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blacksphinx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This is the first book I've ever finished my skimming the last ~80 pages. It was a book club pick and something I had been highly anticipating. I've been craving a Norse fantasy and this author came highly recommended to me. Oh man, where do I start?
Our protagonist was so insufferably stubborn and I found no redeeming qualities in her. I'm not sure she does one action that someone asks her to for the entire book, even if they would have been to her benefit. She's so hot-and-cold, changing her mind at the drop of a hat to whatever course of action would be the least convenient for her and the people around her. I wanted to like her! I especially loved that opening scene with her love interest; they had banter that I actually enjoyed!? But I was so frustrated with her by the end I couldn't enjoy anything about their romance.
I predicted one of the big main twists from the first moment it was foreshadowed. The other big twist was something I guessed was probably going to happen. It didn't feel fun, it didn't feel like I can solved the author's intricate puzzle and now I was in on it. I spent a lot of this book going "are you serious?" and "how it is not obvious to you!"
The magic makes NO sense and was a constant source of irritation. People who possess the blood of a god are "unfated" and both do not have a destiny/fate of their own and can change the destinies of those around them... but can also be the center of a prophecy and two of them can be destined to be together? How does that make sense!
The final cherry on top is that I could not help but notice the number of named female charactersthat die or betray Freya compared to the named men. Every time I hoped Freya would form a friendship with another woman, something would happen to destroy that relationship.
I am so grateful I hesitated on preordering this book, and will not be continuing with the series.
Our protagonist was so insufferably stubborn and I found no redeeming qualities in her. I'm not sure she does one action that someone asks her to for the entire book, even if they would have been to her benefit. She's so hot-and-cold, changing her mind at the drop of a hat to whatever course of action would be the least convenient for her and the people around her. I wanted to like her! I especially loved that opening scene with her love interest; they had banter that I actually enjoyed!? But I was so frustrated with her by the end I couldn't enjoy anything about their romance.
I predicted one of the big main twists from the first moment it was foreshadowed. The other big twist was something I guessed was probably going to happen. It didn't feel fun, it didn't feel like I can solved the author's intricate puzzle and now I was in on it. I spent a lot of this book going "are you serious?" and "how it is not obvious to you!"
The magic makes NO sense and was a constant source of irritation. People who possess the blood of a god are "unfated" and both do not have a destiny/fate of their own and can change the destinies of those around them... but can also be the center of a prophecy and two of them can be destined to be together? How does that make sense!
The final cherry on top is that I could not help but notice the number of named female characters
I am so grateful I hesitated on preordering this book, and will not be continuing with the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, Vomit, and War
Minor: Kidnapping
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I liked the beginning, got frustrated in the middle, and didn't like the ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexism, Excrement, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Gore, Domestic abuse, and War
reka111's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I will be at your back until I cross the threshold to Valhalla, Born-in-Fire, whether you want me there or not.
I know I should feel something, I know I should, but I can't. I'm so damn empty, but it's just my fault. I honestly don't know if I liked it or not.
Freya, by the way, was a very likeable and strong protagonist, full of fire and will to do something, self- sacrifice, I loved her very much. Bjorn and I had a harder time, but eventually I was able to love him too.
The plot was understandable, magical, full of suspense and, to my chagrin, infinitely predictable. I liked that there were several perhaps lesser-known gods in the book, mortals born with different powers who shuttle somewhere between greatness and hell for their blessing. The pace was right and the composition was nice, I liked that. The end was well concluded and we got a kind of cliffhanger, so that was perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent and Vomit
amy14's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Vomit, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, and War
snowdropdaisy's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit
bookishkale's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I really wanted to love this book, I wanted to be swept away by a Norse inspired romantasy and have so much fun. Sigh… this book just has a lot of problems and the bad things that outweigh the good.
First of all - the pacing doesn’t work for this kind of book. I needed like two full chapters of Freya in her hometown to establish some things. It just felt very rushed into the story, and even if that’s the point, it doesn’t work. How am I supposed to want to follow these characters when I know barely anything about them? It reflects in the romance as well. It’s quite literally instalust and it’s exhausting by the time feelings get revealed. The tension feels half baked when the main characters both seem half a second from jumping each other’s bones for most of the book. Yes, the spice was good but almost not worth it , since it doesn’t happened until the last bit of the book. Also, there is so much movement in the book, like I don’t think they stay in the same place until 75% for more than a week, and we don’t even see that time on page before they’re off again.
Additionally - the characterization was so rough. Everyone felt flat, even Freya. She spends the whole book getting carted around, almost whining that this is happening. She ‘shows’ agency but it’s so minimal and gets shut down so quick that it’s almost not worth it. I felt like the author banked on misogyny and threats to be the reason Freya wasn’t a strong character, when she just didn’t develop her enough. Bjorn was just a hot dude (literally) and is really just there to give Freya something to lust over. He could have been interesting too! I really dislike when a main character’s family or the secondary characters in their life are just horrid people to make the main character look better. It’s exhausting! Those characters can have development too! They can grow too!! Making other characters shitty does not make your main character more interesting! It’s so unfortunate because I wanted to like Freya and Bjorn! I wanted to root for them!
The prose is the better part of this book, same with the plot concept. When the plot was happening, and at a reasonable pace, it was engaging! I really think this book just needed to settle, find some footing in a place and give us the feel of the world. It’s just a romance with some fantasy sprinkled in if you don’t actually develop the world around you. I’m hoping that the author takes more time in the next book to give this world some depth because I think it had so much potentially to be a great romantasy in all aspects of the terms.
There’s a reason I didn’t rate this much lower than a 3, because I think with some editing and some expansion in some ways, with some cuts in others, this book could have been a solid 4+ read. I am not sure I’ll pick up the other book whenever it comes out, but we’ll see!
First of all - the pacing doesn’t work for this kind of book. I needed like two full chapters of Freya in her hometown to establish some things. It just felt very rushed into the story, and even if that’s the point, it doesn’t work. How am I supposed to want to follow these characters when I know barely anything about them? It reflects in the romance as well. It’s quite literally instalust and it’s exhausting by the time feelings get revealed. The tension feels half baked when the main characters both seem half a second from jumping each other’s bones for most of the book. Yes, the spice was good but almost not worth it , since it doesn’t happened until the last bit of the book. Also, there is so much movement in the book, like I don’t think they stay in the same place until 75% for more than a week, and we don’t even see that time on page before they’re off again.
Additionally - the characterization was so rough. Everyone felt flat, even Freya. She spends the whole book getting carted around, almost whining that this is happening. She ‘shows’ agency but it’s so minimal and gets shut down so quick that it’s almost not worth it. I felt like the author banked on misogyny and threats to be the reason Freya wasn’t a strong character, when she just didn’t develop her enough. Bjorn was just a hot dude (literally) and is really just there to give Freya something to lust over. He could have been interesting too! I really dislike when a main character’s family or the secondary characters in their life are just horrid people to make the main character look better. It’s exhausting! Those characters can have development too! They can grow too!! Making other characters shitty does not make your main character more interesting! It’s so unfortunate because I wanted to like Freya and Bjorn! I wanted to root for them!
The prose is the better part of this book, same with the plot concept. When the plot was happening, and at a reasonable pace, it was engaging! I really think this book just needed to settle, find some footing in a place and give us the feel of the world. It’s just a romance with some fantasy sprinkled in if you don’t actually develop the world around you. I’m hoping that the author takes more time in the next book to give this world some depth because I think it had so much potentially to be a great romantasy in all aspects of the terms.
There’s a reason I didn’t rate this much lower than a 3, because I think with some editing and some expansion in some ways, with some cuts in others, this book could have been a solid 4+ read. I am not sure I’ll pick up the other book whenever it comes out, but we’ll see!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Vomit
jasper_is_atypical's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I'm just tired of people calling an FMC strong or badass and then the MMC does all the fighting and planning and hard work and hero stuff. She literally sits around at points while he does all of the work, although she does try at points, overall she get's used and abused and just sits and takes it and then lashes out at the only people who actually care about her. She's not badass (when she is she's killing innocent civilians mostly) and every decision she makes for herself is a bad one. It was super disappointing thinking she would be this badass in control of her fate while she just let's herself get tossed around like a toy the entire book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Alcohol, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Blood, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death, War, Misogyny, Death of parent, Animal death, Sexism, Medical content, Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Grief, Gore, and Vomit
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Slavery, Rape, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Physical abuse
lisashelves's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, War, Vomit, Death, Sexual content, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent
soniajoy98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, War, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, Cursing, Murder, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Vomit
booksalacarte's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A Fate Inked in Blood
4.75⭐️ 3.25🌶️
Fantasy Romance
Viking Fantasy
Forbidden Romance
Gods
Magic
Secrets
War
Slow burn
Forced proximity
I really enjoyed this book so much! You could really tell that DLJ has grown as an author since her Bridge Kingdom series started. I am so excited to see where this series goes, I still have so many questions!
The magic system was interesting and the idea that everyone is fated, except the children of gods is an interesting way to approach the system.
The FMC was torn between her selfish nature and wanting to protect others. It’s such a real struggle that I was rooting for her and frustrated by her at the same time.
The plot was fairly steady. I didn’t feel like there were many lulls in the action, even when there was a break from fighting. The twists and turns were foreshadowed well and left just enough for me to still be surprised by the nature of the ending.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for a eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Cursing, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Alcohol, Murder, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, War, Kidnapping, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Death, Incest, and Violence