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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
This book is a narrative of bravery, overcoming obstacles, and forbidden love.
This was my initial book that involved Beowulf and anything Viking. I encountered some difficulty in pronouncing certain words, but I perceived that as part of the enjoyment. The protagonist of the story is Frythugifu. She harbors a dream of becoming a shield-maiden, but this aspiration is abruptly ended during a hunting expedition when she falls into a crevice, resulting in a permanent disfigurement of her hand.
Frythugifu develops romantic feelings for a slave named Theow, which is strictly prohibited by her father and brother. However, despite the challenges they face, including exile, battles, and a dragon, their love prevails with the blessing of King Beowulf. Frythugifa gets attacked not only by her clans enemies but also by her own brother Wiglaf. He is a cruel person who your instantly hate!
The dragon fight is spectacular! I loved that the black dragon has amathyst coloured blood.
This book is truly exceptional, and I highly recommend it.
This was my initial book that involved Beowulf and anything Viking. I encountered some difficulty in pronouncing certain words, but I perceived that as part of the enjoyment. The protagonist of the story is Frythugifu. She harbors a dream of becoming a shield-maiden, but this aspiration is abruptly ended during a hunting expedition when she falls into a crevice, resulting in a permanent disfigurement of her hand.
Frythugifu develops romantic feelings for a slave named Theow, which is strictly prohibited by her father and brother. However, despite the challenges they face, including exile, battles, and a dragon, their love prevails with the blessing of King Beowulf. Frythugifa gets attacked not only by her clans enemies but also by her own brother Wiglaf. He is a cruel person who your instantly hate!
The dragon fight is spectacular! I loved that the black dragon has amathyst coloured blood.
This book is truly exceptional, and I highly recommend it.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this book was really cool. I read a lot of retellings and this was my first Beowulf one so it felt original to me, especially because Beowulf was a side character and the story was told mainly by other characters.
Likes
-the disability representation was well written. I like that Fryda never "overcomes" her injuries like in other books. It is a part of her and she is strong with or without her injuries.
-I liked the setting/worldbuilding between the Beowulf inspiration and the Norse history/setting.
-I liked Hild and I liked that Fryda had someone else in a similar role to Theow that she was friends with. I feel like it would have been weirder if Fryda had just gone through her life and all of the sudden was into him. I liked the backstory that they grew up together and had become friends albeit in very different societal roles/circumstances.
- I originally loved Bryce and his relationship to both Theow and Fryda. Although, I was conflicted on the idea of Bryce's role in Theow's enslavement. While it did explain how well he treated him, I felt like it also made me less sad about his eventual death because I was now conflicted on whether he was a good or bad guy. Although, it was necessary to provide a happy ending so I understand it to an extent.
Dislikes-
-I went back and forth on whether to include this point but it was a reoccurring thought in my head during reading. At first, I thought Fryda was a bit naive. I felt like she didn't really consider how her relationships with the enslaved and indentured characters could have effected them despite her proximity to them for her entire life. I didn't like that Theow constantly tried to protect her by leaving out details of their lives and struggles that could have allowed her to make more informed decisions. While I was thinking about how naive her character was, I started realizing that if she didn't see the effects, she couldn't be 100% at fault. she could have inferred, but obviously wanted to trust that they would have come to her with problems. However, the more I thought about it, the more I did blame her. Especially when it came to her brother. How could every single person know what he was like but her? She gave him so many chances and still wanted to trust him. I think it made me enjoy her character less and it made me feel weird about her and Theow's relationship. I felt like it was built on a lot of tension, "wanting what you can't have", and an "us against the world" mentality and not a lot of transparency and realism. She just felt unreliable.
-I wanted the dragon to play a bigger part than just at the end. I liked reading her POVs and was excited for her to awaken. But it felt rushed and I still don't 100% understand the curse part. I felt like it would be laid out a little more clearly and I just never got it.
I know this review is very all over the place. I was originally going to give this book three stars but it kept me hooked throughout despite my issues with it and I found myself thinking about it a lot when I wasn't reading and when I had finished the book. (so, in my opinion, that always adds a star).
I thought this book was really cool. I read a lot of retellings and this was my first Beowulf one so it felt original to me, especially because Beowulf was a side character and the story was told mainly by other characters.
Likes
-the disability representation was well written. I like that Fryda never "overcomes" her injuries like in other books. It is a part of her and she is strong with or without her injuries.
-I liked the setting/worldbuilding between the Beowulf inspiration and the Norse history/setting.
-I liked Hild and I liked that Fryda had someone else in a similar role to Theow that she was friends with. I feel like it would have been weirder if Fryda had just gone through her life and all of the sudden was into him. I liked the backstory that they grew up together and had become friends albeit in very different societal roles/circumstances.
- I originally loved Bryce and his relationship to both Theow and Fryda. Although, I was conflicted on the idea of Bryce's role in Theow's enslavement. While it did explain how well he treated him, I felt like it also made me less sad about his eventual death because I was now conflicted on whether he was a good or bad guy. Although, it was necessary to provide a happy ending so I understand it to an extent.
Dislikes-
-I went back and forth on whether to include this point but it was a reoccurring thought in my head during reading. At first, I thought Fryda was a bit naive. I felt like she didn't really consider how her relationships with the enslaved and indentured characters could have effected them despite her proximity to them for her entire life. I didn't like that Theow constantly tried to protect her by leaving out details of their lives and struggles that could have allowed her to make more informed decisions. While I was thinking about how naive her character was, I started realizing that if she didn't see the effects, she couldn't be 100% at fault. she could have inferred, but obviously wanted to trust that they would have come to her with problems. However, the more I thought about it, the more I did blame her. Especially when it came to her brother. How could every single person know what he was like but her? She gave him so many chances and still wanted to trust him. I think it made me enjoy her character less and it made me feel weird about her and Theow's relationship. I felt like it was built on a lot of tension, "wanting what you can't have", and an "us against the world" mentality and not a lot of transparency and realism. She just felt unreliable.
-I wanted the dragon to play a bigger part than just at the end. I liked reading her POVs and was excited for her to awaken. But it felt rushed and I still don't 100% understand the curse part. I felt like it would be laid out a little more clearly and I just never got it.
I know this review is very all over the place. I was originally going to give this book three stars but it kept me hooked throughout despite my issues with it and I found myself thinking about it a lot when I wasn't reading and when I had finished the book. (so, in my opinion, that always adds a star).
The story of Fryda was captivating and full of heart-tugging moments where you hoped to save her, which made her a relatable hero. I enjoyed the characterisation of Beowulf too, as he was personified and made very enjoyable to read about here. The ending picked up the pace very quickly, which left a little lacking in terms of the curse, as others have mentioned. Overall, it's enjoyable for those that like this genre and era of time.
And here's a spice warning if you wanted one: one easily avoidable scene that doesn't affect the plot, but it's there
And here's a spice warning if you wanted one: one easily avoidable scene that doesn't affect the plot, but it's there
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
Read via NetGalley.
Sadly, this was a bit too much "modern YA in a historical setting" for me. The main character was TOO recognisably a feisty modern woman, which simply didn't ring true for the period - she's contemporaneous with the end of Beowulf's reign. Being highborn and being in love with a slave... it just doesn't ring true, without any struggles around identity and so on that I think would actually have been the case. She was all too willing to ignore the importance of family, despite acknowledging the horrors of exile, for "love". While I often love a good bit of exposition and description, there was just a bit too much of that here, too - I found myself skipping a LOT of the book.
Not for me. I genuinely think it will find an audience, though, and I'm really glad for that - I suspect this will hit the right buttons for the right people, which would be great.
Sadly, this was a bit too much "modern YA in a historical setting" for me. The main character was TOO recognisably a feisty modern woman, which simply didn't ring true for the period - she's contemporaneous with the end of Beowulf's reign. Being highborn and being in love with a slave... it just doesn't ring true, without any struggles around identity and so on that I think would actually have been the case. She was all too willing to ignore the importance of family, despite acknowledging the horrors of exile, for "love". While I often love a good bit of exposition and description, there was just a bit too much of that here, too - I found myself skipping a LOT of the book.
Not for me. I genuinely think it will find an audience, though, and I'm really glad for that - I suspect this will hit the right buttons for the right people, which would be great.
This was wonderful!! I read Beowulf in high school, senior year, and my teacher made it a big deal for our class - it was really fun! This was a treat to read because it expanded on the world of Beowulf and I absolutely loved our characters. Fryda was a wonderful heroine and I loved how courageous she was even with all she endured. Her relationship with Theow was so *chef kiss*! Best friends and have harbored feelings for each other over the years, but it's forbidden love. The writing was phenomenal as well, very poetic at times and I was stunned. My favorite chapters were the ones in the POV of the dragon. I found them to be so ominous. I highly recommend this book especially if you enjoyed Beowulf. The story is filled with brutal battles, love in all forms, and courage. 4.5 stars!! ⚔️✨
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
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
Thank you to Netgalley and Sharon Emmerich for the opportunity to read this book.
This book was an amazing read that really pulled at my heartstrings and even made me cry a few times. Emmerichs did a fantastic job making me care about all the characters. Fryda's journey from a girl with shattered dreams to a powerful force is so inspiring and captivating.
The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the constant changing of POVs every chapter, but the story's emotional depth and suspense made up for it. If you love a good story about bravery, magic, and self-discovery, "Shield Maiden" is definitely worth picking up!
This book was an amazing read that really pulled at my heartstrings and even made me cry a few times. Emmerichs did a fantastic job making me care about all the characters. Fryda's journey from a girl with shattered dreams to a powerful force is so inspiring and captivating.
The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the constant changing of POVs every chapter, but the story's emotional depth and suspense made up for it. If you love a good story about bravery, magic, and self-discovery, "Shield Maiden" is definitely worth picking up!