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marcopoloreads's review
3.0
This book was sent to me by the publishers as a part of the teenreads.com Teen Board.
The Freya series by Matthew Laurence is an urban-fantasy book series following our main character, Freya. After years in hiding, Freya, Norse goddess of love and beauty, is finally hunted down by the secret organization Finemdi, an organization that is tracking down all gods and abusing them for power. Freya has lost all of her powers in the past millennia, making her an easy target to be captured by Finemdi. While Freya does eventually escape from Finemdi with the help of her newest high-priest and a few Hawaiian goddesses, Finemdi is still out loose and is even more dangerous than before.
Now, in the second novel, SLAY, Freya decides that the only way she and her allies will ever be able to defeat Finemdi is through gaining power. With this new goal in mind, Freya goes to Hollywood, attempting to get worship from people by working as an actor. But before Freya is able to receive all the power she needs to defeat Finemdi, they end up finding her and Freya has to fight them off once again.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from SLAY; when I first read FREYA, I strongly enjoyed it, even with the issues I had with the plot. The Freya series is different when compared to other novels like it since it attempts to balance both contemporary and fantasy themes by using its strange magic system (gods gain more power by the number of people who believe in them, so Freya gains her belief by becoming an actor). SLAY deserves praise simply for its uniqueness; while there are countless of books that use mythology as a base for the plot, SLAY has a story you won’t see coming, along with fun, charming, and well fleshed-out characters.
When it comes to the contemporary moments of SLAY, it often has to do with depictions of Hollywood and romance. When Freya first gets to Hollywood, she is forced to find her own way towards fame. Obviously, she uses the little amounts of magic she has to do this and ends up making a few enemies in the acting scene as well. Matthew Laurence’s depictions of Hollywood are entertaining and enjoyable, even when it could be a tad overdramatic at times. I loved seeing the rivalry Freya had by becoming an actor and hope on seeing more of it in the sequel.
The fantasy elements, on the other hand, are a bit lacking at times, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if readers are okay with that. There was always those fantasy elements even in the contemporary parts of the novel, but they don’t really show up much until the last third of the novel. In fact, the last third of SLAY was stunning; it had a major character death readers won’t see coming, intense fight scenes, and an ending that only leave you in anticipation for the final book in the series.
Matthew Laurence’s Freya series are fun, lighthearted reads that question your own morals as well as keep you engaged with its uniqueness. It’s a series I would recommend to those who are looking for a fantasy with more contemporary themes, or if you’re looking for a fun read that has darker themes hidden under the surface.
The Freya series by Matthew Laurence is an urban-fantasy book series following our main character, Freya. After years in hiding, Freya, Norse goddess of love and beauty, is finally hunted down by the secret organization Finemdi, an organization that is tracking down all gods and abusing them for power. Freya has lost all of her powers in the past millennia, making her an easy target to be captured by Finemdi. While Freya does eventually escape from Finemdi with the help of her newest high-priest and a few Hawaiian goddesses, Finemdi is still out loose and is even more dangerous than before.
Now, in the second novel, SLAY, Freya decides that the only way she and her allies will ever be able to defeat Finemdi is through gaining power. With this new goal in mind, Freya goes to Hollywood, attempting to get worship from people by working as an actor. But before Freya is able to receive all the power she needs to defeat Finemdi, they end up finding her and Freya has to fight them off once again.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from SLAY; when I first read FREYA, I strongly enjoyed it, even with the issues I had with the plot. The Freya series is different when compared to other novels like it since it attempts to balance both contemporary and fantasy themes by using its strange magic system (gods gain more power by the number of people who believe in them, so Freya gains her belief by becoming an actor). SLAY deserves praise simply for its uniqueness; while there are countless of books that use mythology as a base for the plot, SLAY has a story you won’t see coming, along with fun, charming, and well fleshed-out characters.
When it comes to the contemporary moments of SLAY, it often has to do with depictions of Hollywood and romance. When Freya first gets to Hollywood, she is forced to find her own way towards fame. Obviously, she uses the little amounts of magic she has to do this and ends up making a few enemies in the acting scene as well. Matthew Laurence’s depictions of Hollywood are entertaining and enjoyable, even when it could be a tad overdramatic at times. I loved seeing the rivalry Freya had by becoming an actor and hope on seeing more of it in the sequel.
The fantasy elements, on the other hand, are a bit lacking at times, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if readers are okay with that. There was always those fantasy elements even in the contemporary parts of the novel, but they don’t really show up much until the last third of the novel. In fact, the last third of SLAY was stunning; it had a major character death readers won’t see coming, intense fight scenes, and an ending that only leave you in anticipation for the final book in the series.
Matthew Laurence’s Freya series are fun, lighthearted reads that question your own morals as well as keep you engaged with its uniqueness. It’s a series I would recommend to those who are looking for a fantasy with more contemporary themes, or if you’re looking for a fun read that has darker themes hidden under the surface.
lavendermarch's review
5.0
Gorgeous cover! Lots learned. I just love when Freya talks about the nature of gods and all of that - it's really interesting! I also love how distinct Freya's voice is. It's really nice to see as a reader. I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait for the next one! I think it'll be a trilogy. 5 stars! I read it in one sitting.
Spoiler
Freya's pantheon is still alive, but think they're dead due to spells by Loki's, who's the chairman. Nathan's dead, which is super sad. I thought he and Sekhmet were cute together. But the goddesses will bring him back! After they raise Freya's pantheon, of course! So excited. Also, I never trusted that bitch Samantha. And, I completely forgot who Garv is, which has been bugging me the whole time, ugh.odettebrethouwer's review
5.0
I have no clue about why I waited so long to pick this up. What a delight, this book.
I read the first one in this series as an ambassador for a Dutch publisher (who sadly didn't translate this wonderful book) in like december 2016. I real A LOT of books, so it is very common for me to forget a lot about a story and the characters between a first one and a sequel. Not this one. I could recite everything I enjoyed about this book at any given time.
If you can explain me not reading this sequel sooner, please enlighten me. Maybe because it felt safe, having a book you know you are going to love sit unread on your shelves?
Anyway, reading this was a blast again. I love the writing style. I love the characters. I love everything that happens, the twists and turns the plot makes. I was surprised so many times!
I really like that sometimes people react reasonable, and sometimes emotions take over. I was gonna say it makes them humans, but they're gods, but you get the point. It makes them feel real. And it makes the storyline really unpredictable, which I love. And however they respond, both responses fit in the setting so that is really well done. And I love how different the outcome could have been f they did or didn't do something..
I also really like the idea Matthew came up with, how the strengths of the gods are related to the amount of believers. And the little systemhacks in it, and how the system grew and is used (and misused) and all that stuff. Very well done!
Long story short: lovely YA books that I highly recommend. Please buy and read those!
Cannot wait for book 3! The story, but also really curious for the cover, I bet it is going to be drop-dead gorgeous as well!
I read the first one in this series as an ambassador for a Dutch publisher (who sadly didn't translate this wonderful book) in like december 2016. I real A LOT of books, so it is very common for me to forget a lot about a story and the characters between a first one and a sequel. Not this one. I could recite everything I enjoyed about this book at any given time.
If you can explain me not reading this sequel sooner, please enlighten me. Maybe because it felt safe, having a book you know you are going to love sit unread on your shelves?
Anyway, reading this was a blast again. I love the writing style. I love the characters. I love everything that happens, the twists and turns the plot makes. I was surprised so many times!
I really like that sometimes people react reasonable, and sometimes emotions take over. I was gonna say it makes them humans, but they're gods, but you get the point. It makes them feel real. And it makes the storyline really unpredictable, which I love. And however they respond, both responses fit in the setting so that is really well done. And I love how different the outcome could have been f they did or didn't do something..
I also really like the idea Matthew came up with, how the strengths of the gods are related to the amount of believers. And the little systemhacks in it, and how the system grew and is used (and misused) and all that stuff. Very well done!
Long story short: lovely YA books that I highly recommend. Please buy and read those!
Cannot wait for book 3! The story, but also really curious for the cover, I bet it is going to be drop-dead gorgeous as well!
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