This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own

Elizabeth Tammi’s captivating second book, The Weight of a Soul, is a dark and unique fascinating on Norse mythology. Tammi has created an enjoyable Viking Ya historical fiction blended with vibrant magical realism. This wonderful book grabs your attention with descriptive suspense and foreboding.

Magdalena, {Lena}, is the oldest daughter of Fredrik, the chief of the village and head of his clan. Lena is in training to be a healer and will take over as Chieftain along with Who ever she marries when her father dies. She is a devoted sister and their sisterly bond is the strength within Elizabeth Tammi novel, The Weight of a Soul.

Fressa. who is an accomplished swordsman, her ability has surpassed most of the young clansmen in the village of Midgard . Along with Fressa’s notable warrior abilities, she has also fallen in love with Amal, and the have planned to marry.

Amal, is a boy who came to live in the village from a foreign land, taken in and raised by a healer within the village. The three Lena, Fressa, and Amal have become a tight knit trio, having grown up together within their Viking village.

When Lena, and Fressa father, Chief Fredrik returns home from raiding, he brings back a sword, gifting it to his younger daughter Fressa.
This sets off a tragic series of events when Fressa is found dead under mysterious circumstances.

Lena driven to the point desperation and grief Lena with the help of Amal to call upon Hela, the goddess of death. Seeking to bring her younger sister home, Lena strikes a dark bargain – this being a soul for a soul. A soul that must be a weighty one and equal to Fressa’s a fighter who is as brave and gifted as she. Lena’s blinding love for her sister, takes her down a hollow and crooked path that their is no turning back.

Throughout the storyline, Lena traverses two of the nine realms in Norse mythology, which is completely unheard of and is an intriguing twist in this engaging YA Fantasy. The nine realms are connected by a tree known as Yggdrasil.
Tammi’s vivid spellbinding world building and the books exploration of the blurred lines of innocence and corruption is strategic and notable.
The Weight of a Soul, is steeped in mythos, a wonderful narrative mythical themed Coming of age book, that asks the moral question. Magdalena actions become chilling, unsettlingly.

At what lengths would you go for a loved one?

I immensely enjoyed reading about the gods and goddesses, and are told the legends of Ragnarök complete world destruction, along with, Fimbulwinter, which is infinite winter. If you enjoy and appreciate Norse mythology than you will be enthralled by the authors ability to create and blend her own creative narration within this stunning book.

On a side note Tammi says that this story has been an immense privilege and responsibility due to her own heritage. As most of her family is Scandinavian, she felt very fortunate to have learned about the history and mythology behind where her family originated.

Thank you to NetGalley, Elizabeth Tammi, and Flux for the opportunity to read The Weight of a Soul in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes place during the time of the Vikings and is doused in Norse mythology (though I am not so sure about the accuracy of said mythological references).

The book is told in the third person limited perspective of Lena (short for Magdalena), eldest daughter of Clan Freding's chief. Her father is often gone, away to explore, trade, or war with far away tribes. In his absence, Lena finds comfort in her best friend, Amal, and her younger sister, Fressa (only two years Lena's junior).

When Lena's father comes home from a trip, he gifts Fressa a knife with old Norse writing. She is the clan's most prominent warrior, even above the men. When Fressa holds the knife, it glows green only for her and no one else. Lena wants to explore this further, but the announcement of her arranged marriage to Amal devastates her, Fressa, and him. Amal and Fressa already had the blessing of his mother, Nana, to marry, but in infancy Amal and Lena were arranged to marry. Lena and Fressa had no idea, while Amal didn't think on it and was hoping it wouldn't be something that impacted his life. 

Distraught at the announcement, Fressa runs off into the woods on her own. Lena loves her little sister more than anything else in the world. And she loves Amal as her best friend. It means the world to Lena to see the two people most important to her to be happy.

When Lena finds Fressa, she is dead. There are no wounds and there was no illness of any kind. It was a mysterious death. Lena and Amal, among the clans-people, are devastated, distraught, and furious. Amal is able to read the language on the knife Fressa was gifted, which he loosely translates as "master of the wolf," in which the reader, if they know Norse mythology, might make a connection there.

Amal, having been brought up to read runes, is able to summon a hel-horse that takes Lena across the worlds directly to Helheim, where Hela reigns as goddess of the dead. Lena asks for her sister's soul back, only to find that Fressa was taken to Valhalla as a warrior to prepare for Ragnarok. Hela and Loki want Fressa back for some reason, and so does Lena. So Lena seeks a soul that is equal in weight to her sisters. But what is the weight of a soul?

When Lena kills a tradesman, a strong warrior-type, she seeks Hela only to find that it's much more  than just being a warrior that makes Fressa's soul weigh more. So Lena tried to find who else might fit the bar. She aims to have Fressa back before she must marry Amal, but her plans are barred yet again by killing a person whose soul weight is unequal to that of Fressa's.

With Ragnarok looming ever-closer and Lena unable to establish the weight of a soul to bring her sister back, terrible events begin to occur where Clan Freding lives, and everything leads back to Lena's desires and incapability of dealing with loss.

The cover could be more vibrant. While there is often beauty in simplicity, especially for YA book covers, I think this one could be made to pop a bit more. Of course the tree is meant to represent Yggdrasil, the World Tree. This is an okay connection, as a few of the nine worlds are explored, though not so fervently that the tree has such magnanimous meaning.

The writing style was good and the story was overall an enjoyable read, but it felt similar to all the immersive Norse mythology YA books popping up everywhere. It was like I had already read this story before and knew exactly how it would end. If the reader has knowledge of Norse mythology, many of the events are predictable based on how the characters remain (mostly) true to their mythos.

I was chosen to receive an advanced copy of The Weight of a Soul through Netgalley’s advanced reader program, so that I could write this review!

The Weight of a Soul examines the bond of two sisters, Fressa and Lena, and speaks to how far one will go to save those they love. Fressa, the younger daughter of the village Chief, has been viewed as an outcast because of her extraordinary fighting abilities. Her fierce talent has made her someone to admire from a distance, but has driven people from her. Lena, her older sister, is happy to leave the fighting to Fressa, as she prefers studying medicine and preparing to someday step into the roll of village Chief. Mere minutes after a startling revaluation drives a wedge between the two girls, Fressa is killed by an unknown force. Lena is devastated, but more importantly she is unwilling to accept the possibility that her sister is truly gone. Lena begins a quest, not only to find out what happened to Fressa, but to bring her back to the world of the living, no matter the cost.

Elizabeth Tammi has proven her talent for creating motivated and believable characters in The Weight of a Soul! At first, I was concerned about the concept behind her fantasy world, as it I have encountered many Scandinavian inspired fantasies that miss the mark, but Tammi blew my expectations out of the water! I absolutely loved this book, and would say that it is some of the best of the genre.

You can get your copy of The Weight of a Soul now from Flux!

My Recommendation-
I would recommend this book to those who love well developed characters (and watching relationships between those characters develop. If you normally enjoy a fantasy read, The Weight of a Soul would be a perfect read for the snowy months!

Mythology has always been a topic that I’ve been interested in. Many of the myths that we have even now have survived centuries after being passed down from generation to generation. It’s always such a great time learning more about how mythologies shape culture. And The Weight of a Soul is no exception. Tammi has taken mythological gods and created a story where the morality greys in order to serve the greater good. But it also serves as a reminder that actions have consequences, either good or bad, and you never know until it happens.

The Weight of a Soul follows Lena, first born to a Viking chief. Her, her sister, Fressa, and Amal are inseparable. Fressa, though Lena’s younger sister, is engaged to Amal, is well loved by their people, and has an unnatural strength and agility that other warriors do not possess. When Lena and Fressa’s father returns from a far away raid, he brings Fressa a knife. But this knife glows only when it’s in the hands of Fressa. When Lena, Fressa, and Amal find out some startling news that shakes their planned futures, Fressa runs off into the woods. When Lena follows, she finds Fressa dead in the woods. Lena, desperate to bring her sister back finds herself in front of Hela, the goddess of death. Lena strikes a bargain with Hela in exchange of her sister, a soul for a soul, but Lena soon finds that not every soul is equal in weight. What follows is a story of one sister’s love for another, and a hidden lesson about the choices that we make in order to make things right that are out of our control. This story has some crazy twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.

One of my absolute favorite things in this book is that it didn’t fold to the norms of the typical hero trope. The one where something bad happens and then the protagonist seems to do everything right and BAM! day saved or situation resolved. Lena lost someone that she loved dearly and knew better than herself, her sister. But in order to save her, she became someone that she wasn’t in order to try to bring her back. Everything she did, she tried to justify her reasons even though they were wrong, because the cost that she placed on her actions were nothing compared to bringing her sister back. She, for all sense and reason, became the villan, but not one that was callous, but one that felt the loss that she was bringing and regretted it, but not as much as she should have. But at the end, it was the choice she didn’t think of, that saved her and I think it was a nice twist… incredibly sad and destroyed me… but a nice twist in Lena’s arc.

Also, I really liked how the mythology was threaded all the way through. These myths even became the characters that played such an influential role, one that wasn’t noticed until it happened. I loved being surprised at all the mythological elements, but I also loved that it was myths that I knew. And to me, it felt natural, all the inclusions of the myths. Lena’s story is for sure heart breaking, but it’s one heart break that you’ll enjoy reading. Tammi did a great job at creating a story that is well paced, well told, and well executed. The Weight of a Soul released yesterday, December 3rd, 2019, and I hope it’s one that you’ll considering picking up. It’s a perfect winter read!

I wanted to love this book so much! The concept is amazing and one I didn't know I needed until I read the summary. However, I didn't connect with the characters until about half way through and it made reading a bit of a chore.
Overall, 3 stars

The Weight of a Soul follows Lena’s journey as she deals with the loss of her sister, an absent father, an arranged marriage, unnatural weather changes, the potential revolt of her village and bargains with the gods.

I enjoyed The Weight of a Soul, but I didn’t love it.

The story was extremely interesting and, for me, very believable. As an older sister, there’s not much that I wouldn’t do to protect or save my younger sister. I, also like Lena, would have not given up. I loved the way that the village was written and how their traditions were woven into the story. The mythology was also woven into the story well. Sometimes, when different ideologies are introduced in stories, they can come off as boring, because of the sheer amount of information that needs to be introduced. Tammi did not have an issue with that. The god scenes were descriptive and informative without rambling.

That being said, The Weight of a Soul did have some issues. The main one being that the timeline was really confusing. The way scenes would be written made you think that it was a continuous time-flow, but then a page later you’d find out that weeks had actually passed. I’m not sure if the story was written that way on purpose or if it was an over-site with editing, but it made it kind of hard to follow the actual timeline of the story. I mean, I’m still not quite sure how much time actually passed.

Throughout the book, I actually couldn’t decide if I liked Lena or if I hated her. She always seemed to teeter on the line of becoming annoying, but that might have just been because of my own experience. It seemed like she waited a lot, and would then chastise herself for not acting, but then sit there and wait again.

I also found the ending to be a little rushed and hectic, but I’m sure that will make more sense once we read more of the series, because the ending was definitely written in a way that screams sequel.

All in all, I’d give The Weight of a Soul 3.5 stars.

The Weight of a Soul is a deliciously twisty read about a sister's quest to save her sibling. It's based on Norse mythology and Tammi has done an incredible job of weaving those mythological threads throughout her own tale. It's a short book but a slow read, although I didn't think that was a bad thing in this instance. There are few characters you really get to know with the main focus on Lena throughout. I also liked that romance wasn't a huge thing in this book - too much romance all the time gets really wearing, it was nice to have a break from that and see love from a different angle.

I read the reviews of others and I was a bit hesitant to start this, but I found myself really enjoying this.

The prose reminded me a bit of 'The Girl The Sea Gave Back' and the story itself reminded me of 'The Gospel of Loki' two books I enjoyed so those were pluses for me.

Overall I would say I didn't have a problem with the pacing, I loved that Lena was not a completely likeable character and I think that all that she was willing to do really made her sympathetic for me.

While the ending left me with questions, I loved some of the unanswered questions in regards to HOW the book ended.

Lena's ending was definitely appropriate for her arc and I think this book is an underrated find for me.

My only issues were with Lena's motivation at certain times, you felt she just wasn't as clever as she should have been given how she was written, and Amal was a bit hard to like at times. It was a real struggle once you got to a certain point of Lena's story to not get frustrated with her and Amal!

.3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Weight of a Soul was an okay read for me. I was first interested in this book as it has Norse Mythology and I absolutely love any sort of mythology which grabbed my attention. The mythology in this book was passable to me; it was there in some places (subtly), which was pretty disheartening as I feel if it were included more, this book would be more interesting.

As for the main character, she was also sort of entertaining. There was not anything really special about her or anything that really jumped out to me that made me root for her or connect with her. To me, she was just there.

In the end, The Weight of a Soul is a pretty good in-between book for when one does not have anything else they would rather read or are waiting for another book to come out.

3 1/2-4 Stars

I really loved the Norse mythology in this book! Tammi does a wonderful job of weaving it into the world she created. Her descriptions are vivid and beautiful, really setting her scenes and characters well. There were so many twists and turns throughout the novel, none of which I saw coming, and I loved that! There were a lot of secrets lurking and I enjoyed reading as I tried to figure them all out before the reveals.

I do wish some things had been flushed out more, some things seemed to happen quickly or be forgotten about immediately after. The ending seemed abrupt, including the epilogue. I think I would have liked to see more of those scenes play out, especially because of the hint of a sequel to come.

Overall, I enjoyed this mythical book and can't wait to see what the author writes next!

Like magic, mythology is a big interest for me in books. I loved this one because of the Nordic Mythology. However, the book just wasn't that engaging.

Thank you Netgalley and Flux for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars
I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis sounded so interesting and the idea of reading about vikings was so cool to me. However, this book really did not live up to expectations for me. My main problems had to do with pacing, and the main character. The pacing in the beginning of the book was way too fast. So much happened all at once and honestly it was overwhelming. And our main character Lena was so dull. Not only that though, it was like she had no moral compass. The second half of the book was paced a little better and the viking part was interesting enough but overall I just didn’t really enjoy this one.

I don't know what I've expected of this book, to be honest. I read the synopsys back in July or smth and received an ARC, and then promptly ignored it for five months.

What I got was a gripping novel about Viking sisters, one of which (the sword wielding one) has been found dead by her sister (the healer one). And Lena (the healer one) just goes nope and does everything humanly possible to get her sister back.
And let me tell you, I was invested! Lena was such a strong character that was willing to do absolutely everything needed to get her sister back. No if's and when's. Fressa or Nothing.
Who would've done the things she did to get their sibling back? I can't confidently say I would, with all the love for my brother.
I would've loved to learn more about Fressa, but unfortunately she died very early in the book and all information on her stem from Lena or Amal.

All in all, very solid. I really liked it. Maybe if I were into Norse mythology more, I would've liked it even more, but even as a casual reader of Norse myths and legends, this explained enough to understand. This way, I can't even point out plot holes in how the gods behave, since I don't really know anything about Ragnarök, aside of it being the end of the world.


Thanks to NetGalley and Flux for providing this ARC!

I mainly was excited about this book because it had Norse mythology and a mysterious death. I was let down by both.
I had hoped there were more Viking-vibes and deeper Norse mythology than just mentioning the gods.
The mysterious death wasn't what I thought it wouls be, though it definitely wasn't bad. The characters were likeable, and the story was okay, I enjoyed reading it.

I was so excited to read The Weight of a Soul because I love reading stories based around mythology especially any that seem to have dark undertones.

Unfortunately The Weight of a Soul fell flat for me. I found it very hard to get into and didn't really feel anything for any of the characters. It felt a bit like I was reading a script describing a play instead of reading a novel and was being told things instead of being shown.

My lack of connection with any of the characters meant any potentially emotional moments fell flat and it was a struggle to continue reading to be honest.

Sadly, this book just didn't meet my expectations/ wasn't written in a style I connect with.

When Lena learns she is betrothed to Amal, her sister Fressa’s boyfriend, she is appalled. Fressa, hurt by this news, runs into the woods only to turn up dead moments later. Their whole Viking clan morns but Lena has questions. What killed her sister and why? Lena travels to the land of the dead to bargain with Hela for her sister’s soul. But, Fressa’s soul is not in the land of the dead, but Odin’s Valhalla, where warriors’ souls go. If Lena wants Fressa’s soul she must replace it with one of the same weight; but what is the weight of soul?
Initially, it was the Norse mythology that intrigued me, I have always been a fan of the Percy Jackson books and I loved the Magnus Chase books. The Weight of a Soul takes a much more serious approach to Norse mythology, which I appreciated. I wish I could have seen more of this world and I would have loved to see Tammi’s interpretation of Valhalla as opposed to Riordan’s. I would also like this to be a series so that I can see more of the Viking culture and this world. You see so much of Lena in this book, but I would have liked to see more of Fressa’s story.
I loved how we delve into the idea that a soul weighs something. There are so many off the cuff saying about how there is a weight on someone’s shoulders, and I like the idea that it could be transferred to the weight of the soul. Each time Lena takes a soul to Hela, we learn a little more about the soul, and what kinds of things make up that weight.
I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars. The story drew me in, has a great concept, and had an interesting twist, but it left something to be desired as a stand-alone novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Weight of a Soul by Elizabeth Tammi. I’ve voluntarily read and reviewed this copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Weight of a Soul is a story immersed in Norse Mythology. When Lena’s sister mysteriously dies, Lena strikes a deal with Hela, Death herself, to bring her sister back. In order to meet the demands of her deal with Hela, Lena will have to go to dark and irreversible lenghts.

The story started off strong but fell a bit flat halfway through. It could have picked up the pace a lot more.The characters could have been written with more dept and I would have loved it if the world was more expanded.

I loved the inclusion of Hela, Loki and The Valkerys. Any nod to the Norse Mythology was amazing and very well done.

The ending was so smart and so surprising, which made for a real page-turner of an ending.

I love anything to do with Norse mythology so I was so excited when I received a copy to review. I think this book was great with handling grief while also weaving in all of the cool aspects of the religion. Lena felt like a real character- one that would do anything to get her sister back even if it meant ruining herself in the process. I liked that this dealt with siblings and the lengths they will go to protect each other. I also like that this book didn't follow really the main character of the story(if that makes sense.) Lena seemed to be a supporting character in someone else's prophecy which was refreshing to see. All of that being said, there were times when I thought the book forgot about the deal with the goddess and other times when it read like a fever dream(that could be because I binge read this thing though). I enjoyed it overall, but there were a few places that were really confusing to me like just how everything happened and what the winter had to do with it.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I requested the book. The description sounded fantastic and I really enjoyed the cover.

I wouldn't say that those assumptions changed, per se, but I definitely wanted a bit more from this novel. I liked the Norse mythology basis and the storyline was quite interesting, but it was much more internal character study than I thought it might be. I was hoping for a bit more action throughout, but I didn't feel much happened until the last 15% of the book when A BUNCH of stuff happens. Too slow of a burn for my taste, but I'd probably read a second novel if she wrote one in this world.

I would recommend this to people who like stories featuring heavy mythology or storylines about the power of familial love.

I'm really enjoying this resurgence of mythology inspired YA--and I'm definitely loving the fact that it's not all Greek mythology this time around. While I greatly appreciate anything Norse myth inspired, I didn't love this book. I thought it was good, nice writing, strong characters, decent plot, but it all fell very middle-of-the-road for me. I liked Tammi's first book, and I liked this one. I just didn't love it. I still think it's a good read and worth picking up if you're interested in the premise the way I was but I won't be screaming about it all over the internet or anything.