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A review by yazthebookish
The Goddess of Nothing At All by Cat Rector
5.0
5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Sigyn, you must be a goddess, because I worship every inch of you. You’re the only thing I’m devoted to. You’re worth more to me than every sunrise, every sunset, every prayer. You’re kind, and you love me, and I don’t deserve any of it. You’re the guiding star I see by. And I need you more than I’ll ever need anything for the rest of my life. I’m here with you, and you’ll never be alone again.”
The Goddess of Nothing At All is an exquisitely rendered and emotionally gripping story narrated by Sigyn Odindottir, who in Norse Mythology is a lesser-goddess and the wife of the cunning trickster god, Loki.
Norse Mythology is heavily featured in this book however the story of Sigyn and Loki is lovingly and brilliantly crafted and Rector penned a unique original story that still remains faithful to its origins.
I would love to go into details about the many elements I loved about this book, but I would prefer readers to go into this book blind and I promise you even if you have little or no knowledge at all about Norse mythology, Sigyn does a good job at leading you into their world.
I would categorize it as a dark fantasy romance because the romance is integral to the plot, but the romance is one of the many facets to this story. It's not a conventional romance per se but it's nonetheless an epic love story.
And in classic myth fashion, expect a generous amount of tragedy and conniving gods and goddesses.
It's a rich tapestry of different stories and you'll be thoroughly entertained and devastated.
“The direction of your life depends solely on you, Sigyn,” Frigg said, her voice as smooth as glass. “Each choice you make weaves a stitch into your fate, and the Nornir watch you, as they watch us all. Choose wisely.”
Sigyn's story resonated deeply with me and Rector did brilliant job with her characterization. She was splendidly multi-dimensioned which left me torn between wanting to throttle her or hug her. Many of her actions are questionable yet most of the time you can't help but root for her. She is in a way a tragic figure and the way she reacted to certain situations or the actions she undertook felt realistic and I don't think many authors are brave enough to do that. Moments of her anguish stood out to me the most because it gutted me to see her so torn.
Despite the ominious setting and the inevitable coming of Ragnarok, the book still had wonderful moments of comic relief and many characters stole the spotlight, especially Loki who is delightfully wicked.
In a room full of gods, I was nothing at all.
What I appreciate the most is the inclusion of many important themes that deal with love, family, betrayal, identity, sexuality, morality, and grief. Loki is gender fluid and Sigyn is bisexual so there are quite a few conversations surrounding their sexuality and identity.
I must say that I expected to be, due to the dark nature of the book, extremely unsettled, but it's not as dark as I thought. I was still disoriented and gutted by many moments in this book.
Although some scenes felt dragged out but the unforgettable experience this book gifted me is what made it deserving of a 5-star rating from me.
Trigger Warnings: Vulgar language. Gratuitous violence and torture. Mental, emotional, and verbal abuse Unhappy situations for LGBTQA+ characters. Mentions of sexual coercion and rape. Death and violence towards animals. Discrimination and fantasy slurs. Death.
“Sigyn, you must be a goddess, because I worship every inch of you. You’re the only thing I’m devoted to. You’re worth more to me than every sunrise, every sunset, every prayer. You’re kind, and you love me, and I don’t deserve any of it. You’re the guiding star I see by. And I need you more than I’ll ever need anything for the rest of my life. I’m here with you, and you’ll never be alone again.”
The Goddess of Nothing At All is an exquisitely rendered and emotionally gripping story narrated by Sigyn Odindottir, who in Norse Mythology is a lesser-goddess and the wife of the cunning trickster god, Loki.
Norse Mythology is heavily featured in this book however the story of Sigyn and Loki is lovingly and brilliantly crafted and Rector penned a unique original story that still remains faithful to its origins.
I would love to go into details about the many elements I loved about this book, but I would prefer readers to go into this book blind and I promise you even if you have little or no knowledge at all about Norse mythology, Sigyn does a good job at leading you into their world.
I would categorize it as a dark fantasy romance because the romance is integral to the plot, but the romance is one of the many facets to this story. It's not a conventional romance per se but it's nonetheless an epic love story.
And in classic myth fashion, expect a generous amount of tragedy and conniving gods and goddesses.
It's a rich tapestry of different stories and you'll be thoroughly entertained and devastated.
“The direction of your life depends solely on you, Sigyn,” Frigg said, her voice as smooth as glass. “Each choice you make weaves a stitch into your fate, and the Nornir watch you, as they watch us all. Choose wisely.”
Sigyn's story resonated deeply with me and Rector did brilliant job with her characterization. She was splendidly multi-dimensioned which left me torn between wanting to throttle her or hug her. Many of her actions are questionable yet most of the time you can't help but root for her. She is in a way a tragic figure and the way she reacted to certain situations or the actions she undertook felt realistic and I don't think many authors are brave enough to do that. Moments of her anguish stood out to me the most because it gutted me to see her so torn.
Despite the ominious setting and the inevitable coming of Ragnarok, the book still had wonderful moments of comic relief and many characters stole the spotlight, especially Loki who is delightfully wicked.
In a room full of gods, I was nothing at all.
What I appreciate the most is the inclusion of many important themes that deal with love, family, betrayal, identity, sexuality, morality, and grief. Loki is gender fluid and Sigyn is bisexual so there are quite a few conversations surrounding their sexuality and identity.
I must say that I expected to be, due to the dark nature of the book, extremely unsettled, but it's not as dark as I thought. I was still disoriented and gutted by many moments in this book.
Although some scenes felt dragged out but the unforgettable experience this book gifted me is what made it deserving of a 5-star rating from me.
Trigger Warnings: Vulgar language. Gratuitous violence and torture. Mental, emotional, and verbal abuse Unhappy situations for LGBTQA+ characters. Mentions of sexual coercion and rape. Death and violence towards animals. Discrimination and fantasy slurs. Death.