Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - A Fate Inked In Blood

This book was interesting, but not an amazing book. It was also not a bad book either, and I enjoyed the interesting world and magic and how the gods interact with mortals. However I don't think the fated and unfated concept of the story was written consistently, so sometimes it didn't make sense because somehow the unfated individuals were also fated. I honestly don't know if ideas surrounding fate mattered because of the way it was written so that they sometimes fated and unfated meant the same thing. I think in the next book it would help if this was explained more clearly and definitely more consistently. I am still interested in reading the second book when it comes out because I am curious about Harald's character as well as the Nordeland side of things. The ending of this book answers some questions, while also instilling in me enough curiosity to want to read the second book. Also I wish there was more variety in the types of euphemisms used here because it starts to get silly when the same thing is used too often in sexual scenes. This applies to the book generally as well because there's a bit of unneeded repetition, and it was annoying when Bjorn would pick up Freya and on three different occasions in the first quarter she was as light as a child to him each time. I get that he is strong, but there's got to be something else we can use. But I am just being nitpicky here because the writing style of the book was fine and this was an easy read.

I thought the ending was cool and certainly interesting, but I do have some qualms about the it so here is a long rant exploring my thoughts:

So, it was clear there was a traitor within the ranks of Snorri's close group. I kept switching back and forth between Ylva and Steinnun as the culprit. At the end, we discover that Freya's fierce claim that it was Ylva was misguided, and frankly if Bjorn was honest earlier, this wouldn't have happened. We know that Bjorn was working for Harald to bring Freya to him and essentially out of Snorri's hand, which is great, but he should have told Freya way earlier. However, I don't think Bjorn was the betrayer per say, because it wouldn't make sense that he would have Skade come after them (unless this is just a slip in the narrative somehow). So, it must have been Steinnun and she was perhaps restless that Bjorn wasn't doing his job. Bjorn working directly with Harald was a big surprise, even though that I heavily expected Snorri was Saga's murderer and not Harald. I knew Harald was good to Bjorn, but did not think that Bjorn was a secret agent. I did expect him to return to Harald, but only because he knew he was his true family, not because he was doing a job. I guess these are basically the same thing, but for some reason my mind feels the latter idea is more genuine, but whatever that is not the point. The point is, it is really really messed up he never told Freya what was really happening because it really seems like it could have prevented the death of Bodil and Freya's mother. But instead, all he said was she should run away so she would be safe, when he should have said she should run away because Snorri is bad, Harald is chill, and you'll kill a lot of people otherwise because my mom said so. Overall, I understand Bjorn has been through a lot and just wants to be in a relationship with Freya, but he did not go about this correctly at all and this ending doesn't really make Bjorn a character who makes honest mistakes because of his past, but a character that is just straight up bad. Not as a bad person but a bad character that doesn't make any sense. I think his 'betrayal' of Skaland makes sense, but the way it was conveyed to Freya, who is so in love with her country, does not. There were back and forth hints that Ylva was and was not the traitor, but there should have been more hints of Bjorn telling Freya that Snorri is a bad man, and that maybe Nordelanders are different than they are portrayed. Then again, that last part doesn't make sense considering Harald was aligned with Gnut and therefore was complicit in a lot of people dying.

I think the book is a fun read, but a lot of things in the narrative didn't make too much sense when all brought together. I did think the thing about Hel being the second god in Freya was cool, even if it was very clear from the Fjalltinder ceremony which was mentally supported by the draug curse scene, I like that the little hints were there because that made it believable and understandable, which was what didn't happen as thoroughly with Bjorn. The Hel and Hlin story was very neat in general and I liked that a ton. Cool world, and even the ending was cool, but it kind of crashes the plot a bit because all the pieces of the narrative don't fit exactly well together. The ending does leave some cool questions for readers to anticipate being answered in the next book. How did Bjorn's family house really burn down? Is Bjorn saying Snorri set their house on fire (and why the heck didn't he try to subtly hint this to Freya earlier instead of making us think he basically killed his mom accidentally [yet this also doesn't make sense because everyone specifies a man murdered his mother])? I would also like to add that I predict Harald is somehow related to Loki because Hel never attempted to bring him down to Helheim (but if this is the case, this could cause a big ruckus from a thousand different lies being revealed in the next book so this worries me a bit, but I remain cautiously curious).

Content Warnings

glund_01's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

vixairy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

kaneebli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

ninav_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

kgreer's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

If you liked the video games … Skyrim or God of War, you may like this world based in Norse mythology!

My review:
I loved the setup of the book so much and was ready to give it at-least a 4.5 or better. However, I felt like the plot started to diverge into a different style. I think I know what the author was going for regarding the development of Freya (the main female character) but it started to feel weird and rushed. I think this honestly just comes down to preference so if I meet someone who loves reading and those aforementioned video games, I will still recommend the book. The ending was shocking, I will still probably read the second book especially to see how Freya evolves.

Please read the content warnings and my additional description!!!!

Content Warnings

melanielbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

Content Warnings

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