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thekibbs101's review against another edition
1.25
I liked meeting Bjorn initially because I thought he would get Freya out of her marriage and I thought it was amusing. But then after he does somewhat help in that I just hate all the way the men talk about marriage. He’s the only character that I like besides Freya. The world they live in of marrying not for love is not what I enjoy reading. I started skimming at page 70 because I wanted to get to more enjoyable parts of the story but it wasn’t happening. I like when Freya are Bjorn are interacting but then I’m offended for Freya when he’s like not acting like he likes her anymore for a while. I had heard that the love interest has to protect the main character and train with her and that’s why I wanted to read this, that and I do want to read more fantasy romance. But the beginning is just so unenjoyable. And then it continued to be mostly unenjoyable the whole book. I kept going because I like training in books, but by page 250 they had only one training scene so I was like okay there probably won’t be any more and there wasn’t. I’m disappointed that the romance isn’t focused on more. Like I truly don’t get why all of these fantasy romance books don’t actually focus on the romance that much until the end of the book. I loved Fourth Wing so I have been wanting to read more fantasy romance, but like how am I the only one confused and disappointed by the romance taking the backseat of the plot? It’s also frustrating to me that most books I try to read lately do not interest me in the beginning and take hundreds of pages to get good. I’ve been dnfing so many books lately around page 50-150 if I’m not enjoying it but I did try harder with this one because I want to give it more of a chance since the parts I thought I would like hadn’t really happened yet. The way the main character only thinks about Bjorn as wanting him physically is also annoying and cringey. I’d rather read them falling in love but that’s just not shown to us very much. Freya does actually think later that she feels for him in her heart as well, but this story is just not for me at all. I like a more lighthearted book where the characters fall in love and the physical parts come after that. My rating is also not just based on my dislike and this book not being for me, I also found it just long and slow and repetitive. Every time Bjorn shows up, it’s written the same way. Freya turns around to find him standing there. Like the author could put more variety to how he shows up in a scene. Most of the characters are unlikeable. The plot revolves around something a seer said that may or may not be true. Freya repetitively has flashes of anger and all the other characters are also repetitive with their controlling and cruel nature. So much of the book is spent just talking about Freya. I don’t think those things make a good book. There are some lighthearted moments that made me keep going otherwise I would have dnfed this. I had a feeling that I wouldn’t enjoy the book until it focused more on the romance and that was correct, on page 351 I was like aww because of Freya and Bjorn and the only reason why I wanted to keep reading was to see them be together.
Spoiler thoughts / I liked how Freya was finally putting herself first and how he had been wanting her to and how protective he is of her. Bjorn is the best thing about this book and the stars I gave are just for him, I truly did not enjoy this book. I feel like the second one might be better since it might focus more on Freya and Bjorn but that’s only if she forgives him. I have felt with a lot of books lately that I might enjoy the second one more since it takes a first book to develop the characters and their relationship and then the book ends before we really get to see what they do after the ending.
page 381 made me somewhat glad I had pushed through the book because he is probably one of the best love interests I’ve read. And then the ending was actually getting good and I was happy they were getting a happy ending, but then of course the author ruins that at the end. The screaming and the main character abandoning all respect and love for Bjorn because of something he did that wasn’t even that bad was awful. I wanted her to just calm down and not be so mad at him. I literally never want to try any more fantasy romance if they’re all going to be like this and Serpent & The Wings of Night. It’s so toxic the way that the characters fall in love but then Freya just curses at him and threatens him after she finds out what he didn’t tell her.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
witcheep's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
//Edit: sooooo I forgot to write the review soon after reading and now there's been too many weeks since I've read the book for me to actually manage to write down a proper review. So I'll just make a few bullet points:
- The worldbuilding is interesting, though there seem to be some quite big historical inaccuracies that are there just to create drama in the plot. Without these, the plot would be... very different. Freya wouldn't have nearly as many difficulties in her life.
- The characters are all very flat/black-and-white as clearly good or bad, with one main motivation that drives all their actions.
- Ylva is the most morally gray character who develops most througout the book. Even if she isn't a very likeable character, her multitude of motivations and actual development might make her my favorite character.
- The main characters Freya and the very clearly indicated love interest Bjorn have some interesting moments, but still I wished they would have been more rounded like Ylva. Freya struggles to have any agency over her own life, and i wish to see her grab that more strongly in the sequel. Bjorn drops quite a plot twist about his identity at the end, and the aftermath of that will hopefully cause some interesting ripples in the seas of these vikings.
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Infertility, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and War
bluestockinglaura's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Child death
relin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Kind ofdalek_caan's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, and War
romywrites's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
But then
I am interested in the sequel. I hope Freya puts on her big girl boots and goes to town. Please. I am begging.
I am also still mad and am growing ever more so by the second. Someone deserves a bat.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault and Fire/Fire injury
rossi29'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
If you're an audiobook listener I highly recommend this one. It was super fun to hear the narrator's accent; she did a fantastic job. Also if you have a Spotify membership it's included and is 15 hours and some change so just skip the credits and speed up a chapter or two and you should be able to listen to it with your monthly credits :)
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
annick's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Sadly I got a dud binding in the first edition/print of the uk hardback which made it different to keep pages open without damaging the spine.
I loved the opening. Strong momentum, banter and intrigue.
By the middle I was flagging. By the last quarter I was bored and skimming.
I loved how excited lots of reviewers have been for this. But I struggled to care. Snorri needed more nuance. Freya needs to be more mature about how people withdrawing secrets is not the same as being “lied to”. The twists weren’t surprising.
I will read book two in 2025.
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
aturb92's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content and Torture
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and War