Review: THE STRANGE MAID by Tessa Gratton

4.21 avg rating — 19 ratings

~ADULT WORTHY!

I was born under a frenzied star, so our poets would say. Which meant only that I was wild and loud as a child, always running off crying or laughing at nothing my parents could see.

But when I was seven years old, I went truly mad.

It was winter, a week after my birthday and my parents had been dead for a month. Shot down far away from me, with nothing to protect them but prayers and hymnals, neither of which could stop bullets. A bruise ached on my chest over my heart where I pressed my fists every morning, every night, and all through the funeral service staring at the empty pyre, for we had no bodies to burn. I had to hold in the wail of grief beating through my blood because the god my family served did not scream.

It's pain and grief that defines THE STRANGE MAID's story. Driven by sorrow, Signy climbs the New World Tree where she begins to rip leaves from the branches with the rage that seethes to the surface. And it's there that Odin appears to her. The Alfather tells her that he has waited for one like her, and he claims her as his own. And Signy becomes Signy Valborn. A valkyrie.

Only it's not so simple thing to be a valkyrie. There is schooling and there are challenges. And to Signy's disgust the valkyries have become tame. They are no longer fierce but have become political helpers to important members of government. And it is not within Signy to do this. And perhaps that is why on the eve of her 'rising' some one of the gods has put given her a riddle to solve.  It's a riddle that drives her from the home she has had with the Valkyries. It's something that makes her look deep inside herself to define who and what she will become.  

The riddle brings her to Ned the Spiritless who will become her teacher. It will lead them in turn to mountain trolls, beserkers, Soren Bearskin, and ultimately to the end of a bitter-sweet journey. 

I loved THE STRANGE MAID. It's surprising dark. Surprising fierce.  Beautifully written.

If you loved Tessa Gratton's first book, LOST SUN, you should know that this book is very different.  LOST SUN is a much more upbeat adventure. It's basically a road trip where the world of the United States of Asgard to laid out for us to enjoy.  THE STRANGE MAID in contrast has the dark elements I hinted at.  There is death and animal sacrifice, drinking and even sex.  Signy is a true Valkyrie. She doesn't shy away from killing. So that this book might not be for everyone.

I thought it was a well written epic adventure.  Can't wait for book #3.

Pam~


THE STRANGE MAID
(United States of Asgard #2)
by Tessa Gratton

Reading Information:
Page Count: 304
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