Not my cup of tea. The writing is horrid, there's nothing about the plot that drives me to keep reading, and the characters are just really bad. Hopefully the published version was better with the help of her editors.

https://lynns-books.com/2019/02/21/white-stag-permafrost-1-by-kara-barbieri/
2.5/3 of 5
My Thoughts.
I will start by saying that I didn’t dislike White Stag, in fact I found it a relatively quick read if I’m going to be perfectly frank, but, I had a few real issues and I’m going to go with those first.

Why goblins? I wanted to read this as the fae and in fact that’s the way that it comes across. Beautiful, scheming, cannot lie, can’t create, use humans as thralls – I mean, come on, this is fae in all it’s glorious, devious, underhanded-manipulative scheming. And yet it’s not. It’s goblins. Why though? You see the thing for me is I have a mental block in this respect and an author telling me about a studley-hench hunk of goblin sexyness – it just doesn’t compute. In my head goblin doesn’t = ethereal beauty but rather wickedness, evil, dark and pretty much monstrous. But why can’t this author decide to change this up? She can, of course she can, the problem is that I’m so entrenched in the goblins are hideous monsters train of thought that it’s really difficult to drag myself out of it and I also can’t help wondering why not simply use fae? Was this a goblin world simply to be different – and if so, then maybe it should have felt really different. As it was this felt like the fae with goblins transposed over the top. Again, I can’t argue with the author going for something different in fact I have a lot of respect for it and to be honest – they’re all freaking made up creatures so why can’t they be whatever the author wants? I don’t know the answer to that one – maybe I’m too stubborn to see the goblins differently. I mean, the other thing that occurs to me – with Janneke actually starting to change herself maybe that’s why she sees Soren as beautiful and sexy – maybe if she was still fully human she wouldn’t think so??

The second thing I struggled with a little were Janneke and Soren – neither of them comes across as the age they’re supposed to be. Okay, I’m not literally talking about the aging process here particularly as they’re both quite long lived. Soren is hundreds of years old and Janneke has spent about 100 years as a captive in the permafrost. Why then does she come across so angsty. I could say she comes over like a sulky teenager but I think that would be a little unfair. She was stolen from her village, her friends and family massacred and was treated atrociously when she was first abducted – and in fact until she was given to Soren – and, btw be aware of trigger warnings for rape and torture. They’re not part of the story in terms of taking place on the page but they play a huge part in terms of Janneke’s character. What I’m trying to get at here, in a rather roundabout fashion is that they had no maturity at all. I don’t know whether that’s because the book is going for a YA audience, although with some of the content I wouldn’t think so, but I just wanted to feel less angst somehow.

Other smaller issues I had – the hunt, I wanted to really feel like I was inside the hunt, get a feel for it – but that doesn’t really happen.

Now, this all feels very critical so I’m going to point out my ‘likes’.

I loved this dark and brutal goblin world. It felt cold and unwelcoming, there was a constant edge of tension and it felt like any moment things could break out into turmoil.

The writing was good and there’s a really strong focus on the central characters which I enjoyed – although of course this focus made the world vision feel much smaller.

There’s no instantaneous romance. It feels inevitable that the two main characters will become involved but it doesn’t happen immediately. I enjoyed the tension between the two and let’s just be serious, they share some great chemistry that leads to some sizzling on the page.

On top of this, there’s plenty of imagination and threats as the story progresses Maybe even too many threats in some respects but nonetheless a lot of entertaining action.

I also couldn’t help thinking that there was a fairytale at the centre of this story, just waiting to break out, the references to Janneke having been in the permafrost for around 100 years, the constant mention of monsters – but I don’t think that was the case – more me just wanting it to be so.

On the whole, I had some strong issues with this, I think what really perplexes me though is that in spite of those issue I still found this a relatively easy read and at this stage I would read the next instalment – although that could be make or break territory for me.

So there we have it. A smorgasbord of feelings that probably makes little sense as it spewed forth like a stream of consciousness. Apologies. I don’t know whether to say you should read this or not, I would probably rate it 2.5/3 out of 5 on Goodreads but I would probably still be tempted to pick up the second book. I’m still not convinced about the beautiful goblins but I remain prepared to be convinced. I’d really like to see the characters mature, I’d like a better feel for the goblin world and its politics, maybe less a mixed up feel of all sorts of myths and folklores. Let’s just see what happens next.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

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

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

DNF @ 15%

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

This was not what I expected. Thoroughly enjoyed reading though. the characters are so strong. It is well written!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unfortunately I can not recommend this book.

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

Trigger warning: rape and PTSD. Tons of angst.

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wow.

Simply wow.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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