*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

4.5/5
Wow. This book really surprised me. In the best possible way. I came into it with no expectations but I ended loving most every part.

The Weight of a Soul by Elizabeth Tammi is about a girl named Lena who wants nothing more than to bring her sister back no matter the cost, even if it means hurting others to do so. In this fast-paced semi-fantasy novel based greatly on Norse mythology, comes a heart-wrenching story of grief, honour, family duty, and most importantly, sisterly love.

The beginning of the book started a little clumsily for me. I couldn’t quite get into the hang of Tammi’s writing style until about 2 chapters in. Looking back, the opening of the novel makes a lot more sense in how the whole story played out.

I can’t get enough of Lena. I love her. I love how emotionally deep and interesting she is. I felt for her every page. I want more of her and other of Tammi’s characters cause she writes such a well developed world with actual not boring characters (bless).

I can’t even be mad with that ending. It was so beautiful. And I don’t say that often. It left you wanting more while also being completely satisfied at the same time. I really hope for a sequel or companion novel to this book cause I would just eat it up.

**Will be posted to my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on November 3, 2019 - nearer to publication date**

Thank you to Flux and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

This was an interesting read and what kept me reading was watching Lena deal with the grief of losing her sister. But as the story went on and Lena makes a deal with the goddess of death to bring her sister back, I thought Lena was at some points, truly losing it.

Making that deal made her do some heinous things and all because she wanted her sister back. Talk about sisterly devotion.

What I liked:

*The Norse mythology with the involvement of gods and goddesses in Lena’s life was something I enjoyed. It definitely made Lena make some interesting choices.

*Lena’s love for her sister is admirable and tragic. Everything was motivated by Fressa’s death, or so we think.
The portrayal of grief and how it can make someone spiral into depression and despair was well written. I could totally relate to all of that.

*I like the expression of a “weight of a soul” and how it is explained. That was quite fascinating.
I love the cover and the gray palette!

What I didn’t like:

*Poor Amal (Lena’s friend), I felt like all he was doing was crying in this book. But his life is so messed up by Fressa’s death and then Lena’s actions. He couldn’t catch a break. But I felt like he could have stepped into the role of future leader of the clan much better. But all we see is someone falling apart as much as Lena is (understandably) – and here I am now not cutting him some slack! Sorry Amal! 😂

*I felt like most of the book was just going through Lena’s grief and not much else. It was a bit slow for me in certain parts and some chapters were really short, I don’t know if that was on purpose or an error.

*With all the Norse mythology represented, I felt like it was lacking something – not enough mysticism? It was dark for sure but I think I wanted it to delve more into Lena’s darkness. Is it bad that I want this dark book, to get darker? 😅

*I mostly liked the book but was left feeling the story was just okay. But the writing is good, I think it’s just I’ve read a few Viking inspired stories the past few months and they were much grittier, harsh , brutal, and you get my drift. So I felt like this book could have gone deeper, especially with Lena’s character. But that’s just my personal preference though!

I think most people who like Viking-inspired and Norse mythology stories will actually enjoy this one.

To be completely honest..from reading the summary of the novel, I was fully expecting something different than what this story provided. It sounded as if there would be a lot more adventure to the story but I found myself with a mythical family drama.
Magdalena's grief over losing her sister was the driving factor of the entire book and for the most part,she drowned in her own grief for a good chunk of it, with very little going on otherwise.
I wish I wouldn't have set any preconceived notions for myself before diving into this book because the writing was fantastic, characters had substance and it was not a bad book overall. I just could not help but continuously wait for something exciting and crazy to happen, and when things finally did happen they felt pretty mild and anticlimactic. This was 100% my fault though.
As long as you don't go into this with the same mindset as I did, this book should be enjoyable. Just don't expect an action packed adventure .
3/5

Character and plot development was good. It was very slow at the start, but the climax and ending really pick up the pace and wrap the book up together nicely.

I loved Lena, and I was so sad at her ending. I think she deserved more, the poor girl had been through hell and back for her sister.

My one, and biggest gripe about the story were the GODS. I am not familiar with Noors legends, and I feel a good backstory and explanation of the gods would have been very nice. We get a few stories here and there, but at the end of the day I still don’t know very much about any of them and they are such key parts of the story I wish the author had delved into that more. Plus I just love mythology, I wish the author had breathed life into the Gods.

I think this was a very touching story. In the end, I enjoyed it. There were a couple slow parts, like the wedding was not one of my favorite scenes, I thought it was overdrawn and long. I wish there had been more storytelling and life in the gods. But it was an entertaining read, and it kept my attention well. I would recommend!

This review will be published on my Goodreads on August 2nd 2019.

ARC provided by Flux, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Weight of the Soul by Elizabeth Tammi is a story about love between sisters - (Magda)Lena and Fressa. They are part of a Viking society and are daughters of the chief of the clan, who during the book goes back and forth between travelling (aka raiding) and being your typical brawl-y father figure. Their mother, Val, is present but is not given much of a character. Early in the story something happens to Fressa and it's Lena's love towards her sister that drives the story forward. She goes back and forth between Helheim and Midgård and meets up with the gods on her quest to help her sister. Meeting with the goddess of death, Hel, she is given terms she must fulfil to get the goddess's help in the matter. Terms that are harder than Magdalena intentionally thought they would be.

As a Swede it's always interesting to see Norse mythology being used in works written by non-Scandinavian authors to see how the stories may differ from what I was taught in school and the material I've read on my own as I happen to enjoy mythological stories (from any pantheon really!) - I did like the way the mythological side was used, it felt well-written and not that out of character from any of the deities that Magdalena encountered on her quest. I also enjoyed that the actions she took during the quest had consequences for her life which isn't something that every writer takes in consideration. They have their characters do horrible things with nothing bad happening to them, and Tammi took the opposite route - good choice!

Other things I didn't enjoy though. First thing - the main character's name - in Sweden, at least (can't speak for the rest of Scandinavia), the name Magdalena did not appear in historical sources until 1455 (Lena even later in 1481) and this was something that took away a lot for me story wise. I realise that this is a fantasy story, but there were still enough elements in there that showed the author had at least read a book or some articles about how life in the 900s in Northern Europe. Names are important to a story.. .

I also did not get why the sisters were so important to one another more than that they grew up together. From the get go we, the readers, are told that these two characters mean a lot to one another. I have a sister too, but I'm unsure if I'd go to the underworld and back to try to get help for her. My point is that there is no explanation to why the sisters love each other that much more so than that they are related!

I give this a 2 star rating.

DNF at page 114

Wow

This book started out so promising. The blurb sounded amazing and I was really curious to the characters and their journey.... But this just wasn't it for me. The characters fell flat and there's more politics and mulling in thoughts then there is searching for her lost sister and meeting with gods.

I was provided with an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review

The Weight of the Soul was based in Norse mythology tales and is what really intrigued me, however, that was really the most interesting part of the book. Lena the main character goes on a quest to bring her sister back from death. There were a few twists and turns that I enjoyed but for the most part most of the book was not as intriguing as the beginning and the end.

#TheWeightofaSoul
Thank you to NetGalley and Flux for the opportunity to read and review The Weight of a Soul.
I found myself having trouble getting the pace at first. It does start slow, but quickly gets going with the bond of two sisters. Lena is a wonderfully written character that will keep you turning page after page to find out what happens to her. The twists and mythology of the story is well done. It is a dark, haunting tale of love and the bonds we cannot let go.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of The Weight of a Soul from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Cool novel! Very original. This was a semi-dark--but interesting--story that did not turn out as expected at all. Lena is a very tangible character, who deeply misses her sister and will stop at nothing to see her again.
...I feel that a sequel may be in the future, which I would also read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Every book has it's reader, and in this case I was not that reader. I found the plot obvious, the characterization shallow, and the motivations of the characters uninteresting and unworthy of the amount of text dedicated to them. I can see most other reviewers strongly disagree and loved the book. We'll have to chalk this one up to different tastes.

*I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book wrecked me. This story was so beautifully written and entwined with emotion. When I finished the last page, I let my kindle fall into my lap and I stared at the ceiling in awe for several minutes. I was truly wrecked and also, heartbroken.

LENA DESERVED BETTER!!!
I struggled with the fact that this entire book was about bringing Lena's sister, Fressa, back from the afterlife. Halfway through the book, my mind was screaming, "Who cares about Fressa anymore?! I love Lena and Lena alone! And Amal needs to love Lena as I do!!" And yet, Lena risks her life and reputation over and over again to bring Fressa back from Valhalla, a character we saw for 0.2 seconds.

Oh and the ending, you guys. I shan't say a word about it but just, WOW. I never saw any of the twists coming. If I felt free to say spoilers, I would go more into detail about the ending and how I felt about it. But overall, it was a beautiful but deeply sad ending that left me more sorrowful than I ever expected to be from this book. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that this book will be receiving a sequel? The story ends with many unanswered questions and I dearly hope that Ms.Tammi will write another to answer them.

Overall, a gorgeous, breathtaking, and deeply moving story that truly taught me "the weight of a soul".

** I was provided with an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Elizabeth Tammi's sophomore novel, The Weight of a Soul, follows Lena and her clan in the Viking age of Scandinavia. Of course, the Norse gods have their own plans, and Lena and her sister, Fressa, have roles to play.

It seems to be a somewhat recent theme in YA novels to go with a Viking sort of setting, and I am absolutely here for it. Tammi comes across as respectful to the mythology she draws from, while also interpreting the gods and their magic in her own way.

Tammi also does well with pacing throughout the course of the novel, and establishes the potential/need for a sequel without leaving the reader in a nasty cliffhanger. She also doesn't make things easy for Lena in her quest for the gods, which was nice to see.

I am absolutely excited to continue to follow Tammi in her future books, particularly in this same series as it was decidedly my favorite so far that I've read in this Viking theme.

Overall, well written, a one-sitting read, and a really good time.

This is a story with many twists and turns, it keeps you guessing and wondering what will happen next! Great read and a great story!

I enjoyed reading The Weight of the Soul by Elizabeth Tammi very much. From the description, I thought I would like it but did not realize just how much. The thing that struck me was the relationship of Lena and Fressa. While we did not get a lot of time with both sisters and most of our knowledge of their relationship is through Lena, we can sense the strong bond between them. The girls are complete opposites in nearly everything and it is made clear that Fressa seems to be just about everyone's favorite sister. Their parents and the villagers all seem to gravitate and understand her while Lena is something of an outsider. She mentions that feeling throughout the book and most especially once she begins her attempt to bring Fressa back. It would have been too easy and unfortunately the expected thing to have the sisters compete against each other. Luckily, our author is too smart to fall into that tired trope. She recognized that more often than not sisters, women, indeed all people are better and smarter than that.

I sincerely hope Ms. Tammi continues this story, the ending is written in such a way that another book naturally comes to mind (and expectations).

I came for the Norse mythology and I stayed for the imperfect in the best way characters. You would never know until you got to the author's note that there was some of the "second book syndrome" while writing it. The question that fuels the story in this book is how far would one person go for the love of a sister? Lena was a character who felt she knew what she had to do but was confused and then berwhelmed by it, understandably. When Hela and Loki appeared in the story, it was well done. The gods and mythology aspect of the book were well incorporated. I'm usually a little more judgmental when reading a book marketed as teen/young adult because I've read some many that are just too juvenile but this certainly was not. A good book for people who enjoy well written fantasy.

I absolutely loved the story and world that Elizabeth Tammi has created in this novel. The pacing was a little slow at times, but it doesn't detract from the novel. As a fan of Norse mythology, I loved seeing it used in this book. I hope there will be a sequel so I can return to the world Elizabeth Tammi has constructed.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC of this book filled to the brim with lore and heart! I love a novel that takes mythology and makes it their own, and that’s exactly what Elizabeth has done here. We see familiar faces like Hela and hear names we know by heart like Loki and Odin, but it’s in a way you’ve never seen them before.

We follow Lena, the daughter of a chief of a Viking settlement. They are awaiting her father’s return from a raid to ask his permission for her sister, Fressa, to marry the boy she loves, Amal. When he does return, he comes bearing gifts and hands a sword to Fressa, the village’s strongest fighter. It lights up with runes in her hands but the strangeness of the weapon is forgotten as their father reveals that Amal has been promised to Lena from childhood since she is the elder sibling and will be chieftess someday.

At this news, Fressa runs off, only to be discovered by Lena minutes later on the floor of the forest, dead. Thus begins Lena’s journey into Helheim, where she strikes a deal with Hela to bring her sister back if she can find a soul equal to that of what she has lost. Lena loses herself in the drive to get her sister back, and ends up with blood on her hands, but no one she encounters is good enough for the goddess. Time behind to run out as the signs of Ragnarok draw near, and Lena finds out things about her village that stop her in her tracks.

It’s such a lovely story of sisterhood and love, and I especially like how the women in this novel are portrayed as strong, cunning, and a valuable part of this society. Fressa’s loss is deeply felt throughout the community, and seeing Amal trying to grieve his lost love while preparing to marry her own sister is absolutely devastating. The ending here made me audibly gasp, and I really hope there’s a sequel in the works! I recommend this to fans of myths and thrillers alike!

I’m not going to lie to you half of these characters I pictured as the Marvel cast.

“Weight of a Soul” finds Lena drowning in grief following the seemingly random death of her younger sister and as the rules of her clan pushes her towards marriage and the responsibilities of a chiefs wife, she sets off to plead with the God of Death to bring her sister back, even if the price is more than she may be willing to pay.

I really loved the concept of this book and just how far someone would go for someone they love especially while in those stages of grief where any offer to change things seems like a good choice. I wasn’t sure if we would actually go there with the price of this deal but I was morbidly happy to see that we did and with each new attempt Lena became a bit darker and slightly more unhinged as she held out hope that at least her efforts were for something only to find that sometimes the gods have other plans.

I enjoyed the set up of the mythology as I’m not too well versed in the Norse myths and with my recent marcel rewatch I did mash some of the similar elements together but it didn’t affect my overall read. The introduction of Loki and his truth, or deception, as the god of mischief was a lot of fun especially once we hit the twist and despite knowing what the answer would be, I think it wrapped up well giving us a nice little green eyed wink to the audience that not all endings are final.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**