Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller
Book Summary
How do you kill a god?
As her father's chosen heir, eighteen-year-old Rasmira has trained her whole life to become a warrior and lead her village. But when her coming-of-age trial is sabotaged and she fails the test, her father banishes her to the monster-filled wilderness with an impossible quest: to win back her honour, she must kill the oppressive god who claims tribute from the villages each year or die trying.
Book Details
Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller
Sale Date: February 26, 2019 by Feiwel & Friends
Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Epic
Hardcover, 336 pages
Source: ARC from NetGalley
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Other Books by Author
My Thoughts on Warrior of the Wild
WARRIOR OF THE WILD is about eighteen-year-old warrior Rasmira who fails her coming-of-age trial after being betrayed. Banished from her village by her father, the chieftain, she accepts an impossible task in order to redeem her honor: kill a god and survive the monster-riddled wilderness it lives in. Tricia Levenseller packs this Viking-inspired YA standalone fantasy with dangerous quests, foul creatures, friendship, and romance.
I've been a fan of Tricia Levenselle’s writing since reading her debut, Daughter of the Pirate King. I knew that I wanted to read her newest YA fantasy, and this time it is in a Viking flavored setting with the focus on our heroine’s coming-of-age trial, a betrayal, and her survival in a monster-filled wilderness where she must hunt down an enemy god.
Readers can lose themselves in the story with the wilderness setting filled with dangerous, mythic-styled creatures. I also enjoyed the three quests (the action-filled and stabby kind) our heroine ends up completing, along with her fellow warrior-friends, which really made for an adventuress read. I thought the vivid setting and descriptions were terrific, adding just the right amount of fantasy to the story. The fantastic-beasts and the details describing them were spectacular.
Rasmira is an easy protagonist to like with the right balance of a fierce, warrior-daughter with vulnerabilities. She has a wonderful kinship with her beloved sisters who love and look up to her, a troubled one with her mother who dislikes (and may be just a bit jealous) of her warrior-ways, and a complicated one with her father who has trouble seeing her beyond his future heir as a woman and daughter.
Trained all her life to be a warrior first-and-always, Rasmira has trouble expressing her emotions, something she worries will influence her skills as a warrior and future leader of her father’ clan. I loved seeing the growth and changes that occur in her characterization throughout the story, especially her interactions with Soren and Iric, two warriors also banished from their village, whom she must work with in order to survive and complete her quest.
Readers will want to root for Rasmira’s success and enjoy the sweet friendship she begins to build with both warriors. As a fan of romance, I did enjoy the sweet interactions between Soren and Rasmira. His admiration for her as a skilled warrior and her leadership skill are obvious and I thought his determination to win her over cute while being the perfect balance to lighten the more seriousness of the dangers they stilled faced.
In the End
WARRIOR OF THE WILD is an exciting read with a Viking inspired setting filled with fantastical-beasts, quests, friendship, and romance. Tricia Levenseller swept me away and did not disappoint in this YA standalone. If you are a fan of the Daughter of the Pirate King series or Viking flavored reads, then you just might want to grab this one up.
