The First Girl Child

i should probably stop reading books in the literal middle of the night 3.5? i liked the world, i liked the magic, i liked the premise, i liked dagmar and ghost (a lot!), i liked bayr and alba but their romance killed me, and i wanted more of the other daughters of freya

Based on Norse mythology but unique for this story, the plot unfolds like an oration of old legends. It's dry and often unexciting in the midst of what should be a tense scene. But the plot is intriguing and the machinations compelling. There is definitely something to be said of gender role commentary.

I just read the First Girl Child by Amy Harmon in one complete sitting. This book was THAT good. The story has an interesting timeline that switches to give the reader a full view of what is going on and some of the events that lead up to the story’s climax. It starts with a preview of how the two main characters came to be and was ends up shaping their lives. Then it moves into their childhood and how their relationships begins building. Starting when the main characters are young gives good reference to what some of the other characters are going through and some of the events that shape up the future of the novel. The First Girl Child tells the story of how a country made up of several clans and a King gets cursed to have no female children born. At first this is celebrated by the people as boys are sought after to help build the strength of the clans. Yet soon the people become concerned that their clans will have no future if no female children continue to not be born. But the book revolves around two children in particular. Bayr who is born from the woman who cursed the land to conceive no girl children, and Alba who is claimed to be the first girl child born since the beginning of the drought. As the reader, I was able to see into the story better than the characters themselves. Which often left me frustrated with the fact that the characters were often left in the dark about their own pasts… especially Bayr and Alba. I wanted to tell them everything they weren’t seeing but had to wait for them to figure it out for themselves. What I loved most about this novel was the way it was written. The characters felt so real and I want to know more about other characters including Ghost, Dagmar, Desdemona, and the other girls of the Keepers. I want to hear their stories and what their lives look like after this story finished. Amy Harmon truly crafted a masterpiece in The First Girl Child. The world that was created is one that will grab you in its grasp and won’t allow you to go until the very last page.

okay this one made me tear up. how can i not love a story that starts off with a shieldmaiden dying on child birth, but not before she is able to cast a blood curse across the entire kingdom for no more daughters to be born ever again because the father of her child did not want to claim his son? we have no choice but to stan. this was my first amy harmon book and i can already tell this author has a special talent for creating intricate stories with incredible character development. the way she built the relationships that span decades in this book was *chef's kiss* my viking obsessed ass loved every second of this book filled with political machinations and revenge stories. it might have dragged towards the middle, and i think it could have been helped with a little bit more romance between alba and bayr, but by the end of it i was tearing up for the fate of all these characters. ngl i could totally see this book becoming a netflix movie.

2.75 stars My expectation might have been too high for this one. I was looking for a high fantasy-high romance story wrapped up in one novella and this book just missed the mark. I also feel somehow “cheated” back the back cover description. I was sold “ Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk. “ and “battling the enemies of their people, both within and without”. So YES, all of this was where, for the last quarter of the book. Almost the all story is about Bayr and Alba as kids. And uuuughhhh there is not a lot of romance when you are a kid. The pacing felt wrong somehow, I did not like having bit and pieces of their history every few years. I would prefer the author to choose a period and get deep with character development and feelings, for me to get attached to them. And then jump to the main point of the story (two decades after the beginning of the curse) and get a long, well described story. Not an ending that wraps up all the story promises in 20 pages. My second main problem was the writing style. I couldn’t feel connected to the character, their emotions/feelings/motivations are not well conveyed to the reader. It felt like every steps they were taking where merely reported to the reader with some superficial feelings attached to them. I would have preferred a more rich-deep emotion description-writing style. The country had a scourge for 20 years! And the book barely describe how does it affect the people day to day life. I would have like more description of how does it feel to be the only woman in a small village, how does it looks like when clanless raid villages and the men have to protect their families, how does it feel to grow up without a mom and with an asshole of a dad. Instead, it felt that just the afterwards facts of the events occurring where stated to the reader with dialogue in between. Overall needs: more description of motivations and feelings, better and more engaging action description, more « get to the point » pacing.

The First Girl Child definitely stood out in the flood of YA fantasy. The premise is interesting and I liked the focus on women in the Nordic setting. It's a quiet and gentle story. My favorite character was Dagmar and I wished we could've spend more time to get to know Desdemona before she died. It could have been a bit faster paced, but that's just my personal reference. Sky in the Deep disappointed me, because I love a Viking setting. This was way better. Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

3.5-4 stars!