Reviews with content warning for Blood - 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.

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melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Story fell flat for me unfortunately. I saw so many great 4-5 star reviews about this book which hyped me up to start my first Danielle L. Jensen book, especially since her bridge kingdom series has been on my radar/tbr for a while. The Norse mythology retelling is what intrigued me the most because it’d be my first book with this type of background within a fantasy setting. Yet once I got into it, the story and the characters were just meh.

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cryosphinx's review against another edition

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4.0

Good world building, blah middle, exciting ending with a cliff hanger even if it is partly predictable.

Very much a romantasy with some excellent banter, which was the best part of the book. I loved the Norse backdrop and how Jensen didn't just use the names of the gods but added a magical twist and kept them the same. My biggest gripe is I didn't find Freya to be super bad ass. She's a strong and capable warrior but she seemed to overly accept shitty things happening to her until the very end. But the romance and BJORN are top tier. This is my first Danielle J. Jensen book, but I think I'll read Bridge Kingdom sooner rather than later because I did enjoy the writing style as I found it approachable, not too 'big words make me sound smart' but everything being well described and not fluffy. I'm hooked on the story and would love the next book NOW.

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noellelovesbooks's review against another edition

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3.75

Content Warnings: sexual content, violence, blood, war, death of loved one[s], gore, murder, torture, sexual harassment, sexual assault, kidnapping, sexism, classism,
Mention of: rape, physical abuse, infidelity, child abuse,

The first part of this book has me excitedly devouring it...sadly the middle was a lot of the same which had me forcing my way through a lot of it...then the last part threw so many things at me I was excited but also a bit overwhelmed 🤷🏽‍♀️

Looking forward to reading the next book and hoping that the pacing is better.

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blacksphinx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.5

This is the first book I've ever finished my skimming the last ~80 pages. It was a book club pick and something I had been highly anticipating. I've been craving a Norse fantasy and this author came highly recommended to me. Oh man, where do I start?

Our protagonist was so insufferably stubborn and I found no redeeming qualities in her. I'm not sure she does one action that someone asks her to for the entire book, even if they would have been to her benefit. She's so hot-and-cold, changing her mind at the drop of a hat to whatever course of action would be the least convenient for her and the people around her. I wanted to like her! I especially loved that opening scene with her love interest; they had banter that I actually enjoyed!? But I was so frustrated with her by the end I couldn't enjoy anything about their romance.

I predicted one of the big main twists from the first moment it was foreshadowed. The other big twist was something I guessed was probably going to happen. It didn't feel fun, it didn't feel like I can solved the author's intricate puzzle and now I was in on it. I spent a lot of this book going "are you serious?" and "how it is not obvious to you!"

The magic makes NO sense and was a constant source of irritation. People who possess the blood of a god are "unfated" and both do not have a destiny/fate of their own and can change the destinies of those around them... but can also be the center of a prophecy and two of them can be destined to be together? How does that make sense!

The final cherry on top is that I could not help but notice the number of named female characters

that die or betray Freya compared to the named men. Every time I hoped Freya would form a friendship with another woman, something would happen to destroy that relationship.

I am so grateful I hesitated on preordering this book, and will not be continuing with the series.

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