Warrior of the Wild

[A quick note: I have been sitting on this book for over a year. As usual, I always wonder why it takes me so long to get to the good ones! This one came highly recommended from a friend, one who always has the best book recs. I should have picked it up sooner, especially knowing it was a stand alone. I’ve read another book by this author: The Shadows Between Us and really enjoyed that one too. There are a few other books by this author and now I’m more eager than ever to read them!]

“𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.” —Tricia Levenseller

When Rasmira’s coming-of-age trial is sabotaged, she is banished to the wild where she must kill an oppressive god before returning home. The monster-filled wild isn’t suited for survival, but Rasmira is determined to live. What she never expected, was to find more than just her courage.

I loved this book! LOVED IT! I’m getting pickier and pickier about YA, so I’m always thrilled when a YA book hits its mark. I already recommended this to my Mom. Actually, I texted her right after setting it down because I was excited to share it.

Ahhhhhhh, I have such an appreciation for masterfully executed standalones. WotW is no exception! Everything about the character journey, plot, and world building was deftly handled, perfectly balanced. I powered through it in a couple of sittings. It’s one of those books you’re excited to pick up each time you sit down to read. Even better, it’s one you’ll come away from thoroughly satisfied. Plus!! It was just plain FUN!

Rasmira’s character is believable. She’s not pretty, not delicate, not your typical swoon-worthy MC. She’s a warrior. She’s hardened. She’s pretty much a monster-slaying badass. She’s not someone that the villagers find themselves attracted to. And because of her father’s special treatment, she’s not a favorite, either. If anything, everyone resents her. Yes, she has flaws, which sets her up perfectly to traverse a solid arc. I am ALL ABOUT a good character arc. Huge fan of character-driven stories right here **raises hand**

“𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭. 𝐈𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.” —Tricia Levenseller

Rasmira grows significantly through her hardships. As the daughter of a village leader, she is expected to one day lead her people, and yet, she knows very little about being a good leader (flaw). She spends her time resenting the way others treat her because of her position, when instead, she should be stepping in to help them rather than watch them flounder. Don’t worry, she figures this out.

Long story short: Rasmira begins her journey wounded, clinical, and unprepared for the life ahead of her. She ends it in a much better place. That was satisfying!

“𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥," 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬. "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐩, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.” —Tricia Levenseller

The romance between Rasmira and Soren was SUPER SWEET! For a YA, it was pretty cute. I liked Soren’s character a lot. And it’s clear that his trial/challenge and time in the wild also changed him as a person. We don’t see his arc very much, nor Iric’s, since they’ve been in the wild a whole year before Ras finds them. But they still travers a satisfying arc nonetheless.

The overall concept: facing your fear and growing stronger because of it, was the backbone of the plot. Rasmira gets the hardest challenge ever allotted. She’s to kill a god. It’s seemingly impossible. And she has to question why her father would abandon her to such a fate. I love that she not only grew, but came to realize that her relationship with her father wasn’t all that healthy. I appreciated that.

This read was short, sweet, fun, and a great balance of character development and exciting plot. I enjoyed the characters, the world building, the warrior feel. It’s definitely one I’ll be recommending more often. So far, I’ve enjoyed every read from this author. 𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝟓/𝟓⭐️