*******SPOILERS*******
In The Weight of a Soul by Elizabeth Tammi, the Freding clan has suffered the unexpected death of one of the younger women. Fressa, Lena's sister, has been taken, with no signs as to the cause of death. Unable to accept this, Lena seeks answers in the runes, and ends up visiting Helheim. The answers she finds there are not what she expects.

I wanted to like this. I really, really did. The synopsis held such promise, especially the use of Norse mythology. That was the most enjoyable part of the story for me. The hel-horse, visiting Helheim, Loki and Hela. Sadly it was also the only enjoyable part. I'm Rokkatru, and Loki is my main patron deity. However, I'm used to stories that tend to portray him as 'evil'. This story tended toward that direction, while still allowing that perhaps there is a good reason for Loki to spur Ragnarok. In fact, it was only the chance to see Hela again, or some of the other gods, that kept me from DNFing the book.

The rest of the story was epically infuriating. Lena was angry almost the entire time. She had bursts of irrational rage. Lena is supposed to have been training for years to be an apothecary. A healer. Yet, she doesn't even hesitate to start killing to try and bring back a dead person! She needs to find someone worthy of Valhalla, yet the first two people she straight up murders are either not at all worthy, or would never fit in. Neither would another potential victim. A final potential might've been worthy, yet I am pretty sure that Odin would, ya know, notice. The soul to be replaced was one ordered there by Odin himself.

The soul supposedly 'worthy' this whole time was Lena herself. No. Not by any stretch of the imagination. She was a selfish brat turned serial killer. One of the people she killed was someone very close to her. She just turned on this person without a second thought, pissed because that person had a part in Lena's arranged marriage. Marriages were political, and Lena was the eldest daughter of the chief. Yet, she cared nothing for duty towards the safety and health of her clan either.

Not only was Lena an unlikable character, but many of the others didn't engage me either. They all seemed kinda flat. My favourite human was Nana, an elder of the clan. Loki and Hela were the most interesting to me. I loved the descriptions of the ceremony before the wedding, and of the wedding ceremony itself.

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & Flux for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I got an arc of this from netgalley and the publisher, thank you to both.

I think this had so much potential but in the end really wasn't for me. It was a book I was really excited by and the cover is STUNNING, but while it was an easy read it wasn't what I wanted.

The main character Lena did not inspire any sort of emotion in me at all. I couldn't connect with her at all, and I didn't like her. I found her to be impulsive and irrational, and also I got a weird emotionless disconnect from her. This was strange, considering this plot is based on her supposed love for her sister, which I really didn't see any good examples of. We have barely any time with the relationship between the sisters and so it didn't feel 'real' to me at all. Fressa was barely in the story, we see her for all of less than a day, then suddenly she's dead. Lena has shown she is jealous of her sister, and is a third wheel in her friendahip with Amal now he is dating Fressa, and thats all the emotion we get. Lena then gets a weird plan to speak to 'Hela' in 'Helheim'.

Which brings me to the mythology. This is what I was most excited about. I LOVE Norse Mythology, and anything themed with it. But this wasn't the mythology I know. Hela is the marvel comics version of the goddess Hel. I get that here Helheim is 'hel home' as heim means home, but I found it jarring, and it felt like it was just all a made up version of the mythology, and ended up making me feel this hadn't been researched. It wasn't what im familiar with, nor what I was hoping for.

I felt the attempt at a forced romance here was also extremely uncomfortable, and a lot of the choices made here (the person whose soul Lena chose, then the rushed ending) made me dislike Lena even more. I didn't understand the reasoning behind Lena's parents forcing her to marry Amal. As well as the fact that Lena would have made a terrible leader, and shows no qualities of leadership or care for her people. She has no real skills aside from healing but even then that is limited. She wasn't a believable character for me.

Despite that, I have given this 2 stars because the premise was good, I liked that it was based on sisterly love, and that Amal and Lena didn't suddenly fall in love when Frissa died. I think this book could have been amazing, but I went in with too high an expectation. I also think this would have been better if it had no knowledge of Norse Mythology, or had only seen marvel film versions of the stories!

Note : I received an e-ARC of this title, many thanks to Netgalley and Flux for this opportunity.

The Weight of a Soul is a YA fantasy steeped in norse mythology. It follows Lena, a chieftain's daughter. After the death of her sister, Fressa, Lena becomes obsessed with somehow saving her by finding a soul of equal value to give to Hela, a norse Goddess of death.

At about the 20% mark I was very drawn into this title and finished it in one engaged sitting. That's been hard to do as of late, so there is a magical aspect to the author's writing or something about it that really appealed on a personal level. The writing style is dramatic, sometimes overwrought, but does well in conveying the painful inner conflict of the main character. Definitely not recommendable for everyone, but it worked out for me when it comes to readability.

I really did not like Lena for the lion's share of this story. She is consumed by the loss of her sister to the point where I can't say much about Lena aside from "She loves her sister." She has few talents, goals, or noteworthy attributes outside of a truly one track mind and willingness to do anything (even ponder truly awful, amoral possibilities) to fulfill that singular goal of resurrecting her.

Lena could be considered an anti-hero, which would normally be a source of intrigue, but I was often frustrated with her character and the flow of events. There is a rich tapestry of norse mythology to draw from, but major characters (Odin, Freya, Thor, etc) are referenced rather than directly involved. Barring a few exceptions later on and the aforementioned god of death. There are still some wonderfully described portions pertaining to norse mythology.

Most of this book consists of Lena being unsure how to move forward and in a state of frustrated ennui which didn't make this a very pleasant reading experience. A large amount of space is also devoted to the newly strained friendship of Lena and Amal, Fressa's lover. It was mostly awkward and miserable to read sections pertaining to the two of them as there is low key tension between the two but I was quickly convinced that they would trade each other for Fressa in a heartbeat.

The ending was a mixed bag of extremes for me. On one hand, there is real development and a frenzy of activity that was great to see and helped pick up the pace.

On the other hand, (while not going into detail, and just aiming to keep this review spoiler-free) this is one of the most ill-conceived and just plain awful endings I've ever seen and it's of a nature that is particularly mind-boggling to find in a YA novel.

Though I'm giving this one star, it occupies perhaps a more favorable space within that rating. It's not the worst book. I think of the worst books as sparking no feelings or being unreadable/unfinishable. The opposite of love is indifference and I definitely was not indifferent to all that occurred here.

As soon as I saw that this book contained elements of Norse mythology I was intrigued. As you may know, I love reading stories about mythology (no matter from where). Sadly I was rather disappointed by this book, I didn’t end up liking it as much as I hoped I would.

The mythology aspect of The Weight of a Soul I enjoyed greatly. It was very interesting to read about it. Everything else I had my problems with. I hated Lena, the main character. She was completely unlikable and, while I don’t have anything about unlikable protagonists, in this book it felt like I was supposed to like her. She made some really obvious dumb decisions, despite being described as smart. She was very frustrating to read about.

I didn’t feel any connection or sympathy towards any of the characters, which made me not care about what was going on in the story. That in turn made the majority of this book boring to me. Overall, I really didn’t enjoy The Weight of a Soul, as you can clearly see by my review. Personally I wouldn’t recommend you to pick this book up.

I think this is probably the first in a series as the way it ended leaves it open for another book.

This is steeped in Nordic legend & focuses predominantly on the story of sisters Lena & Fressa and their friend Amal.

It is dark but easy to read, intriguing & mystical.

Overall, 4.5 stars!

The mythology behind it was very interesting. I felt very invested in the decisions Lena had to make throughout her journey. It really made me stop to think about my own life.

Damn, this synopsis really hooked me when I first read it so it was incredibly disappointing when I ended up quitting just a few chapters in. 

Here's the thing, I love Norse mythology and the history of Vikings. So when I read a book about them, I want it to be very historically accurate and this book was not. From the writing style, to the names to plot points, I was sitting there feeling very skeptical the whole time and I just couldn't stand it.  The name Lena is even a Norse name, but rather Estonian. This seems like a vital detail that should have been double checked!

Also we're told that Lena's sister Fressa is a good fighter, but that their father the chief doesn't recognize this because she's a woman. But Vikings had female fighters all time, this would not have been a novelty.   From just the few chapters I read I had to wonder if the author did any research at all. 

On top of all that the writing style was so hard for me. At times it would sound too modern and at others it would sound like it was trying to be old fashioned (but failing the entire time), it was so annoying. 

So in the end I only got about 8% into my kindle copy.  I don't recommend this book and I gave it one star.

I enjoyed this story, although there was a fair bit of exposition in the world-building. Weaving Norse mythology into the story was enjoyable - I have wanted to read more since reading Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology - and this book included the mythology in an interesting way. Although I enjoyed the book I don't think I would purchase a sequel (which the ending seems to imply will be coming). A solid 3 stars.

Disclaimer: I DNF'd this book at the halfway mark.

This book was not for me. The summary really hooked me, but it failed to deliver. I haven't seen many norse god/viking books in YA fiction, and this sounded like it would be right up my alley. However, I failed to connect with the story and the characters. I wasn't able to fall into the story and just found myself reading words on the screen page after page.

It had promise, but the delivery just fell short. I would have liked a little more world building, and some more atmosphere in the read. I don't feel like a star rating is fair since I didn't finish the book, but for what I read, It was a solid 2 stars.

I’ve read a few Vikings stories in the past year or so and largely enjoyed them all. Mythology is always a win for me, so it’s been fun to see Norse mythology getting its day in the sun after Roman and Greek had staked out the genre for so long. Combine those things with a story about sisters and this book was a no brainer for me to request. Sadly, all of those things together still somehow didn’t prove to be enough for me to really enjoy this book.

Lena and Fressa have grown up together to be as close as sisters can be. But while Lena is set out to lead a quiet, predictable life as a healer, it is Fressa who draws people to her with the sheer force of her vitality. So it is a shock when Fressa is suddenly found dead. But the life of a Viking is one of violence and sudden endings, so life moves on, for everyone but Lena. Driven to discover not only what happened to Fressa but to bring her beloved sister back, Lena sets out on a mission that will test the boundaries of life and death and draw her into the dark places of the world and herself.

So, as I said, this book wasn’t a hit for me. Even the things I liked are couched between things I disliked. For example, I liked the sisterly relationship. However, the story jumps through plot elements so quickly in the beginning that I was never able to feel fully connected to Fressa, thus lessening the impact of her death and my own commitment to the lengths (some pretty bad) that Lena went to in her attempts to bring her sister back.

I also enjoyed the mythology aspect of the story. However, again, there was really very little of it and only two god characters played a part and even then were more plot devices than anything else. The goddess, in particular, I felt was underwhelming and non-threatening, not something you want from an all-powerful being.

The pacing of the story also felt very off. As I said, the beginning of the book rushes through many important plot points. It’s attempting to not only set up the relationship between the sisters, but between them both and Fressa’s fiance, the girls’ parents, and a few of the other village members as well. Between this and the brief attempts at history and world-building, the story feels like it’s simply jumping from one plot point to another. And then, suddenly, when Lena begins her journey, the brakes are pumped, hard. The rest of the book felt plodding, meandering, and frankly, rather boring. This left the overall pacing of the story feeling jarring and mismatched.

Beyond this, Lena was simply not a very likable character. The story is all set up to explore some deeper themes with regards to grief and the morality of choosing who lives and dies. And Lena, being a young woman presumably studying to be a healer, seems like a character primed to interact with these tough situations and choices in a compelling manner. Not so. While her descriptions of grief were at times beautiful and touching on some good ideas, the morality of her decisions was pretty terrible. And, even worse, she seems to think nothing of the terrible things she does.

It’s all well and good to have a character get so caught up in their own sorrow that their worldview becomes myopic to the point of a loss of their own morality, but the interesting part there is having the character explore this topic in some meaningful way. Or simply be from there after written as a villain. But Lena is unquestionably the hero of the story and yet she never seems to really care about the things that she does. As I said, it seems even more questionable when paired together with the empathy that it would have taken to be a healer. I was also not a fan of the romance of this story. It felt unnecessary at best and at worst it made Lena even more unlikable.

The idea of balancing a lost soul with the “weight” of another equal soul is a very interesting idea (though the end result is fairly predictable for fans of the genre), but much its potential was wasted behind choppy pacing and an unlikeable main character. Frustratingly, it seems like only a few minor tweaks could have really improved the story. Flashbacks, for example, would have worked better for the scenes before Fressa’s death and would have broken up some of the more plodding bits of the last half of the book. Ah well, what could have been alas was not! Fans of Norse mythology may like this book, but I think in the end it doesn’t live up to its own potential.

Rating 5: The unlikable main character was the last nail in the coffin for a book that unfortunately wasted several good aspects.

I'll be upfront in stating that this book is not some happy, exciting adventure where the reader walks away feeling joyous and entertained at the end. Instead, it's the type of book that dives head first into the deep end with some weighty issues such as loss, grief, murder, and healthy dose of mental instability. Tammi doesn't pull any punches when she goes down the dark and twisty road, with the overall feeling of the novel mimicking the cold and oppressive trappings of Helheim. But with so much YA giving an issues-lite reading and a guaranteed HEA, I honestly didn't mind the ominous tone. 

I appreciated how honest Tammi is with her manipulation of classic Norse stories, claiming that at the heart of these stories is contradiction which leaves room to play. The core elements of Loki as the trickster, Hela as the goddess of death, the Valkyries as warriors, and Odin as the all-father are tactfully maintained while new layers of character and depth are created to suit the story. It is clear from the outset that Lena, Fressa, and everyone in the their village are nothing more than pawns in the gods master plans, and it's difficult to watch them try and change their fates when there areas many factors beyond their control. 

I enjoyed the depth of the bond shared by Lena and Fressa, and the lengths that Lena was willing to go in order to preserve the life and immortal soul of her sister. My only real complaint with their relationship is that a little bit more time could have been spent building Fressa up before her death as there wasn't around long enough to really get attached to her and feeler loss as a character. Had this happened, it wouldn't have taken anywhere near as long to get behind Lena's mad-cap agreement with the goddess of death to retrieve her sister's soul.

With that being said though, Lena's grief and denial read as absolutely authentic. We've all done some pretty illogical things in the wake of a loved one's death, it just so happens that Lena's actions are in keeping with with viking setting and the prevailing beliefs of the time. Her descent into darkness is the kind of gradual that you don't notice until she's doing some absolutely horrible things, and all the while you can't help but pity her and hope that she succeeds.

Amal too is an easy character to like. And maybe it was because Tammi made a point of acknowledging the diversity of Viking trade routes, and the reality of ethnic diversity during these times, but I instantly appreciated his presence in the story. He is calm, respectful, and overly logical about almost everything. His approach is the exact opposite of Lena's which makes him an interesting ally in her quest and a subtle balance to her overwhelming grief. I really wanted him to fight more against their parent's desires, but at the same time I understand and appreciate that my desires in this regard are not necessarily the reality of their situation.

Dark and gritty, the slow-burning action will carry you to other worlds and beyond. Lena's world is magical, mystical, and meticulous wrought with details that you don't want to miss. Guard you hearts though, because this is an emotionally brutal read that leaves little in the way of warm-fuzzier at the end. But, and I say this with great joy, this has all the makings of an incredible series with so much more left to come.

I tried and failed twice to get into this book, but on my third try, I managed to keep reading and ended up really enjoying it! I really liked the Norse mythology incorporated into the book, and I liked Lena's interactions with Hela. Hela is such an interesting goddess in mythology, and I would have liked if she had been a more prominent character.
Of course, I really loved the relationship between Lena and Fressa, even though Fressa wasn't even alive for most of the book. Lena was such a strong and determined character, and it was easy to see that her love for Fressa was unconditional. I also liked Amal, Nana, and Bejla. Bejla in particular was really interesting and I would love to read her story as well.
Lena didn't have a love interest, which I thought was good considering her situation. I think a love interest would have just added unnecessary complications. However, Lena does mention that she's had dreams about both men and women (Bejla),
The ending bothered me a bit, even though I understand where the author was coming from and agree that it was the best resolution to the novel. Still, I was hoping for more interactions between Fressa and Lena that I didn't get.

First, a special thankyou to Netgalley, the Publisher and the author for the chance to read and review an ARC of this book.

This was a really interesting book. I have really been in love with Viking stories lately so when i found out that would be the setting for this book, I was really interested to see where this would go. IT was a LOT darker than I originally was expecting. I knew from the blurb that there was a big death in the beginning that would change the course of the main character's life, but what I did not realize was how far Lena would actually go to get her sister back.

The mythology was really an interesting addition. Not what you normally would think between gods and the earth, but still there's something to be said for the vikings and how closely they "lived" with their gods. They weren't beings that never really interacted with their subjects, but more so living among the mortals and tricking them to do their own bidding. It was quite the intense journey as we follow Lena through the mess her life becomes when she loses her sister to a mysterious death and in the attempt to bring her back is faced with an almost impossible task. I kept cringing at the crazy decisions she made throughout the story and was left wondering at every turn how she would possibly get herself out of this huge mess.

It does keep to its darker storyline throughout so if you're looking for a light read, this is not the book for you. That being said, this is in no way a downer of a book. SO MUCH happens that keeps you on the edge of your seat ready to conquer the next task that is thrown Lena's way and with each one you go through the ups and downs with her. I really enjoyed this book but had to balance it out with a few lighthearted rom com's to keep my mood up. Definitely a solid 4 stars for a rating because other than it being a little depressing, it was still a great read that kept me entertained and interested throughout.

The whole time I was reading this book I was thinking that I recognized the authors name, and when I read her acknowledgements I finally realized I read her debut novel, outrun the wind, last year! I quite enjoyed that one!
Unfortunately this one was not as good, but this book was not bad at all! Just not as good as I had thought.
This book contains Norse mythology, which I absolutely love! But we did not get that much from it, I thought it would have been a way bigger part of the story than that it actually was!
This book focusses a lot on an arranged/forged marriage between the chief’s oldest daughter and some guy from the village. Which I understand that it was important, but it was like 2/3 of the book, and this book is not long at all!
Maybe I just wanted more of the Norse gods! But I really feel like more could have been explored of this god part in this world, and I think if that was done I would have liked the book even better!
I do really like the writing of this author, and I did enjoy her debut even more, so I will definitely check out her next work!
Also a side note, from the author page at the end of the book I learned she has her roots her in Sweden and Finland, and I thought that was cool! Also it explains her last name!

I don't think I'm the only one for whom this is the case but ever since I saw the first movie Thor when it came out , although he played a huge part in my interest as well hehe, I have been really interested in Norse mythology. I have always had something for mths and legends of another time but for some reasons, the world of Odin, Thor, Loki and others grabbed my attention and never let go. So when I saw that this book had mythology in it, I knew I would like it. Which I did.

This story follows Lena as she tries to find a way to get her sister Fressa back after the latter died a mysterious death. I don't know why but I couldn't really connect with either of the character. Fressa died within the first few chapters so I couldn't really have a chance to do so but it was also difficult to like Lena. She was a bit stupid, not gonna lie... She acts impulsively and selfishly, even though I can understand why since she wants to have her sister back, but really it didn't really make a whole lot of sense to me at all. Lena's whole quest in this book is to find a soul which is as valuable as her sister's, but I found myself being a little bit disappointed and the twist was predictable.

I really enjoyed the mythological elements incorporated within the story itself, however the pace was odd to me. Maybe it's because I was in a reading slump because of college and all my assignments but I really didn't find myself being attached to the story in the end.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Author: Elizabeth Tammi

Book Series: Standalone (please Elizabeth Tammi make another book in this series?)

Rating: 5/5

Publication Date: December 3, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 15+ (sexual content, almost rape TW, murder, violence, gore, Loki)

Publisher: Flux

Pages: 320

Amazon Link

Synopsis: When Lena’s younger sister Fressa is found dead, their whole Viking clan mourns—but it is Lena alone who never recovers. Fressa is the sister that should’ve lived, and Lena cannot rest until she knows exactly what killed Fressa and why—and how to bring her back. She strikes a dark deal with Hela, the Norse goddess of death, and begins a new double life to save her sister.

But as Lena gets closer to bringing Fressa back, she dredges up dangerous discoveries about her own family, and finds herself in the middle of a devastating plan to spur Ragnarök –a deadly chain of events leading to total world destruction.

Still, with her sister’s life in the balance, Lena is willing to risk it all. She’s willing to kill. How far will she go before the darkness consumes her?

Review: Holy cow this book was AMAZING! I loved the characters, the writing was well done, and the plot was so interesting from start to finish. The pacing was also perfection for me and I finished this book in about 5 hours. The book had me crying most of the way through and I loved how the author weaved in Norse mythology all around the book. It really felt like a true Viking book.

The only downside is that I want a second book. Now. More Loki and more Fressa!

Verdict: Definitely a book you can’t put down!

This book is sadly not very original. The sisterly love thing has been huge since “Frozen” came out and this feels much like that and other sister stories. Overdone and dull. Also the writing is strange. It felt like the author used a thesaurus for every sentence. It doesn’t flow.

Title: The Weight of a Soul
Author: Elizabeth Tammi
Genre: New Adult, YA
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Lena’s father is the chief of their Viking clan, but he’s always gone raiding, leaving Lena, her sister Fressa, and their mother behind to lead the clan. When Fressa dies suddenly and mysteriously, Lena is devasted, but after the clan mourns, it seems like she’s the only one still missing Fressa.

Determined to find out what happened to her sister and bring her back, Lena takes a dangerous journey to make a deal with Hela, the goddess of death. There’s a chance to save Fressa but fulfilling her end of the bargain will take Lena deeper into darkness than she can even imagine. For Fressa’s death is the start of a plan to cause Ragnarök—events leading to the destruction of the world. And Hela isn’t the only god involved.

The Weight of a Soul is vividly realized, with the setting coming to life and breathing on the page. The culture is fascinating and utterly believable. I loved the writing itself. I did not love Lena, though. I didn’t find her likable at all, and, while I sympathized with her grief over Fressa, her descent into darkness and willingness to ignore the grief and destruction she was causing made the book hard to read. Obviously, this is my own personal opinion, and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a read based in Norse mythology, Vikings, and…Loki.

Elizabeth Tammi was born in California, raised in Florida, and now attends journalism school in Georgia. The Weight of a Soul is her new novel.

(Galley courtesy of Flux via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Flux books for the ARC of The Weight of a Soul by Elizabeth Tammi!

This is my second book by Tammi, and if you haven’t read Outrun the Wind, finish this review, then go read it, then read Weight of a Soul, haha! Tammi’s second novel has little to do with her first, except history and myth, a solid combo.

When we meet Lena, things are okay. Her sister, Fressa, is secretly engaged, and though Lena should marry first according to her clan’s norms, the girls are pretty optimistic about Fressa’s romantic prospects. That is, until, Lena’s parents spring her betrothal to Fressa’s love. Fressa gets upset and runs away, and dies in just the few miniatures it takes Lena to find her. Lena knows deals can be made with gods and summons Hela to help her retrieve her sister’s soul. It’s not going to be easy though, Hela’s demands will push Lena to the limits of her humanity, and she’ll have to go to hell and back to retrieve her sister’s soul and she just might trigger Ragnarok in the process, oops.

I really enjoyed this book and devoured it pretty quickly. I loved Lena. Her selfish determination and pursuit of her only goal, despite its cost to her and her loved ones takes her on a journey and pushes her limits. She makes pretty big sacrifices and must learn to deal with fickle gods who never say what they mean. She betrays those she loves and has to deal with those consequences, but above all, she never loses her unwavering love for her sister.

I’m a huge nerd for folklore and myth, and this book ticks some serious boxes in that regard. Norse mythos is strong in this book and it helps the story along quite nicely. I’m a huge fan of Hela myself (Thor: Ragnarok anyone?) and it was cool to see this new, human story entwined with the gods.

Overall, it’s short enough to breeze through at a rapid pace while retaining enough depth of characters and feeling to keep you rooting for the characters and turning pages to see what will happen next. I also appreciated the little wink at the very end (no spoilers).

It’s out now, so if you’re looking for a cool historical fantasy to add to your holiday reading, check this one out.

-- DISCLAIMER: I received a free eARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity. --

This is a Norse mythology take on the trope of retrieving a deceased loved one from the otherworld. Lena's younger sister Fressa passes away unexpectedly, and Lena takes it badly, begging for her to be returned to the world of the living once more. In this process she makes a bargain that will test everything she believes in and make her reconsider what she is willing to do to reach her goals.
However, the story is very predictable, and the characters stay very one-dimensional. I feel like this story had much more potential that wasn't fully used, and could have benefited from another round of very critical edits.