A Fate Inked in Blood

This was an okay book. Not ground-breaking and pretty predictable, but it was enjoyable enough for me to be entertained. I could see what the author was trying to do with Freya's arc, but her push and pull started to get repetitive by the end. But it did solidify the fact that I am not a big fan of instant attraction as a trope.

I kind of feel guilty that I did not like this book more. I REALLY wanted to like it. It SEEMED like a book I would love. An intricate and magical world. Intriguing plot. Slow burn. All the things. However, I could NOT fall in love with the characters. Also, the deep seated misogyny embedded in the plot, did not add it to the story, but rather took away from it. The FMC was just so deeply oppressed. I felt like the plot was completely flooded with the fact that she could not make any choice on her own, she met resistance at every turn, and it felt completely hopeless. I understand the importance of the misogyny, and the patriarchal society that the main characters lived in having a purpose in the storyline, I just didn’t enjoy it.. that being said I will definitely continue the series, it may have been that the plot needed to come to this point and I’ll enjoy it as time goes on, but for now I just felt like I personally didn’t have a connection to the story like I would have liked to have.

This book is one I’ve been seeing around on Tik Tok and was scared to read it in case it didn’t live up to the hype. People, I can happily report that it did!!

I read this book so fast (at the expense of my schoolwork…priorities) because our girl Freya kept it fresh. The spin on Vikings, their beliefs, and life with a magical twist was everything I didn’t know I needed to read about.

I’m (im)patiently waiting for the next book to come out!

I went into this expecting Norse mythology, a fierce shield maiden, and maybe a little romantic tension. What I didn't expect? Pages of purse spice that had me questioning if I accidentally bought something NSFW. I was not ready, but I was also very much here for it.

Freya is a force, bold, stubborn, and magical, and caught in a divine mess of fate and power struggles. The plot moves fast, the romantic tension is off the charts, and the gods are doing way too much. I could've used a little more depth in the world-building, which is why it's not a full five stars, but honestly, I didn't have much time to complain between all the steam and scheming.

And then! THAT TWIST!!!

I was listening to the audiobook while walking my dog, and I physically stopped in place. I was stunned. I had to take a moment to process the betrayal. I was livid. I want to go to war for Freya. She did NOT deserve that.

This book is deliciously dramatic, unexpectedly spicy, and unputdownable. If you like fantasy with heat, betrayal, and a heroine who doesn't back down, grab this book (and maybe don't listen to it in public).

Started off really strong, fast paced and interesting:

About 40% in it really dragged. Freya started to grate on my nerves and her over empathetic, door mat of a character arch was really trying my patience. Saw the cliffhanger from a mile away.

The story started off fine, but progressively got worse. I found the main character irritating and contradictory to her "bad ass warrior" personality the author pushes. She would be all "I kill and don't care" to literally being more helpless than a child. She would apparently do "anything" to reach her goals or support her family, but not grow a backbone or literally do anything but feel sorry for herself and "grit her teeth and bare it?" I also could not stand the romance aspect of the book. Instead of having any impact on the plot or a deepening connection between characters, it was more so lust with the author insisting it's "true love." They literally look at one another and decide to be in love, that's it's "forbidden love", and that's the extent the characters get to know one another. I just could not get into the storyline because I found it dull and I could not care at all about any of the characters.

Weirdly paced. Didn’t really get any depth with the characters. Not for me I guess.

You know what, I’m upping my rating from a 4 to 5 stars. In a world inundated with lackluster romantasy books, Danielle L. Jensen is the North Star. The atmosphere this book created was so encompassing. I found myself wrapped inside the world she created. The plot was perfectly paced and engaging, the characters felt authentic, and the magic system was interesting. Jensen’s characters have a sense of maturity that I crave in romantasy books, a maturity that I sadly find lacking in other books within the genre. For me, most romantasy books that have came out lately leave much to be desired. Jensen’s storytelling is refreshing. I look forward to the sequel.

Everyone always just felt so very bloody angry, at everything. I guess they were going with because they were Vikings but Vikings where so much more than angry raiders and this was such a let down in that fact.