By Iris Knox
Riding Hood + Romeo & Juliet + Norse Myth
…and then some…
I enjoyed this one enough throughout to give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Solid romantic fantasy, fairytale retelling novella. Not fantasy romance, because no HFN/HEA.
Loved the worldbuilding, but the information dumped early on was a bit much.
Super twisty plot and very engaging.
Cliffhanger.
Plot & Characters
The plot and the main characters were tight in this story.
Plot-wise, there are some of the best twists and turns I’ve read in a long time. Even though this book left me on a cliffhanger (i.e., the story isn’t complete yet), I felt the plot was solid enough to deserve a 100%.
The use of the first person point of view and the narrator style allowed the author to zoom in and focus on developing the two main characters in this book. There were, however, characters who played a larger role but felt incomplete. I expect this will also be resolved in book 2. However, I dropped my grading on this one from 100% to 90% for the review of book 1 as a complete work.
Favorite Quote(s)
“You’re an outstanding liar, but not as good as I am.”The Author
I listened to this, so can’t site the page number. Plus, I don’t want to give anything away by saying more. But this nailed the story for me.
Romance Elements
Swoon-worthiness
There were times when I thought I might swoon, but didn’t. On the surface, this seemed like a romance, but without the HFN or HEA, it doesn’t qualify.
Heat
Heat and steam are interesting topics in relation to this book. The book is listed as YA. However, there is a lot of subtext that hints at darker romance themes. There is nothing explicitly written on the page that outlines these themes, and none of the hints ever come to fruition. I’m not certain if I’m happy or sad about that. I understand the decision if the author wants to engage a young adult audience, but I’m leaning toward the thought that it would have been more satisfying if the author followed through on some of the hints.
Fantasy Elements
Worldbuilding
Kind of amazing. It blends Red Riding Hood + Romeo and Juliet + Norse mythology. Most of it is done naturally and without a great deal of dumping information on the reader. The very beginning of the story is an exception, where the author did a lot of telling to get to the plot. I prefer a slightly slower start where things build rather than having it fed to me on a platter. But that passed quickly, and the plot/characters took over and sucked me in.
Magic & Magic Systems
None to speak of. It’s mythology-based almost entirely.
The writing flows nicely. My only quibble is the small info dump at the beginning (telling rather than showing).
The narration was lovely in voice and character accents, etc. Although, I did think it did confuse me a little that we have some Norse mythology combined with Scots Gaelic accents and naming. Perhaps that’s intentional.
The audio editing (cuts between recorded sections) could have been much smoother. At times they were jumbled together, and other times the volume suddenly changed.
All in all, it was good, but because of my few quibbles, I dropped the score a bit.
Synopsis
From Iris Knox comes a debut novella full of grit, war, and determination.
In the Tribe of Dawn, one must always follow the rules:
Never steal from a neighbour
Never curse the skygods out loud
Never lie to the High Court
Never wander into the East woods alone
Never speak to an enemy clansman
Never approach the boundary
Never, ever cross the boundary
The rules must always be followed.
Lilian Utopiv is wandering through the woods alone one afternoon when she sees a boy across the boundary. She knows the rules. She knows what will happen if she breaks them.
With secrets unraveling at every turn, and an enemy tribe hungry for her blood, Lilian is pushed to her limits–physically, mentally, spiritually. Her enemies want her to be a coward. They want her to spill her secrets. They want her to turn on the Sungod she serves.
But she can’t. Or her tribe will pay with their lives.
My Ratings
About the Author
There’s nothing much to find about Iris Knox, but I have my suspicions.