Reviews

A high fantasy book as it should be

We follow 3 povs: orka an ex-warrior and her family, Varg a thrall seeking information and Elvar a young warrior trying to earn her War-fame.
The book takes us through their stories and that of the place they live in, in a world viking-style, ripped apart after the battle and death of the gods.

It takes a bit to get used to the specific language and words to describe certain things but once you get into the story it never let's go. Can't wait to read the whole saga

kwirst's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.5

oohlalara's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.”

In a dangerous, merciless world reeling from the effects of the war between the old raging and destructive gods, we follow 3 people carving their own separate and bloody paths to ultimately change the fate of the world.

I highly recommend jumping in blind and head first into this EPIC saga packed with Norse-inspired lore, intricate world building, intense action scenes, unforgettable characters and explosive revelations!! The way that Gwynne crafted this story to blend and flow so flawlessly just has my *thought-cage* in complete awe.

First off- the world building was 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚. It honestly did take me a minute to get through the first half of the book, because it was so extensive.. but experiencing how the story unfolded was just so satisfying. I felt fully immersed in all of the elements. (But also I’m a nerd and love to simmer in the land and culture of a fantasy so well built).

I quickly became attached to our main characters and their found families, especially our bad bitch ORKA!! I haven’t read many books with 3 povs and was initially worried it would get confusing. & I’m not going to lie, I did get distracted a few times, because it did feel like 3 separate books at the beginning. But each “book” was still so good and engaging that of course I couldn’t stay away too long. I was quickly pulled back in to each of their quests filled with epic battle scenes, emotional depth, growth through introspection, pain and vengeance. Our badass huntress Orka, our fierce warrior Elvar, and our runaway thrall Varg, were all so well developed- each with a hunger that drives them towards a greater fate.

Because this took me a minute to get through in the beginning, I was anticipating maybe 4⭐️?? ..but after sleeping on it AND that brilliant ending, I couldn’t justify anything lower than 5⭐️. This was truly a gem, a captivating and fantastic read with masterful storytelling that keeps you wanting more. I can’t wait to jump into the second book asap!!

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