Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

4/8/2019

SYNOPSIS

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.

Synopsis from Goodreads

PERSONAL REVIEW

I really feel that the synopsis of this book does not do it justice! I know of Tricia Levenseller from The Daughter of the Pirate King series, but Warrior of the Wild was a completely different style and story - and it honestly really impressed me. Levenseller does an excellent job with this Viking-esque story and I felt like I flew through it!

Great Character Growth
Not to compare Levenseller's books, but a complaint of mine from the Daughter series was that I never really felt overly connected to anyone in the books; that's not the case at all here. I was immediately invested in these characters lives and was keeping my fingers crossed that they would all get what they deserved. I'm also a huge fan of having romance in the books I'm reading, so I loved that this was both an adventure story with a strong female protagonist, but also allowed us to read about the relationship that she develops with other. Although Rasmira is the focus, Soren and Iric were well developed and excellent additions to her story.

Slow Start, But Wonderful Ending
The story starts slowly, but that's really not a bad thing because we need to understand the structure of the community that Rasmira is being kicked out of. It also definitely is important to understand some of the issues that Rasmira has to deal with later in the novel as the people involved in her shunning play havoc on her mental health. Once Rasmira is in the forest, the pacing picks up and we are brought to a pretty great conclusion.

An Exciting Standalone
I really wish that this was a series so that we could spend more time in this Viking-esque world, but as a standalone, I was really impressed with how this story was crafted. With quick world building, character growth, and a strong ending, this book was an exciting story that I think a lot of people will enjoy. Rasmira's journey was well developed and I love that we really had the chance to get to know her and the others. I think there's still places for this story to go (what happens with her father? Will she really become a town leader? How will what she learned in the forest be applied to the village), I'm also content for this story is stand on its own, ready for me to reread whenever I miss it.

If you were a fan of Tricia Levenseller before this, than Warrior of the Wild is definitely a must-read for you. It's a quick read, filled with adventure, love, and lead by a strong female protagonist. Levenseller has moved in a different direction with this story and I'm really looking forward to what she writes next!

FINAL RATING: 4.5/5