There’s something magical, that Sarah J. Sover has tapped into, with her debut novel, Double Crossing the Bridge. She’s taken a story we all know so well, The Three Billygoats Gruff, and put a modern, very adult, spin on it. In the city of New Metta, the corporation TCB, owns and manages the bridge which allows humans access to the world below. The bridge generates untold wealth and prosperity for the elite underlings of society, while lesser beings are left to fend for scraps.
Sarah has managed to take a beloved children’s story, and breath fresh new life into it. She has created a something that is rich with captivating characters, a unique world, and of course, a story that is begging to be told.
Granu, who is no longer deemed fit for her job as a teacher, is left to attempt the one thing no one has ever been able to do before. Steal as much as she and her lifelong friends Fillig and Kradduk can carry from TCB, and escape to a better life. This is of course, if those damn billy goats don’t get in the way.
Sarah’s strength easily relies on her ability to take something and turn it on its head. So often, a world where trolls and billy goats are at odds, is a world set in medieval times. Where you think of wooden bridges and stone arrowheads and maybe even Robin Hood. Instead, we’re greeted with cell phones, and laptops, and television. It’s utterly unique and amazing.
She has also managed to turn everything we as humans know and love on its head. General standards of beauty such as a short thin woman, or a tall bulky man, are completely reversed. The underlings delight in eating unicorn meat, and children as well. Even the act of marriage is tossed on its head, where a male who longs for a mate is ultimately considered a failure of a man, and therefore not worthy of a woman’s time.
Each new chapter bring hilarious new ways for our own world to be turned around and it’s just as amazing in the final pages, as it is in the beginning.
The book, like everything, is not without faults, though they mostly feel minor, and don’t detract from the overall story. Odd choices here and there are made by our group of thieving heroes, and at times the pacing feels just a little off. But in the end, all the strings that weave this hilarious story together are cleaned up nicely and create a wonderfully fun read.
Overall, I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars!
Double Crossing the Bridge is written by Sarah J. Sover, and published by The Parliament House. You can find links to purchase the book from the publishers website listed below, along with all the details on how to find Sarah, and The Parliament House. Synopsis in the comments.
Instagram: @sarahjsover
Twitter: @sarahjsover
Instagram: @theparliamentpress
Twitter: @parliamentbooks
Facebook: The Parliament House
#sarahjsover #doublecrossingthebridge #dctb #fantasyreads #theparliamenthousepress #TPHTours
Doores Ajar 
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.
LikeLike