White Stag by Kara Barbieri Series: Permafrost #1
Published by St. Martin's Press on January 8th, 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 368
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The first book in a brutally stunning series where a young girl finds herself becoming more monster than human and must uncover dangerous truths about who she is and the place that has become her home.
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.
Lisa’s Review: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Janneke was taken away from her home after her family was murdered and raised in the Permafrost with goblins. Janneke experienced even more trauma while in the Permafrost. Janneke had a lot of hatred towards goblins; however, Soren had broken down some of her feelings. After spending 100 years in the Permafrost Janneke had to make a choice between going back to the human world or remain where she is.
I really wanted to enjoy this book because the synopsis really made me excited; however, I had a difficult time finishing it and had to push myself to finish reading it. I just couldn’t connect with Janneke and didn’t feel any emotional pull towards her or the other characters. I also felt the pacing lagged and didn’t keep my attention.
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