*cracks knuckles* Okay, let’s do this. But before I get into the nitty-gritty, I have something I must confess.

It took me almost a month to read this book.

Now, before you start lighting your pitchforks and sharpening your torches (how many of you didn’t notice what I did there?), it wasn’t like I read a chapter a day for almost a month–no! I got distracted by other books… Since I picked up this book, I started and finished four other books. It’s not something I normally do, but it was just so hard to get into this book. It is through no fault of the book itself–it was actually rather good–I just have a very short attention span if the book isn’t ~right~.

Whew, that’s out of the way, we can begin. Properly.

Plot-wise, everything you really need to know is in the synopsis. Literally. Why Hirka is tailless, why her life is in danger, the main (ish) conflict of the book–you even know the name of her love interest and that he might be even more interesting than what meets the [wolf] eyes. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist; practically every time Rime is described, mentioned, or simply there, the obligatory “Wolf eyes” comment follows. Is that a spoiler? … Nah.) Also, just as a little side remark, Hirka’s secret is already spelled out before you even read the book and Rime is also hinted at having a secret, but I don’t know… his secret seemed kind of obvious? Even way before it was officially spelled out? It’s not a criticism or really anything; it’s just the way I saw it.

So since the synopsis was so thorough, I really can’t talk about anything else related to the plot because that would be veering straight onto the Spoiler Expressway, so I’m going to talk about something I was particularly excited about.

The romance.

“That’s when Rime knew he was in danger. Because suddenly the rot seemed a small price to pay to be close to her.”

Oh, ho ho! Y’all know I’m a sucker for love (though not nearly as annoying about it as I was a decade ago *nervous laughter*). So if you’re not a fan of slow-burning, angsty love, just… skip a few paragraphs and I’ll see you there. (You know what? I’ll let you know when I’m done gushing because I already know this is going to turn into Sap City.)

Okay, so… you know those high school dramas with That Guy and That Girl? Ya know, the popular jock guy who’s also super smart and has a literal fan club of girls chasing him down the hallways? Oh, and he’s super rich? Yeah, him. With the tomboyish/ nerdy girl who has all of one friend and everyone either bullies her or avoids her at all costs. Well, the romance between Hirka and Rime kind of reads like that.

Rime: *pursues her*

Hirka: No, I’m not good enough for you! *runs away*

Rime: *is sure of his feelings*

Hirka: Pffft, it’s just a phase. *heart breaks*

Rime: *kisses her* (okay, I assume you knew they would probably kiss at some point, so I don’t consider that a spoiler.)

Hirka: … He’s just sad.

Rime: *exists*

Hirka: *literal embodiment of the heart eyes emoji* He can never know how I feel about him.

Me: *screaming through my tears* JUST TELL THE POOR BOY AND PUT US ALL OUT OF OUR MISERY!

Seriously, though. I like a good slow burn as much as the next gal, but this was particularly agonizing. In a good way? Maybe. At least Hirka at least acknowledged the existence of her feelings, I suppose. It was obvious from pretty much the beginning, but hey, high school drama with tails and the Might and the rot.

“He stood there in all his glory, elevated by his family’s history and the Seer’s blessings. The entire world embraced him. She had no place here.”

See what I mean? Pining. Angst. She clearly adores and idolizes him. *sigh* I guess we’re just going to have to wait for book two for more Rime and Hirka content.

————————————————– I’m done talking about feelings now ———————————————————

Back to our, calmer, regularly scheduled programming.

So, one of the slight grievances I had while I was reading–and this is just me, maybe you’ll like it–was that the story was told in third person limited from the perspective in three characters. That, in itself, was not my problem. My problem was that I didn’t particularly care about the third character. *nervous sweating* It was also jarring when I started his first chapter because he wasn’t introduced prior to that chapter and I had no idea who he was. (I even went back a couple chapters to see if I missed something; I didn’t.)

You know those multi-POV novels and there’s that one character you really don’t care about? Yeah, that was him (for me). Some of you may disagree and say that he’s important to the overall story and his character is ~interesting~, and, honestly, I’m thrilled if that was the case. It’s just something that I–personally–thought was unnecessary to the story.

Also, this is minor, but since so much of the story revolves on Hirka being an unearthed embling with no tail, I think this is kind of relevant.

I read the entire book and I still have no idea what tails look like in this world.

Do they look like cat tails? Dog tails? Lizard? (Actually, I was able to rule out reptilian tails about 100 pages in when said tails were mentioned to have fur. One hundred pages!) My best guess is something that resembles a lion’s tail–but only because of the cover. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know. And I know that this is tiny and insignificant and I’m sorry! My brain just clamps down on said details and won’t let go until its curiosity is satisfied.

“You’re forgetting the most important thing.”

“What? That you’re Rime An-Elderin? The holy idiot? The good luck charm who thinks with his little toe and goes wherever he wants?”

Also, I’m in love with how witty and sharp-tongued Hirka is. *sigh* If only she were this straightforward when it came to other things.

Anyway!

As you probably guessed from the synopsis, Hirka spends a good portion of this book fearing for her life. Seriously, this girl needs a hug and a vacation. Jeez. But despite the literal mortal danger that seemed to follow her through hell and highwater, Hirka remained steadfast in her beliefs? I??? Sometimes in books like these, characters are put in situations where they have to kill in order to survive. And yet, Hirka is over here trying to save everyone she can. (This could probably be chalked up to her background as a healer, but I think there’s more to it than that; she’s just a genuinely good person who’s been dealt a bad hand in life.)

Oh! One last–small–gripe before I wrap things up. The dialogue when characters were describing things that had happened in the past was so… It’s hard to describe. “Unnatural” is as close as I can get. And it’s consistent; every time someone recalls something that happened literal decades ago, the same thing happens and I just… It’s like the author wanted the dialogue to resemble the way events are described in the rest of the book and just forgot that humans don’t speak that way. Especially about things that happened so long ago.

I really can’t explain this, so I’ll give you an (exaggerated) example of what I mean.

Nonexistent Character: “Her eyes reflected the stars in the sky, but it was more than that. It was as if the stars fell down from the heavens to be in her eyes. She kept her gaze trained on the heavens above while she spoke her mind. But I knew even before she said anything. I could tell from the soft arch of her eyebrows and the stiff line of her back: she was leaving. I looked away; I couldn’t bear to see her tears. Or for her to see my tears. The wind blew with the last scents of summer and I knew that this was how I would remember her. As the sweetness of summer turned into the cold, starkness of autumn, so, too, would our short-lived passion.”

Like I said, this was pretty exaggerated, but this is the general idea.

To (finally) wrap things up, I will say that I did like this book–despite the vibes you might be getting. The story was interesting and not at all what I expected. (I didn’t read the synopsis, so I was kind of expecting a more serious version of Rick Riordan’s Magnus Chase series. *nervous laughter*) The pacing was okay; there were parts that were lagging a bit, but that didn’t really take away from my overall enjoyment. I liked the characters and I got very invested in what would happen to them. So yeah, if you like YA fantasy with a broody hero and snarky, heart-of-gold heroine, you’ll probably like this.

Book Stats:

Feels: 6.78/10 I got misty-eyed at times, but it wasn’t too heart-wrenching.

Funnies: Hirka and Rime’s sarcastic banter gave me life.

Cute animal sidekick: Kuro the raven is a precious baby and I will not be convinced otherwise.

Badass ninjas: surprisingly, yes.

Ultimate angst: 11/10

Inclination to read the sequel: 10/10

Re-readability: depends on the rest of the trilogy.

Overall rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐
(3.5/5)

This book was everything I ever needed, but didn't realise it could be. Myth, legend, reality, heartaches of all kinds, it has everything.

Such a richly-composed world, reminiscent of the kingdoms and relationships with Lord of the rings, the tale weaves a tapestry between kingdoms, types of being, reality and magic.

It also doesn't shy away from the light and dark within a person, really showing the reader how both are necessary, but that morality must win everytime.

There's a sweet undercurrent of love that grows throughout the story, that grounds the reader in emotion that they can relate to.

All in all, a wonderful tale about being different, and really knowing who you are as a person.

Odin's Child is a delightful start to a fantasy trilogy. Hirka was a compelling character, and I enjoyed the slow build and the gradual, well-planned world building, which let the reader to discover new information as needed without info dumping. The translated prose flowed nicely and allowed me to make swift progress, finishing just over 600 pages in about six hours of reading time. The plot was gripping and I turned the last page of this first book eager to find out what would happen next, so I hope there will not be a long wait for Book Two. I found the romance between Hirka and Rime a little forced at times, but I am willing to wait and see how it further develops in the later books. And for once it was nice to see the antagonist presented with enough depth that we get some inkling of what he is thinking and why, rather than just moustache-twirling evil. All up, a solid and enjoyable read for fans of fantasy with a folklore bent, and I would certainly be keen to read on in the series.

Fifteen winters old, Hirka learns that she is an Odin's child - a tailless rot from another world.
I'm very conflicted on giving this 3 or 4 stars. The description sounded absolutely amazing but the actual contents of the book didn't exactly live up to the description in my opinion. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it because I did. Hirka is an amazing main character and she is so well written. Every character is well thought out and Odin's Child is a very entertaining read.

Personal rating: 4.5 stars. I really like this book! I love the world and its politics. I like the hints of Norse mythology; mythology with science fiction is my favourite blend of genres. I liked the romance, I thought it might turn into a love triangle, but it didn't, and I love for not doing that (YA has enough of those). It was interesting to see how religion was discussed in the book since I recently read Soulswift.

The pace of the book is "medium" I would say. There were times that I thought things would pick up the pace and it did and didn't. The book really picked up the pace near the end of the book. A thing that slowed me down was the names since I'm unfamiliar with them (though does 'Hirka' mean something like 'bitter' in Norwegian like it does in Ukrainian? Given the story that does seem to fit).

For me, the weakest aspect of the book was the way background information was provided in the story. Snippets of exposition seemed to repeat at time whereas at other times there was very little. I would have settled for either figuring out the worldbuilding on my own while reading -or- have it told once and move on to the next topic when it comes up. So, for me, the exposition was a weak point because of the way that it didn't quiet do either. At times it felt like a nice mystery to unravel, at other the same snippet of exposition was repeated multiple times.

I didn't see a map anywhere in the ebook so I looked on the author's website and found it (based on the labels on some of the other maps there, I'm excited for the other books in the series!!!).

The book is also more on the mature side of YA given the themes in the book.

Overall, I like that the book does its own thing without leaning heavily on Norse mythology. The concept is interesting, the romance is of the type that I like. The exposition was a weak point but the worldbuilding kept it all interesting. I can't wait to see what next in the series!

***I received an ARC copy from NetGalley***

Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC.

"Odin's Child" is a fantastic tale combining Norse mythology and modern reality. Hirka is an odd one out in her tribe because she was born without a tail. That makes her a human, and humans are despicable. But she isn't the only one that seeped through the gates between her world and the world of humans. One thing is certain, the danger is coming.

I'm really glad this book is finally being translated into English. It's a really entertaining story that might bring a wave of fresh air onto the book market. I especially enjoyed the worldbuilding and the interlacing of Norse mythology. It still has some issues, such as writing or that one rape scene, but I overall enjoyed it enough to continue with the series.

This book was so amazing. I loved every part of it. I loved the world building, i loved the characters and mostly i freaking loved the story! I was sucked right iñ until the end. It was really wonderfull

Wow, how can I describe this book?? Odin’s Child had such a great plot mixed with all the best parts of Norse Mythology. Hirka is known as “the tailless” and stands out among the people of Elveroa. Rime is the descendant of a council member, and is due to take his spot among them soon. But, the dangers of the blinded and the influence of the Seer soon send Rime and Hirka on a perilous journey.
I love this book. Hirka is a wonderful main character who finds her confidence and self purpose which I love to see in a plot. The chemistry between Hirka and Rime is so great throughout this plot.
I did find that the world-building as well as the terminology took up quite a bit of the first part of the book. This caused the book to start off slowly. However, it did pick up speed and soon I was unable to put it down!

I was excited to read the summary of Odin's Child and be able to have the chance to read this. Unfortunately, I just could not get into the story or finish the book.

You are dropped directly into the story without any true explanations, which can be a lot of fun, it I never seemed to quite get what was going on. Perhaps something got lost in translation from the original Norwegian to the English version I read.

ARC from NetGalley

At first I was really bummed by the ending, but now I see that this is a trilogy, and I have different emotions.

In this story, there are no humans. Everyone, except for Hirka, has a tail. The people are very superstitious and very devout. They, like many people, are afraid of what they don't understand and most definitely do not like people who are different. We spend time with Hirka and her father in their tiny village. She lives her life as an oblivious young girl until suddenly her world is flipped upside down. We travel with her as she learns who she is, runs from danger, runs into danger, etc. I think maybe it was the translation, but this didn't read as smoothly as it could have. There were a lot of times that I was a bit confused and things were a bit... how to describe... jagged? At any rate, the premise was interesting. I enjoy Norse-inspired fantasy. It was nice that this had nonhumans who were also not a traditional fantasy race. The Might is an interesting magic, though I would have liked to know a bit more about it. If you are looking for romance, it is here but it is not prominent, and there is not a happy ending. There is no culmination or declarations of love. This is a trilogy though, so perhaps that is to come. I do recommend. It's an interesting read.

It was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I jumped to the occasion of reading a Norwegian author, mainly because I have never read something from one, before. I deemed it to be a good time as any to rectify the situation.
The book was written in the third person (from starters the distance between the reader and the main character was there).
The world in which I was welcomed in was <u>one in which having no tail was the peculiar part.
That was exactly the fault of Hirka (the main character).
She was born without a tail tailless. She was adopted by a kind man that scratched some claw marks on her hinder part when she was a baby (so people would think that her tail had been ripped off by wolves??? But for some reason they hadn`t killed her in the process??).
Anyhow, the main love interest is a boy by name: Rim, that of course is the most powerful, most important busy body that there`s been. He has a great destiny before him and she is the smudge on the lenses that can`t even reach the Might (something that everybody could do, it was as simple as breathing—his words).
“But she wasn’t like him. He stood there in all his glory, elevated by his family’s history and the Seer’s blessings. The entire world embraced him. She had no place here. She was a fool for not realizing sooner. She knew that now.”
Oh, yes, the Might!
that was similar to the Force in StarWars.
[It doesn't matter how it works. The only thing that matters is that it works.]
I should be more sympathetic towards this book.
It really tried.
It had love (a tad boring, a bit overdramatic), it had folklore (thrown into my face, I could barely see something through the thick fog of terminology from foreign myths and legends---good thing that I`d seen the Vikings), it had the heroine (one like many others: born as an outcast but destined to greatness), the challenges peppered along the way (you had your runaways, your stalking, your run for your life, your friendly pet that accompanied the heroine) and finally, the great evil that had to be defeated at any price/any cost.
“Her life wouldn't be made more worthwhile by prostrating herself on her knees before the Raven. Yet she was going to throw herself off this roof, possibly to her death, with someone who had been sent to kill her. […]"
Did I fall in love with this book? No. Would I read the sequel? No.
But, did I find it quite cute and even endearing? Absolutely!

I throughly enjoyed this story the world building felt unique and it is clear the author was passionate in the mythology created for it because it felt flawless. As if you could escape to this place

Everything was thoroughly explained, you knew what was happening and why it was happening, it wasn’t a vague magic it was explored. I felt as though I never had to question how something happened.

I did feel like the characters were a bit of the typical YA stereotype at the begging but as the story progressed they became their own and really stood out to me.

Overall this was a beautifully written story with equally as charming characters and mythology

Ok, I have dso many thoughts that I'll try to put them in some kind of order... I might fail, but let's see.

What I liked:
1. The worldbuilding. The author put actual thought into creating Ym, the mythology, how everything works. If something happened we knew why and how, it wasn't just like "and then the magical force flew through her and destroyed something". Everything was nicely explained with no info dump. So, thank you for that.
2. The characters. I'm a little bit on the fence abou that, tbh, since none were original - 15yo redhead that has no powers (but hasnt she really?), emo conflicted rich boy. I mean this sounds like EVERY. SINGLE. YA. EVER. But they were likable. Sort of. Secondary characters were great and I liked them a lot.
3. After I got into the story it was hard to put down.
4. The translation was overall good. It felt natural at most parts, even though at some moments it felt like "yep, this book is translated", if you know what i mean.

What I didn't like:
1. The writing. There was almost no compound sentences in the enire book! The sentences here are so short it makes the writing feel clunky and it really slows the pacing. It's unnatural and you can feel it while reading. I thought that this feeling of clunkiness was the translation's fault, but after reading some reviews, I know it's not.
2. The above made it hard for me to get into the story.
3. Rape as a plot device. Never ok.


Note for the publisher, that's not included in my GR review: The review copy was formatted in a weird way that made reading really hard - there was no possibility od jumping to particular chapter (Kindle recognises the book as one big chapter). Also, there was no cover which made it impossible for me to hype this book on my instagram.

This is such a unique story, I’ve read nothing like it. Interesting world building, a plethora of great and interesting characters and fantastical beings. Plus the magic is just super cool. I highly recommend it. My only “issue” was that it was just a tad long in certain places but it really is a great set up for the continuation.

Rating: 4⭐️

I am currently on a mythology kick and had so much fun reading this book. The plot is interesting and the story is full of colorful characters.

As this is the beginning of a series, it does have a slow start due to world building and character introductions.

Thanks to the author for this advanced review copy, I cannot wait to read the next book!

Odin's Child is perfect for fans of Games of Thrones that are into complex fantasy worlds with numerous characters. Even though this was marked as YA, I would categorize it as adult fantasy due to profanity, nudity, and multiple graphic scenes.

Hirka is Odin's Child but she doesn't know it. Left at the world of Ym as a newborn, she goes through life believing she's one of them but just a bit different, until the man she believed was her father tells her the truth in an attempt to protect her from the people that see her as a threat. Hirka's life comes crashing down and she has to make some hard decisions along the way in order to survive and protect the ones she loves.

The story is intriguing and the reader won't be able to put it down until they get their answers. I loved Hirka and following where her unpredictable choices took her. The story is also told through various characters, which adds to its mysterious tone. Can't wait for the other two books in the trilogy of The Raven Rings to be translated by Arctis Books.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Odin’s Child follows 15 year old Hirka in this recently translated trilogy. This book, I found, was very engaging to the point that I didn’t want to stop reading. I really enjoyed the Norse mythology and following Hirka as she finds more about herself and where she belongs in their world. Hirka was ultimately relatable as she felt like an outsider because of her lack of tail.

There were points in the book that I found it difficult to follow, but the writing was captivating and as I kept reading, everything more or less fell into place. Pettersen created a very enticing world that was utterly immersive and I can’t wait to read the next book!

*4.5 stars

I thoroughly engaging read that I just couldn’t put down. The novel has an intriguing plot and wonderful characters with great development.

As it’s the first novel in a series the beginning had a lot of plot and world building elements which was a little slow for me but after the halfway mark the story starts to pick up speed and I couldn’t stop reading.

I love all the characters and the storyline and setting is really different from anything I’ve read before.

I’m honestly so excited to get into the next instalment. The english translation needs to be published ASAP!

Odin’s child follows 15-year-old Hirka as she discovers secrets about herself and her community. The novel is captivating and leads the reader along a path of subterfuge and fantasy as Hirka finds her place in the world.


Book 1 of the Raven Ring novels, this novel created a world of characters that you are eager to revisit with the upcoming novels.

I am not extremely familiar with Norse mythos so I found myself researching different concepts as I moved through the book. There is a character list and glossary at the end of the book, but if you’re not familiar with Norse mythology you may initially be confused by the setting.

Odin's Child is an interesting story set in a land, inspired by norse mythology, where everyone has a tail. everyone, except our protagonist. The lack of a tail set our MC apart from the other, she's an outcast and this prompts her search of who she really is, where she belongs, where did she came from. I really liked this book for his originality, and for the setting, norse mythology has so much influence on fantasy and it's really lovely to go deep with the inspiration. The characters, especially our Main Character, are good, I care so much for them, they're at the start of their journey and i can't wait to see how everything will continue.