I can tell you with all honesty that I would happy live off of warrior fantasy stories every day of the year. I adored Sky in the Deep last year by Adrienne Young as well as several others, and this year I can honestly tell you that Warrior of the Wild was one of the most thrilling fantasy adventure stories that I’ve read so far in 2019. It was also one of the quickest that I managed to read, as it’s quite short in comparison to the other fantasies that I’ve had the privilege of reading this year. It’s viking inspired, so if that sets your heart pumping, I encourage you to pick up this gem.
Warrior of the Wild tells the tale of Rasmira, a young female warrior that has clawed her way tooth and nail to prove herself to her village, and her father so she can ultimately become the leader of the village. However, her coming-of-age ceremony is sabotaged, and before Rasmira can blink, she’s banished and sent off into the wild with an impossible quest to redeem herself. In order to come home, she must kill the god who oppresses the villages, or die trying. I was hooked simply from the summary, I had to find out what would happen.
This story hooks you from the beginning, straight into the action and the pain of being a young woman determined to prove herself in front of others. Rasmira is a character that has to learn to grow quickly, despite the fact that she is indeed a strong warrior, she is so uncertain of herself. She was a terribly relatable character, blinded by emotion in ways that we often are in real life, and soon she becomes hard not to love. Her adversaries are numerous, and all wretched in various ways. I loved that aspect of it. We got to see some characters be awful because they were jealous, others because they sought revenge, and one motivated by deep-seated hatred. This story is terribly twisty, and I can’t give too much of it away without spoiling it.
Romance is definitely an element that got explored quite a bit throughout Warrior of the Wild. Familial love, romantic love, bonds of friendship, and lust were all explored well in my opinion. With all of these the overall theme of trust comes into play, and I felt that it was a theme that was became very well-developed in the end. Though the romance was definitely a favourite of mine (there’s just something about clumsy boys that calls to my soul I guess), I have to say that I was especially touched by the bonds of family and friendship. The ways that they are clung to, or created were meaningful and touching. I loved that.
In terms of characters, I felt like each character Levenseller introduced was memorable in some way or another, making themselves meaningful into the story even if we did not necessarily had a name to go with it. Of course we get to know Rasmira very intimately, but we also get to know a couple of others very well. My favourites seemed to have a serious stubborn streak within them, which I can certainly empathise with…so I would definitely argue they’re relatable. My favourite character aside from Rasmira would have to be Iric. He’s a petulant and sassy young man with a secret soft heart.
Although I can’t really talk about the magic system within this book without spoiling it, the grand reveal toward the end is such a nice curveball. Despite the fact that you’re given little hints here and there about it, I felt that it was really well explained and justified. Plus, the satisfaction that you get from reading the reveal is something I won’t forget in a while. It was an immersive story for me, just like Daughter of the Pirate King and Daughter of the Siren Queen were when I read them.
Pacing in this story is fast, and it felt like I finished this story in a flash. At times it felt a little stilted, but that might be because there’s quite a bit going on. I enjoyed it immensely, and hope that others will too. Out of ten, I would rate Warrior of the Wild a 9. Aside from the sometimes stilted pace, it was a story that was quite memorable, fun, and exciting. I cannot wait to see what Levenseller has in store for us next.
Warrior of the Wild is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Will you be reading Warrior of the Wild? Or have you read it already? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
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