Warrior of the Wild

by Tricia Levenseller

[sa090]

Yeah, a nice little break from the Ruin of Kings.... although not being without it’s own issues.

───────────────────

It’s been a very long time since I read a standalone book, and to be very honest it’s so refreshing to be able to read a story that begins and ends in the same book every once and a while. This is the first time I ever read anything by Tricia Levenseller, who I didn’t know wrote The Daughter of the Pirate King duology, but I don’t think I’ll be reading anything else anytime soon. The book is incredibly easy to read don’t get me wrong, it’s not overly complicated and the writing was a breeze to get through which is something I always appreciate in books I designate as my change-of-pace books.

The plot in itself is not completely original and it doesn’t have to be, the setting is done very well and I really liked the Viking elements that she brought into it. I don’t recall reading a Viking inspired book like this one other than the Magnus Chase series and that one was a complete disaster for me, so I appreciated getting another taste of the culture even when it’s not so overly detailed. The monsters in the world, how the coming of age ceremony happens, gender views, professions and the like were definitely interesting and I honestly wanted to see more about them. There are other villages around and I wouldn’t have minded to see if there were any differences between them. Really enjoyed this part, and I really wished that the world building + exploration took the majority of the book instead of what actually did.

The characters come next and this is where things start going downhill for me, none of them are likable, not a single one. Rasmira’s sister might’ve been if we gotten a longer view of her, but that didn’t happen and I’m stuck with this snow flake of a heroine who made me so freakin angry with her stupidity that I just kept reading. This is a first for me where my anger is what fuels me to read, but I did get some enjoyment out of it so all’s well. It, of course, doesn’t deny that Rasmira is a dumbass throughout the majority of the book when it comes to matters of the heart which I will discuss in details in the comments to avoid spoilers.

The majority of my reading has been YA now and I can’t, for the love of god, understand why the majority of these girls who supposedly go through such harsh situations, betrayals and are always disappointed by people, don’t have a shred of common sense when it comes to romance? Some do it better than others of course, but Rasmira I believe remains in a league of her own. Her companions feel somewhat trope-y, they were better than her for sure, but the perfect dude and the sassy dude don’t really give me much to note when everything is so incredibly predictable it’s difficult to get immersed in their actions. I did love the trial part of the book though, these little side quests and the three working together was easily the best part of the book.

The worst part of the book is the romance for me, and it all comes down to Rasmira and how she deals with stuff. She and the others in a lesser degree move between disgustingly thirsty and pathetically desperate, you’d “think” that some form of logical thought process would appear based on previous experiences but being YA, I guess not. Which is a shame really.

I do think that this is a very interesting, very easy to read and what could’ve been a very entertaining book, but there are definite problems with it that makes enjoying it for me in its entirety, completely and utterly impossible.

Final rating: 2.5/5