Scan barcode
anniedelsignore's review
Ughhhh another DNF. I'd tried starting this book multiple times and this time, I actually got about 70 or so pages in before quitting. For as interested as I am in the concept, I just can't get into it.
ibidreads's review
5.0
I love Tessa Gratton’s writing, and I make no secret of it. I met her at an author visit and thought she was super sweet and fun.
The Lost Sun has such beautiful language. Sometimes I would just read certain passages again and again.
“The words sink down through my skin and embed themselves in my bones.” – pg 5.
“He is the only god who dies at all. And that makes him the one most like us.” – pg 17.
The novel has a certain intensity. It questions what it means to accept your fate or choose to challenge it. (I can totally imagine Merida from Brave reading this book and saying “If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?”)
The Norse mythology is well-written, but definitely not quite what I expected. The mythology element just blends so well with the modern setting that it never once seemed like too much or too odd. It is a very unique element, and I always love when a book gives me something I’ve never read before.
There is some excellent character growth throughout the whole novel. Everyone in the story plays a role and changes in some way as the novel progresses, which is a tendency I’ve noticed in Gratton’s writing.
The ending is perfectly imperfect. I am eager to read the second book in The United States of Asgard series.
Review and giveaway also posted at italicbooks.wordpress.com.
The Lost Sun has such beautiful language. Sometimes I would just read certain passages again and again.
“The words sink down through my skin and embed themselves in my bones.” – pg 5.
“He is the only god who dies at all. And that makes him the one most like us.” – pg 17.
The novel has a certain intensity. It questions what it means to accept your fate or choose to challenge it. (I can totally imagine Merida from Brave reading this book and saying “If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?”)
The Norse mythology is well-written, but definitely not quite what I expected. The mythology element just blends so well with the modern setting that it never once seemed like too much or too odd. It is a very unique element, and I always love when a book gives me something I’ve never read before.
There is some excellent character growth throughout the whole novel. Everyone in the story plays a role and changes in some way as the novel progresses, which is a tendency I’ve noticed in Gratton’s writing.
The ending is perfectly imperfect. I am eager to read the second book in The United States of Asgard series.
Review and giveaway also posted at italicbooks.wordpress.com.
librarianpirate's review
5.0
What the heck is up with the cover with the white boy? My cover has a black Soren, as is proper. This book is perfection. I'm gonna finish a few other books in in the middle of before I drive into #2 but it'll be torture
mckitterick's review
5.0
I love Gratton's United States of Asgard books. Because I have to read so much for the Campbell Memorial Award and student writing, her US of A books ([b:THE LOST SUN|13021366|The Lost Sun (The United States of Asgard, #1)|Tessa Gratton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362068810s/13021366.jpg|18183974] and book 2, [b:THE STRANGE MAID|18301603|The Strange Maid (The United States of Asgard, #2)|Tessa Gratton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396739924s/18301603.jpg|25790139]) are the first novels I've read for fun in months. And what a perfect pleasure these are!
I could hardly put down [b:THE LOST SUN|13021366|The Lost Sun (The United States of Asgard, #1)|Tessa Gratton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362068810s/13021366.jpg|18183974] - the first time that happened for a few months! It's a love-story road-trip through a fantastic alternate USA where the Norse gods actually live and interact with us, from the point of view of a troubled young berserker. No easy solutions here, and it'll keep you up late reading how things work out for our protagonists, too.
If you like alternate history, Norse mythology and gods, romance, YA fantasy, and the triumph of the human spirit, you'll love this book. Be sure to also read book 2, [b:THE STRANGE MAID|18301603|The Strange Maid (The United States of Asgard, #2)|Tessa Gratton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396739924s/18301603.jpg|25790139], which gets even more wonderful!
I'm really looking forward to Gratton's next work.
I could hardly put down [b:THE LOST SUN|13021366|The Lost Sun (The United States of Asgard, #1)|Tessa Gratton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362068810s/13021366.jpg|18183974] - the first time that happened for a few months! It's a love-story road-trip through a fantastic alternate USA where the Norse gods actually live and interact with us, from the point of view of a troubled young berserker. No easy solutions here, and it'll keep you up late reading how things work out for our protagonists, too.
If you like alternate history, Norse mythology and gods, romance, YA fantasy, and the triumph of the human spirit, you'll love this book. Be sure to also read book 2, [b:THE STRANGE MAID|18301603|The Strange Maid (The United States of Asgard, #2)|Tessa Gratton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396739924s/18301603.jpg|25790139], which gets even more wonderful!
I'm really looking forward to Gratton's next work.
justmeandmytech's review
5.0
This book was absolutely wonderful! I picked it up because I am doing an independent study on how Norse mythos is presented in Pop Culture, but once I started reading this book that flew out of my head. I couldn't put it down, and I cried over a book for the first time in a long time.
Soren and Astrid are wonderfully developed characters, but I was surprised to find myself growing as attached to them as I did. All of the characters in that commit had my heart.
And, as a practicing pagan, it was so interesting to see the way Gratton morphed our modern society and the focus on Judeo-Christian religions into a world where the gods are still present and important, and a society that came from the North. It was a very cool thing to see a book where the pagans aren't the weird ones for once.
11/10, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes coming of age stories, Norse Myth, in-depth world building, or just a really good book to sit down and read.
Soren and Astrid are wonderfully developed characters, but I was surprised to find myself growing as attached to them as I did. All of the characters in that commit had my heart.
And, as a practicing pagan, it was so interesting to see the way Gratton morphed our modern society and the focus on Judeo-Christian religions into a world where the gods are still present and important, and a society that came from the North. It was a very cool thing to see a book where the pagans aren't the weird ones for once.
11/10, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes coming of age stories, Norse Myth, in-depth world building, or just a really good book to sit down and read.
reynoble's review
4.0
I adored this book. Absolutely adored it. It took me a little bit to get into it, but fifty pages in I was obsessed. Soren was such a wonderful lead character, and so different from anyone I've ever had the pleasure to read. I loved how down to Earth he was, and I loved how he ended up coming to all of his decisions and conclusions. I felt like I related to himmuch more than I have to many MC's in a long time, and reading Soren was like reading an extension of myself.
One thing I loved about this story was how, at the base, it was a love story. A love story between more than just a boy and a girl, but humans and their god, gods and their humans, and gods among gods. I loved all of the different sort of relationships that were examined through out the novel, as well as the different dynamics between all of the characters. Ultimately, without spoilers, this was a very good book to start the new year out with. I'm incredibly content with it, and the ending was absolutely satisfying.
One thing I loved about this story was how, at the base, it was a love story. A love story between more than just a boy and a girl, but humans and their god, gods and their humans, and gods among gods. I loved all of the different sort of relationships that were examined through out the novel, as well as the different dynamics between all of the characters. Ultimately, without spoilers, this was a very good book to start the new year out with. I'm incredibly content with it, and the ending was absolutely satisfying.
More...