Reviews

This was a decent read, I enjoyed it well enough. Loki is such a complex character, you never really know whether you want to support him or not. I think this book showcased him really well although I felt there was a bit of a pacing issue. I’m not fully satisfied with the ending, it felt like there should have been more but wasn’t. But nonetheless, I was entertained throughout.

melynna21's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

soggylibros's review

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adventurous reflective 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

4.75

savingff's review

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mysterious sad tense

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

2.75

I had high hopes for this book, but they were dashed.

You've got common fanfiction tropes like Odin's A+ Parenting and Loki's angst about not fitting in Asgardian society because he's a magic user.

I really hated the mirror. It would have been way more interesting and relatable to see their father and son relationship deteriorate because of their flaws, actions, and ideology. Instead we get a mirror that can show the future making Odin distrust Loki, and that makes their character dynamic so much less compelling.

I also didn't like how they treated Thor's character. Although Thor clearly loves Loki, Thor is written in a way that is designed to make Loki look better. And we never get to see Thor grow because he is dropped out of the story for the most part after Loki is sent to Earth.

Amora was wasted potential. Her friendship with Loki at the beginning was relatively sweet and her killing people to survive Midgard because she chose to take the blame for something Loki did was so tragic, but she goes through a whole character arc we don't get to see develop. We see her friends with Loki then the next time we see her, she's evil.

The Earth characters were also really bland. Loki's development with them does not feel believable. Loki starts out disliking them, then liking them over a small bit of time that the author seemed to quickly skim through.

Gem was pointless is this story and he quietly drops out the story after Mrs. Sharp dies. Theo Bell was the most interesting of the Midgardian characters, but there wasn't a lot of chemistry between him and Loki.

It also doesn't help the Earth characters that the most emotional tension Loki has is with his relationship to his brother and father. Loki spends a lot of time thinking about them, so it's a big let down that we barely get to see Loki interacting with Odin and Thor beyond the bare minimum.

The plot was really predictable, except for one thing, which I will talk about later.

It was obvious Amora was responsible for the killings. She was banished to Earth and then a bunch of people suddenly die from magical causes on the planet she was exiled to. There was no one else it could have been.

I also figured that the vision of Loki leading the living dead to Asgard in the mirror was not going to play out the way the characters were expecting, that it was going to be some kind of misunderstanding, and i was right.

I think a lot of the problems with this book is that it tries so hard to appeal to fans of the MCU. I don't think it's MCU canon, but at this point of time it doesn't contradict the films. Everything feels so confined to the canon of MCU movies. And because of that there is no sense of unpredictability. You know Loki can't betray Asgard with an army of the undead or discover he is a frost giant in this book, that would contradict the films!

I'm not sure if this was the author's intent, but I suspect that whole bit about Earth draining magic users was supposed to be a way of explaining why Thanos gave Loki the mind stone in the first Avengers movie!

This book could have really benefited from a few small changes to let the reader know that things will be different from the MCU. like changing Frigga's name to Freya, as that is what she is often called in the comics.

The only thing I did like was Loki. He was a good character, really flawed and relatable. I didn't expect Loki to have stolen the stones. I thought Amora had stolen them. People typically don't expect the POV character to hide things from them. The clues, such as Loki's desperation to find the stones, and a line earlier of Loki saying he might engineering a conflict to look like a hero, were all excellent hints to him being the thief. It was a good twist because it made absolute sense in hindsight.

Content Warnings

bontae's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-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

3.0

savschi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

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