The First Girl Child

Ive read a lot of books with paper-thin character development and but excitable, twisting plots. This is my first experience with rich, interesting characters and a meandering plot that suddenly collapses into the finale right at the very end - it left wanting in a funny way.

I cant give 3 stars though - I wouldnt put myself through it again but I have love for the characters.

Great book! The narrator did an excellent job. Enjoyed this book throughly.

Captivating storytelling, in a well flushed out world. The lead characters in this story definitely get under your skin, and into your heart. This is a really really good book, and the reader does a phenomenal job, you will not regret listening or reading!

Loved the Norse mythology in this book. The narrator did surprisingly well throughout the entire book. I listened to the entire book in 2 sittings while I cleaned my house lol.

One star was taken out because some parts were dragged unnecessarily. Last fight and happy ending after that could have been planned better. Otherwise story is good.

This book was so good. I fell in love with so many of the characters. Sad it’s over.

Excellent story so well written and told , would be a brilliant film i believe

Cute, wish there was more. Could have developed characters a bit more but overall I really liked it.

The a acting is fabulous and the characters very compelling.

Good book. Enjoying this author writes in such a way that supernatural things seem normal and believable in the context of the story.

I loved these characters so much! Amy Harmon created a world I was transported to for this journey. Bayr & Alba are the best H & H to root for. Ghost & Dagmar deserve the reader’s admiration & loyalty. The writing is superb & the story is movie like. I had thoughts of Game of Thrones in some scenes. (easier for me to make a visual connection) I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I’ll be thinking about these characters for awhile!

I can’t say enough good things about this book. Thoroughly enjoyed this, and the narration was one of the best I’ve heard.

The story line was EXCELLENT! Some areas of heavy exposition but I imagine that’s easy to happen when reading 3rd person works. I am such a fan of this work! I finished this book in 4 days

Very intricate story, it was a wonderful satisfying journey. I loved Bear and Alba

I really enjoyed this. This is a book that slowly grows in action and complexity. Stick with it. Had me crying at the end, but a great ending.

This book was amazing! I picked it on a whim and am so glad I did!

Super writing, I’m still a bit disturbed as to why this genre insists on the sexualization of young women… great story nonetheless, highly recommend

Loved it -great characters and landscapes. This story has interesting historical context.

Another excellent read by Amy Harmon! Had a difficult time putting it down and looked forward to picking it back up. I enjoyed the characters and the unique twists throughout.

I actually read it instead of listening to the audiobook. The story was interesting enough to make me want to finish reading it.

TLDR of the novel - hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

If you are a sucker for romance fantasies, as I may be, this may not be for you. There is love all around the novel, but not much focus on the romantic kind.

The novel sufficiently articulates the interactions of the major characters spanning over a decade, but that may be off-putting for others who may find these writings uneventful. It is beautiful and precious, but aspects of character development of some left me wanting more.

Still a good light read, but my first Amy Harmon novel(The Bird and the Sword, and perhaps because it was beautifully read as well) set the bar high.

WOW. I don't know what I was expecting, but whatever it was I got so much more. When I read the synopsis I was interested but a little hesitant. This is one of those books that could be great or horrible, and it was excellent. The Characters have a wonderful depth to them, and you get so wrapped up in their stories that hours pass before you come up for air in the real world. The pace is a little slow, but it doesn't feel that way, which is very hard to pull off. A great book!

This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't grasping my attention as I would have liked. The pacing wasn't an issue as it was for some. I have read slower-paced books and sometimes it is a nice change. I feel like it was lacking in areas.  

I feel as if the reasoning behind the curse which is the antagonist, wasn't believable for the harshness she meant it to give. The explanation was a tell and I believe it would have been more sympathetic for the readers to have seen a bit of what Desdemona went through. She introduced us to Dagmar and Desdemona in the prologue and then chapter 1 is 10 years after only to get a small glimpse of Dagmar before the curse was cast. 

The blood runes were under-used. Again this awesome introduction to them in the prologue and it was as if they were an afterthought during the book itself. If you pulled them out, it wouldn't be much of a dent. What happened to the cave? Did Dagmar tell the High Keeper? What was the point of it except to show us how powerful blood runes are, but yet readers didn't see this power in the rest of the book.   

Banruud, who is the villain, was hardly in the story. He is the main reason for this curse and we don't see him enough to justify the curse reasoning. I mean, when we see him, he is vicious and brutal, but I have seen that in books, movies, and tv shows were just a stab with a sword or a throwing ax would be justifiable. 

Giving Alba away to the North King should have happened earlier. To me, it was a late introduction, and Alba wasn't too much of a convening character when she got older. 

I think exploring The Daughter's of Saylok further instead of skimmed would have been nice to see.      

Don't get me wrong, I liked Dagmar, Bayr, Alba, and Ghost. But I didn't love them. In fact, I liked Ghost better than Alba. I know not everything can or should be explained and I like it that way. This book had awesome potential. The story idea was great, and it was a good story. I love fantasy; I love historically based books. It wasn't my cup of tea. But it could be yours

There's a curse, there is superhuman power, there is love, there are secrets, there are clans and warriors. What makes this story so enjoyable is that the characters are well developed and the overall story is complex enough to engage. It is only when every last secret is exposed that healing can begin.

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon is a book about vengeance, patience, and what you will sacrifice for those you love. The story takes place in during the Viking Era. The story brings up christianity as something they have been shown but no specific dates are mentioned. The story is about a woman who curses the land as she dies giving birth to her son. She had been spurned by the chieftain of one of the clans and she swore that her revenge would be that no more daughters would be born for men to torment, beat and use from that day on. She said her son would be the one to save Saylock (the country) from this curse. Her brother, a keeper of the temple nearby discovers her and she begs him to take her son and raise him as his own. Not knowing what the Head Keeper would say he agrees. From then on, as she proclaimed, no more daughters were born to the clan. Bayr, her son, is brought up in the temple growing stronger and faster than normal boys. His uncle tells him nothing of his birth but fate has other things in mind. As political intrigue and Bayr's love for the small princess he has been entrusted to protect grows he soon discovers much about his past and what path he must choose to ensure his future as well as those he loves.
I loved this story. I'm sure it's a stand alone book but I'm ok with that. If you enjoy stories about vikings or norse mythology you would probably enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this amazing story.