I will admit I was both looking forward to this and feeling a bit of trepidation. I was not a big fan of the first Bridge Kingdom book I picked up and was worried that would be my general consensus on this offer. However, A Fate Inked in Blood had me immediately hooked. It starts out intriguing and fresh from the get-go. Even though it's what you expect of the genre, it is a solid book with some fun ideas. The chemistry between the male and female lead is perfect.

One of the best books I’ve read this year!
Freya is such a strong character, but it was also amazing to see her grow. Bjorn was just the best, such a loyal and fierce companion. I loved seeing their relationship develop. Forbidden romance done expertly.
The magic system was interwoven with the plot, and just became more interesting as the story went on. I liked how Freya had to test her abilities constantly throughout the book to figure out the extent of what her power was and what she could do.
I loved reading a story involved with Nordic culture, myths and legends. It hit on marriage traditions, power hierarchies and loyalties and were written in a way that also made them very relatable, especially when seen through Freya’s perspective.
The ending was so intense. I’m left holding my breath now. I need to know what happens next so bad!

4 stars
I just need to mention this first. The physical book's first print/run is so pretty!!!

Anyways, let's talk about Freya. Not sure why I’m feeling this way but her character kind of annoyed me. I think it’s her temper and how quickly she changed her mind. Other than that, I enjoyed the story, the plot, and the twist in the end.

Easily one of my favorite reads of 2024 so far! Wooo hoooooo I’m excited ok it’s a cliffhanger but damn it was good from start to end - I cannot wait to get to the next book. Danielle’s writing hooked me in immediately and I was immersed in the storytelling.

5.0 ⭐️ /5
2.5 🌶️ /5

🩵Slow burn
🤎Forbidden romance
🩵Mine!
🤎Fates and choices
🩵Deciphering who to trust and who is lying
🤎Tension and banter
🩵Norse-inspired mythology

Book Review: A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
This review may contain minor spoilers.

A Fate Inked in Blood in the first installment in the Saga of the Unfated. In this world, some are blessed with a drop of blood from the gods which comes with a piece of that god’s power. Freya has been gifted a drop of Hlin’s blood and with it the power of protection. She has been foreseen as the one to help unit the kingdom under whoever controls her. This book includes vikings, forbidden romance, hidden identity, and forced proximity.

This story takes place in Skaland, where Viking clans rule. Snorri’s aim is to unite the clans against their common enemy, Nordeland. Bjorn’s priority is keeping Freya alive by training and protecting her back. Figuring out who is a true ally and how the various groups unite was almost never straight forward but fun to follow. For me it was as if the show Vikings and the movie Tristan & Isolde had a book baby. And it was amazing.

A few story components were predictable, and lucky for me they were all aspects I love - alliances, truth reveals, true enemies. There were a couple times within the story that I felt choices were rushed or Freya too easily changed her mind. However, given her storyline and the many trials she has it is justifiable. The reveal at the end made me want to go back and revisit many scenes where she has an inner monologue. While it was easy to understand while ready, it will be great to re-read with that revelation.

This story was captivating and I'm invested in what comes next for their stories. Looking forward to the continuation.

I received an eARC from NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group for my honest review.

A Fate Inked in Blood contained everything that I love about historical fantasy. The story felt true to Norse history while the main characters’ connection to the gods. and the special abilities that connection provided, allowed the story to go beyond a basic Viking raider story. I was frustrated along with Freya as everyone tried to push her down the path that would benefit them the most and rejoiced each time she was able to wield her power in a new way. With so many twists and turns in the journey, I was kept in suspense until the very end and now wait impatiently for the next book in the series.

A new fantasy favorite! Ready for book 2!
"You are mine, Born-in-Fire. And I am yours, even if only the two of us know it."

Publisher's summary
A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in the first book of a Norse-inspired fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.
Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.
Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.
Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House LLC for the ARC of this book!

A Fate Inked in Blood
Saga of the Unfated, Book 1
By: Danielle L. Jensen
Publisher: Random House LLC
Audio Book
Narrated by: Nina Yndis
Length: 15 hrs and 16 mins
Publisher: Random House Audio

This author is fantastic, and after reading The Bridge Kingdom series, I knew I would pick up anything she writes. This one did not disappoint and the witting was unsurprisingly impeccable. It had all of the elements I need in a fantasy romance and I NEED MORE!!!

FRESH FANTASY

I quickly fell in love with this Scandinavian fantasy. A realistic heroine, tough choices, addictive mythology, and, of course, a magical hottie.

The magic intwined with mythology was perfect. I loved the natural reveal of what each god represents and what magic their children wield.

I felt Freya's character so refreshingly real compared to some other fantasy FMCs. She has big dreams and then is confronted with the reality of those dreams. She seeks independence but is rooted in cultural tradition. She has so much to discover about herself and it doesn't all get tidied up at the end of this first book. I also really loved Danielle Jensen's depiction of Freya's fear. It was not something that could easily be overcome with positive thinking. It was very much how any of us who dream of being fantasy warriors would react in the practicality of these adventures.

Bjorn's fun boi personality made for great banter but the more we got to know him the more we realized that he has depths to be explored. Their romance is slow burn and fun. <spoiler> pretend hate to love to enemies and its so good </spoiler>

I used this word in the beginning but this felt like a fresh take on the elements of popular fantasy. I cannot wait to read more of this series! Thank you NetGalley and Del Ray for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, but found that it was slow and dragged on throughout a lot of it. I loved the character building and the relationship between Freya and Bjorn. However, I feel like I guessed the ending pretty quickly - think I would've enjoyed it more if it were a surprised. I continued to think about this book long after finishing, so I am excited to see what's next!

A Fate Inked in Blood is a Norse-inspired romantasy that creates a new and interesting world that captures a readers fascination. I enjoyed my time in this world, but it has some frustrating but confusing times while reading.

Synopsis:
Freya a hidden child of the gods, exists in a life that she feels is she doesn’t belong in. Freya always wanted to be a warrior but my her family had other plans for her. When her powers are forced to show themselves she is forced into yet another life not of her choosing. This story has a forbidden romance that has readers anticipating what happens next.

While this story kept me on my toes and I enjoyed my time reading, I did feel frustration with Freya as a character. In Freya character development, I could tell that the author wanted to show her as an empathetic and courageous character but every time we could see this occurring on the page it just kept missing the mark. For me, Freya never learned or made the right decisions and it was frustrating. It seemed that the writing didn’t capture her as a complicated hero, just a sad heroine that kept getting hurt. In part, I believe, to have the reader to feel pity for her in the attempts of making us think she’s strong because of her continues adversity. The author overdid the tortured hero act and it got tiring at times. I can see how this could have been a great character development but the heroine had the same personality through it all. It bothered me more that the author kept assuming the victim for Freya; even though she opposed and reiterated herself the opposite.

Additionally, Freya has this savior complex that is supposed to make us admire her but it grated on me. For example, her actions assume that she felt she was the center of it all and others were not responsible for their own actions. What does this say for other readers and the way they take on others suffering as their fault? Furthermore, the story felt repetitive. It was a rinse and repeat of the same situations: an altercation would happen, someone would get hurt or killed, Freya took the blame on herself. This scene happened 10 plus times during this book. Therefore, not only could she come to a realization that not everything revolved around her, but she needed the male hero to step in every time to remind her that it wasn’t her fault. Therefore, instead of being understanding of herself and the circumstances, she tortured herself and created more drama and problems for herself.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a little angst but this was just too much in a story for my taste. However, I hope in the rest of the series it will drop this repetitive self-centered narrative because the story has a great plot and interesting world.

**Thank you NetGalley for providing me this arc! All opinions and views are my own, as promised to provide a honest review to the publisher.**

Freya is sick of being stuck in a loveless marriage, spending her days gutting fish and keeping house. But when she reveals her identity as a child of the goddess Hlin, she is swept up into the politics of the realm, for it has been prophesied that whoever controls her fate will become king of the land.

Fantasy was always my first love when it came to books. Nowadays I have ranged far from that familiar region, but sometimes you just want to go back to the basics. The basics being, of course, magic, war romance, and a Chosen One.

The Chosen One here is Freya, but there's a bit of a twist on it, for it's whoever controls her who will have the special fate of ruling Skaland. I enjoyed the world-building - the society and magic system is clearly rooted in Norse mythology, but the author made it come alive with plenty of her own unique touches. Freya and most of the supporting characters are drawn in shades of gray, and I enjoyed how their competing motivations made it tough for me to decide who was making the right choices.  There were enough twists and turns in the story to keep me guessing right until the end.

However, there was one big thing that did not work for me - the romance. Freya is drawn to Bjorn, which is complicated because he is the son of the jarl that she's forced to marry in his bid for kingship. However, Bjorn always felt flat to me until almost the very ending of the book, and I found myself bored with him. While I enjoyed some of his banter with Freya, I never really bought into their chemistry - and since the romance between them is a large part of the story and Freya's conflict, it meant I did always find myself gripped. I also found myself rolling my eyes at how invariably selfish and uncaring Freya's family and friends were - it struck an odd note in a book that builds depth even into its minor antagonists.

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen was everything I was hoping it would be. Like all Jensen's other books, this one has great characters, a page-turning story, and a bit of romance and I recommend you pick this up when you can.

Freya is our fmc and she has a secret...or does she? Freya is blessed by the gods as a shield maiden (she has magic capable of repelling any attack) and while she dreams of being a warrior, she spends her days in an unwanted marriage gutting fish. What she didn't expect was that her husband would sell her out to the region's jarl and find herself forced into another unwanted marriage to the jarl who just happens to be the father of the man she is actually drawn to.

When the Jarl binds Freya with a blood oath, he also orders his son, Bjorn, to protect her. As Freya's magic becomes known across Skaland, they are challenged to keep her alive and unsure who to trust. What Freya does know is that she needs to learn to control her magic so she can protect those around her. She also needs to figure out how to resist her attraction to Bjorn. If she can't, it could endanger her and all those she has tried to protect.

I thought Freya and Bjorn were well-developed characters. They each had their own history and how that played out into their story together was great. I thought Freya's brother, friend, and mother were horrible people but it helped to explain why she is how she is. While I didn't love the second marriage piece, I saw the importance of binding Freya. And of course the banter and swoony bits with Bjorn and Freya were very well done.

If you're looking for a new fantasy romance, definitely pick this up. I love all of Jensen's books so knew I wasn't going to be disappointed with this new one but if you've not picked up her stories before, I think you can start with this one and work your way back through her catalog while you wait for the next one!

Everything Danielle L. Jensen does is amazing, and this is no different. I think my only complaint is that this will be a duology and not a longer series - I just need more!

Anyway, the characters here are so complex, so interesting, and just *chef's kiss*

The magic and gods is pretty cool and different, which I really liked. Agh. I am just so in love with this story. It is probably going to be one of my top books of the year and got me out of a major reading slump.

a million stars here. Every single one is hard earned.

I LOVED this book. The romance was beautiful! This story was gorgeous. I loved every second of it! The character development was so good. Our main character Freya was so good. I need book two asap!!

I need to learn more about Vikings now! I know parts of this have to be rooted in the lore and I’m so intrigued by all of it! I got lost a few times in the fighting scenes, but the character building was great!!

An excellent start to a Nordic inspired fantasy romance! While some plot points were predictable, others were not, and all were immensely fun to read! Freya is a relatively strong and impulsive FMC that reminds me a bit of a more nieve Jude from The Cruel Prince. She's bloodlusty at times, but still cares about her people. I think anyone interested in Nordic mythology or enjoyers of The Bridge Kingdom will adore this book. I'm forever grateful for the eARC and can't wait for the next installment in the series.

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

Vikings, shield maidens, an entire segment of the population who have a drop of a God’s blood (that was interesting) that mean they control their own fate. But power hungry men who have been told the Shield Maiden will unite their kingdoms either want to marry her or see her dead. And our Freya is not going down without a fight. But she will be tested on this loyalty, over and over.

This is a must-read fantasy book of 2024. Start reading it immediately. Say Hi to Bjorn for me.

I was hooked from the very first page with this book. I liked how this book started with the small village life. It gave the reader some aspects of what life is like in this time/story. It helped me get recognized or familiar with the character and what her life was like. I also liked the magic system in this and that people are blessed at conception and then gain some form of the gods power. The romance was not my favorite. It did not matter to me much how fast they fell in love which is kind of insta-lovey. The family dynamics are described in a realistic way and I really appreciate how the author made the character learn that she not only has to save her family but herself too. The battle scenes are written in a way that the reader is able to picture them in their head.
I did not really enjoy the spicy parts of this book. The main character is always talking about the love interests package. I think that in battle or near death that one would not be concerned with sex but with not dying. I did not mind the romance. It was there and I could have done with more of a slow burn but the sex scenes have brought my rating for this book down a bit.
I did read this book in 3 days so it is fast paced and a page turner. As long as you don't mind some meh written sex scenes with too much description and a lot of talk of “being wet”, then this will be the perfect book for you.
I really liked this book a lot except for a few scenes. It gets a low 4 STARS.

This book is so fun! A really great romantasy and start to a series.

Freya and Bjorn have great chemistry from the start. Their banter is 🔥 Freya's familial relationships are so unbelievably frustrating. They take so much from her. But as someone who had a horrific relationship with a parent for years, I really connected with the way she just couldn't give up on them even when she could see the way they used her.

I like the world and the magic. It's not overly complex, so it could be a good starting point for someone who is new to fantasy.

The clues are a little heavy handed. There was no doubt in my mind about most of the reveals that we get toward the end of the book. I wish the author had trusted the reader a bit more to make the connections on their own.

So overall, it was pretty predictable but still very enjoyable. I would recommend this to anyone who usually enjoys romantasy.