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laurenbruce703 's review for:
Shield Maiden
by Sharon Emmerichs
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).