Hello everybody! For today’s post, I have a blog tour review to share with you, for the book the Shield Maiden, which I became involved in because we all know how much I love supporting books with disability representation and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Onto the post!
This is a Beowulf inspired history fantasy-romance, which follows a woman named Fryda as she tries to defend herself and her kingdom, while a celebration of Beowulf’s reign is taking place and a powerful dragon is slowly waking from its slumber, drawn to the immense power Fryda possesses.
Fryda, the daughter of a clan leader,q is disabled following a childhood accident, and I would say my favourite part of this was the disability representation. Fryda is portrayed as an incredibly strong and independent woman, and it broke my heart to see the misogynistic and ableist treatment she faced at some points in the book. On that note, I can’t tell you how much I hated her father, Weohstan.
Conversely, I loved her friendship with Hild, an endentured slave she has become close to against the odds, and her star crossed romance with Theow is beautiful. I also really enjoyed the discussions of the injustice of slavery that these characters inspired, and the chapters we get from the dragon’s POV. This is definitely one I’d recommend to those who love feminist high fantasy, and/or anything to do with dragons.
Thank you so much for reading! Which books with disabled characters do you love? Do you fancy giving this a try? I’d love to chat in the comments!
Amy xx
Golden Books Girl 