When I first heard about this, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I saw it hailed as a dark fairytale retelling, but I’ve been promised that many times by other stories that delivered on the “retelling” while leaving aside any hints of the “dark” aspect. Damsel, on the other hand, is exactly what it promises—an incredibly dark fantasy story that pulls no punches.

“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.”

The story itself is genuinely intriguing, and I loved Ama as a character. She’s so unapologetically herself, and she simply doesn’t grasp why things are the way they are, or why she’s expected to act or look certain ways. Even when she tries to make herself look small and sweet for the sake of self-defense, the rope always snaps and she comes out swinging in the end, a fighter in every sense of the word.

“The tastes of men are not all kind.”

Emory, on the other hand… I wanted to punch Emory in the throat from literally the first chapter. (I actually made a note in my eARC in chapter 1 saying as much.) He’s obsessed with himself and what he considers to be his heroic nature, and all of that’s even before the really terrible things about him come into play. Never trust the prince whose life goal is murdering a dragon, that’s what I always say… Emory embodies everything that’s wrong with the “damsel in distress” trope, the “Prince Charming” nonsense that films and books have fed us over the years, and the idea that any woman owes anything to a man who “saved” her from a dragon she never even sought rescue from.

Before Emory had saved her from the dragon, Ama had never been lonely.

Though there are multiple awful characters you will hate every moment of the way, and though the content is heavy and uncomfortable most of the time, the writing behind it all is so gorgeous and whimsical (despite a few phrases for genitalia that made me snicker), and Arnold is clearly skilled in her art. There are so many subtle things that came together in the end to surprise me, and I couldn’t put the story down because I constantly needed to know what would happen next.

“And if something is the way it has always been, who are we to wish it otherwise? Who are we to want anything at all?”

As for the dark subject matter: the heavy content is why this story meant so much to me. We see feminist fantasy stories released all the time in YA lately, but they’re usually tame and merely hint at issues. Damsel, on the other hand, takes those issues and shoves them right in your face, forcing you to address their existence. This book is full of sexual assault (some of it explicit), abuse of humans and animals, misogyny, rape culture, self-harm, and suicide. Through all of that, it’s clear that Arnold is fed up with the state of the world and has refused to pull any punches in her writing, and I applaud her for that brutal honesty.

“I have learned, lady, that ‘why’ is a dangerous word.”

A lot of people are questioning whether Damsel should be marketed as YA fantasy. While I wouldn’t otherwise have a problem with it being YA (as I’m a big believer that what teens read should be between them and their parents—plenty of teens will be able to handle this content without issue), a part of me thinks it would be better if Damsel was marketed to an adult audience, simply because I don’t feel like this story deserves to be punished for its truthfulness.

“Wild beasts are not meant to be tamed.”

All in all, if you’re interested in picking up a copy of Damsel, please be aware of the trigger warnings going into it. I have read a ridiculous amount of YA fantasy in my life, and very rarely has any of it made me feel quite as bothered and anxious as this book did. That said, I genuinely believe that sometimes—if we can handle it—we need to feel disgusted, to be reminded of just how toxic our society’s treatment of women can be. If you can stomach it, Damsel is the perfect resource to take you there.

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Balzer + Bray for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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