Why I picked up this book:

Sarah is one of the loveliest people I know, and she’s got a wicked dark sense of humor, which is probably why we get along so well. I was lucky enough to read an early iteration of Double-Crossing the Bridge years ago, and again recently when her ARCs came out. This story is so left of center from my usual books, but I absolutely fell in love with Granu and her crew, and of course who can resist those damn meddling billy goats!

This review may contain spoilers.

Double-Crossing the Bridge

Rent in New Metta is through the cavern ceiling. When Granu barely survives her first gig teaching students who attempt to fillet her for lunch, the baby-eating troll ends up unemployed and facing eviction. Granu’s only prospect for income is grueling work in the tar pits. That is, until her playboy best friend devises a perfect, if suicidal, scheme—a heist! The Covered Bridge, the largest source of income for the city, has New Metta well under hoof. In a week, TCB Corporation pulls in enough cash to buy a small country. It’s the ideal target, but security is top-notch. Granu needs three things to survive this heist: a crew of specialists, impenetrable sun protection, and gallons of grog. There’s just one thing Granu doesn’t plan for—those damn meddling billy goats.

5 stars for Sarah! Though there’s honestly a scene with one of the goats that is a 15-star, coffee-spitting moment that should be preserved in stone.

What I loved:

Can we just say everything? From the fried fairy wings to flying unicorn poop, this book takes the bizarre and flips it on its head.

But seriously, I adored Granu, an ex-teacher nearly eaten by her students when they hit troll puberty. She’s a character who’s just trying to make it to the next day, and the day after that, and each small struggle in her life pushes her closer and closer to a wreckless decision that takes all the normality in her life and throws it out the window. She’s single, she’s trying to make it on her own, and she’s got a stubborn pride that keeps her strong from the beginning to the end. Well, minus her walk of shame, of course. But what I adore most about Granu is she takes that near-tragedy in her life and puts it to good use later in the book, and the results are hilarious.

What I loved most though (aside from the goats, of course) is that this dark, quirky comedy pulls out all the weird. Just when you think you’ve got this world figured out, a human shows up. Then you finally get your stomach to settle from the outrageous foods the trolls eat, and you learn about cleaning sniggles and need to throw up all over again.

Double-Crossing the Bridge reimagines the tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff gone bad and subverts it to the view of the trolls in this hilarious heist caper. There wasn’t a single character I didn’t love, and I adore how they each had such a strong role and deep characterization interwoven into the overall narrative.

What the book needs more of:

More goats! Their role wasn’t as large in this story, but damned if I didn’t keep searching for more of them, especially during the ‘squeak’ scene where I nearly fell out of my chair with laughter. I can’t wait for Sarah’s next iteration into this world. More goats please!

Overall:

If you like anything dark and twisted, or just need something different from an average fantasy, definitely pick up Double-Crossing the Bridge. It’s Deadpool meets the original Grimm tales with a whole lot of WTF going on. I can’t wait for Sarah’s next book as she has me as a reader for life.

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