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meridith_bex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
kale_abomination's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
booksalacarte's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
4.75⭐️3🌶️
Adult Fantasy Romance
Viking inspired
20yo FMC
Dual POV
Journeying
Disabled Side cCharacters
Unique Magic System
Slow burn
Found Family
Complicated Characters
Secret Identities
Forced Proximity
Tw: murder, addiction
I should have read this sooner.
I heard about it through mutuals and it has been on my TBR for a long time. I was so excited to get an arc of it which made me hike it up on my never ending TBR.
This was such a refreshing read! The plot was intriguing. The world building was slow, but well done. It didn’t distract for the story, and never felted like an info dump. The magic system has only been revealed when needed. And usually that annoys me, or makes me think it’s not been well thought out… but in this instance, I think it suits the plot really well.
The beginning was slow to get into. I was waiting for the FMC to get to a decently capable point, and it took a while. But the further I read, the more I had to keep reading. The plot was surprising, the characters unique and I was so angry when the twist happened! That character better get what’s calming to them!!
The first PoV is the FMC and very compelling. Orphan on the run with a secret even she doesn’t know about.
The second POV introduces us to another girl… the enemy, essentially, hunting for the first FMC by the order of the mysterious queen.
Third POv is the blond mercenary with a troubled past.
4th POV is the band leader who is as tight lipped and mysterious as anyone.
The beginning was hard to get into, I was waiting for the FMC to get to a decently capable point, and it took a while. But the further I read, the more I had to keep reading. The plot was surprising, the characters unique and I was so angry when the twist happened! That character better get what’s calming to them!!
The love triangle-ish had me on the edge of my seat! I was so intrigued by how the romance would play out.
Thank God I have an ARC of the second book… cause I would not do well with that cliffhanger and POV addition if I had to be patient and wait until February, when it is going to be released.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine, Dellacorte Press for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
wickeddelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
~~**Spoilers Below**~~(Although not a lot of them)
The author did a good job of maintaining a voice throughout the whole story that helped with the immersion in the setting. Phrases were worded in such a way that it was easy to imagine it being spoken by someone in a fantasy nordic setting.
The power/magic systems were really interesting and easy to follow, and most of the flora and fauna was pretty unique.
Where the story has some pitfalls for me is in some of the pacing. For a while during the travels the days/chapters could be summed up with "Silla cooked the daymeal. Jonas and Rey brooded by the fire. The others played dice, with maybe a bit of training and fun banter with Hekla on the side. And while it is very clear that Silla is struggling with an addiction, sometimes the thoughs revolving leaves felt overwhelming to read. I'm not saying that as a bad thing neccisarily (I honestly think thats the point) but I thought it worth noting nonetheless.
And while one of the things I praise highly of this book happenes to be the immersive speech, sometimes it felt like it could make sections drag a tiny bit.
Alllll of that said. I really enjoyed this book, and I am excited to read book two.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Norse inspired, slow burn, adventure, duologyjocogr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit and Medical trauma
hobostan's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
wollfaden's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really liked the writing style and the pace, even though it seemed a bit to slow in the first half (would describe the pace in the first half as medium)
All in all it was a good read. The plot twist were kinda predictable but not badly made.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
soniajoy98's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry