The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Brodsky #Iamreading #fivestars #thewolfinthewhale #nottobemissed

​Omat is an Inuit born with special gifts that allow her to talk with the gods. When that gift is removed, she has to find out why and how to restore it. In Omat's culture, they believe the spirits of their ancestors live on. Omat believes she is man and woman and in her case, it is her father's spirit that lives within her.

Omat has to fight to keep her status as man and woman. She is tiny but can hunt better than most men. She is in constant turmoil as to her it is clear who she is, while others, like her milk brother, are not so sure. Winning the respect due to her is a tough battle and when she is raped, her female spirit is crushed yet she must obey the restrictions put on her by Inuit society. 

When the gods grow silent and her people are starving, Omat sets out on a journey to find food and her missing milk brother. Along the way, she finds a Viking who is hurt. She tends to his needs and eventually he follows her, vowing, reluctantly, to help her in her quest. Omat falls in love, activating her female spirit. Though she fights against it, eventually love wins.

Omat and Bandr discover a ship full of brutal Vikings on the shores of her homeland. She has never seen such tall people and in the ship that flounders Omat discovers the leader is a woman. Though Omat is taken prisoner, she grows to respect the cruel woman who leads a tribe of Viking men and a mysterious old crone who is more than she seems. 

Omat's only goal is to keep the Vikings away from her people. A spirit war begins that will be talked about through the years. A match between Viking gods and Inuit gods brought together by Omat and her quest. 

The author, Jordanna Max Brodsky, did an outstanding job in describing the Inuit in enormous detail. There is an old story about a wolf who runs into the ocean and becomes a whale, which is where Brodsky got the title for her book. Her characters jump off the pages, Inuit and Viking alike. Love and life and intimately woven through fables that come to life. Brodsky's attention to detail and research is outstanding. I can't say enough about how well The Wolf in the Whale is written.

Kudos to the author.

​Buy link here.