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.

I got an ARC on Netgalley of the book "Odin's child" by Siri Pettersen, for an honest review.

This book should be up my alley cause it's with norse elements and I've seen the book around in Scandinavia. But it didn't catch my attention nor made me want to know more. It was rather dull and boring. It just wasn't a match for me.

I did not feel entertained, and I was more like ain't the book soon done. So there for my rating.

This book did not read like YA. The main character might be in the age range but I think this reads a lot more like an adult fantasy book with a younger protagonist. So be warned - there are explicit scenes of graphic scenes.

I very much appreciated the different cultural background for this - there is not a lot of fantasy by Scandinavian authors that gets translated. I have to say I don't think I know enough about Norse mythology or the mythological roots for this novel to comment on that.

The story is really interesting and I think beautifully written. Sometimes it comes off as a bit bloated but I think it works in the context of the story. While the story can be a bit weird and I still have a lot of questions (and would have liked a bit more answers) I think if you are interested in trying a fantasy from Scandinavia this might work for you.

The book had a good promise of Norse mythology, but the only Norse thing about it is the name Odin. I was expecting something along the Viking lines, with the correct mythology behind it. I couldn't get along with the style of writing and I made a lot of notes similar to 'the grandeur writing is too much'. quite frequently. It kept dancing around the reasons and thoughts rather than outright saying them and that got quite irksome. I got halfway through the book and had to stop as the writing style really bugged me. This book is definitely not for young adults; the language and some graphic scenes are not suited to 12-17 year olds, the book is definitely for adults. Even if the protagonist is 15-ish, it doesn't automatically make the book suitable to read for that age group. I did not quite get why they had tails, and I did not quite get the other terminology being used without it being explained. I suppose if you like odd fantasy novels with a grand writing style that doesn't explain things fully, go for it. This book was not for me unfortunately, though I did have good hopes for it