Take a photo of a barcode or cover
klsreads 's review for:
A Fate Inked in Blood
by Danielle L. Jensen
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I HAVE THOUGHTS
These are going to be unpopular thoughts.
This book isn't good. I'm glad some folks liked it - not gonna yuck your yum. This is the first true romantasy book I've read, so it's possible the genre isn't for me, but my issues extend beyond the subject matter. Maybe I just don't care for Viking lore because I'm not interested in "big muscle warrior" love interests. I'm going to start with what I liked:
PROS: Bjorn and an interesting magical system based on Norse mythology.
CONS: Bjorn and pretty much everything else.
Ok, my feelings about our MMC are complicated. Bjorn is a complex but obnoxious, God among men, best at sex there ever was male lead. He's big - like, really muscled with no body fat. He's the hottest and everyone wants him and no one says anything bad about him. He is very warm because of his Tyr powers and always saves the day. This inspires many tropes (touch her and die, cuddle to stay warm, one horse, I'd die for you, etc. etc.). I disliked Bjorn in the beginning, but found him growing on me as the plot went on and he dropped some of the sexual bravado. His story is the most complicated and interesting, and I had the most compassion for him.
No other supporting character has much depth. The villains are nasty and power-hungry, the allies one-dimensional. The Gods, supposedly masters of trickery and riddles, are not tricky or complicated. I guessed most of the plot twists within the first 25%, which stunk because it made the road to discovery really plodding. I could not deal with another extremely obvious non-riddle from Odin followed by, "How could we possibly understand the brilliance of the Gods?"
Some of the plot points went absolutely nowhere. Freya swore a runic oath in the beginning, but it was barely mentioned again and there were NO consequences to "breaking" it. Freya changes her mind on a dime and makes incoherent, bad choices. She acts like a child while insisting she's an adult. At one point, she has a tantrum and throws rocks at a tree. She doesn't have coherency as our FMC. I kind of hated her, which sucks because I liked her in the first 20%.
Also, just a side note. Freya vomits like 3x a chapter. It's unreal. She vomits when she's thinking about sad things, she vomits because of smells, she vomits because she gets anxious, she vomits from alcohol. When you skim-read this book as fast as I did, you notice these things.
I wanted to be immersed in this world, but the plot traveled at breakneck speed from trope to trope like a garbo map of viral moments (Special power reveal ---> murder ---> arranged marriage ---> training montage / pull into water ---> MMC saves FMC 20x ---> etc. etc.). Jensen doesn't trust her audience and/or doesn't have the skills and/or editors to show and not tell. (An example: "His head fell from the stump of his neck and he slumped. Dead." I know this person is dead. I get it. People without heads don't live in this world. Every time someone died, she'd be like "Dead [in case you missed it]. Holy shit!!)
I could talk about A Fate Inked in Blood (AFIB???) for a long time, but the last thing I want to highlight was the writing style. Jensen isn't a bad writer, which made the whole experience more confusing. There were actual bangers in there, but the style couldn't save the plot or characterizations. However, Jensen doesn't know what time period she's writing in. It's ostensibly Viking-era, but characters go from, "Maiden, we cannot and shall not know the will of the Gods" to "Shut the fuck up". It made the light leave my eyes (Dead.).
AFIB is a standard warrior romance with shoddy political intrigue squished in around it. Even on the brink of death, Freya can't stop thinking about those rock-hard, sweaty, washboard abs. No terrors beyond belief will quell her horniness, for she is just a girl.
I do not recommend this book, but try it for yourself. I know several people with similar literary tastes who loved it, so who knows? I won't be reading the sequel, but I wish the Viking-lovers well.
These are going to be unpopular thoughts.
This book isn't good. I'm glad some folks liked it - not gonna yuck your yum. This is the first true romantasy book I've read, so it's possible the genre isn't for me, but my issues extend beyond the subject matter. Maybe I just don't care for Viking lore because I'm not interested in "big muscle warrior" love interests. I'm going to start with what I liked:
PROS: Bjorn and an interesting magical system based on Norse mythology.
CONS: Bjorn and pretty much everything else.
Ok, my feelings about our MMC are complicated. Bjorn is a complex but obnoxious, God among men, best at sex there ever was male lead. He's big - like, really muscled with no body fat. He's the hottest and everyone wants him and no one says anything bad about him. He is very warm because of his Tyr powers and always saves the day. This inspires many tropes (touch her and die, cuddle to stay warm, one horse, I'd die for you, etc. etc.). I disliked Bjorn in the beginning, but found him growing on me as the plot went on and he dropped some of the sexual bravado. His story is the most complicated and interesting, and I had the most compassion for him.
No other supporting character has much depth. The villains are nasty and power-hungry, the allies one-dimensional. The Gods, supposedly masters of trickery and riddles, are not tricky or complicated. I guessed most of the plot twists within the first 25%, which stunk because it made the road to discovery really plodding. I could not deal with another extremely obvious non-riddle from Odin followed by, "How could we possibly understand the brilliance of the Gods?"
Some of the plot points went absolutely nowhere. Freya swore a runic oath in the beginning, but it was barely mentioned again and there were NO consequences to "breaking" it. Freya changes her mind on a dime and makes incoherent, bad choices. She acts like a child while insisting she's an adult. At one point, she has a tantrum and throws rocks at a tree. She doesn't have coherency as our FMC. I kind of hated her, which sucks because I liked her in the first 20%.
Also, just a side note. Freya vomits like 3x a chapter. It's unreal. She vomits when she's thinking about sad things, she vomits because of smells, she vomits because she gets anxious, she vomits from alcohol. When you skim-read this book as fast as I did, you notice these things.
I wanted to be immersed in this world, but the plot traveled at breakneck speed from trope to trope like a garbo map of viral moments (Special power reveal ---> murder ---> arranged marriage ---> training montage / pull into water ---> MMC saves FMC 20x ---> etc. etc.). Jensen doesn't trust her audience and/or doesn't have the skills and/or editors to show and not tell. (An example: "His head fell from the stump of his neck and he slumped. Dead." I know this person is dead. I get it. People without heads don't live in this world. Every time someone died, she'd be like "Dead [in case you missed it]. Holy shit!!)
I could talk about A Fate Inked in Blood (AFIB???) for a long time, but the last thing I want to highlight was the writing style. Jensen isn't a bad writer, which made the whole experience more confusing. There were actual bangers in there, but the style couldn't save the plot or characterizations. However, Jensen doesn't know what time period she's writing in. It's ostensibly Viking-era, but characters go from, "Maiden, we cannot and shall not know the will of the Gods" to "Shut the fuck up". It made the light leave my eyes (Dead.).
AFIB is a standard warrior romance with shoddy political intrigue squished in around it. Even on the brink of death, Freya can't stop thinking about those rock-hard, sweaty, washboard abs. No terrors beyond belief will quell her horniness, for she is just a girl.
I do not recommend this book, but try it for yourself. I know several people with similar literary tastes who loved it, so who knows? I won't be reading the sequel, but I wish the Viking-lovers well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Slavery, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship