A review by hnnhhrsvsk
Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs

adventurous hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Shield Maiden is a retelling of a classic Beowulf story told from the perspective of a lord’s daughter who rises from a timid girl to a powerful warrior - although she maintains most of her naïveté by the tale’s end. A good premise, but overall the book fails to build the plot and flesh out relationships between the characters, and left me wanting more. The book easily could have been 100-200 pages longer - which is a compliment as much as it is a criticism. The characters were so interesting, yet the book was paced so quickly that it never felt that they were fully connected to each other. Additionally, there were several points in the book where characters made strange decisions that didn’t really make sense and were never addressed again. The ending seemed rushed and left much to be desired. Overall, it feels like a book 75% finished - which is a shame considering how fresh its concept is! 
 

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