Frostborn by Lou Anders

Karn is supposed to be taking over his father's farm; it's part of his heritage.  He'd rather play Thrones and Bones, but he has no choice.  Thianna is half human and half giant.  She's too small to be a giant and too big to be a human.  She has some good physical skills while Karn is good at mind games.  They'll need both those skills in this story.

Crown Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy now.

This the beginning of a new series and I liked it a lot.  You have a dragon, wyverns, Viking-like warriors, dead that can walk the land, trolls, traitors and even crabby giants.  Karn meets Thianna at the big marketplace event and likes her.  When his uncle betrays him, he's going to need her help to stay alive.  Of course, she needs his help for the same reason.

I was as surprised as Karn was over who the traitor was.  His uncle was kind, understood his frustration with inheriting the farm, and seemed content with his lot.  Then he lies to Karn and Karn's father dies trying to defend Karn.  That made my heart hurt.  But don't lose hope yet.

It's full of high adventure, exciting escapes and the story is just getting started.  It has all the elements that attract me to a story:  magical creatures, unusual characters, good versus evil, and lots of adventure.  I'm already looking forward to seeing what happens next in Karn's and Thianna's lives.  You know it's not going to be boring!