Author: Juliana Loomer
Released: April 11, 2012
Print Length: 380 pages
File Size: 824 KB
Goodreads info here, visit the book's website
Disclaimer: I did receive a free copy of the novel in order to review. This however did not influence my review in any way.
Here's the official trailer for the book:
Now for the review:
Great Story about a Woman who Finally Finds Herself
In her novel Child of the Jotun, Juliana Loomer weaves the story of a nun from California who flees to Norway when she is notified by the parole board that her stepfather is released from prison. Once in Norway she begins a spiritual transformation and realizes that she no longer fits with the Catholic Church and leaves behind her life as a nun. Soon after her arrival in Norway, Jennifer meets a “Mountain Man” who both frightens and intrigues her at first and after some time, the two become connected in more ways than one. He begins to teach her of the “Old Ways” and her place in this new life. The two have more than her stepfather to battle along the way though.
First I have to say, I absolutely love the cover art! I enjoyed the storyline for the most part; however it wasn’t the thriller I was expecting. From the description on Amazon I thought it would be more about the demons that were chasing her. The novel seems to focus on the spiritual and romantic part of her journey, which I am not a fan of unfortunately. I do love the idea of the ancient gods and the main plot of the story, just not the particular way the journey was written.
There were many large (and uncommon) words throughout the novel as well, which made it a slightly difficult read for the average person. Perhaps I feel this way because I tend to read Young Adult novels, which tend to be quicker and easier to read. There were also several Norwegian terms used and while the author does provide a glossary at the end of the novel, reading it on a Kindle made it a tad lumber some to check it over and over. In addition, the novel could really use a once over by a good editor, there were numerous typos or splintered sentences in the book, things that would be very easy to miss if you were speed reading or if you were the writer and knew what it was meant to say.
Overall I enjoyed the story though I probably would not read it again. The plot was interesting and I did feel a connection to the characters and that propelled me to read the rest of the book.
