White Stag is about goblins and Erlkings and monstrous girls…
So basically a checklist of things I quite enjoy reading. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It had a lot of fae culture woven through a Norse setting, but focusing on goblins, and I’ve been reading SO many fae books recently that this just fit right into what I was in the mood for. Plus it’s bitterly cold and cruelly wicked with knives and claws and fights around every few pages. And it takes the time to really discuss and delve into PTSD and mental illness! Which is something fantasy sorely needs to address.
I am PLEASED.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia for the review-copy! This was out Jan, 2019!
➸ Welcome to the haaaalls of the GOBLIN KING.
Ok I freaking loved reading this version goblins! The have glamours, like the faeries, to make themselves inhumanely gorgeous, but when the glamours fade they look like vicious terrible monsters. They’re all SO bloodthirsty. Literally stab your neighbour before breakfast and nobody is shocked. My man, you all need some therapy.
➸ Norse-inspired setting!
I loved the mythology angle it went for, and how Jenneke and Soren met wolf goddesses, mischievous svartelves who’ll drive you mad, and dragons with poisonous fangs. And it was SO COLD. So frikkin’ freezing. I could feel that wrapped around every page.
➸ Jenneke was also a bitter stabby gift to this world.
She’s been abused for hundreds of years (but she’s permanently 17) and she is NOT in the mood for anyone’s shenanigans. She was rescued from her abusive master by Soren, who has always been kind, but she still hates him for owning her. She has severe PTSD and anxiety flashbacks, and honestly I’m just glad YA fantasy is unpacking mental illness more! And after reading the author’s note, you know it’s a really personal story regarding the eating disorders and sexual assault. The heartache is palpable. But so is the healing. I love that about it!
And seeing Janneke thaw as the book went on (like teaching a little goblin girl to be a better warrior and not punching Soren in the face every time he attempts to be nice) was the besssst. At one point Soren lovingly says: “yOU ARE A SMALL DOG THAT BITES ANKLES”. She hits him.
➸ Soooo thoughts on the romance?
I was worried. I mean, Soren is a goblin and effectively her “owner” for most of the book (her abusive last owner, Lydian, gave her to Soren) and even if Soren is heckin’ nice and treats her well — uneven power dynamics (especially between 1000 year old goblins vs a girl) makes my skin crawl. BUT. I think the book did it the right way. There was only romance when they were both in equal positions of power over themselves. Also there’s a reason Soren didn’t free her! I won’t say for spoilers, but it Makes Sense™.
➸ A few things that didn’t work for me:
(1) The language is super modern (aka, Janneke even busts with stuff like “gee thanks”) and they banter back and forth about how Goblins don’t get sarcasm. Yes there’s alwyas been sarcasm but the actual word didn’t exist till the 1500s…plus goblins can’t lie. It’s said again and again! But in order to be sarcastic, you are effectively saying an ironic lie. This rule seemed to bend when later Soren was fluently sarcastic?!!
(2) there are a lot of fight scenes, which just aren’t my favourite oops
(3) mentally ill villains is just a trope I particularly dislike
It’s a story of monsters and mayhem, cruelty and brittle despair. But it’s also about hope. And I loved this balance of mythology, hunts for magical stags, and Erlking’s magic — contrasted with piecing together broken people and loving yourself and believing you are worth love.
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.
Goodreads | Book Depository | Booktopia | Pan Macmillan
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I added this book to my TBR after your intro para. I am keen for stabby girls and goblins. Yes please.
Literally THE BEST combo omg.
it takes the time to delve into ptsd and mental illness?? i’ve been dying to read this since its release and it’s DEFINITELY happening now
eeeep YES!💛I’m so excited you’ll give it a try!
I’m adding this book to my TBR. I need to read it!
I’m so glad my review was convincing!!
Modern languages in non-modern settings is such a pet peeve for me. To a degree, I guess there has to be a decision about how anachronistic the language is allowed to be (because it you get TOO era-accurate, it’ll often be incomprehensible to a modern audience) but… I think slang might be one of the places I draw the line? I made an annoying editor in writing in high school because I would research the history of slang words when cleaning on other people’s work.
* cleaning UP other people’s work. This is what I get for not proofreading my own comments…
I do get that too! Like I’m not hard and fast about the rules either, and I’m not going to look up the etymology of every word. But some words are just TOO modern. (I’ve read a fantasy where the character was like “bite me” and I’m over here like…son, you want to check what era you’re in.) So yes please to modern jokes, but at least don’t use modern language!
You had me at “dragons with poisonous fangs”, Cait. Actually, I vaguely remember requesting this one on Netgalley but got declined??? Not sure though but it’s a common enough failure story. Anyway, your review made me want to read it because I know next to nothing about goblins (I only know the ones from Harry Potter and they’re a grumpy bunch).
I haven’t read it yet but I know SPINNER OF DREAMS has anxiety rep and it’s a middle grade fantasy book I want to read! HarperCollins approved my review request on edelweiss after three seconds of requesting which was ABSOLUTELY WILD. I think this book deserves more attention because if sounds so good.
Netgalley declines me for everything lmao so I HEAR YOU. (Actually everything on there is “for wish”. Like what is with that.) But anyway, I’m really glad you enjoyed my review! CONVINCING COOKIES FOR ME.
ooh I haven’t heard of Spinner Of Dreams 👀 I’ll be looking out curiously for your review!!
At first I wasn’t really interested, I’ve lately been avoiding some YA fantasy because I got burnt out but this sounds really good. I didn’t realize it deals with mental illness and has Norse mythology! I personally would love to see both of those more in fantasy. I also haven’t read anything with goblins at the center so this might be a good book for me to try
I do get a bit wary of YA fantasy at the moment too 😂 It’s just not really living up to my mental hype?! But this one was solidly good and I just had a great time!
The book is on my TBR… I think I’ve had it on hold. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh yeah, your book came in a few days ago… When I got it, I read it twice in an afternoon. I LOVE it it’s my new favorite book!
I wrote a review on it… It’s coming out tomorrow… (I don’t know how it works considering your time zone and mine)
You can read it if you want… Its a *slightly biased* review but it’s Positive Review™
HAVE I MENTIONED YOU ARE COMPLETELY WONDERFUL!! ILYSM LET ME GIVE YOU ALL THE CAKE AFJKDSLAD. (And I would love to creep on your review, if that’s not too awkward haha.)
Hmm this is a great review! I also absolutely love fae books & any book that takes care to depict mental illness properly and sensitively…. but mentally ill villains are not my favourite thing. It’s like…. could you not maybe.
But this is a great review (and I LOVE your pictures)!
Yes exactly! Like I’m torn, because obviously Janneke was mentally ill as the protagonist, and cast as the heroine and a nuanced and complex person. So that’s not as bad as other stories where the SOLE mentally ill person is the villain *gets angry* So yeah! I’m torn.
I didn’t get the sarcasm either??? Like how was he able to be sarcastic if he wasn’t ever, ever able to lie? I was confused.
Also, the modern language really irked me! Espeically when she was using phrases I knew didn’t exist at that time in history, such as okay/ok. So annoyed!
But I did like the storyline! And the goblin lore was really cool!
EXACTLY. He couldn’t have. Every time he DID do sarcasm it was actually a plot hole lmao. And I don’t mind modern humour in old-style books, but they can’t use like 2000s slang. 😂 It just…doesn’t work. It would’ve if Janneke had been from OUR modern world!
JENNEKE’S STABBINESS WAS EVERYTHING. There’s something to be said about a female lead who takes no crap and will prove it with pointy weapons.
I still need to write a review for this. Yours is so lovely. I’m so … conflicted. xD I LOVED THE GOBLINS. 2018 was full of soooo many Fae, so it was kind of nice to have something different? Not that there’s anything wrong with Fae. *strokes copy of The Wicked King that I have yet to read*
The world was so freaking fantastic, too, and I loved the way the myths were incorporated!
But in the end, I felt kind of … meh? It was an easy, enjoyable read, but not a particularly memorable one for me. It almost felt like something was … missing? Everything takes place 100 years after the two leads have met, very conveniently at the exact pivotal moment when everything in the whole world ever takes place. Which makes me a little annoyed at Jenneke’s continuous rudeness and distrust because … like, I get the slave/master relationship and the PTSD and trauma, but … it’s been 100 years that they’ve been together, yo. Has he been this nice for 100 years?! Has he not proven himself?
omg she was AMAZING. She absolutely was not about to be spat on by anyone. Like yes take the human girl to a hall of goblins and tell her to be chill and sHE WILL STAB SOMEONE IN THE NEXT 5 MINS. Love you, Janneke 😭💛
I do think it would’ve been cool if it hadn’t been 100 years? I always do find that hard, because like ok even if you’re frozen LOOKING like 17, you’ll still have matured because you’ve been alive that long! So she truly was a really really old person lmao.
OH I’ve seen this title around but I haven’t seen many Actual Reviews on it!! I’M SO GLAD THAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP DIDN’T START WHEN THERE WERE UNEVEN POWER DYNAMICS THOUGH. That’s good. YAY for ptsd representation in media <3 <3
Yesss, exactly! It had a lot of potential to be problematic, but I think it discussed it really carefully and I loved it!
I’m very interested to read this!! I nearly got it last night (but instead purchased The Girl King and The Wicked King…. Kings are a theme here!), but I am super interested in this one too. Hopefully I will get a copy soon! I also heard the author is a Wattpad author, which is again super interesting! 🙂
omg the Wicked King is an EXCELLENT life decision though so I thoroughly approve! (And king titles are pretty common this year right?! I’m also excited for King of Fools!) And yes, she’s a wattpad author and only 22! TALENT.
Oh I just picked this book up recently and haven’t started it yet. I’m glad to see that there were a lot of good elements! It’s good to know that there will be a few villain tropes and modern language, which I know are things that I’d be nit picky about. I’ll need to make sure I get to this one soon. Thank you for the detailed review!
I always feel bad for being nitpicky, but I did think those things threw me out of the story sometimes. But like over all!! so good!!
It took me a little while to get into the book, but once I did I started loving it. I felt that it was pretty tasteful and that the author did a good job exploring touchier subjects. I do, however, agree with the sarcasm bit. I wish it had a little bit more…. elegant conversation and less modern language?
Yes I so agree with you too! I just think the modern slang was a bit too jarring. Like it could’ve worked if Janneke was from a modern world, spirited over to the goblins medieval world? But it didn’t so it was just a bit off.