Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have mixed feelings about this book. Some of the other negative reviews are definitely too harsh! It's typical YA fiction and far from historically accurate, but mixed with the myths and legend's it's a great introduction to the period of legendary Beowulf. It instils the feelings of hope and belonging for the main characters Fryda and Theow, but also for the readers, showing how a series of negative events do not make a person, but how you deal with those events and being surrounded by the kindness of human beings, and love, can help you get through the darkest of times. The intermittent short chapters from the dragons' perspective add to the fantasy fiction theme, which is then intertwined with the main characters during the final battle scene towards the conclusion of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs is a debut fantasy reimagining of Beowulf featuring a heroine with a disability. The audiobook version is narrated by Victoria Fox.
Though the daughter of a lord, Fryda has longed to become a shield maiden, in part to follow in her uncle Beowulf's footsteps. Assuming her dream was shattered after an accident in her teens, at age twenty she has started to feel an uncontrollable power rising within herself. And deep below, buried in her gilded lair, the last dragon is drawn to Fryda's untamed power and begins to wake from a long and cursed sleep.
In college I studied Beowulf a few times, including memorizing the opening stanza. Thanks in part to that, Beowulf has a fond place in my heart. Shield Maiden focuses on the very end of the epic poem, during the 50th year of King Beowulf's reign.
Emmerichs did a great job with this reimagining! I inhaled the audiobook within 24 hours. The narrator, Victoria Fox, does a pretty great job here. There were a few character voices that sounded a bit similar to me, but overall I greatly enjoyed the listen. And take a look at this cover, it's GORGEOUS and has so much detail. I love it.
As someone who likes history, and studied this time period in college, I really enjoyed the detail in these pages. There is a lot of description of the buildings, clothing, and oral storytelling of the Geats.
Overall I did like the prose, but the plot was a little meandering. There were some scenes that felt like jump cuts from where we were just before. Fryda is also a bit too naïve. The point-of-view shifts around a lot as well; I typically prefer either full chapters of one POV, or less jumping around.
There's a good amount of diversity here. Fryda does not have full use of one of her hands, after falling into a chasm during an earthquake when she was thirteen. Her childhood friend, Theow, is coded as suffering from PTSD when he smells smoke he is not expecting. Fryda's best friend Hild is a black indentured servant whose people initially hailed from Romans in sub-Saharan Africa.
I'd recommend this one to anyone who has a fondness to Beowulf, or who liked books like Grendel by John Gardener or Claire North's Songs of Penelope series.
CW: violence, gore, drug and alcohol abuse, assault, sexual harassment
I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to Redhook and NetGalley for the audio review copy. All opinions contained herein are my own.
If you want to see more from me, check out my blog, Bookstagram, TheStoryGraph, Bluesky, Facebook or Twitter.
Though the daughter of a lord, Fryda has longed to become a shield maiden, in part to follow in her uncle Beowulf's footsteps. Assuming her dream was shattered after an accident in her teens, at age twenty she has started to feel an uncontrollable power rising within herself. And deep below, buried in her gilded lair, the last dragon is drawn to Fryda's untamed power and begins to wake from a long and cursed sleep.
In college I studied Beowulf a few times, including memorizing the opening stanza. Thanks in part to that, Beowulf has a fond place in my heart. Shield Maiden focuses on the very end of the epic poem, during the 50th year of King Beowulf's reign.
Emmerichs did a great job with this reimagining! I inhaled the audiobook within 24 hours. The narrator, Victoria Fox, does a pretty great job here. There were a few character voices that sounded a bit similar to me, but overall I greatly enjoyed the listen. And take a look at this cover, it's GORGEOUS and has so much detail. I love it.
As someone who likes history, and studied this time period in college, I really enjoyed the detail in these pages. There is a lot of description of the buildings, clothing, and oral storytelling of the Geats.
Overall I did like the prose, but the plot was a little meandering. There were some scenes that felt like jump cuts from where we were just before. Fryda is also a bit too naïve. The point-of-view shifts around a lot as well; I typically prefer either full chapters of one POV, or less jumping around.
There's a good amount of diversity here. Fryda does not have full use of one of her hands, after falling into a chasm during an earthquake when she was thirteen. Her childhood friend, Theow, is coded as suffering from PTSD when he smells smoke he is not expecting. Fryda's best friend Hild is a black indentured servant whose people initially hailed from Romans in sub-Saharan Africa.
I'd recommend this one to anyone who has a fondness to Beowulf, or who liked books like Grendel by John Gardener or Claire North's Songs of Penelope series.
CW: violence, gore, drug and alcohol abuse, assault, sexual harassment
I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to Redhook and NetGalley for the audio review copy. All opinions contained herein are my own.
If you want to see more from me, check out my blog, Bookstagram, TheStoryGraph, Bluesky, Facebook or Twitter.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you to Orbit Books, Redhook Books and Angela Man for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Shield Maiden is available now.
I have a bit of an obsession with Beowulf. I’ve devoured many different translations, retellings, and vaguely-inspired-by’s and am always hungry for more. Shield Maiden is different than others in that it follows a shield maiden and not the muscled-up Beowulf. This idea intrigued me immensely and I was eager to dive in.
Shield Maiden is a bit of a conundrum for me. Based on the author’s note, I expected it to adhere a little more to the epic poem than it does. It definitely takes inspiration from the encounter with the dragon, but more than anything, it is a story of struggles and of forbidden love.
Fryda wants to be shield maiden, a female warrior. However, she fears her dreams are shattered after an accident leaves her with a permanently damaged hand. She is the niece of the legendary Beowulf but is still seen as lesser-than because of her injury. I liked that this was something she struggled against because it added depth to what could have otherwise been just a slightly flat character. In fact, I unfortunately found that most of the characters needed just a bit more development. The bones for great characters were there, but I kind of wanted more. I struggled to stay invested in what was happening, with the characters just not grabbing me.
I was also a little confused because at times Fryda, who is meant to be the main character, was just sort of shunted to the side in favor of other characters. Theow in particular took center stage a lot more than I expected. It was surprising and I’m still not sure what I think of that choice.
Unfortunately, as far as the plot goes, it did not live up to the hype for me. It became a rather generic fantasy, one that I’m sure I’ve read before. The subject matter that it drew inspiration from is so iconic and has had such a long-lasting effect on literature over time that I was massively disappointed to see it seem simply…not present. The plot itself really didn’t interest me.
What did interest me was the setting. The author is obviously an expert and wrote with confidence. It shone through and kept me reading despite the issues I had with other aspects of the book. The setting was deep and rich, with the descriptions adding nuance and covering up some of the other issues in the writing.
I also enjoyed getting the dragon’s point of view here and there. It broke up the narrative in a way that added a sense of urgency and made everything seem larger and much more dangerous. It was a clever addition by the author that I think really worked.
I feel that the idea of taking inspiration from Beowulf yet using a shield maiden is a great one. However, it just didn’t pay off. Readers who like star-crossed lovers might enjoy it, but it wasn’t for me.
I have a bit of an obsession with Beowulf. I’ve devoured many different translations, retellings, and vaguely-inspired-by’s and am always hungry for more. Shield Maiden is different than others in that it follows a shield maiden and not the muscled-up Beowulf. This idea intrigued me immensely and I was eager to dive in.
Shield Maiden is a bit of a conundrum for me. Based on the author’s note, I expected it to adhere a little more to the epic poem than it does. It definitely takes inspiration from the encounter with the dragon, but more than anything, it is a story of struggles and of forbidden love.
Fryda wants to be shield maiden, a female warrior. However, she fears her dreams are shattered after an accident leaves her with a permanently damaged hand. She is the niece of the legendary Beowulf but is still seen as lesser-than because of her injury. I liked that this was something she struggled against because it added depth to what could have otherwise been just a slightly flat character. In fact, I unfortunately found that most of the characters needed just a bit more development. The bones for great characters were there, but I kind of wanted more. I struggled to stay invested in what was happening, with the characters just not grabbing me.
I was also a little confused because at times Fryda, who is meant to be the main character, was just sort of shunted to the side in favor of other characters. Theow in particular took center stage a lot more than I expected. It was surprising and I’m still not sure what I think of that choice.
Unfortunately, as far as the plot goes, it did not live up to the hype for me. It became a rather generic fantasy, one that I’m sure I’ve read before. The subject matter that it drew inspiration from is so iconic and has had such a long-lasting effect on literature over time that I was massively disappointed to see it seem simply…not present. The plot itself really didn’t interest me.
What did interest me was the setting. The author is obviously an expert and wrote with confidence. It shone through and kept me reading despite the issues I had with other aspects of the book. The setting was deep and rich, with the descriptions adding nuance and covering up some of the other issues in the writing.
I also enjoyed getting the dragon’s point of view here and there. It broke up the narrative in a way that added a sense of urgency and made everything seem larger and much more dangerous. It was a clever addition by the author that I think really worked.
I feel that the idea of taking inspiration from Beowulf yet using a shield maiden is a great one. However, it just didn’t pay off. Readers who like star-crossed lovers might enjoy it, but it wasn’t for me.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This one was a fun addition to the Beowulf pantheon. While fun I did find it slightly ungratifying that everything was wrapped up with a typical HEA. I have no objection to that normally but I was hoping this book would be slightly edgier. This is pretty mild, compared to the historical time frame in which it's set, and I was hoping to see a bit more of the grittier side of that life and being a shield maiden. The romance was sub-par; it didn't feel as forced as it could have been but still felt slightly superfluous. The more I sit with this book after finishing it I could find more things to nit pick about, which isn't really fair. It's a good, light, read based on Beowulf and a "could have happened this way" telling of his final battle. If you're looking for realistic Nordic adventure, this is not really it.