[Review to be published on January 23rd on thenerddaily.com]

To produce a story of any length is to invest countless hours of writing and moreover, of thought, consideration, and emotion. The fact that Barbieri initially put up White Stag, which she began writing when she was eighteen, on Wattpad, speaks to her dedication to storytelling and her love of writing. However, while the idea of the story itself is very solid, the execution is at times, flawed.

Synopsis: “As the last child in a family of daughters, seventeen-year-old Janneke was raised to be the male heir. While her sisters were becoming wives and mothers, she was taught to hunt, track, and fight. On the day her village was burned to the ground, Janneke—as the only survivor—was taken captive by the malicious Lydian and eventually sent to work for his nephew Soren.

Janneke’s survival in the court of merciless monsters has come at the cost of her connection to the human world. And when the Goblin King’s death ignites an ancient hunt for the next king, Soren senses an opportunity for her to finally fully accept the ways of the brutal Permafrost. But every action he takes to bring her deeper into his world only shows him that a little humanity isn’t bad—especially when it comes to those you care about.

Through every battle they survive, Janneke’s loyalty to Soren deepens. After dangerous truths are revealed, Janneke must choose between holding on or letting go of her last connections to a world she no longer belongs to. She must make the right choice to save the only thing keeping both worlds from crumbling.”

I actually really like that we start one hundred years into her time in the permafrost realm. Presumably there could be a story about her capture and how she becomes a thrall of Soren—although it would be very dark given what the story indicates about the extensive abuse she suffers. This would be a good point to post a trigger warning, which isn’t present in the blurb, but the sense of history and backstory is a really interesting and unusual place to start. While this decision was great, removing any possibility of an ‘instalove’ (a pet peeve of mine) the passage of time could have been more skilfully managed. After one hundred years, the clarity of memory would surely be degraded, but the events of her life in the human world from a century earlier, seem to be quite fresh in her mind. It does make sense to me though that her abuse is etched into her mind, despite the time which has elapsed. Given the story is set in a realm where magic is very real, it’s likely that this magic alters how the passage of time is perceived or something similar, but that’s intellectual legwork I really had to do myself. Occasionally, Janneke laments something she has almost forgotten, but this inconsistency seems to be determined by the immediate need of the chapter, rather than properly explained or integrated into the story.

Equally, the love story between Janneke and Soren is quite nice once it gets going. Although, it does tend to become Janneke’s overriding raison d’être in the final few chapters rather than a component of the life she ultimately chooses to pursue. That being said, Barbieri could have done more work in the expository chapters setting up the long-bubbling attraction and pull between them in more explicit terms.

There was a sparsity to the worldbuilding, which was a bit frustrating. A contrast which immediately springs to mind is Girls of Paper and Fire, which I read and reviewed last year. This example perfectly executes mentions to other parts of the world which aren’t relevant to the story and thus only touches upon them, which in turn generates a concrete sense of history and the world. For instance, how long had the old goblin king reigned? The fact that the throne is vacated should really only be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for all goblins, but it’s more of a passing aside to get to the hunt for the stag itself. However, while this may initially read as work to ground the setting and introduce the final ‘big reveal’, this was not adequately laid out in the first half of the novel. It could also be that this was introduced in the second half of the story in anticipation for the second book in the series. Thus, I would encourage all who read it to withhold judgement on this matter until they read the second book!

However, this is not overly problematic if you allow yourself to swept up within the profoundly emotional world which Janneke seems to inhabit most of the time. The turbulent emotions and inner conflict she experiences do pull the reader along, but if you do pause for a moment (say, you’re thrown out of the narrative flow), one does ask questions about the history of the characters and the world which have no hint of an answer.

Nevertheless, the world is an interesting one, the relationship between Janneke and Soren is quite sweet, and the plot is quite well-paced.

The writing itself was quite solid, but when we start talking about endorphins or adrenaline in the context of a relatively primitive society, it tends to ruin the flow and shatter the illusion Alongside this is the too-frequent use of contractions—“should’ve” is probably best left for speech rather than narration as it sounds truly awkward; Barbieri seemed to avoid saying that characters had or did something, instead saying, for instance “Soren’d”. This really threw me out of the narrative whenever I encountered these awkwardly used contractions. The writing was otherwise solid, but when reading an emotionally fraught scene, a weirdly used word really detracts from the point trying to be made. These are probably two elements of the execution that will really bother only a small group of people, but unfortunately, they truly frustrated me.

Overall, White Stag is a relatively easy read and an interesting enough story. The lack of rounded worldbuilding and the quirks of writing which irked me shouldn’t overly detract from the overall enjoyment of the book individually. However, together, they did leave me a little frustrated. That being said, this is a debut work from a young author, so I believe we can expect promising things from her in subsequent publications!

This book was shared with me as a Teen Science Fiction. For the most part, it falls into that category. The story of a young human trapped in the world of goblins. Janneke makes a great heroine, fighting for herself and those she cares about. The "love story" and the trauma she has endured I feel is a bit too much for younger teens. This should be marketed toward a more mature audience. The action keeps the story moving along and keeps the reader invested. The character development is done well, allowing the user to care for the characters and their outcomes. I'm interested to see what Ms. Barbieri does in the next segment of the series.

White Stag is young adult fantasy that made notice even before it was released, and now when I read it, I can see why.

This is the first fantasy about goblins that I have ever read, and I can tell you that I have enjoyed learning about these creatures that I knew so little about before (basically, my whole knowledge before this book came from Lord of the Rings movies).

The world was fascinating, and I wish we got to see more of it. Since this is only first book in the series, I hope we will learn more about it in next installments.
I would really want to explore it more, because some scenes (like the one when Janneke looked around her and thought how beautiful this world actually would be if she wasn’t in a position she was) captivated me, so I crave for more of it’s beauty.

I was always fascinated with faeries. They are my favorite creatures, and I loved reading about them even before they were popular in literature.
Goblins have some similarities with them (like, how they can’t lie or how manipulative they are), so it was natural that I was fond of them too.

White Stag is an action packed story. I loved it’s pace and it reads so fast.
There’s an action at the very beginning and it lasts until the end (with some slow parts in the middle).
I liked it, but I wish we got at least two chapters at the very beginning to learn about politics in this world.

What I liked the most in this novel is one phrase that stayed with me, and that is how everyone is a monster in some way (I’m paraphrasing it here so don’t quote me on literal words).
One particular scene when our main character realized that stuck with me the most. Ever since I finished this book, I feel like every day I think about that scene, and her words.

The writing style is solid. I really enjoyed reading Barbieri’s words and I can only imagine she will even get better at times.

Some scenes reminded me of Twilight Saga, but in a good way. I strictly talk here about dialogue.
Also, some sentences in the novel (and don’t take it like a bad thing because it is a 400+ pages long book) reminded me of ones I already read somewhere (like breath she was holding, you know that one!).
What I have concluded is that the author probably read many ya novels so they influenced her.

I like how atypical the ending was. It really stood out in my eyes, and welcomed it wholeheartedly.

I loved White Stag and I will gladly be continuing with the series.

3.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews on https://www.NerdGirlLovesBooks.wordpr...

This was a pretty good first book in a new YA fantasy series.

Janneke is a 17 year old human living on the edge of a frozen part of land called the Permafrost. Her village is attacked by goblins and she is captured and taken prisoner by a vicious goblin named Lydian. After he nearly kills her, he sends her to work for his nephew Loren. A hundred years pass as Janneke learns how to survive her new existence. As Janneke plots her escape, she is in denial that her body is slowly taking on goblin characteristics, or that she is developing feelings for Soren.

When the Goblin King dies, it starts an ancient hunt for the next king. Soren takes Janneke on the hunt with him in the hopes that it will bring them closer together and make her finally accept her place in the Permafrost. Janneke has other plans, however, and sees the hunt as her chance to finally escape and return to her life among the humans. Neither anticipates the perils they will face in the hunt, or what consequences will result

The book definitely has some issues, but the story was interesting and I'm hopeful that the books will get better as the series progresses. Despite the fact that Janneke is a total badass, she is very angsty and unsure of herself. It's understandable that she is damaged because of the torture she endured, but after 100 years of being safe, trained to fight, and treated respectfully and kindly by Soren, it doesn't ring true. I liked her relationship with Soren, although again, it seems like it would have developed further after 100 years.

One of the biggest problems is the lack of world-building. I understand that it is tedious and difficult and can be a bit boring to read, but it's necessary for the reader to better understand the book. The story starts in the middle, and we begin to learn about the characters in flashbacks. Some times this works, but it doesn't here.

There are several things that could have been explained if there was proper world-building. For example, I still have no idea why the Permafrost is a frozen tundra, but across an invisible line, the land is warm and fertile. I don't understand the goblin society or how it functions. There are a lot of other creatures in the Permafrost, but we don't know how they relate to each other. The goblins have power and can absorb the powers of those they kill, but we aren't told what the power is or how it works. I also found the Norse referrals odd and out of place. Just because an idea sounds cool, doesn't mean it should be randomly inserted in a book. I hope we get some of these answers in the next book. I look forward to reading it.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. It had magic, a high-stakes competition and strong characters. But, I just couldn’t get into it. The idea was great, I just think the execution wasn’t the best.

I mentioned strong characters, and I definitely think this book has a plethora of fierce personalities. Which I appreciate a lot in a book. But, the character interactions - particularly the romance - just didn’t work for me. I found myself getting really annoyed at them throughout the book.

I also feel like the plot could have been fleshed out and explains better. Like I said, the concept was great, but I think more explanations could have been useful. It was hard for me to really believe in the story.

All in all, this book was ok. It’s not a terrible book by any means and I’m glad I gave it a read, but I don’t think I’m going to continue on with the series.

I finished this quickly. It’s a well written book and a semi-different take on the fantasy I’ve been used to. As many reviews say, these characters seem like Fae. Not goblins. However, I’ve read other stories regarding Goblin Kings, so this didn’t bother me. In Kara’s world, Goblins maintain the Fae like traits. You just roll with it. The Erlking and hunt for the White Stag was the plot that kept me going. The action in the book made for a quick read. The concept of gaining power was quite cool too. A lot is going on, but Kara pulls it together in the end. The ending was slightly predictable, but a predictable ending that satisfied me. I am left with many questions, but I think the sequel may answer them for me.

3.5 stars because there times where I grew bored of the book. Some reviews mentioned Soren being similar to SJM’s Rhys and I’ll kindly disagree there. Soren is not as rude haha. I still prefer Rhys’s bad boy attitude. To me, Soren is quite sweet from start to finish. One of the most respectful male characters I’ve ever read too, given his circumstances. He could be the absolute worst, but he wasn’t.

Title: White Stag
Author: Kara Barbieri
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Seventeen-year-old Janneke was the last child in a family of daughters, so she was raised as a son and heir. Instead of being trained as a wife and mother like her sisters, she learned to track, hunt, and fight.

A hundred years ago, goblins attacked and destroyed her village and her entire family, leaving her bound to the cruel goblin prince Lydian, who tortured her for years, before she became bound to his nephew, Soren.
Janneke is slowly losing her humanity amidst the violence of the goblin court, but when the king dies and the ancient hunt for the white stag to choose the next king begins, she must choose between her lingering memories of being human and her loyalty to Soren, who has only helped her grow stronger.

White Stag was dark, atmospheric, and broody—in a good way. The Permafrost setting is stark and made me shiver. Janneke grows a lot, especially as she learns truths she never knew. However, I didn’t get a good feel for the goblin culture, apart from violence and cruelty, and I really wanted to know more. There must be a reason for the violence, so more information would have given the culture more nuances. And I found all the characters besides Soren and Janneke to be mostly one-dimensional.

Kara Barbieri lives in Wisconsin. White Stag is her debut novel.

(Galley provided by St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

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.

Her life while with him is absolute hell. This is putting it mildly. We learn about this time through flashbacks but let's just get the trigger warnings out of the way: 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.

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? 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Overall, 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, etc. 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 complex and I think that Barbieri should definitely be proud. It draws you in and makes you want to learn more.

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 and look forward to continuing on with this story in the next book!

I don’t think this was a bad book. There’s nothing specific I can point to that made it unenjoyable, but it didn’t hold my attention like I hoped it would. I would recommend saving this for older young adults due to sexual violence.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Kara Barbieri, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

With the description given about the book, the one thing I didn't really expect was all the Norse mythology. It's the only thing that kept taking me out of this lavishly constructed world because the fantasy world building in this novel feels like it should be a world of it's own making. But if there is Norse mythology, that means its in some version of an Earthern world, which I just wasn't feeling.

Aside from that aspect, this was a pretty darn good book that blew me away. You don't see a whole lot of young adult books about goblins, which is one of the more unique factors of this novel. And romance. Goblin romance? Yeah...

Janneke is a girl raised as a son because she only ever had sisters. But she becomes a brutally treated thrall (slave) to a goblin and his warriors who completely decimate and destroy her village, burning everyone and everything to the ground except her. Janneke would rather be dead, though. With the way Lydian rapes her and carves out her flesh with his goblin claws, what kind of life would the rest of eternity be as such? 

Not soon enough, she is passed on to Soren, Lydian's nephew, as a thrall. Of course, Lydian hopes for the worst to come to Janneke, but Soren proves to be a more than fitful leader, and something along the lines of love sprouts between him and Janneke.

The leader of the realm of goblins, the Permafrost, is called the Erlking. A great white stag holds all the ruler's power, and when the stag deems the ruler no longer worthy of said power, it leaves the ruler for dead, and a great Hunt follows in which goblins trail the stag and kill each other to become the new Erlking.

There are a number of fantastical creatures within the world of the Permafrost, such as draugr's (did I spell that right?) and lindworms, other goblins, great wolves, and even svartelves (not sure if I spelled that right either), to name a few.

The writing style was easy to follow and the book is written in Janneke's perspective, making the read intriguing and fast-moving. This is a book I would buy myself or highly recommend to certain fantasy or young adult genre lovers. When I walked into Barnes and Noble on its release date (just passing through, totally not buying a bunch of books), the cover of White Stag utterly astounded me. The dust jacked is absolutely gorgeous and has a great feel to it, and the book itself just looks multitudes more beautiful in person than in an image. Once again, a book I would buy for myself, as well as highly recommend to others.

P.S. This book had a very nice, wholesome feel to it in which it could potentially stand alone (if it weren't for the "Epilogue") and I love the ending for the characters. But on Goodreads, it says "Permafrost, #1" in parentheses. There's going to be more?! Yes please, I am definitely interested in continuing this series!

After her entire village was killed, Janneke was taken by a goblin to be his thrall. After being raped, tortured, and disfigured, she was tossed to the goblin's nephew Soren. Luckily for her, he was not like his uncle Lydian. He made sure she was nursed back to health, and has taken care of her for years. She has been a thrall for 100 years to be exact.
When Soren is summoned to the Erlking (goblin king), he decides to take Janneke with him. Knowing that Lydian might be there, she is not excited to go. One hundred years is not enough to erase the torture she endured. At least now she's not weak. Soren saw to that.
While on their visit, the Erlking dies. Soon The Hunt will begin. Whoever gets the White Stag becomes the new Erlking. Janneke must help Soren win. Lydian cannot become Erlking. She will kill him or herself first.

This started out great, but went downhill. I lost interest fast. I didn't like the characters at all except for Soren. The world was not interesting, and I just didn't enjoy it much. It does have a beautiful cover though. I don't think I will continue the series.

And now for something completely different. White Stag is a Norse mythology-based YA novel that is filled with goblins and a cornucopia of other unique creatures. I love it when an author promises something new that goes outside of the norm of what is out there.

Unfortunately, White Stag was filled with many distractions. I kept thinking of Netflix’s Friends from College while I was reading it. Ethan and Max discussing Ethan’s venture into the massively popular YA genre and the advice they receive from Kate McKinnon’s character: pick a monster and make it sexy. It seems to me that was exactly what Barbieri did. A new angle, yes, but still not really different.

The protagonist, Janneke (or Janneka), was your typical cookie-cutter, YA heroine. Irresistible to every eligible man, an unconquerable foe in battle, and completely confused by her sexual urges. I found Janneke’s internal torment with her feelings and her past too rushed and underdeveloped.

While I can appreciate that I am not Barbieri’s target audience, and that White Stag ticks off all of the boxes of what a YA book should be, I really think that the young adult readers are a lot more sophisticated than they are given credit for. It is a highly competitive market with some of the best authors hard at work; I think that this audience wants and deserves more.

As a young author, now with her first published book under her belt, Barbieri has some great ideas, and I can foresee a bright future. I applaud her fearlessness in going into places that some people want to close their eyes to, but she needs to push the boundaries more. The Permafrost world is an intriguing place, but it really needs to separate itself from the bulk of what is found in the YA universe.

*3 Stars

Rating is somewhere between a 3 and a 4.
I remember reading this years ago on Wattpad and thinking it was amazing, the plot and premise and setting far beyond the usual finds on that site, and I loved it. The story is still amazing, but the book hasn't aged as well as I would have hoped. I know Kara had continued to edit and add new things in the published version, but it wasn't as good as I remember it being. Reading it now, with more of my own writing and reading experience and age, there are things that jump out at me as juvenile. The modern, young speech and use of vocabulary were ill-fitting in a fantasy somewhat based on/inspired by Norse mythology, and a few times there were phrases such as "passing the baton" that jumped out to me. Naturally I don't expect everyone to talk like "oh hear ye thy good fellows" and perhaps I'm being overly critical, but I think how speech is handled in historical/fantasy pieces can really set them apart.
I would definitely recommend this to readers younger than myself. The story is unique, captivating, and still an enjoyable reading experience.

This book is something that you can hate or Love - you have to decide on your own.
A story of A girl that was taken by The goblins when she was young, now she's serving one of them. After about 100 years she's still There and she tries to survive in this World. Not Easy when Humans are much weaker Then goblins.
But one male goblin + Her change = something is coming! But what? What will happen during The hunt for The White Stag? What truths will be shown? What lies will be revealed? Nothing is what it seems.
Book 2 will be on my must-read shelf for sure

I had a bad reaction to this title. If Barbieri had spent a few pages to write Janneke's "treatment" into the story I would not have had that bad of a reaction. I can read stories about rape but to spend a large amount of the book restating it over and over it again, killed it. Rape is not a no read but cross-species rape does put me into a state of dislike. Some people will like this book but I could not get past the restating that I felt wasn’t needed. It will not surprise you that I did not finish this title.

My Review: . It has taken me a couple of days to gather my thoughts on this book. I was really intrigued by the synopsis. The book kicks off following Janneke after she has already been in the Permafrost Goblin realm for 100 years, which I really appreciated that it is clear that it has take a long time to progress to the current events and it isn't as sudden as it seems. I really enjoyed the back and forth between Janneke & Soren, as well as the awkwardness due to the human/goblin differences. Their relationship does border on stockholm-ish but I had no problem with it. I enjoyed the variety of influences from mythology and fairy tales as well. I also enjoyed the play with right versus wrong, good versus evil, the lines are definitely blurred and reformed a few times throughout the story. It was a really engrossing read and entertaining, until the last couple of chapters. Then things got overly complex, like she tried to use a lot of symbolism and metaphors that just weren't necessary and didn't match the tone of the rest of the story. That ending was a big disappointment for me and being that it is the end, it doesn't leave a great last impression. Note: I did read an ARC and I am hoping possibly the ending has been altered in the finish copy.

My Rating: I really struggled to come up with a rating for this one because I really did enjoy it right up to the end. It is amazing how an ending can really sway your entire view of a book. I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.

As a goblin-infested novel, White Stag is filled with chilling thrills and the gruesome politics of the goblin world. As a human living in the goblin realm (Permafrost) for over 100 years, the main character, Janneke, is hardened by the brutality she encounters in this cruel world. Janneke is always in a fight instead of flight mode in order to survive the monstrous acts of the powerful goblins that surround her.

At the beginning of the book, the pacing of White Stag was very choppy and abrupt, but once Janneke joins the White Stag hunt, I was ingrained in her mindset to fight, survive, and escape. The reader is often thrown into Janneke’s memories and flashbacks of being tortured, mutilated, and raped, which triggers unsettling emotions and fear, so be aware that this novel may be upsetting, triggering, and too graphic for some audiences.

Overall, White Stag is a very unique fantasy that brings a new story to goblin lore. As imagined in one of my favorite goblin-narrative poems “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti, goblins are also brutal creatures in White Stag. But through Janneke’s experiences, she notices that humans can be monsters too. Beyond the abrupt flashbacks that provide Janneke’s distressing backstory, the novel is littered with action-packed fight scenes and the hint of a possible lovestory brewing.

White Stag is the first installment in an exciting new fantasy series by author Kara Barbieri. I’ll admit right from the start that I first became interested in this book because I was drawn to its stunning cover and especially because the white stag on it brought to mind Harry Potter and his patronus. Cover love aside, once I read the synopsis and saw that the book was actually about goblins, I knew I had to read it!

Barbieri gets her story off to a strong start by tossing her readers right into an action-packed fight scene in the Goblin Palace. In one fell swoop, we meet the main character Janneke, learn that she is a slave who has a complicated relationship with her captor, Soren, and that she is also a pretty badass fighter. We also meet the heinous and sadistic villain, Soren’s uncle Lydian, and learn that he has a history of violence with Janneke that still haunts her to this day. In addition to all of this, we also see the Goblin King slain before our very eyes and learn that there will be a stag hunt to determine who the next King is. Talk about starting off with a bang! I was thoroughly engaged from that first scene and wanted to know more about Janneke, how she ended up where she is, and why Soren and his uncle seem so completely different from one another even though they’re both Goblins, and then of course I wanted to know more about the death of the King and the stag hunt to crown the new King.

The only survivor when the Goblins burned her village to the ground, 17-year-old Janneke is a character I was drawn to immediately. The Goblins took her into their world, and for the past 100+ years, she has been their slave, first to the repugnant Lydian and then to Soren, once Lydian grew tired of her. Consider yourself forewarned that Janneke’s history with Lydian is dark and violent (Trigger warnings for rape, sexual abuse). I had a somewhat difficult time reading about her time with Lydian and how it still torments her, but it is portrayed realistically and it does shape the person that we meet in the book so I think it’s well done. Janneke is definitely a survivor in every sense of the word and it’s easy to feel sympathetic toward her as she realizes and becomes conflicted by the fact that the more time she spends with the Goblins in their land, the less human she has become. She fears turning into a monster, and it’s easy to understand why she feels that way knowing her history with Lydian.

Soren is also a very likeable character. Even though Janneke is technically his slave, it’s clear from the opening pages that their relationship is anything but Master and Slave. I found Soren to be very intriguing, and I liked how protective he was of Janneke. It often felt like he’s trying to make up for his uncle’s cruelty. Soren stands as a reminder that Goblins aren’t necessarily monsters, and throughout the course of the novel, I think he and Janneke learn a lot from each other about the nature of humanity and monsters.

Another aspect of White Stag that I really enjoyed was that there were two equally compelling plotlines. Janneke’s journey is an emotional one as, caught between the human world and the world of the Permafrost, she battles her inner demons and tries to figure out who she is and where she belongs. Janneke’s plight is one that is easy to get caught up in and she’s such a likeable character that I just found myself really wanting her to find a resolution that would make her happy.

In addition to Janneke’s emotional story, however, there is also the very exciting stag hunt, which will determine the next Goblin King. In many ways, this was actually my favorite part of the story because it was just so action-packed and fraught with danger, not to mention all of the backstabbing and conniving behavior! The stag hunt is basically a free-for-all, and even if you form alliances with other goblins, it’s fully with the understanding that all alliances are temporary the closer everyone gets to the stag. Barbieri does a very nice job of crafting these two separate plotlines and then seamlessly entwining them by way of Janneke, who has a tremendous stake in who becomes the next Goblin King since the main two contenders are Soren and Lydian.

Another strong point of the novel is the worldbuilding. I just loved the wild and wintry setting of the Goblin’s Permafrost. It’s filled with danger and excitement, myths, ancient rituals, and magical creatures and was just everything I hoped it would be.

Although I enjoyed the novel very much overall, I did run into a couple of issues while reading White Stag. One was that I was not completely sold on any kind of a romantic relationship between Soren and Janneke. I’m not even sure why honestly. I enjoyed their banter, especially when Janneke was trying to teach Soren how to appreciate sarcasm and use it properly, but I guess for me, their chemistry felt more friend-like than it did romantic. For that reason, it threw me for a bit of a loop when things started to heat up between them.

A second issue was that there were a couple of times when I just felt like I wanted more information, such as the idea that Janneke is still technically 17 years old even though she has been with the Goblins for over 100 years. I would have liked a little more explanation as to how that was possible.

Overall, I found White Stag to be a very impressive debut from Kara Barbieri and I look forward to seeing where she takes the story in her next book.

*An advanced reader ebook copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Trigger Warnings for sexual assault and abuse

Barbieri’s debut novel takes place in the Permafrost, which provides a magical and brutal wintry atmosphere. White Stag tells the story of 17 year old Jenneke, a thrall enslaved to a goblin for 100 years after her village was pillaged and her family murdered. Jenneke accompanies her current master, Soren, to a gathering of goblins and during their visit the goblin king dies thus beginning the hunt for a new Erlking. This is a literal hunt. The competitors must hunt and kill the white stag, a symbol of Permafrost power, or risk becoming a casualty to the hunt. Soren is a powerful and devilishly handsome goblin and he requests that Jenneke joins the hunt with him. Jenneke is reluctant as a human thrall whose sole desire is to escape and go back to the human world. She physically and mentally carries the scars of abuse by her previous master as well as survivor’s guilt due to being the lone survivor from the attack on her village. Questing, hunting, and bloody action sequences ensue all framed around a developing love story à la Twilight.

After digesting this novel, I’m afraid this is a novel that didn’t work for me. I can see some folks really loving it but here’s why I didn’t.

First, while most YA fantasy will not have the depth of world building that adult high fantasy does, this felt lacking to me. Vague Nordic mythology is used throughout but not enough depth was provided as how it all worked together. There are references to Odin and Skadi but not much else related to religion or belief in the book. Additionally, goblins gain powers via killing things and taking their power. Again, perhaps I’m being too critical, but this vague “power” absorption did not work for me. Much like my dislike of Stephanie Garber’s Caraval, all the the world building was too hazy and undefined for my liking. There were interesting tidbits throughout but they were briefly glossed over.

Along these lines, when the book opens the reader ascertains that from the human perspective goblins are evil and bloodthirsty. However, part way through the story the tone changes from “they’re all evil “ to “well only some of them are evil”. On the one hand I can understand Jenneke’s perspective changing as she meets different goblins but I keep coming back to the detail that she’s lived in the goblin realm for 100 years. You’re telling me that in 100 years she never encounter a goblin that might alter her perception?

The plot left me dissatisfied. I felt like it meandered and changed direction without a lot of realistic character development. Jenneke learns different revelations about herself and Soren throughout the book and I felt like her sudden change of heart and decisions weren’t entirely plausible. Additionally, I was rather uncomfortable with the brutality of the sexual abuse and felt like it was excessive for a YA novel.

Moreover, I almost didn’t finish this book after the first few chapters I almost stopped completely. I pushed on because sometimes the best books don’t have the best beginnings. Alas, while I did finish the book I was not satisfied. Supposedly, this is the first book in a series but I cannot foresee myself picking up any further books.

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not effect my opinion of the book or the contents of this review.

Where do I begin?! White Stag by Kara Barbieri is the book I was waiting for. I’ve been craving a fantasy that could sweep me away from reality for a little while, and this was it. A hunt, a dead king, Goblins….it’s all very Labyrinth-esque. To be honest, I was a little hesitant going into the read. While I was excited, I was remembering my disappointment in Wintersong. Y’all there’s no comparison. While Wintersong was romantic and whimsical, White Stag is dark and haunting. Be prepared for a dark read.

Dropping the reader right into the action, the author creates a suspenseful read from the first page. Janneke is a thrall (re: slave) of a high-goblin lord, and as a result is perpetually 17. At the opening of the book, she’s been 17 for almost 100 years, taken as a slave after her village and family were killed. Now she is fighting becoming a changeling, fighting her growing feelings for the goblin who keeps her enslaved, and fighting to return to the human world. Janneke isn’t an easy character to empathize with. She is dealing with a lot of trauma (i.e. rape) and not fully recovered from it.

Soren, Janneke’s owner (I don’t think that’s the right word, but I’m going with it), comes off as a little cold to start. However what isn’t obvious to Janneke is very clear to the reader: he cares for her.

When the Erlking dies, the stag awakes and runs off, starting the hunt. This is the main plot of the story and follows Soren and Janneke as they hunt. I struggled a bit through the middle of the book. The writing felt rushed and dialogue stilted. I needed more detail personally. I also felt that the book itself needed a polish with an editor. (Please note though that I read an advanced copy, I’m hoping these issues have been resolved prior to release).

Overall, I liked White Stag and cannot wait to read more of Janneke’s story in the second book. If you enjoy high fantasy, suspense, and a little romance, I recommend it.