It was just ok. I feel like Fryda made a lot of dumb choices just to move the plot along or make the story more dynamic. I didn't like her or end up caring too much about her winning in the end.

Victoria Fox did a great job on narration. It all sounded great and flowed smoothly.

Great narrator gave life to what turned out to be a very off the peg and flat plot with cardboard cut out characters. Insert indentured poc character - why must they always be enslaved? Is that not an especially problematic form of tokenism? Insert enslaved Irishman love interest (almost as bad). Insert determined strong female character TM who must over come both her incredible naivity and evil men. This was weak even by the standards of the feminist retelking genre. Next.

Sometimes a real slime all gets comeuppance in a book. This is one of those times!

Out October 3, "Shield Maiden" by Sharon Emmerichs debut novel is a reimagining of Beowulf. But this focuses on Fryda, a young woman who wants to be a shield maiden, to be one of Geatland's warriors. Sadly an accident left her injured and this was denied to her. But during that time she was exposed to (spoilers to the Beowulf story). Now lords are coming to Fryda's hold to celebrate 50 years under Beowulf's reign. Secrets will be exposed, plots inacted, mead consumed, spears will be shaken.

Narrated by Victoria Fox, loved the character voices. And despite all the death made (spoilers) rathe sympathetic.

Thank you Orbit, Redhook, Netgalley, and Hachette Audio for the ebook and audio.

Reasons to read:
-Fun take on the Beowulf story, but with some extra flair
-Good father figure atoning for his past
-Some smooth lines
-Great action that contained the brutality of fighting
-This little **** ***** ****

Cons:
-Some people really need to be on a watch list for their sus behavior.
-Downsides of not writing wills out

I appreciated Frieda’s character - both as the kind daughter of a lord who doesn’t understand her privilege and as someone whose disability makes her dreams seem out of reach (particularly to outside observers). However, most of the characters were rather boring/one-dimensional and it took the plot rather a long time to ramp up. We don’t get to confront the dragon at all until the last 10%. Plus everything seemed to wrap up very neatly, which belied a lot of what actually happened during the plot, particularly the climax.

It was a little too much a love story and not enough a Beowulf retelling/adaptation for my tastes.

The production of this audiobook was done really well. The narrator was fantastic and incredibly engaging. There was a slight skip in sound around 20% the way through, other than that- which was barely noticeable- it was fantastic.
"Shield Maiden" embarks on a riveting journey alongside Fryda, an interesting and determined character who aspires to become a shield maiden despite a childhood accident that seemingly shattered her dreams. The narrative's strengths lie in its intricate details and a propulsive plot that paints a rich world and keeps the reader engrossed. The interplay between Fryda's personal journey and unwavering courage forms the heart of the story, while her transformation from shattered dreamer to resolute force of nature is masterfully portrayed. Though some aspects could delve deeper, "Shield Maiden" remains an inspiring voyage of self-discovery, bravery, and the unwavering link between destiny and determination, sure to captivate those who seek a vibrant blend of imagery and spirited narrative. The dragon's narrative is woven in, in an interesting way. This voluntary review is from a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

The narration was excellent and the story is thrilling. I wanted moredragon, but enjoyed the story and luked the characters
I have already recommended Shield Maiden to a friend.

I love mythology retellings that center anyone other than the straight, male, probably white main character. I especially love when we see a mythology other than the classic Greek/Roman tales. So you can see why I was excited about this one.

Emmerich's a professor and it absolutely shows in the detail throughout the world and character building. Emmerich's overall writing was compelling as well. I don't know that you'd need to be familiar with Beowulf to follow the story, but it would probably help. I liked the detailing of politics and power infused within the book. I read this one on audio and it was well narrated.

Unfortunately, I struggled with a few aspects of the book. First, the plotting had a lot of holes that seemed to be filled with dialogue but weren't supported by other details in the story. Fryda is our main character, but part way through the story she gets somewhat sidelined as a Theow's character's perspective takes a up a lot of time. Fryda herself was frustratingly naive. Finally, the dragon storyline is supposed to be a central piece of the story but while it's talked about but only featured in the very end of the book in the end.

Ultimately, though, what most rubbed me the wrong way was the way that Fryda's disability is treated. She wanted to be a shield maiden and then sustained a hand injury that crushed that dream. And then later she's redeemed because she's useful again since she has powers? It's an overdone trope and I think could have been handled better in a retelling than it was. Perhaps I'm overly sensitive as a disabled person myself.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Fryda is Beowulf's niece. We see her at the tail end of the story of Beowulf, a fleshing out of why there was a giant dragon attack. Fryda and her friends are a small circle of goodness and light in a sea of absolute jerks. The romance between her and Theow is really the star of this particular show. The magic and general pacing seem to take a bit of a backseat to some truly sumptuous world detailing. Pleasant and entertaining, happy to recommend it, but won't be pushing it on many people.

There are a few elements of this book that I really enjoyed - namely a few of the characters - but I felt that this was ultimately a romance story when the description suggested something different.

The description of this story suggests a feminist reimagining of Beowulf, but I felt it was more about the romance between Theo and Fryda than Fryda regaining her power. Normally, I love a strong romance in my fantasy books but the description of the novel would suggest something completely different and so I didn’t go into it with the right expectations.

If the primary focus was going to be the romance I would also have preferred that we got to know the individuals as they fell in love vs. Them having a pre-existing relationship at the start of the story.

Really cool ideas and I am always a sucker for stories about the secret women standing behind these men of legend - but this one didn’t hit the mark for me.

I thought the Audio narration was excellent! She was able to differentiate between the characters very well and brought the story to life.

Rating: 2. Stars