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

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! 🌟

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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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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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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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? Yes

3.0

I liked the beginning, got frustrated in the middle, and didn't like the ending.

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reka111's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

I will be at your back until I cross the threshold to Valhalla, Born-in-Fire, whether you want me there or not.

I know I should feel something, I know I should, but I can't. I'm so damn empty, but it's just my fault. I honestly don't know if I liked it or not.

Freya, by the way, was a very likeable and strong protagonist, full of fire and will to do something, self- sacrifice, I loved her very much. Bjorn and I had a harder time, but eventually I was able to love him too.

Maybe I should be angry with him for his betrayal, but since I expected him to, I don't, let's just say he didn't stab me in my heart, but in my flesh.

Snorri pissed me off, he was so annoying that I couldn't tell you, his constant whining about how important the shield maiden is to him blabla, never-ending speech and so on, this man would need a big slap in the face to realize he isn't the center of the world. Ylva was probably one of my favorites, perhaps because in reality I would be a snake like her, an ambitious and unstoppable puppet master hiding in the shadows, controlling everything. The others were complex in their own way.

The plot was understandable, magical, full of suspense and, to my chagrin, infinitely predictable. I liked that there were several perhaps lesser-known gods in the book, mortals born with different powers who shuttle somewhere between greatness and hell for their blessing. The pace was right and the composition was nice, I liked that. The end was well concluded and we got a kind of cliffhanger, so that was perfect.

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