The Nora Theory

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen absolutely blew my mind. I have read countless fantasies inspired by some mixture of Celtic legend and Greek myth. I’ve read stories inspired by African and Latinx folklore traditions. Somehow, I had never read one inspired by Norse mythology, and let me tell you, it was amazing.

Romantasy is, without question, thriving as a genre. The last couple of years have brought readers so many spectacular fantasies, and I swear they just keep getting better and better. The saturation of great work in the genre can make it tricky for authors to really give readers something new and different, but A Fate Inked in Blood achieves that without sacrificing the features that readers love and expect from a romantasy.

This book is a Norse-myth-inspired fantasy, with an enemies-to-lovers trope, a sassy heroine, and a growly hero. Freya is from a small fishing village, married to a man she absolutely despises. He treats her like dirt, and she dreams of using her warrior training to rid herself of him for good. When he betrays her to their jarl, she finds herself in a fight to the death with the chieftain’s son, Bjorn.

The fight reveals a secret she has spent her entire life hiding. She is a shield maiden, born with a drop of a goddess’ blood, destined to unite her lands under a single king. Freya finds herself fighting for her freedom, with her fate tied to Bjorn’s by his father.

The storytelling in this book is impressively efficient. The author jumps right into the story, and every chapter, paragraph, and sentence is important. It’s also immediately intriguing. The story has some classic Viking themes for anyone who has seen The Northman or The Last Kingdom. I saw the twist coming from a mile away, not that it was obvious, I am sure it would take most readers by surprise. I just sensed it in my bones. Even so, I loved every second of the journey to get there.

A Fate Inked in Blood is another book I waited on for weeks at the library through Libby and another book that was worth every single second of that wait. It is an immediate contender on my yearly favorites list, and I am ravenously looking forward to the sequel next year. I loved this book so much and would recommend it to any fantasy reader.

Writing: 5

Spice: 2.5

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