“That is the way of being a woman, to carve away at herself, to fit herself to the task, but, also, to be able to carve herself in a different way, when a different shape is needed.”

It’s time to flip the story of the damsel on its head. Who says every girl needs to be saved?

Except that’s the way it’s been for generations - the prince goes to rescue his damsel, claiming her as his wife and future queen. And now it’s Emory’s turn. After scaling the wall he climbs inside the tower to kill the dragon. Hours later, with no memories of her own, Ama awakens besides Emory. She tries to piece together her past, finding no memories of her life before she awoke. The two return to Emory’s home where Ama is rushed to be married and feeling herself change as the wedding day draws near.

Conceptually, Damsel is a fresh, unique, and twisted story of the traditional fairytale rendition. The damsel is saved by prince charming, except there’s no prince charming present. Instead, the idea is put into question throughout the book.

Though all Emory loves is rescuing his damsel.

Initially the story begins with Emory. He’s started his trek, the same trek that his father and his father’s father has done before him. No one knows why all the future kings must go and Emory isn’t even sure how he’s supposed to kill the dragon. Or, why the dragon even has a damsel. It continues through Emory’s perspective until the rescue is completed, and then it switches to Ama. I don’t mind the switch, even though it split the book up, but completely cutting out Emory’s viewpoint from rescue on felt like a broken promise. He was a pawn in the story…. But there was so much more there.

And, in the way that the perspectives changed, Emory changed as a character. He’s painted one way at the beginning - Arnold takes the time to show how he takes great care of his horse, and touches on his pursuits of the opposite sex - but then flips him like the mad hatter halfway through the book. I really hope Arnold wasn’t trying to show how Emory takes better care of his horse then his future wife. That’s an outdated comparison that makes me sick.

So, the change comes out of nowhere. I could be wrong… Maybe he was always painted as the villian. I just didn’t see that in the first half of the book, which lead me to be very confused with the version constructed by the end. None of his motives made sense, and even the big reveal at the end, how he saved his damsel, left much to be desired. Actually, I was very confused. Emory was just too evil, without any dimension, something that could have been created with some additional scenes from his view point.

The whole ending was rushed. Point A to B lasted a few pages. There’s the typical reveal of missing information and then bam… Done. No drawn out conclusion or a chance for readers to calm down from the ending. Not that endings need to be perfectly spelled out, but if the reader isn't paying attention, a lot could have been lost, leaving them even more confused. I personally caught the hints, which didn’t bother me, but the sudden ending made me drop the book down in ratings and enjoyment.

Still, I highly enjoyed Damsel and the idea behind it all. Arnold pushed boundaries in other areas. She included discussion of the human body, not shying away from the bushy hair between our legs. There was even a detailed sexual moment towards the end that was well constructed and a great addition. You may feel differently, but I think it’s important to add in these scenes only if they are key to the story - which they were for Damsel. Children learn so much for reading and our bodies are not something that we should shy away from. I’m not talking that we need Fifty Shades of Grey level in YA books, but there should be some discussion. Sex is no longer a taboo topic.

There are a lot of details in Damsel that I’m still unpacking. In addition to the comparisons that Arnold draws between Ama and Sorrow, I know there are so many other tiny thoughts throughout the book that I missed because it read so quickly. A reread could either make me love this story more or completely change my mind. But I think Arnold is an author that takes her time with the smaller moments, packing them full of tiny tidbits to ponder over.

I’m rating this book at 3.5 out of 5 stars. I always feel bad poorly rating books that have such great cutting edge concepts, but the execution was not up to par. The writing was confusing at times, the characters annoying or unrealistic, and my enjoyment was hindered in certain moments. I do not regret reading Damsel, and if I had a daughter right now, I would probably make her read it.

Happy Reading

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 105/100