Pathfinder's Way

A Novel of the Broken Lands

By: T. A. White

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Trateri are about to learn a vital lesson of the Broken Lands. Deep in the remote expanse where anything can happen, it pays to be on a pathfinder's good side. Nobody ventures beyond their village. Nobody sane, that is. Monstrous creatures and deadly mysteries wait out here. Luckily for the people she serves, Shea's not exactly sane. As a pathfinder, it's her job to face what others fear and find the safest route through the wilderness. It's not an easy job, but she's the best at what she does. When the people she serves betray her into servitude to the Trateri, a barbarian horde sweeping through the Lowlands intent on conquest, Shea relies on her wits and skill to escape, disguising herself as a boy to hide from the Warlord, a man as dangerous as he is compelling. After being mistaken as a Trateri scout during her escape, Shea finds herself forced to choose between the life she led and the possibilities of a new one. Her decision might mean the difference between life and death. For danger looms on the horizon, and a partnership with the Warlord may be the only thing preventing the destruction of everything she holds dear.

©2016 Tobey White (P)2017 Tantor

4.5 Stars

4.5 Stars. This book was great. I loved it. I might have given it 5 stars just from listening to the audible but I switched to the kindle version a couple of times and noticed there were obvious editing misses.

Pathfinder's Way was really fun and exciting. It had angst and mystery, loyalty, friendship, and some romance. This book had so much. I loved that I was on the edge of my seat many times. I was emotionally invested in the characters in a big way.

The only critique that I have for the story is that I wish there would have been more to the ending, maybe an epilogue or even a setup for the next book. It felt a little too abrupt for me. When I love characters, I crave an epilogue.

I highly recommend this book. I look forward to reading more of this series and seeing more of these characters. This is absolutely worth an audible credit. The narrator did a really good job. I really enjoyed listening to this book.

Shockingly disappointing

After listening to Rules of Redemption, I rushed to get this book in the hopes it would have a similar entertainment value.

At first, the book was great. Action, adventure, intrigue--what's not to love, right?

But it all falls apart at the halfway point. For one thing, Shea totally avoids facing any of her problems. She just floats along in her circumstances, claiming that her inaction is smart when, in fact, it stinks of cowardice and self-delusion.

Shea still manages to form healthy relationships with some male friends, but those all get thrown down the toilet when she is forced to deal with her "love" interest. Which is stupid, because she complains about lonliness a lot. If she just drops people like that, displaying no loyalty or interest or effort whatsoever, of course she's going to be lonely! Her friends try to point out her self-destructive, passive-aggressive tendencies--they literally beg her to analyze her own behavior at one point--but Shea just ignores them and pats herself on the back.

And her romantic relationship is absolute hogwash. Shea is forced to deal with this prick because he refuses to give her space or respect the boundaries she gives him. And he treats her like a piece of trash.

For example, he tries to humiliate her in front of hundreds of people because it's his right, apparently. He sleeps with her a couple of minutes after she comes out of a drug-induced haze--drugs that were administered by him and his buddies without her knowledge or consent (reeeeeeee!). I'm also pretty sure one of those buddies watched them have sex without her knowledge, too. And Shea expresses the emotions of an abuse victim without EVER realizing she's being abused.

It turned my stomach. Why? Why?! Why does she suddenly stop thinking about the friends she spent almost a year on the road with, or the ones that were enslaved at the beginning? Why is she so blinded by this guy (who she spent all of like three hours with before succumbing to this ridiculousness)? Why isn't her love interest actually, oh, I don't know, LOVING?

It's so obvious that her best friend and mentor should have been the guy for her. They spent hours and hours together, they respect and trust each other even after seeing each other at their worst, and they've almost died countless times together. And they hold actual conversations (gasp!), ones that encourage growth and reflection rather than presenting as one giant power struggle. How could that not be the most intimate relationship of her life, especially considering the other options?!

God, it just chaps my hide. I honestly wish Shea had killed Fallon, the bastard. It would have been justifiable self-defense. Or, maybe she could have let herself be snatched by a giant eagle--sometimes, death is worth risking for the chance to escape someone like him. It's that, or be dead inside.

I also take umbridge with the fact that the only other significant female character is categorized as a snake, literally. Women that only give value and attention to the women they view as enemies have deep psychological issues against their own gender, often the side effect of internalizing objectification--that is to say, accepting and believing that your worth comes from how other people (especially men) value you, rather than loving yourself for your own intrinsic qualities. The effect is that you, in turn, objectify other women--their only value comes from whether or not they are a threat to your power or status or sexual partner because you believe these inconsistent things define your self-worth and must be protected above all else. Non-threats are simply ignored, or viewed as inferior. People with this type of view constantly experience doubt, low self-esteem, and are at war with the people around them. It is a TERRIBLE way to live.

The inability to admire and respect other women is a huge weakness--and I pity Shea for it.

A reviewer on goodreads also pointed out the constant justification of colonialism. This aspect is, indeed, present in a lot of conversations with the enemy. And Shea totally buys into it.

The concerning part for me is the presentation of all these issues. It feeds into the cycle of abuse and patriarchal inequality. For people with low insight, this book holds the real danger of normalizing and romanticizing terrible behaviors that could perpetuate those cycles in their real, everyday lives.

Hard pass.

Fantastic

This book was one of the best I’ve read. Not a straight romance for sure and over half the book you don’t really see the hero but it was FANTASTICALLY written and the heroine is seriously one of the best crafted, she is smart and has common sense and does just fine without him. But the story still manages to keep her famine and make the hero the dominant of the two. Overall would read it again and happily spend the money.

Not bad!

Ilona Andrews recommended this book in a recent blog post. I’m a huge Andrews fan, and between books at the moment, so I thought I’d give this series a try.

I’m not a big fan of the tropes used in this book (woman disguises herself as a boy, warlord-alpha) but I enjoyed the book anyway. The world-building is interesting and well-done, and I liked the characters.

Not sure if I loved it all enough to jump into the next book, but I didn’t hate it, and for me, that’s saying a lot. I wind up throwing so many books across the room in anger or frustration. This book didn’t get thrown. I finished it in two days. I enjoyed it. That’s gotta be worth something, even if I don’t continue with the series.

Maybe I’ll try a different series by the same author?

OK Read

This book started out great with a strong but flawed heroine. Then girl met boy and this wonderful book turned into a Harlequin romance. I don't mind books with romance as long as the woman remains strong and capable throughout the book. But I strongly dislike harlequin romance were the strong an capable woman turns in putty in the hands of a strong overbearing man. I am sure there are plenty of people who love harlequin romances and this book is for you. If you are not a fan, then move along.

Good story. Creepy and lazy at times

SLIGHT SPOILERS: The main character is great, except when she completely changes personality to progress plot. Steadily brave, creative, smart, and decisive. Then she’s flakey, anxious, and weak willed. Oh, and there’s this weird thing where she makes the main character okay with a bunch of rapey stuff being done to her because she is supposed to like the guy “when she’s honest with herself.” Oh and the rapey stuff is weirdly played off and written as flirty. I don’t mean being overly sensitive. Like grabbing her and saying, I’ll get what I want and she gets weak knee’d. This awesome, strong character is completely undermined a bunch of times and the guy is weirdly made to be uncharacteristically rapey. It was weird and creepy. He makes her feed him and then grabs at her and she gets all tingly.

Romance and monsters.

I loved this story. I’m always up for romance and monsters. The world building is intriguing, and I look forward to more monsters and/or myths that come. At first you imagine this is a fantasy world, but as the story moves along, you wonder could this be the future. While sometimes Shay was a bit immature, I did love the way she out witted them and laughed out loud at some of her antics. Some mention that Ilona Andrews recommended this story and since they are one of my favorite authors, I gave this a shot, so glad I did. Narrator does a great job.

It had so much promise...

I found this one hugely disappointing as I was enjoying the first half so much. I enjoyed the world building and our competent resourceful heroine who puts herself at risk to save others, has snark, and begins to learn lessons in trust and relating to others.
Then it devolves into this must be conquered by the barbarian romance. She looses any agency she has and starts acting like a teenager with sulks and foot stomping. Blech.

Favorite story enhanced with narration

I have read this book more than one time. I bought the audio version. when it came available so I had another option in how to enjoy the story. The narrator does a good job. Her pacing and voice for Shea are great. Definitely worth having in both print and audio

story first, relationship later.

this book had me hooked! and every time i thought it would turn into a staged romance... NOPE! Story kept on going developing more and more. it did get there eventually, along with the politics and drama that I was expecting.

so engaging that I bought the next book and sat in my car for 15 minutes to finish this story so I can start fresh on my morning commute next bc week

Good story

Really enjoyed this, and it was very nearly a 5 star read. However the last few hours with the relationship and plot line development let it down a bit - which is a shame after the rest of it was so great. Still very much recommend it regardless of that.

I got this because I enjoyed Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warprize, and this was a recommended read. I’d say that’s a pretty accurate recommendation.

WOW

One of the best book I've read it has everything without going over the top

Finally a strong female character!!

I absolutely loved this book! The main character was so kick ass and strong it was such a nice change front the usual damsel in distress rubbish that I’ve been listening to recently. I couldn’t put this down and listened to it within a day and a half!! Now I will admit it does have slightly slow start to it while itS trying to tell you about the characters and what not but that only lasts probably for an hour or so. The world she creates is absolutely amazing and is very vivid. The narrator did a wonderful job on the characters and you could really feel there personality coming out while she’s reading it. It has easily become one of my favourites.And I will definitely be checking out her other books

:-(

So the guy's wipes out whole villages . But hey , she fancies him , so why not .

Highly enjoyable

I found this to be a great story. I recommend it to anyone who looks for hours of entertainment :-)