The Hernstad siblings are trying to stay off the radar of those who seek them and live a normal life. They are trying to earn money to create a successful farm and help Hanne with her upcoming wedding preparations. However, when a fire sweeps across the plains and destroys everything the family has worked for, the siblings must split up, so that they can recover. Hanne and her finance join a cattle drive, one brother enters into an arrangement of physical labor, and Sissel and her older brother stay behind to finish the school year. With Sissel on her own, she is free to and is desperate to explore her own abilities. Sissel is a ransacker, or someone who can find precious metals around her. It is with her uncanny ability to find gold that she begins attracting the notice of local prospectors and those who have been hunting the family. With two men fighting for her hand, Sissel will need to decide who is trustworthy and able to keep her family safe.

I found that I enjoyed this novel much better than the first. I found Sissel’s storyline more compelling. It moved faster and her drama revolved around her finding her own inner strength. I am going to keep reading because I want Laybourne to keep writing. However, this series still remains my least favorite because it is slower and I am not fascinated by the villainous organization coming after the Hernstads.

I did like this book even if I didn't love it. I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Berserker, so I was pretty eager to see what the Hemstad family was up to. While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the previous book, I did find it to be a worthwhile read and enjoyed the story overall.

The set up for this series is really quite interesting. The book takes place in the Old West and focuses on a family with a unique set of abilities. These abilities are linked back to the Norse gods and each member of the Hemstad family has their own unique power, which the exception of the youngest, Sissel. Sissel feels like she is the weakest member of the family since she always seems to be in poor health in addition to lacking a gift.

I think that the main reason that I didn't connect with this book quite as much as the previous book in the series is the fact that this book is largely told from Sissel's point of view. Unfortunately, the bulk of this book is really just about Sissel instead of the family as a group. I think that one of the strengths of the first book was the relationships between the siblings but in this installment, the family went in different directions and not really a part of the bigger story for much of the book. We do occasionally check in with Hanne and Owen while they are away and I must admit to enjoying those brief segments much more than Sissel's story.

Sissel had been the only member of the family not to be blessed with a gift but that changes shortly after the start of this book. She quite literally stumbles upon her ability to detect metals and learns that she is a Ransacker. There hasn't been a Ransacker for a very long time and Sissel isn't exactly sure what she is capable of so a lot of the story is spent watching her practice and test her new found ability. Unfortunately, I didn't find her ability nearly as exciting as that of her sister even though it would be really nice to be able to locate gold with ease.

The book does get a lot more exciting as it progressed and there were a few pretty intense scenes before everything was over. I think that I liked the final sections of the book much more not only because there was a lot of action but also because the family was reunited. There is a bit of romance that pops up before the end of the book and I hate to say it but I just wasn't feeling it.

I would recommend this series to others. I do think that it is best to read this series in order and overall it is a really solid story. I wouldn't hesitate to read more from Emmy Laybourne in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group - Feiwel & Friends via NetGalley.

Musings: 
Ransacker is the empowering sequel to one of my favorite reads of 2018 Berserker. The horror was dialed back in Ransacker to make way for a whole different sort of story. The story of Sissel. The sister who was known for being Nyette free and weak. But the sister who would not be set back by her perceived weaknesses any longer.
What I Loved: 
Sissel's strength. This is 100% Sissel's story. She grows in this story. She finds her worth. She finds her strength. She decides for herself to take the path that she desires. Sissel shines in Ransacker and I'm all here for it.
The western feel. I am usually completely uninterested in western novels, but this one uses the western setting in a great way to tell a totally unique story and I'm all for it.
The Norse Mythology. I love a good fantasy with magic, but this sort of magic in particular is really intriguing to me. Using your powers eventually leading to some sort of physical punishment like the possibility of hearing loss is intriguing. Especially when the call to use these powers is always very strong.
Love beyond the flaws. McKray the mine owner is a swindler. He is fundamentally a flawed human being. He lied to increase his own wealth and yet Sissel saw more in him. Saw him in his totality and loved him for him completely. Though they did have their struggles love won out. That's the kind of love that I'd like to share.
The other Beau. I may not hold any love for James, but I do love how Sissel grew from her courtship with him. Sissel knew that she didn't want this boy. They had a friendship and James always acted like he wanted more (for not the best of reasons) and Sissel eventually chose for herself what she wanted and she did so with great respect for herself and I greatly admire that.
The continuation of Hanne's story. I like that Hanne had her own little storyline within Sissel's story. I loved seeing her and Owen together and seeing their relationship evolve more deeply. I always loved them together and seeing them live and grow together was a beautiful addition to the novel.
The imagery that the powers of a Ransacker creates. The way that Sissel connected with metals was so cool. They were characterized with different personalities and gold being of the most brilliance. It created this really beautiful and totally unique layer of description that I adored.
All in all: 
Ransacker was brilliant and empowering and beautifully written. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to read it. It's a worthy sequel to Ransacker with its own very unique vibe. I enjoyed every moment of reading it.

4/5 Stars

This book gave me everything I was hoping for after reading Berserker. You get to learn more about everybody else involved and a better understanding of the world, and their Nyttes. And the story starts back up not long after the end of Berserker. Now we get to learn more about Sissel and her nytte of being a Ransacker. The action starts up pretty early on!

I will say I did not connect with Sissel as well as I did Hanne, BUT I think I'm a very different person than Sissel so that's understandable to me. Also we still get to read Hanne's POV in this book so it worked just fine for me!

Ransacker, by author Emmy Laybourne, is the finale to the Berserker duology. This story takes place 2 years after the events of Berserker. The Hemstads (Hanne, Stieg, Knut, and Sissel) possess supernatural powers bestowed upon their family by the ancient Norse Gods. Sissel Hemstad, the youngest at 16, will finally discover her Nytte gift, She's a Ransacker. She can find gold and other precious metals and pull them to her. Hers is an awesome and dangerous gift and the only one like her in the whole world.

The Hemstads, along with Owen Bennett, have been living peacefully in a small town in Montana, trying to blend in and escape the violent events that still haunt them, especially Hanne. But, after a fire rushes across the plains destroying almost everything they own, Hanne and Owen leave for a cattle drive where they are hoping to make enough money to rebuild. Knut goes off to work as a laborer on an unaffected farm, and Stieg, now the local schoolteacher, and Sissel go to live in the town hotel, managed by 20-year old Isaiah McKray.

Sissel is sick and tired of being treated like a little weakling, with Hanne hovering over her all the time and everyone else making decisions that directly affect her without her input. But, with her discovery of her gift, Sissel becomes an entirely different character than we've seen before. In my review for Berserker, I said, "My least favorite character is Sissel, and not just because she has no apparent abilities. She grates on your nerves and gets under your skin. She nags at Hanna instead of supporting what she is going through."

That pretty much doesn't change for most of the first half of this book. Soon, however, Stieg, and Sissel learn that they've been tricked. The handsome young man named James who seems to be courting Sissel, is at the same time, keeping a secret that he is a Pinkerton agent spying on her and reporting back to Baron Fjelstad in Norway. To make matters even more twisted, Isaiah McKray, son of a famous gold miner, is sniffing around too closely and gets wind of what Sissel is able to do.

With betrayal lurking around every corner, Sissel must tread carefully. Harnessing her powers could bring a great fortune, or cause Baron Fjelstad to come hunting for her and her family. The author uses both Sissel & Hanne, as well as James, to tell her story this time around. I will be honest in saying I got distracted quite a bit while reading this book. I often found other things to do instead of finishing the book. Of course, I was supposed to have surgery on my eyes which still hasn't been finished!

Which is why I am just writing my review for this book even though I had finished it weeks ago. I am happy about the ending. It pretty much wraps up things nicely to the point where it's not necessary for a sequel. After all, the issue with the Baron ends up being resolved in a matter that doesn't need to be discussed, or spoiled. I am glad that Owen got a bit of peace with his family, and all that was done to him. I am happy that Hanne and Owen find their HEA. I am even happy with the way Sissel's character grows leaps and bounds in this book.

If you haven’t read the first book in the Beserker series, er, Beserker, then its sequel, Ransacker won’t make a lot of sense. So, maybe you should go read Beserker. Or you could read about it in the review that I wrote a while back! It’s got Henrik Ibsen references... Go ahead, I’ll wait.

So its two years after the events of Beserker and now we're focusing on now 16 year old Sissel. Sissel is sick and tired of being treated like a little weakling, with Hanne hovering over her all the time and everyone else making decisions that directly affect her without her input. The Hemstads and Owen, now engaged to Hanne, live in a timber house on a farm outside Carter Montana. Unfortunately, and I'm not sure if you guys are aware of this, but during the summer, the entire Western half of the United States catches fire. Like, all of it. So a giant fire sweeps through the community, destroying the Hemstad's farm - with no hope of enough income to afford to marry, Hanne and Owen take off to join a cattle drive, Knut goes off to work as a laborer on an unaffected farm, and Steig, now the local schoolteacher, and Sissel go to live in the town hotel, managed by the hunky 20-year old Isaiah McKray.

While the Hemstads are enjoying these relatively normal 19-century-Western-immigrant life problems, they have no idea they're under constant Pinkerton surveillance, led by Mr. Peavy and a kid he hired to pretend to be his son, James. The Pinkertons were hired by the evil Baron Fjelstad from the first book and he seems obsessed in knowing about Sissel. James's one job is to woo Sissel, be her suitor and get her to spill her secrets. But the thing is, of course, James actually likes Sissel and is a bit wary of the intentions of the Baron and the Pinkertons.

Poor James has zero idea about the whole Nytte thing, by the way.

At first it seems like Sissel has no Nytte, until a funeral after the fire when she starts to feel something in the Earth calling to her... turns out Sissel is a ransacker, a very rare nytte in which a person can sense metals and draw them to themselves. Like gold. Gold is good. Have I mentioned that Isiah McCray also owns a gold mine outside of town? Yeah, he would very much like someone of Sissel's talent to work for him. And so would the Baron. Sissel has to keep her new gift a secret, but her family needs money and she can sense gold so...what could possibly go wrong?

Lots of things, as it turns out.

Beserker and Ransacker are both the sorts of book that I just start reading and then just breeze through - again, I’m a slow-ass reader, I take breaks, get distracted easily, have to work while at work and do housework while at home...I’m lucky if I can manage 1 book per week (maybe 2 if I have an audiobook on-hand), but with both Beserker and Ransacker, I’d start and then find myself having to drag myself away. Nooo, I don’t want to do dishes, I want to read more about magical 19th Century Norwegian immigrants! That’s way more fun than scrubbing bits of cat food off the cat dishes. You know who’s really good at getting the bits of dried cat food off the cat dishes? The dog. Why can’t he just do those dishes and don’t say it’s because he doesn’t have opposable thumbs...

I was going to have this review done sooner but I'm currently at ALA midwinter, drowning in all the books they just give out for free. FREE. the two sweetest words in the English language: free books. Either way: though it may not work as a standalone book, Ransacker is an excellent sequel, and gives a highly satisfying conclusion to the story of the Hemstads. I’m not sure if this series is meant to be a duology or a trilogy or what, but I do know that Ransacker delivers one hell of an ending. I cried. It was great.

Wow, this one was just as good as the first. I really enjoy the setting and characters and the mix of the old west with Norse mythology. Plus a strong family that loves each other and will do anything to keep each other safe.

This is Sissel’s story. She is the youngest of the four siblings and in the first book she was the least likable. I could relate to Sissel though, I’m the youngest of four too and know how hard that can be. She also did not have a talent, which made her feel left out. But now her talent has manifested, later than the others, and it is one that could lead to disaster for the family. Sissel does grow quite a bit in this story, although her choices sometimes are questionable. She still isn’t as likable as her siblings, but she does kind of grow on you.

Hanne and Owen are still involved, although why they were waiting to get married is beyond me. They spend some of the book working on a cattle drive, which was interesting again to read about. This time Hanne was working with the cook and so we got a different perspective of what a cattle drive is like. Her berserker instincts were still strong and important, but for the most part she can control them. Some of the sweeter parts of this book was when her and Owen had some time alone together.

James Peavy and Isaiah McKray are the two men vying for Sissel’s attention. James is the Pinkerton spy, but I do believe he genuinely had feelings for Sissel. He didn’t really know why he was spying on her and her family, and he didn’t completely trust the Pinkertons. But I liked him much better than Isaiah. Isaiah was a bit of a swindler, and he started off just wanting Sissel for her ability. But I think by the end he really did start to care for her.

Steig story unfolds a bit more and I am hoping that the next book is the one that focuses on him. He spent most of this book being exasperated by Sissel, but really wanted to help her with her gift. He is a strong character with a lot of potential for his own story. Knut was not in this book much, but he also would make a good story for another book.

The plot of this book was just as good as the first, although it does start off a bit slow. The ending really makes up for the slow start though. The threat of the Baron is at the forefront of the families issues as is the old warrant for Knut arrest. Keeping Sissel’s Nytte a secret is also a main part of the plot. Can you imagine how hard that one would be to hide? I don’t blame Sissel for wanting to use it either. It could solve all of the families money issues. I will warn you that there are some pretty brutal violent scenes concerning berserkers and their violent ways of killing. Not quite as bad as the first book, but still disturbing.

I really enjoyed this duology and highly recommend it not to just historical fantasy aficionados, but any one who enjoys historical fiction as well. The detail of the setting will really draw you in.

Ransacker, the second book in the Berserker series by Emmy Laybourne. I was fortunate enough to have the pleasure of meeting Ms. Laybourne for a book signing in the city I live in. She was a wonderful person and she talked about the world she created that it hooked me into getting her first book Berserker. I fell in love with this book that I was jumping with joy when I got the ARC of Ransacker. Again I loved this title; however, not as a much as the first book. It started off a little on the slow side but already knowing the world and the background I felt that just fine. After it picked up I once again found another series that I cannot wait to see more of.

Excellent conclusion to the duology. This book concentrates on Sissel and her character development is fantastic. I didn't expect the ending whatsoever, but it's not a bad thing.

This was a 3.5 book for me. The book just started out a bit slow for me. It did pick up and I ended up enjoying it by the end, but it took a while to get there. I also was not a fan of the main character, personally so I think that played a part of my lower rating. The author builds a great world and has great character development. I enjoyed the writing style as well.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this title for review.

I read Berserker last year and was so excited to see that Laybourne was going to continue the series. This story focuses mainly on Sissel and her discovery of being a Ransacker (this is the Nyette gift of finding and manipulating metals). The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is that it started a bit slow, and even though it was mainly focused on Sissel, the storylines also diverged every other chapter early on to cover Sissel, Hanne, and James (a secondary character that wasn't as developed in the end as I would have liked). Besides all of these things, this ended up being a great follow up to the first book. The action is there and I found myself comparing it to the hit Outlander at the end. This idea of romance, set in a whirlwind adventurous/rugged setting, with magic, seems to fit that bill.

This is completely appropriate for grades 7 and up. There is some violence, but nothing worse than in other science fiction/fantasy tales. Also, there is no sexual content-just some kissing (and that is sporadic). There is little to no language (only a random "goddammit" throughout). Highly recommend.

This is a very unique YA series. I loved how the 1st book, Beserker, infused Norse mythology and Norwegian culture into a family story of settlement in the US, 1880’s. The characters were well developed and I felt attached to each of the 4 siblings as well as their guide Owen. Three of the siblings have a Nytteson gift that gives them fantastical abilities.

Since the 2nd book focused on Sissel, who was the least likable sibling from the first book, it was hard to adjust to liking her. However, the story unfolded well and the intensity of the story increased as you read. I really wanted more backstory for the secondary characters with the Nytteson gift, maybe in a 3rd book? If you enjoyed Beserker, definitely pick this up. Hanne and Owen go on a cattle drive, Sissel has two suitors, and plenty of untraditional beserker fight scenes.