Reviews with content warning for War - A Fate Inked in Blood

I received a copy of this book as part of my subscription to FairyLoot.
Freya has always dreamed of being more and fighting in battle. When her husband betrays her, she is forced to reveal to everyone that she is a shield maiden and has been blessed by the gods with incredible gifts. In order to keep Freya safe, Bjorn is tied to her via blood oath, because Bjorn is a fierce and ruthless warrior, and Freya's new husband's son. Now Freya is torn about who to protect, and trying to fight the desires she has on her own.
This is a smutty adult fantasy, so if you enjoy high stakes, high action, and sultry scenes, this might be the next fantasy for you.
Freya was an admirable character, and she seemed to have noble reasons for the decisions she makes, but I did not love her. Freya is so caught up in this idea that she has to protect her family and make decisions that are good for them, that she completely loses herself and what she wants as a person. Additionally, the people she is trying so desperately to protect clearly do not care about her in the same way, and it is infuriating to watch Freya bend over backwards for these people when they can barely bat an eyelash for her. Overall, she felt like a weak protagonist to me, but I hope that she has some personal growth throughout the series.
The magic system felt very approachable. I was able to follow along easily, and everything made sense. However, it was complex enough to keep my attention. This is definitely a difficult line to ride, especially with an introduction to a new fantasy series. Freya's magic was fascinating, and I really enjoyed the mystery around why she was blessed (or cursed) by the gods.
Freya and Bjorn seem pretty good together. It is difficult to determine in this book what everyone's true intentions are, but I am rooting for the pair to be together. I love how Bjorn is forcing Freya to see she is worth more than she is giving herself credit for.
I was pretty irate by the ending of this book, which, in this context, is probably a sign of quality writing. The book ends with a lot of unresolved issues, and what I believe is a major misunderstanding. It made me curious to pick up the next book, but I was also really upset by the outcome.
I will likely pick up the next book out of curiosity.

Content Warnings

alamayhem_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! It was such a wild ride from the very beginning of the book all the way to the end. I found myself enthralled and hooked by the world inside of the pages. Learning about all of the gods, their powers, and how children of the gods were affected was so intriguing!

This was my first ever Nordic Mythology book. I have to say the subject manner never really interested me, but I wanted to pick one up and give it a shot. I am sO glad that I did! It was so interesting, had me hooked, and I was so invested in the characters and all of the mythological lore present in the story.

Freya was such a badass FMC, I was living for it. I loved seeing her grow as a character, learn her worth, and ultimately make the best decisions for herself.

I was so happy when she finally decided to put her family in their place and make decisions based on her own wants and desires.

Freya and Bjorn — Freyorn was so hot and iconic, I was obsessed! I was rooting for them the entire time. At first when I read the synopsis of this book, I was like…the son? But when I actually read it, I was like, “YES, THE SON!” Hahah — the tension between them was perfection and had me practically screaming for them to get together already. The spicy scenes were written SO well and they were seriously so hot. 10/10 Bjorn…just saying.

The ending of this book. I will not go into extreme detail but all I will say is that I cannot wait for the next book! Danielle L. Jensen actually wrote this cliffhanger in a way that left me wanting to know what was going to happen next, but it did not make me upset. I was happy with the way it ended and how it left the story open to what would happen next. I seriously am so excited to keep reading Freya and Bjorn’s story!

Overall, I had such a good time reading this book and I am so happy that I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and read my first Viking romance. I am now obsessed with the genre and I cannot wait to read the next installment in this series. I rate this book 5/5 stars! 🌟

Content Warnings

literarypenguin's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, so I will say this book both was what I hoped for yet disappointed me at the same time.

Let's start with the pros and what I did like about the book. I really enjoyed the magic of this world, how the Norse gods can grant their magic through mortal children and give them access to abilities in their blood. I was really interested in the powers and how those gods magic can manifest into different ways, I was fascinated and eager to learn how all the different gods magic can be granted. I also liked the setting during the Viking era, I thought the world was well established and captured how the world was back in that time. It also showed how people lived back then, how men and women's roles were vastly different from each other. Freya as a character had moments where I felt for her, the feeling of being used by people who are supposed to care about you and getting tired of being seen that way added much more believability to her as a main character. Her rage moments were great to read and those scenes you could feel them coming through the pages! The banter between Bjorn & Freya was fun to read and certain conversations they had made me laugh. I could definitely see the chemistry between the two of them!

Now I want to list some of the things I didn't like about the book. In my opinion I felt like the relationship between Bjorn & Freya was a bit too insta love for me. If we had a couple more moments that showed them building feelings for one another then it could have worked a bit better. It was driven more on lust and you are begging them to go and sleep together already. I am hoping the second book does do more with Bjorn & Freya especially with what happens toward the end. They could have done more with the aspect of forbidden love, the two of them being forced to be apart because of the circumstances they are involved in. The middle half of the book did drag a bit and I felt like it slowed down during those parts. Freya's decisions did frustrate me at certain points, like when she kept defending the people who hurt her and used her. That did make me frustrated with her and I hope she works that out in the next book.

Overall I really enjoyed this release, I am excited for the second book to come out and can't wait to see what lies ahead for Freya & Bjorn. Where their relationship goes or if it survives at all.

Content Warnings

marissaumble's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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