Freya is a shield maiden, a child of a god and possesses the ability to shield an army against any enemy. Bjorn, sworn to protect her, wields a magical fiery axe. Bjorn's father, the power-hungry jarl Snorri, believes that with the two of them he will fulfill his destiny to become king of all Skaland. Freya is bound to Snorri by a blood oath and marriage, but her heart belongs to Bjorn. Set against a backdrop of Norse mythology, A Fate Inked in Blood is the first book in the Saga of the Unfated duology, an exciting romantasy series. The characters are well-drawn, the story is engaging, and there is just the right amount of spice.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It was enjoyable...enough.....but it left me wanting so much more. There was so much potential in this, I just felt like the execution was lacking. The middle of the book just fell flat for me and I really struggled to get through it. I also found the ending rather predictable. With this said though, the bones of the story are so good and I will without a doubt be reading the next book! I can see so much potential there and I hope the next book really flushes all of it out and steps it up.

All in all, I enjoyed it and would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 Stars Rounded up to 4 Stars

The 411...
╰☆☆ “𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚, 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐧-𝐢𝐧-𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭.” ☆☆╮

We first meet our FMC Freya as a disgruntled fisherman's wife who is trying her hardest to not have a child by her husband. A husband who has been blessed by the Gods and has allowed it to get to his ego. Freya never saw herself as a housewife but was forced to marry for wealth and is just trying to endure each day while wishing this man death. A husband who is not kind to Freya, making no secret of how he views her as worthless because she has yet to give him a child. Freya however only has ambitions of one day joining the Jarl's war band in raids against their rivals. She's had a hunger for battle ever since she was a little girl but unfortunately life didn't quite pan out the way she dreamed. Freya's husband in a fit to terminate his marriage and get permission to find another wife, betrays Freya to the regions Jarl. Freya finds herself having to battle to defend herself against the Jarl's son Bjorn. It isn't her first run in with Bjorn, their run in by the river earlier that day was filled with attraction and flirting. Nonetheless, she accepts the challenge knowing she will most likely be killed. She does have a secret weapon, knowledge that she possesses a drop of the goddess Hlin's blood. She's banking on protection even though she's had no training in wielding her magic. When the Jarl realizes she's capable of repelling all attacks, he remembers the prophesy that foretold of this magic that would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate. Ambitions of becoming the King of Skaland he makes a blood oath to Freya and places his son Bjorn as her protector.

Thoughts...

A Fate Inked In Blood was a strange ride for this reader with a mixture of feelings that ultimately ended in an EXCUSE ME?!?! No Sir. No Mam moment. We cannot just end this right here right now haha! The Pacing of this story is where I struggled a bit and I didn't think I would since the opening chapter had me laughing at Freya's inner thoughts and smiling at all the ways she interfered with her entitled husband. It does slow down as most traveling stories do which is the majority of how this story is spent, on foot. Freya in the mean time is charged with learning how to wield and expand the range of her protective magic for battle. Since Freya's magic is more of the human shield type, other than range and calling on the Goddesses' powers of protection there isn't a ton of training outside of battle. This being a Romantasy, we see a lot more of Freya entertaining steamy thoughts of Bjorn all of the time. I won't even lie, this did have me a bit frustrated because it really felt like unbalanced interest and hindered her on page growth. Eventually her advances are returned but it takes a minute, I think its a matter of preference. I like my MMC's pining or pursuing as much if not more than the FMC, jussayin haha!

Character development didn't really kick off until we see a pick up of the pace which is right about the 60% mark. This is when we're hit with plot twists and vivid battle scenes where the powers bestowed by the Norse Gods are on full display. The last 40% delivers some interesting revelations that truly piqued my interest while also taking a darker turn. I'm hoping this means when we next meet with Freya, she is empowered and ready to be in the drivers seat of her fate. Bjorn on the other hand does have some pretty cool character development and magic I'd like to see more of. I also have questions about Bjorn's time with the King of Nordeland as a ward, his mother and his purpose as it pertains to his father the Jarl of Skaland. I'm calling it early, A Curse Carved in Bone has five star potential! May 13th 2025 is when we'll meet these characters again on the page.

This was honestly just the biggest disappointment. I had high hopes and I fear that they fell quickly and were never resurrected.

The main character is not someone who’s head I want to be in- she’s self sacrificing to the point of irritation, forgiving of every single thing someone could do to her, and never stands up to anyone. I could not stand her and I wished I could shake her and make her have a spine for two seconds because she really never did.

And the romance? No. I did not believe it for one single second. There was absolutely no chemistry between them. It was entirely “telling not showing” and just saying he’s hot but he’s my husband’s son I can’t be with him….and that’s about it. I mean obviously it goes further than that but feelings never were truly developed and it was just an extremely lackluster attempt.

I’ve loved some of this author’s other books but this one was an absolute swing and miss for me. I slogged through and I honestly wish I had DNFed.

As I've sat on this, I'm more and more disappointed by it. The main character was infuriating and seemed to lack a lot of agency when it felt like it was supposed to be empowering. And the romance was very lackluster, I felt no chemistry between them and the forbidden romance trope didn't hit at all since I didn't think it was done well. The cover is stunning though!

I'm obsessed with anything Danille L. Jensen writes, and A FATE INKED IN BLOOD has my whole heart! What an incredible start to a new romantasy series -- I can't wait for the next book!

I really enjoyed this one! I felt completely immersed in the Viking/Norse lifestyle. I really loved the characters of Freya and Bjorn. It had a very interesting plot and I enjoyed the writing style.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars⭐️
This book gives you everything you look for in a fantasy book mystery, betrayal, intrigue, and of course a badass female lead but has a freshness that fantasy has been desperately lacking in many new releases. The Nordic gods and magic system feel new and refreshing and make this an exciting new release. While I did find aspects of the plot somewhat predictable, I enjoyed the ride nonetheless. If you’re looking for a viking fantasy adventure about a female lead who is learning her own strength and taking charge of her destiny, this book is for you.

As a fan of Norse mythology, I very much looked forward to this book. While the romance felt very instant, the story overall was very fun and I'm curious to see where the next book goes

Danielle is an auto buy/auto read author for me since reading the bridge kingdom. I loved the mythology in this book, a refreshing change from most of the mythology we find in this genre. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

I found to be riveting and well-developed. I really enjoyed the way the author wrote the Norse pantheon, and a re-imagined Norse mythology romance. The main female was fierce and independent, but I also enjoyed how she had her own struggles, and had to overcome them. I enjoyed the magical realm in the way the author develop the whole world that she wrote this book in. And I cannot wait for more.

Good book! Very interesting. Fast read. I liked the characters and I enjoyed the dialogue. A must read!

It was a very good book, I enjoyed it. Had a hard time with the names but that’s expected with a Viking book.

I really enjoyed this one. This is the first book I've read by Danielle L. Jensen and I will definitely be picking up more!

I know everyone absolutely adores this book, but for me, it was just....okay. I really struggled to pick it up, and I don't think I'll continue with the series. The end of the book contained most of the action, and that was fun, but the build up wasn't worth it to me.

I'm a huge fan of Danielle Jensen so I knew I'd love this. It did not disappoint. I love the worlds she builds. I'm about to start the second!

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen was a breath of fresh air. My only regret is my taking so long to finally read it. This one got me out of an eight month reading slump. Five stars. 10/10. No notes.

The tale is the perfect mixture of a fantasy world inspired by Norse mythology and culture, along with a steamy slow burn romance. It isn’t often that an author can pull off a sincere slow burn when the love interest shows up half nude in the first few pages, but Jensen did it well. I’m definitely not complaining. The character building, tension, politics, and fast pacing never left me wanting.

This is a character led story done well. No info dumpy world building here. You’ll see the world as it’s experienced by the main character: a sheltered child with gods’ blood who’s been kept hidden from her world. For good reason.

I’ll keep this review spoiler free, but if you’re looking for a slow-burn romantasy inspired by and well researched in Norse culture and mythology, this one comes highly recommended from me.

Based on the eye-catching cover and the links to Norse mythology, I was so looking forward to reading this one, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I do think it has an audience!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey and NetGalley for the chance to give this a try,

I'm a fan of Norse mythology. I'm always interested in something based off of it, so I was always going to pick up this book. It was so good. It's well thought out and the way the world and the magic work were fun. I liked the vast majority of the characters and they were all vivid and distinct. I'm super excited for the next book now and am ready to pick it up as soon as possible!

Disappointing. The characters lacked depth and the plot was lackluster and predictable. The romance felt forced and was cringe; I didn’t like the portrayal of the male lead. The writing was all right but not impressive and did not add to the book.