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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
If Danielle Jensen writes it, I'll read it. End of story. And I'm so glad that this is a completed duology so I can stop leaving myself hanging with cliffhangers unsatisfied!
I loved the Viking aspect and the Norse mythology that guided this story. I never thought of myself as being a fan of Vikings but after both this and Road of Bones by Demi Winters, I guess I am!
The tension between Freya and Bjorn was palpable and the storyline was tense and exciting. The battles and ruthlessness of the setting kept me engaged the entire time.
I did struggle with a few minor plot holes which is why I gave it just shy of a 4⭐ rating. However, I experienced similar issues in the Bridge Kingdom series, only to find the plot holes addressed in later books. So I am hopeful that book 2 will resolve those things for me.
I just really enjoyed this book. Freya's story is both heartbreaking and inspiring and I love a good betrayal cliffhanger, so excited to see how book 2 plays out. I'll be rooting for Freya and Bjorn the whole time!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Omg I loved this! I like the Viking aspect the fantasy aspect, and the godsss. The notion that the gods have given people an ounce of their power. It was so good. I enjoyed it all. The plot was a little redundant but I could seee and feel the love between Bjorn and Freya. I freaking loved their forbidden relationship. I did get a bit annoyed with the amount of times her struggles seem so mundane and that she need to snap out of her indecisiveness but her being of two god makes that a bit bearable. Freya was strong and super temperamental but I like that. She was out of control but always did what she thought was best. Will that be her downfall? absolutely. She will be torn between two gods, the two sides of her that are opposed, and the love and hate she feels for Bjorn. Bjorn is an idiot but I love him. freaking knew he was the traitor but I believed he had good intensions. I didn’t doubt him for a second. He should have told her. I understand her anger and hope they can work it out because they are freaking adorable together! Excited to see all the new characters
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No spoilers. Read via physical.
I go into my books blind, so I did not know anything about this book and I did not expect it to be what it was. I am still newly into fantasy so maybe this book was just too advance for me or I am just not smart at all. LOL. I will probably reread this when the next book comes out to see if I have different thoughts about it, because maybe it could have been right book wrong time as well. I had this book as a book club, I could not stop to write my thoughts because I was pushing myself to read it. I think I may like it more later in the future. It is a good book and well written, it just was not for me at this time. It has a lot going on, along with the twists of the book.
Would I recommend? IF the book sounds good to you, yes it will probably be a good book for you. If you are on the fence, I say try it!
I go into my books blind, so I did not know anything about this book and I did not expect it to be what it was. I am still newly into fantasy so maybe this book was just too advance for me or I am just not smart at all. LOL. I will probably reread this when the next book comes out to see if I have different thoughts about it, because maybe it could have been right book wrong time as well. I had this book as a book club, I could not stop to write my thoughts because I was pushing myself to read it. I think I may like it more later in the future. It is a good book and well written, it just was not for me at this time. It has a lot going on, along with the twists of the book.
Would I recommend? IF the book sounds good to you, yes it will probably be a good book for you. If you are on the fence, I say try it!
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've never been that interested in romantasy and I only read this as it's for my book club. It's definitely turned me off romantasy for good though. If it wasn't a book club read I probably would have DNF'd it.
Aside from Freya and Bjorn, all the characters are a bit one dimensional, there aren't any arcs or growth for anyone aside from those two.
Bjorn was a bit annoying but probably the best written character in the book, the only one with any sort of complexity.
Freya I found so frustrating, she acts almost childlike, unable to do anything. I know the entire world is focused around men (which I also hate) but she could have broken free so many times and refuses. Everyone is awful, no idea why she is loyal to them.
The plot is also kind of simple, it's easy to follow but it's pretty predictable, I guessed what would happen early on. I was hoping for more actual fantasy, at the start there was more, but it seemed to stop. It's frustrating as there were some concepts that could have been so much better and explored, there was so much potential but instead we got flat characters and no world building.
I did skim some of the sex scenes as they didn't add anything to the plot. Good if you like smut, but not for me as it's sex for the sake of it, not relating to the story. I guess it's good if you like it but I find it hard to judge as it all seems so off and ridiculous to me.
The writing is OK, the book is very readable, some phrases are overused but it's fine. What does annoy me is trying to make this a historical base and using terms that wouldn't exist back then, which an editor should have caught.
Also I don't like books where there is such sexism when nobody even addresses it or tries to do anything about it.
Overall I didn't like this book, but I guess I'm not the target audience as other people clearly like it. If you don't mind sexism, like smut, don't care about world building/fantasy and want more of a romance book that is easy to read I can see this being a good fit.
Aside from Freya and Bjorn, all the characters are a bit one dimensional, there aren't any arcs or growth for anyone aside from those two.
Bjorn was a bit annoying but probably the best written character in the book, the only one with any sort of complexity.
Freya I found so frustrating, she acts almost childlike, unable to do anything. I know the entire world is focused around men (which I also hate) but she could have broken free so many times and refuses. Everyone is awful, no idea why she is loyal to them.
The plot is also kind of simple, it's easy to follow but it's pretty predictable, I guessed what would happen early on. I was hoping for more actual fantasy, at the start there was more, but it seemed to stop. It's frustrating as there were some concepts that could have been so much better and explored, there was so much potential but instead we got flat characters and no world building.
I did skim some of the sex scenes as they didn't add anything to the plot. Good if you like smut, but not for me as it's sex for the sake of it, not relating to the story. I guess it's good if you like it but I find it hard to judge as it all seems so off and ridiculous to me.
The writing is OK, the book is very readable, some phrases are overused but it's fine. What does annoy me is trying to make this a historical base and using terms that wouldn't exist back then, which an editor should have caught.
Also I don't like books where there is such sexism when nobody even addresses it or tries to do anything about it.
Overall I didn't like this book, but I guess I'm not the target audience as other people clearly like it. If you don't mind sexism, like smut, don't care about world building/fantasy and want more of a romance book that is easy to read I can see this being a good fit.