pam_sartain's review against another edition
4.0
I recently joined NetGalley, where you can receive books for free if you review them, and that just sounds like heaven to me, and this is the first book that I've received!
On her 18th birthday, Ikepela Ives gained the power to unwind the fates of gods, goddesses, and other demi beings, she lost the woman who could have taught her how to use the power, her mother. She has only used her powers once since then, and resisted every other attempt to get her to use them.
Ragnarok has begun, and Ives is called on to help stop it, and so begins a mission to save the world, with Ives gaining allies as she goes.
This was an enjoyable fantasy mystery story, with good pacing throughout the book, a good plot, with twists and turns, and Norse mythology liberally sprinkled throughout.
Ragnarok Unwound is due to be published on 8th January 2019, and I would really recommend you have a read!
If you'd like to read more of my reviews, you can either have a look at the label of Book Reviews on my blog (https://certainlygeeky.blogspot.com/), or look at my GoodReads profile!
On her 18th birthday, Ikepela Ives gained the power to unwind the fates of gods, goddesses, and other demi beings, she lost the woman who could have taught her how to use the power, her mother. She has only used her powers once since then, and resisted every other attempt to get her to use them.
Ragnarok has begun, and Ives is called on to help stop it, and so begins a mission to save the world, with Ives gaining allies as she goes.
This was an enjoyable fantasy mystery story, with good pacing throughout the book, a good plot, with twists and turns, and Norse mythology liberally sprinkled throughout.
Ragnarok Unwound is due to be published on 8th January 2019, and I would really recommend you have a read!
If you'd like to read more of my reviews, you can either have a look at the label of Book Reviews on my blog (https://certainlygeeky.blogspot.com/), or look at my GoodReads profile!
lou_wilham's review against another edition
5.0
I'm disappointed in myself that it took me so long to read this one!
Ragnarok Unwound has a very like Dresden Files, Iron Druid, Toby Daye vibe, with it's unlikely heroine who is 100% done with all the suped up powerful magical creatures in her life, and I'm here for it. Add in a kawaii-loving gamer goddess of death, a fae bestie, and one "battle barbie" and I'm sold. The characters and world building in this are simply amazing, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves urban fantasy.
Ragnarok Unwound has a very like Dresden Files, Iron Druid, Toby Daye vibe, with it's unlikely heroine who is 100% done with all the suped up powerful magical creatures in her life, and I'm here for it. Add in a kawaii-loving gamer goddess of death, a fae bestie, and one "battle barbie" and I'm sold. The characters and world building in this are simply amazing, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves urban fantasy.
tricapra's review against another edition
2.0
This book definitely wasn't for me, very heavy on the young adult/fan fiction vibe for my tastes. The writing seem to improve as it goes on, but this book was in desperate need of an editor and a second draft. Honestly, it doesn't feel ready for publication yet. The blended mythology is cool, and I feel like there are some good ideas here, but more polish is necessary.
lauraciriza's review against another edition
2.0
ARC provided by NetGalley for reviewing purposes.
As much as I ended up enjoying this story, I really struggled in the beginning, mostly because it was hard at first to keep up with who the characters were and what powers they possessed and to whom they were related, but once the plot started developing the story took a turn for the better. Furthermore, the melding of both Norse and Hawaiian mythology was something I did not expect to happen (as the summary leads us to believe this story is about Norse Mythology) but loved.
The story was fast paced, leaving no time for the reader to come up with theories of what might come next or to have time to assimilate the plot twists. While the plot and the characters seem to be in need of being polished, and the text had several flaws and grammatical mistakes, I’m certain this has to do with the test being an ARC, and that those things will be corrected before publication date.
As much as I ended up enjoying this story, I really struggled in the beginning, mostly because it was hard at first to keep up with who the characters were and what powers they possessed and to whom they were related, but once the plot started developing the story took a turn for the better. Furthermore, the melding of both Norse and Hawaiian mythology was something I did not expect to happen (as the summary leads us to believe this story is about Norse Mythology) but loved.
The story was fast paced, leaving no time for the reader to come up with theories of what might come next or to have time to assimilate the plot twists. While the plot and the characters seem to be in need of being polished, and the text had several flaws and grammatical mistakes, I’m certain this has to do with the test being an ARC, and that those things will be corrected before publication date.
catsandb00ks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ☆
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.
This had a decent premise but ultimately I did not find it particularly engaging. I enjoyed the characters but it just felt like a bunch of other books I have read before. I had trouble getting into the book for the first 120ish pages which really left me Meh about the entire thing. I really enjoyed the melding of Hawaiian and Norse mythology however. I dont know much about Hawaiian culture and seeing some of its mythos portrayed was very interesting.
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.
This had a decent premise but ultimately I did not find it particularly engaging. I enjoyed the characters but it just felt like a bunch of other books I have read before. I had trouble getting into the book for the first 120ish pages which really left me Meh about the entire thing. I really enjoyed the melding of Hawaiian and Norse mythology however. I dont know much about Hawaiian culture and seeing some of its mythos portrayed was very interesting.
ninetalevixen's review against another edition
2.0
(I received a free e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
I love that mythologies besides Greco-Roman are on the rise (Norse, APIDA: Asian/Pacific Islander/Desi - in this case Hawaiian, etc), but it also means the market is starting to become oversaturated and I need to stop leaping for books because of their premise. (Plus, the diversity is limited to "bronze-skinned" characters on the Hawaiian side and "inhumanly pale and attractive" on the Norse side.) I especially appreciated the strong female relationships, particularly since they took precedence over the too-convenient heterosexual romances.
This one had an interesting idea, but I found it generally underdeveloped. I wasn't quite sure what was going on in terms of worldbuilding - it's implied that all the mythologies are true, a la Riordanverse, but besides a couple of exceptions it's limited to the Norse pantheon and Hawaiian deities - and the Fate Cipher role itself seemed to be defined as "whatever keeps the plot on track," with far too many instances of perfectly-timed divine intervention and frankly illogical developments, leaning heavily on the "main character doesn't know her own strength but will somehow manage to save the world through good intentions and sheer force of will and convenient magical abilities" trope. In addition to the unnatural progression of Ives' powers, the plot development seemed a little contrived, hinging on offhand comments and random remembrances, and it was far too easy to figure out what was happening because the POV jumps gave the reader much more information than the characters could know - the villain and their plot were completely obvious.
While I've found that excellent prose can make up for a formulaic plot, that unfortunately wasn't the case here. The action was bogged down by an excess of description, ominous statements, and a lot of cliched turns of phrase; the characters were pretty archetypical and lacked nuance. I also found the attempts at modernization a little jarring, and not altogether relevant to the story.
So with all that said, it definitely wasn't for me, but if you like modern mythology with strong female leads and you're less nitpicky than me, it's probably still worth a try.
I love that mythologies besides Greco-Roman are on the rise (Norse, APIDA: Asian/Pacific Islander/Desi - in this case Hawaiian, etc), but it also means the market is starting to become oversaturated and I need to stop leaping for books because of their premise. (Plus, the diversity is limited to "bronze-skinned" characters on the Hawaiian side and "inhumanly pale and attractive" on the Norse side.) I especially appreciated the strong female relationships, particularly since they took precedence over the too-convenient heterosexual romances.
This one had an interesting idea, but I found it generally underdeveloped. I wasn't quite sure what was going on in terms of worldbuilding - it's implied that all the mythologies are true, a la Riordanverse, but besides a couple of exceptions it's limited to the Norse pantheon and Hawaiian deities - and the Fate Cipher role itself seemed to be defined as "whatever keeps the plot on track," with far too many instances of perfectly-timed divine intervention and frankly illogical developments, leaning heavily on the "main character doesn't know her own strength but will somehow manage to save the world through good intentions and sheer force of will and convenient magical abilities" trope. In addition to the unnatural progression of Ives' powers, the plot development seemed a little contrived, hinging on offhand comments and random remembrances, and it was far too easy to figure out what was happening because the POV jumps gave the reader much more information than the characters could know - the villain and their plot were completely obvious.
While I've found that excellent prose can make up for a formulaic plot, that unfortunately wasn't the case here. The action was bogged down by an excess of description, ominous statements, and a lot of cliched turns of phrase; the characters were pretty archetypical and lacked nuance. I also found the attempts at modernization a little jarring, and not altogether relevant to the story.
So with all that said, it definitely wasn't for me, but if you like modern mythology with strong female leads and you're less nitpicky than me, it's probably still worth a try.
pandaofhugs's review against another edition
5.0
Unique!
I love this book.
I love the fact that it mixes mythologies.
I love the fact that it takes a mythology that isn't used in nonfiction a lot into a more (recently) used one!
The characters are interesting and unique, I like that they are portrayed in ways that are not common.
I love this book.
I love the fact that it mixes mythologies.
I love the fact that it takes a mythology that isn't used in nonfiction a lot into a more (recently) used one!
The characters are interesting and unique, I like that they are portrayed in ways that are not common.
thereadingchemist's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
While I’m not well versed in Norse mythology, this story follows the journey of Ikepela Ives, who is mortal but possesses the supernatural ability of seeing and changing fates. She is approached by a Valkyrie in a bar who needs Ives’ powers in order to ward off Ragnarok, which is the Norse apocalypse.
Overall, the story was a good read. It was fun to watch Ives’ and the other characters go through this fantasy world of gods and goddesses from both Norse and Hawaiian mythology. I think this story is a fresh take on mythology.
My recommendation: 3.5/5 stars.
While I’m not well versed in Norse mythology, this story follows the journey of Ikepela Ives, who is mortal but possesses the supernatural ability of seeing and changing fates. She is approached by a Valkyrie in a bar who needs Ives’ powers in order to ward off Ragnarok, which is the Norse apocalypse.
Overall, the story was a good read. It was fun to watch Ives’ and the other characters go through this fantasy world of gods and goddesses from both Norse and Hawaiian mythology. I think this story is a fresh take on mythology.
My recommendation: 3.5/5 stars.
sinamile's review against another edition
4.0
ARC Review: Received for free via Netgalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
CW/TW: vomiting, animal death, inappropriate touching, sex work shaming, blood, fire
I— I like it actually. I don't even know why it took so long for me to get into it. But maybe the reason I finally decided T on give it a proper chance and actually read it is because if Netflix's "Ragnarok" (amazing show, must watch!) and I must say I'm glad I finally read it!
Despite the few spelling errors here and there (and the weird setup of the ARC) this was a really enjoyable read and I'm excited for a second book (I hope there's a second book because Artharian legends, ma'am!)
I love Hel, Fenrir and Jorm so much and I want them all succeed in life and they deserve the world after the way they've been treated. I also love Jules and Hildr and Lavi Ives and yerp, I guess I'm going to liat all the chacarters because I love them all. And Ives gang, we stan Ives because she kind of a mess but she's the kind of mess that I can route for.
The one thing that pinched is how I kept hoping and praying that Hel/Ives would happen but then woooop no. Like I wanted that so badly. The book is very hetero if we're being honest and with the way Hel and Ives were set up I really thought we were going to get that Sapphic goodness. But ke, nope. And truth be told I'm not crazy about the idea of Ives and [redacted]. But maybe Hel is still going to get a girlfriend *crosses fingers*, so.
But anyway, I love Norse mythology and I enjoyed this book very, very much!
CW/TW: vomiting, animal death, inappropriate touching, sex work shaming, blood, fire
I— I like it actually. I don't even know why it took so long for me to get into it. But maybe the reason I finally decided T on give it a proper chance and actually read it is because if Netflix's "Ragnarok" (amazing show, must watch!) and I must say I'm glad I finally read it!
Despite the few spelling errors here and there (and the weird setup of the ARC) this was a really enjoyable read and I'm excited for a second book (I hope there's a second book because Artharian legends, ma'am!)
I love Hel, Fenrir and Jorm so much and I want them all succeed in life and they deserve the world after the way they've been treated. I also love Jules and Hildr and Lavi Ives and yerp, I guess I'm going to liat all the chacarters because I love them all. And Ives gang, we stan Ives because she kind of a mess but she's the kind of mess that I can route for.
The one thing that pinched is how I kept hoping and praying that Hel/Ives would happen but then woooop no. Like I wanted that so badly. The book is very hetero if we're being honest and with the way Hel and Ives were set up I really thought we were going to get that Sapphic goodness. But ke, nope. And truth be told I'm not crazy about the idea of Ives and [redacted]. But maybe Hel is still going to get a girlfriend *crosses fingers*, so.
But anyway, I love Norse mythology and I enjoyed this book very, very much!
candacerobinsonauthor's review
5.0
This is the second book I've read by Jacques, and her writing is so much fun! When I saw there would be a brownie, Valkyrie, and more, I was in!
This book was very character driven, and I loved it! Ives was a smart and awesome character who felt like a real person, a person I'd want to be my friend! Where can I find some cool people like her at?
The descriptions were vivid, plenty of action, and so much quirk that this is another book that this is another one that I wish were a movie. Plus I think you'll be familiar with a certain character in this book! Need another book in this world!
This book was very character driven, and I loved it! Ives was a smart and awesome character who felt like a real person, a person I'd want to be my friend! Where can I find some cool people like her at?
The descriptions were vivid, plenty of action, and so much quirk that this is another book that this is another one that I wish were a movie. Plus I think you'll be familiar with a certain character in this book! Need another book in this world!