The Innkeeper's Daughter

3.5 stars
This one wasn't my favorite of Griep's works. It was hard to get through some parts and also some of the visceral descriptions of violence, while brief, were still enough to turn my stomach. There were a few hiccups in pacing that made it easy to lay the book aside more than once before the halfway point, but once I got past the halfway point the suspense ramped up steadily, so while it took me weeks to get there, the second half went very quickly.

Johanna was an interesting character, and while I understood her antagonism toward the world, that's partly why I had a hard time with the beginning just because her shrill attitude rubbed me wrong, and I kept wanting to correct her for how she whined at her younger brother. But she gets better. :) except for one decision she makes, which is necessary to drive the story forward, but which made me want to shout at her “In what universe is this a good or feasible idea?”

Alex was very intriguing but I also didn't like his gambling habit. He seemed to be so much of a drifter and I'd have liked a bit more detail about his history, which wasn't filled in as well as Johanna's. What happens to him in the course of the story broke my heart, though, and made me want to cry over him!

Griep's storytelling is best in the colorful visuals of what's going on around her characters, and I relished the almost tangible settings the story shows.

I did want to hear more of what happened to Mr. Nutbrown and even Johanna's mother and brother. The ending came very quickly, and I'd have liked at least another chapter. :)

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for a free reading copy. I ended up buying a hard copy and the review is based on the final copy, not the ARC ebook. A favorable review was not required.