be taboo in YA fiction...they should be talked about at an age and in a manner that will help teens.

Overall, I did like the story and am interested to continue the series. The romance is on level with books like Twilight, a comparison it has received in several other reviews I've seen. Janneke's grip on her sense of self and her loss of humanity was a compelling piece of her personal arc, and the Hunt was an interesting bit of plot to work through. As someone who loves dark fantasy, it had a lot of elements I liked, but yet the combination of it all was not a gushing win for me. But again, I think the next book could smooth things out. Very interesting debut book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, how I do love a book with a premise, storyline, and characters that I haven't come across a hundred times before. This one delivered.

The story opens with a bang, and everything is explained immediately, enough that you are up to speed from the get go and can follow the plot with no problem from the first time you meet the cast of characters. Seventeen year old Janneke (or Janneka, she goes by both, and this is the one problem I did have with the book. Pick a name already!), was captured by goblins after they killed everyone in her village and then burned it to the ground. Her captor was a viciously cruel goblin who tortured her daily for a year, insisting that she answer his question - 'what happens when the serpent stops eating its tail?'. She doesn't know, and he finally tires of her and gives her to his nephew, Soren, who is a much kinder goblin, but still a goblin. A hundred years go by, she doesn't age a day, and so our story begins.

From fighting goblins, both kind and cruel, to the monsters that inhabit the permafrost where the goblin population lives, this is one exciting thrill ride. The action is practically non-stop, and the atmospheric descriptions of the landscape in the permafrost are delicious. We are thrown immediately into a war amongst the goblins, all vying for a chance to kill the white stag and inherit his power, along with the throne that belongs to the Erlking of all goblins. Its a wild journey to be sure, with the occasional breather to learn more about Janneke's past and how things became as they are. Mysteries are solved, questions are answered and surprises are revealed. I stayed up waaaay past my bedtime turning pages as fast as I could.

The book concludes quite satisfactorily, with all ends tied up in the neatest of bows, while still being left loose enough that a sequel could take the reader in all new, exciting directions. I can't wait.

My one negative comment would be: I see this is marketed toward teens, and that's fine, but I would hesitate to recommend this for anyone younger than 15. There is talk of rape, torture, sex (though not explicit) and breast mutilation that probably should be left to an age that can process it without trauma to themselves.

Unfortunately for me this is a DNF at 55%.

The moment I read the synopsis for White Stag I just had to read it! As a fan of Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones I was excited at the prospect of reading another darker tale about goblins. The story started out great and really grabbed my attention, so my hopes were high. However, as I progressed it became clear that this book still needs a lot of work. The author has a great premise here but she clearly struggled with her world building and the dialogue and modern lexicon did not at all fit in with the fantasy world she created. I was consistently, on practically every page, thrown out of the story whenever the characters spoke amongst themselves. It was as though I was reading a book about teenagers in high school in our current modern day world, not about thousand year old goblins or Viking characters from hundreds of years ago in that setting. It was frustrating and in the end I just couldn’t read through any more of it. If the author goes back and really takes the time to flesh out her story some more and put a little bit more effort and thought into the dialogue and type of world she created it could be a huge benefit. Lastly, any story that ever uses rape as a trope or has rape as the backstory of a character is an immediate and permanent turnoff for me personally.