Month: March 2024

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Book: “A Flame in the North” by Lilith Saintcrow

Publishing Info: Orbit, February 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: An elemental witch and her shieldmaiden journey into a world of ancient myth and unexpected destiny in this sweeping Norse-inspired epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow.

The Black Land is spent myth. Centuries have passed since the Great Enemy was slain. Yet old fears linger, and on the longest night of the year, every village still lights a ritual fire to banish the dark.

That is Solveig’s duty. Favored by the gods with powerful magic, Sol calls forth flame to keep her home safe. But when her brother accidentally kills a northern lord’s son, she is sent away as weregild—part hostage, part guest—for a year and a day.

The further north Sol travels, the clearer it becomes the Black Land is no myth. The forests teem with foul beasts. Her travel companions are not what they seem, and their plans for her and her magic are shrouded in secrecy.

With only her loyal shieldmaid and her own wits to reply upon, Sol must master power beyond her imagination to wrest control of her fate. For the Black Land’s army stirs, ready to cover the world in darkness—unless Sol can find the courage to stop it.

They thought the old ways were dead. But now, the Enemy awakens…

Review: This is the second Norse-inspired fantasy I’ve read this month! It’s funny how these trends come and go; even as I go through what I though was a fairly randomly-ordered TBR list, I often find myself reading books with strong similarities to one another. I’ve read a decent amount of fantasy fiction that draws from Norse mythology, and have typically enjoyed them quite a bit, so this was an obvious pick for me. On top of that, I love the idea of taking a typical fantasy duo (the hero and his shield) and switching it to a female heroine/witch and her shieldmaiden. I still enjoy the former as well, of course, but it’s nice to see such variety popping up throughout SFF.

This book is a bit tough to review, simply because some of my struggles with the book came down more to my needing to properly categorize the type of book I was reading. Starting out, it was clear that this book was aiming for a specific sort of high fantasy, the kind that uses dense language, both in the vocabulary chosen and in the longer sentences structures used, and also is playing a long game as far as pacing and plotting go. The story takes its time laying out its world, its characters, and even getting to what seems to be the true action of the story.

As I continued to read, at some point it occurred to me to compare this read to “Lord of the Rings,” and frankly, that kind of saved the experience for me. Both books have a similar dense sort of feeling, the kind that can be overwhelming to begin with, and the sort that then pays off later. Similarly, there were a few world-building aspects that were simply dropped in with very little explanation. For example, at one point they refer to the “All Mother” which, of course, seems like a similar character as Odin the “All Father.” Changes like this are, of course, fine, but then I was left a bit unsure as to where I was supposed to be placing this world. Are we in some sort of alternate world where there is an All Mother instead of an All Father? Or is this our world with magic and this is just changed? Things like this aren’t necessarily a big deal or bad, but it does add to the initial challenge with the point of entry to the story. The reader really has to work for it get dive in.

But this slow pacing did pick up towards the end, and this is where the LOTR comparisons worked even better. If read as the rather slow-paced entry to a grand spectacle, a sprawling series, the dense nature of this book is easier to digest. I also really liked Solveig and her shieldmaiden as characters. The author did a fantastic job with these two, balancing their fierceness with the sort of sly reserve that they would need to employ in the world in which they are living.

This is the kind of book that I would definitely recommend for a specific sort of fantasy reader, those who like epic fantasy and are willing to put in the time with denser language and a slow plot. Readers who want to be immediately drawn in to an action-packed story will likely struggle this one. But, like I’ve said earlier, if you like “Lord of the Rings” and can remember some of the slower parts, especially in “Fellowship,” this book does seem to promise an intriguing series overall!

Rating 7: Tough to get into but well worth it in the end, I think.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Flame in the North” isn’t on any relevant Goodreads lists currently, but it should be on Vikings and Viking-Inspired Fantasy.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Where the Dark Stands Still” by A. B. Poranek

Publishing Info: McElderry Books, February 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Raised in a small village near the spirit-wood, Liska Radost knows that Magic is monstrous, and its practitioners, monsters. After Liska unleashes her own powers with devastating consequences, she is caught by the demon warden of the wood – the Leszy – who offers her a bargain: one year of servitude in exchange for a wish.

Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past.

Those who enter the wood do not always return…

Review: Have I mentioned recently my love of dark woods/dark fairytale fantasy books? No? Well, I love them. And this cover is definitely pointing towards that sort of story. Then you look at the book description, and yep, my kind of book! I also enjoy stories where the heroine/hero has a limited amount of time to uncover some sort of mystery or unravel a curse, so this book quickly racked up points of interest for me. And I’m pleased to say that it followed through on almost all of them!

Right away I knew this story was going to work for me (unless something went terrible wrong, like some sort of character assassination midway through the book). The style of writing immediately drew me in, seamlessly merging fast-paced action and lyrical, descriptive passages that set the tone for the world and story itself. Everything felt equally beautiful and dreadful, leaving the reader on tenterhooks, wanting to know more, but feeling Liska’s own sense of increasing wariness and fear as she realizes how little she knows about the myths of her own world. Alongside the writing, the world-building felt complete and immersive. The enchanted castle, woods, and guardian all felt familiar, but the author also put her own twists and turns on everything that it all felt fresh and new.

I also really enjoyed Liska as a central character. Her motivations are clear, and her perseverance and bravery in the face of her ever-changing circumstances made her incredibly sympathetic. Her circumstances and history slowly unfurled as the story continued, hinting at dark secrets in her own past. She also had great chemistry not only with the Lezky but also with a few side characters that showed up a bit further into this book. This latter point, especially, was a bit of a surprise. I wasn’t expecting additional characters so late into the story and am often a bit concerned with this choice, as late characters often have an uphill battle as far as getting good character work in with the limited page count remaining. Luckily, here, we see how it can be done well, with these characters adding important new dimensions to the world and to Liska’s own character arc.

As for the Lezky, I really enjoyed this character. Most especially, I enjoyed the slow-burn nature of his relationship with Liska and the reveals regarding his own complicated history. Their character moments covered all of the bases, from wariness to humor to, eventually, love and caring. I will say, however, that I think this book would have been better served as an adult fantasy novel. Not because there is any explicit, story-wise. More because the Lezkey is a centuries-old being, but because the book is YA, the narrative was struggling to present him as a “boy” for much of the book, which simply rubbed wrong against the character’s own situation and history. I feel like this book is the exact example I’d point to when I talk about the unfortunate habit publishers seem to have where they dub anything that is at all romantic, at all fairytale-like as YA, as if adults are not equally interested in these sorts of stories.

I also feel like the overall tone and execution of the book perhaps might sit better with an adult audience. Not that YA readers can’t appreciate bittersweet and darker tales, but I do worry that this book might not quite find its footing because of this mismatch between reader expectations and reality based on it being marketed as YA. For me, even though this book took a sharper turn into the bittersweet than I typically look for, the overall story and writing as a whole were so strong that I couldn’t help but come away loving it. If you enjoy fairytale fantasy stories and slow-burn romances, definitely give this one a shot! Right now, I feel like it’s flying under the radar, and I really

Rating 8: Whenever you wander into a deep, dark forest, you never know how you might be changed. Reading this book is much the same; you’ll find yourself enchanted, bewitched, and ultimately caught in a spell from which you won’t want to free yourself.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Where the Dark Stands Still” can be found on these Goodreads lists: The Most Beautiful Covers of 2024 and Fantasy Standalone.