Title: Secrets of the Mountain
Series: None
Year: 2021
Author: Wyn Estelle Owens
Synopsis: If there’s one thing Svanhilda has always known, it’s the importance of family. When her little sister Rósfrída was born, Svanhilda promised her mother that she and her sister would stick together. But as the years passed, tragedy after tragedy befell her family, ripping it apart piece by piece, until only Svanhilda remains at home with her ailing mother. And Rósfrída? She has stayed with Svanhilda, as they promised long ago—every time Svanhild looks at her reflection, she sees her little sister instead, trapped in a prison of mirrors and treasure. Their only hope is that either their seafaring Father or Rósfrída’s strange bear friend might find a way to free her.
Tryggvi lost his mother and father a long, long time ago—so long ago that he barely remembers them. When a boy prince named Asbjǫrn finds him wandering in the woods, he takes Tryggvi home and calls him brother, and his parents welcome Tryggvi as their son. Some years later, Asbjǫrn leaves to study for a year… but he never returns, and is thought dead and gone.
But Tryggvi is convinced his brother still lives–and not without evidence. So, now that he is finally old enough, Tryggvi sets out to find Asbjǫrn, armed with his cat and an amber pendant which enables him to see the truth of things. And he will find out the truth and bring his big brother home. After all, he promised his baby sister he would, and that’s not a promise he’s willing to break.
On the mountain there is a cave, and in the cave there is a mirror, and in that mirror live two friends: a girl and a bear, trapped in secrets, imprisoned by treasures of great worth. But help is coming, and the secret deeds done in darkness will be revealed, and the prisoners will be set free.
Review: I love that the fairytale Snow White and Rose Red is finally getting the love it deserves. There aren’t a ton of retellings out there, and it’s one of those fairytales that you instantly fall in love with and then worry over all the retellings being TOO similar. But this isn’t like any other SWRR retelling that I’ve ever read. This is one you’re definitely going to want to read.
(I’m going to apologize right now for neglecting to add in all the accents and letter markings for the various names. It was just a lot easier to pen this review without having to paste all of those in; and I’m also very thankful that I’m typing this review instead of speaking it, as many of the names I’m really not sure how to pronounce. Not a negative thing in the least, however. The more authentic names catered greatly to bringing out the culture and influence of the book.)
Svanhilda and Rosfrida are as close as sisters can be. They do everything together — much of which includes running all over their grandfather’s mountain at the wanderlust whims of Rosfrida. Their adventures together have given them all sorts of fun and new things to do, even meeting elves in different parts of the mountain. Svanhilda would do anything for her sister, and her love is put to the test when Rosfrida accidentally gets trapped in a mirror. A giant bear and a looking glass are Svanhilda’s only connections to her sister, but with little to no hope of freeing Rosfrida, despair begins to set in.
Tryggvi was an orphan all out on his own until Asbjorn came across him in the woods. Asbjorn has always wanted a younger brother to love, so he doesn’t waste any thought before adopting the lost lad. Their brotherhood bond only grows stronger until the day Asbjorn leaves for a year-long study on the mountain and never returns. Years pass, and — despite everyone else’s doubts — Tryggvi believes his brother is still alive. And once he gets his chance to go on the mountain, he’ll bring Asbjorn home.
The sibling relationships in this book were just the best. Svanhilda patiently interacting with her younger and very active sister I could definitely relate to as an older sister myself. And I especially love that we got a little “found family” with Tryggvi and Asbjorn, which is still just as rewarding, but a different dynamic than blood siblings. And I’ll say it here: Tryggvi was my favorite. He was just so likable from his very first scene, and he had the best stick-to-it, yet gentlemanly, attitude. Plus, his interaction with Allvaldi was just gold. Okay, his interactions with everybody were gold. *shrugs* Tryggvi was just the best.
The worldbuilding was just so VAST. I kinda lost track of some of the minor characters and forgot if they were whole/half elf or dwarf. But the world itself was super rich and diverse, and the different aspects fit so nicely into the SWRR storyline. The way Wyn incorporated one original fairytale element in particular was PERFECT, and I’ll try not to spoil it for everybody with my fangirling. There was so much to notice and love about the original fairytale coming through this story, so two thumbs up in the retelling department from me.
One of the things I wasn’t too thrilled about was the pacing of the book. The first part, while setting up some nice scenes of the sibling relationships deepening, was a bit longer than it probably should have been. While it was nice to be present as a reader for those scenes, they did drag some and reading them got a bit tedious. The time Wyn spent building up so many things in the beginning made me think that she was setting up for a big epic, but the story never grew to that length. If I’m honest, this book actually isn’t super long. I myself read it in a couple of hours, and I enjoyed getting to read it all like that in one good chunk.
But I still have questions! I want to know more of Tryggvi’s heritage, the significance of his parents and what really happened to them (which, unless I’m forgetting something, we really didn’t get an answer for). I wanted so much more in the denouement, and now I’m realizing I may just need a sequel. *coughs*
Anyway, let’s just take a moment to bask in all the SWRR gloriousness in this book. Because we need to. Because SWRR. *basks* We need more retellings like this. Not just ones of SWRR (but obviously we need those), but ones that really focus on being true to so many of the fairytale’s original elements while still feeling fresh and unique.
Advisory: Some fantasy violence, but nothing major. Characters get ill, a few die, a bit of fighting is described, but again — nothing graphic or overly scary. The way the climax played out made me feel that the book would be a great read for younger audiences since it wasn’t super intense.
Obviously, magic. As per the original fairytale, a character is literally turned into a bear. The dwarves and elves within the world each have different kinds of magic, but to me they felt very fantasy-like, the magic they did being more talents and skills than casting spells. Many of them can “smell” different kinds of magic, so that played an interesting part to the story. It really didn’t bother me.
There are a few scenes that suggest there are higher, magical authorities, but I struggled a little in understanding their role exactly — not quite like a God/gods, but more like angels/guardian angels/messengers, almost? It may have been just me, however, and the fact that I probably don’t know my Norse mythology and its components well enough.
And romance. There’s really not anything to worry about here — all very clean and light. Not even a kiss. *nods seriously* I enjoyed both couples very much, particularly the younger couple and their fun scenes, but I have to admit I was actually wanting a little more. [SPOILER ALERT] Svanhilda and Asbjorn made a great couple, and they were cute together, but I felt that their romance was a little rushed. They had great interaction as friends early on, but there really wasn’t anything romantic mentioned until nearer the end. I would have loved to see more hints at their budding relationship before they started talking about courting. [END SPOILER]
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
*Please note: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. And also this review is very much overdue — sorry, Wyn!*
A Synesthete Writer 