Reviews

Northern Wrath by Thilde Kold Holdt

tea_and_naps's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

frinsreads's review

3.0

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book as I'd never read a Norse-centred fantasy. I was glad I'd read Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman in preparation as I think I got a lot more out of those references for having that prior context. However, apart from the god related things in this book it didn't fully work for me

I never felt connected to the characters, nor did I particularly care what happened to them. I'm also not a fan of battle scenes and there were quite a few of them in here, which almost always just bore me

My favourite parts were the chapters set in the Darkness which were like little snippets or vignettes between the action. I liked seeing the gods at play in these sections, especially with the knowledge of my prior reading, and found their actions much more interesting than those playing out in Midgard

I also really liked Hilda as a protagonist. It was cool following a female warrior who was trying to prove herself and save her people. It also helped that she had a snow fox companion, known as a fylgja

I read this 600 page book pretty quickly and I think that was due to the writing. For an epic fantasy the writing is super simple and easy to breeze through. I never felt like I was slogging through dense, complex prose...just a slightly repetitive, predictable story

*An arc of this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

proseandpurls's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cliffrcarlson's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

novelhaus's review

3.5

3.5 stars, 6.00 on CAWPILE

idk i was bored but i don't know why

the_midwest_library's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

So this would probably be a really great book for people who love Norse mythology. I tend to not....and yet I keep trying hahaha 

Unfortunately while this book has some strengths I just found it a bit boring. I love a character driven story and the characters just felt a bit flat for me, and not very memorable. Especially the female characters which I just overall was not for me. 

The writing was good though, I would read something else by this author. I thought the narrative voice was strong and the plot was enjoyable overall. 

drwhodat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

xaviercampbell's review

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious sad 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

4.5

flourpower02's review against another edition

It sucked.

blainembentley's review against another edition

3.5

 

My first exposure to Norse inspired fantasy and found this to be a really enjoyable read.

The world building felt very established and well fleshed out. Having had some exposure to Norse mythology, it was fun to see how this author took it and presented it with her own touch. This also made for a story that felt very consistent in the religious, magical, and fantastical elements of the book. The Norse inspired aspect is what I enjoyed most about this book.

The overall plot structure was good. I wouldn’t say it was anything that was novel or groundbreaking. I think the story was very well executed, but just didn’t quite pull me in as much as I would have liked. I don’t feel like there was anything super intriguing or unique about the overall story. For me this book gave me everything I would expect from a viking story/norse inspired story, but really didn’t take it further than those expectations. Thus, why I feel there wasn’t anything intriguing or unique. 

For me the character work was weaker in the beginning, but improved over the book. There is one chapter in mind that I loved because I felt so connected to the POV character, but the chapter almost came out of nowhere as it came after the climax of this character’s arc in this book. I wish that we would have seen that emotional connection earlier, which would have made their arc’s climax so much more intense. However, I am now more invested and excited to see what is in store with this character.

Overall, I do feel it was a good start of the trilogy and I am excited to see where it goes from here.