*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**