I have been wanting to read more romance fantasy for a while now, but never knew where to start. I know there is the obvious place to start, but I wanted to tip my toes in a bit and see where I could start. Then I heard a booktuber talk about A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen and I was very intrigued. This is the first book in the Saga of the Unfated and I absolutely devoured it. Could not stop reading it. We meet Freya, married to a man she does not love and who does not love her. He is only interested in himself. Then one day Friday meets a man who intrigues her and makes her thinks thoughts a married woman should ever think.

Then her secret is out, she is the shield maiden a Jarl (chief) has been looking for to fulfill a prophecy he believes is his. She is forced to be married again, to the father of the man she wants and who is forced to protect her at costs. What follows is a journey of tasks and tests that put them in danger and learn her magic. But is this gift a benefit or a menace to all? I absolutely loved the connection and pull Freya and Bjorn felt for each toward each other. Not sure who they can trust, they must decide what path to follow, but if they choose wrong, what happens to those they care about? And when secrets are revealed, will all be lost?

I am so excited I decided to read this Viking inspired fantasy romance. I absolutely loved it and thought it was a great introduction to this genre for me. I cannot wait for the next book in the series. That ending broke me. I could not believe it and am already ready for a re-read!

Happy reading!

If you love tales of gods and mortals, books with shocking twists, and a little bit of spice, then you'll love this story. All Freya has wanted is to be a soldier, but when she sees what that truly means, she's forced to make a decision that could alter her fate. She is the child of prophecy and one that can unite the kingdom. But betrayal comes at every turn and it's almost impossible for Freya to know who to trust. I loved the depth of this story and how well and authentic the author writes the characters. I will say that Freya annoyed me from time to time. Her anger and rage are necessary and they make sense, but there were times when it was so extreme it left me wondering why. A Fate Inked in Blood is a riveting story.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen is about an unhappy woman who dreams to be a warrior and to use the magic given to her by a goddess. All of her dreams suddenly become true but as each day goes by she starts to wonder if this is truly the dream she was hoping for. She is the Shield Maiden of prophesy and must complete the tests from the gods while keeping her feelings at bay for the warrior who is set to protect her at all costs.
This book was so good! I am excited to have another great fantasy series on my list to read as the novels come out. This novel was well written and weaved the prophesies in a elegant way. I loved the idea and the world created by this novel. The magic system and the idea of the fated vs unfated people was interesting. However, there were many repetitive moments. The main characters thoughts seemed to loop and so did the conversation between her and the love interest which began to become monotonous.
I don't know how I feel about the main character. One minute I understand her feelings but the next I am frustrated by her decisions. I definitely could not relate to this main character and feel connected to her fully. Once I realized that while reading, stopped trying to understand her decisions, and just look at it from almost a citizens perspective I enjoyed the novel. The frustration by some of her decision making and thought process is one of the reasons I didn't rate it a full 5 stars.
I enjoyed the relationship between the main character and the love interest but again the repetition of some of their conversations started to get annoying. It felt like they had the same argument and makeup 4+ times in this novel.
Overall I enjoyed this novel and was sucked into it. I can't wait for the next one to come out with the end of this novel leaving me gaping. I definitely recommend this novel to any fantasy lover.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers.

A Fate Inked in Blood is a Viking inspired romantasy perfect for those who loved the Vikings show or Adrienne Young’s the Girl the Sea Gave Back. Freya’s life is far from easy, married to a man who is the son of a god but is cruel and capricious. Still, for the sake of her family, she endures him. Yet she discovers to her horror that she is the shieldmaiden prophesied to unite all in her country under one king. Because she too is the child of a goddess, and the first life she takes is his. Over and over again she must question if her fate is her own to decide or if it has already been decided for her. Will she be a weapon or a woman who listens to her own heart? And can she even trust herself?

This book left me on the edge of my seat wanting more. The care and love that went into making this accurate had me thankful that it was written. It goes to show that DLJ went to a lot of lengths of research to make sure that it was as accurate as possible to Viking/Norse representation.

Onto the story, the concept of this world is amazing and something that I really love. It pulls off the idea that some are born from the bloodline/parentage of the Norse Gods. This takes it more literally and I appreciate the care that went into this concept. Not only did it showcase the Heathen Pantheon, but it also showcased the lesser gods that rarely appeared.

For the fans of the show Vikings, absolutely pick up this masterpiece. There are some explicit scenes, but it's not a huge part of the plot. It's more character-driven with a story than focused on smut. I will say that there are many cases of bloodshed and more violent war imagery that is describe, so beware of that.

The tension of forbidden love is quite lovely and the ending is all that better for it. I saw and expected a few things, but it does have you doubt your suspicions of characters, so that was well executed.

I'm going to need book 2 soon!

A Fate Inked in Blood is about a young maiden who is blessed by the gods and due to her blessing becomes known as the “shield maden”. The story explores the Shield Maidens fight to balance learning about herself, learning about her power, fighting for her people, and against the growing feelings for her controllers son the young shield.

I really liked the book it was different than most fantasy books I read and so i enjoyed that. The only reason I did the book a bit lower is due to the predictability of the book. I wasn’t really surprised by any of the discoveries of the book.

I think it was a great story and can’t wait for the next one. Highly recommend to others. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the arc for my honest review.

A Fate Inked in Blood is the epic, high-stakes Norse fantasy of the season. Danielle L. Jensen's latest masterpiece is chock full of female rage, fated destinies, gods-blessed and gods-cursed characters, swoon-worthy romance, and witty banter.

Freya is married to one such gods-blessed character, who is a cruel man to both her and the people of her village. But one day in Freya's life changes everything - she meets a handsome son of a jarl (and throws a fish at him) and finally gets the chance to do what she's always wanted: fight for her lands and her people, like her brother.

Throughout the novel, Freya struggles with the frustrations of trying to balance what she feels is her duty and destiny and what she really wants. That includes craving the jarl's son, Bjorn, and navigating intense, homicidal rage. And through most of her story in this book, she's being controlled and manipulated by others, hence the rage.

A Fate Inked in Blood is full of unforgettable twists and reveals, and ends on an epic cliffhanger. I highly recommend the book to all fantasy romance fans as well as those who watched Vikings.

*Received an ARC for a honest review*. This book is absolutely stunning. The imagery and mythology is amazing. It’s enemies to lovers, it’s spicy. It has a strong female character coming into her own. There were some twists I thought for sure I saw coming but it was totally not what I thought. Danielle Jensen really knows how to spin a story that grips a reader and draws them in. There were sometimes I wanted to yell at Freya for being a naive girl, but she is just that, and other characters try and tell her that until she finally learns that lesson on her own. And that heart break really rips your heart out in such a roller coaster of a ride. And Bjorn, oh boy, people are going to love to hate to love him, if that makes sense. You’ll just have to read it yourself. I was ready to give this book five stars except for the ending on a cliffhangers. If I’d known that was going to happen I night have agreed to read this as I really hate cliffhangers, they tend to be a deal breaker for me with a book. This book though was really good and I will follow the rest of the series.

Received an eArc from NetGalley

Freya, is a shield maiden blessed by the god’s, giving her special powers. To support her family, Freya had to marry a rich idiot. Her idiot husband betrays her, revealing her secret shield maiden powers to some other powerful idiot - Snorri. (In my head I call him Snotty.) Snorri wants to rule over all of Skaland and believes Freya’s magic will unite Skaland under his rule. Just when you think there is not one decent person in this book, Bjorn appears. Bjorn is Snorri’s son. Snorri The Idiot orders his hot and charming son to protect Freya (who is also very hot). With Bjorn’s help, Freya must face tests from the gods and learn to control her powers, or less the jarl will kill her family and the rest of her community will be in danger.

I loved this book. I was hooked after chapter 2 and could not put it down. The banter between Bjorn and Freya was fantastic. The chemistry was spicy. The burn was slow! The Norse Mythology and world building was amazing. Freya’s character growth was compelling, I loved seeing her go from a fisherman’s wife to a warrior and protector.

Freya has a deep well of unconditional love and a strong moral code. These characteristics make her endearing, but also a bit frustrating. I am very interested to see how her character will continue to grow in the next book. I need her to set some boundaries!

There were also a lot of characters that I loved to hate - I’m looking at you Snorri, Geir, Ingrid, and Freya’s mom! I hope you all burn in hell.

It's good. Read it.

This was a fast paced romantasy with some amazing world building, good plot but just okay characters. I am a little stumped on how to feel about this book as I think the actual plot of this was well done and I loved the world that was created here. The first quarter to half of this book, though, was not my favorite as I had a really had time coming to care about these characters.

The book is well written and I flew through it but I could not get behind some of the main character's thoughts and choices. The romance was just okay for me - I didn't feel the connection between them as much as I was hoping.

I do believe that I will continue this series as the plot is so intriguing and I'm curious to see where this author takes the story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

DNF at 8%.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for this advance readers copy.

i’m going to be honest, i wanted to stop reading in chapter 1 but i said to myself, really try to push through because this is an arc and i should really give it a chance. well i gave it 3 chances, since i read chapters 1, 2, and 3.

the first line of this book really set the tone for me and chapter 1 just completely went downhill. maybe i was supposed to be having a good time with this but i felt like i was reading a annoying romance book with the tiniest sprinkle of fantasy.

meeting the love interest in chapter 1 is always a red flag for me especially when the author makes it so obvious. additionally, the female main character felt recycled to me, she truly felt like someone i’ve read before and not in a good way.

in conclusion, i think this author is just not for me because i seem to be in the minority of the reviews. and i hate to give this book a 1 star but you know when something annoys you from the start and then all the sudden everything starts annoying you? that’s how this book was for me.

i hope others enjoy this one.

4.5 rounded up.

Thanks so much to Danielle L. Jensen, NetGalley, and Del Ray for an ARC of A Fate Inked in Blood! All opinions are my own.

I’m a big time fan of everything I’ve read so far by DLJ, and am excited to catch up on her backlist at *some* point this year. When Del Ray granted my “wish” for A Fate Inked in Blood, the first in the new Saga of the Unfated series, I was HYPE.

There are so many things about this book that are a draw to wide audiences. The Norse mythology, the magic, the badass women, the love story…all these things had me hooked from the start. Danielle seamlessly wove together a new story using old mythology and made it feel fresh and exciting. I sped through this book so fast, which was only a mistake in that I now have to wait who knows how long for the second book 🥲once again foiled by the curse of the speedy reader. I have so many questions after finishing the final page, and I’m already ready for answers and more of Freya and Bjorn!

🇳🇴Norse mythology
❤️‍🔥Enemies/antagonists to lovers
✨God magic
🪓Warriors
🌀Prophecy
💗Forbidden attraction

A FATE INKED IN BLOOD is the 10th (!!!) novel I’ve read by Jensen, and it’s definitely yet another well-told tale to add to her roster! This novel is set in a Norse-inspired fantasy world, which is so fascinating and not something I’ve read a lot of recently. But it has the hallmarks I’ve come to expect from Jensen’s work: a fierce, passionate main character who wants to do what’s right even in the face of constant opposition (from within and without); a love interest who is appealing and more complex than he initially appears to be; a tale that weaves moments of magic, action and romance together very neatly — the way this ends has a lot of elements slotting perfectly into place (and even if I guessed at some of it, I still found it very satisfying). Such a great read, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Rating: 3.75/4 out of 5

I was very excited to read this especially after seeing all the positive reviews on my bookstagram! It’s been a few books since I’ve read a fantasy so this was a great book to read to get back into the genre.

Things I Didn’t Enjoy:
- Why were the chapters so long? I read this on my kindle but why were chapters about 22 minutes long!?!
- The last 15% of the book. Freya suddenly became stupid and reckless, particularly for people who had proven over and over again that they did not prioritize her. Also, why run away only to start questioning Bjorn?
- Why does Freya keep tripping?

Thinks I did Enjoy
- I loved that Freya already knew how to fight so it made it believable when she was in battle situations.
- THE twist at the end about a female character (trying to word this with no spoilers)

Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I would like to read the sequel because I’m intrigued where it goes… But I will say the last 15 to 20% of the book felt dragged and rushed at the same time.

A Fate Inked in Blood is a Norse inspired romantic fantasy about a god touched young woman who is used as a weapon between warring tribes.

Freya has been hiding her goddess given powers as a “shield maiden” for years until she was betrayed to a nearby jarl. The jarl believes that a marriage to Freya will help him fulfill a prophecy and make him the king of Skaland and he enlists his son Bjorn to train and protect her as they vanquish their enemies. But, Freya discovers quickly that the cost of war is more than she can bear and there are forces working against her. As her feelings for Bjorn grow she is forced to decide if she will let the jarl continue to use her in his power hungry plan or if she’ll forge her own path.

A Fate Inked in Blood is a fast-paced and entertaining fantasy with a lot smoldering romantic tension. The backdrop of Scandinavia along with the magic system inspired by Norse mythology makes it a fresh new addition to the “romantasy” genre. I enjoyed the humor and banter between Freya and Bjorn along with their simmering romance. I did wish there were more “quiet” moments instead of the non-stop travel, battles and death plus more world building overall. But, I look forward to seeing where the series will take us next.

A Fate Inked in Blood
by Danielle L. Jensen
Saga of the Unfated #1
Fantasy Myth
NetGalley ARC
Random House Publishing
Pub Date: Feb 27, 2024
Ages: 18+


Freya is a fisherman's wife, but when her bully of a husband tells the region's jarl about her, she finds herself in a fight to the death with the jarl's son, Bjorn. The only way to save her own life is to reveal the secret her father ordered her to keep. She uses the magic given to her by the drop of a goddess's blood and repels Bjorn's attack.

The jarl, believing her to be the shield maiden that will ensure the prophecy of him becoming king of a united Skaland, he binds her with a blood oath, so he can be the one who controls the fate of the shield maiden.


This book grabbed my attention, but then it got boring. The romance aspect is so overdone that I couldn't care less. What made it worse was she was married to his father. I get the reasoning, but I don't respect adultery.

Freya, at first I could relate to her, but then she started to irritate me. Yes, I get she is a woman in a time when men rule, but she has magic, powerful magic, and didn't have to put up with the BS after her secret was revealed. All I could see was a weak, whiney woman, not a powerful shield maiden. It was her weakness that lost a star. The story was strong, but the MC was not!

Another star was lost due to the porn (which I skimmed to skip). Those descriptions are NOT needed. Porn in books is getting so overdone. So gone are the days when kids would have to hide in the back of the library, giggling, reading these kinds of books. Now they are everywhere, easy for anyone to pick up and nobody will blink an eye because that's book banning. Might as well get rid of the ratings for movies, TV, video games, and music. The world is becoming numb to everything, including empathy, which was a plot point in this story, so that's a little counterproductive.

With the porn and violence, this book is not suitable for readers under 18.

I liked this story a lot and would like to read the next, but I hated the MC's whininess and the unneeded descriptive romance, so even though it left off as a cliff-hanger, I'm undecided if I will look for the next in the series.

A very low...

3 Stars

I've been a fan of Danielle Jensen's since stumbling over her Bridge Kingdom series which I completely adore. I was so grateful to receive an ARC of her traditionally published book, A Fate Inked in Blood. This time Jensen takes us to a Viking-inspired fantasy world that is propulsive from start to finish. We are in the perspective of Freya, sho begins the novel a fish monger's wife only to find out that she is one of the god-touched, the unfated and she is a pawn to be fought over among the most powerful Jarls.

Freya is very stubborn and definitely leads with her heart and sharp tongue. Sometimes I related with her strongly and other times I found myself thinking...girl now is not the time. The book is really fast-paced and there are a lot of things Jensen gets away with because we are in Freya's pov.

The best part of the book (for me) is Freya's relationship with Bjorn, the son of the Jarl she is owned(?) by. I liked him as a character and their relationship even though I'm not sure if it worked for me?

The writing and world-building was very strong and Im excited to keep reading and see what Jensen has in store next for Freya and Bjorn

Thank you so much to Del Rey Publishing and NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a fan of Danielle L. Jensen for years now, and I have to admit that A Fate Inked in Blood is my favorite of her books to date! Freya is a killer protagonist (pun intended?) with a unique magic that I haven't seen in many fantasy novels. This Viking tale sees Freya become the fabled shield maden, struggling to find out who she is and who she can be when no longer anyone's thumb.

Also, this book has crafted perhaps my favorite introduction to a love interest ever. I'll let you read it and be the judge! But I was in hysterics.

Jensen's continues her tradition of creating stories filled with intense detail and worldbuilding, making it clear that she truly put in the work to explore the cultures and themes she was writing about. I cannot recommend this book enough, and I'm excited for the sequel!

Danielle Jensen has done it again! This was a an exciting and riveting start to a planned trilogy, with a kickass FMC and a boatload of incredible Viking fantasy. Freya is unhappily wed to the village asshat when the story opens. Though she chafes at the bounds of her life and longs to go to war at the side of her older brother, she lives in a hard country and does what she needs to survive. One day she crosses paths with Lord Snorri and his warband, including his steamy son, Bjorn. As the powers she’s been hiding all her life are brought to light, her life takes an unexpected turn. Caught up in a prophecy and an ambitious man, she is wed to Snorri and thrown in close proximity to Bjorn as a war brews on the horizon.

Jensen’s writing is superb, weaving her world-building seamlessly into the story and crafting unforgettable characters. I loved both Freya and Bjorn, and their chemistry is absolutely fire, but every character is well-realized and interesting. The pacing was spot on for me, and I flew through this. I was equally invested in both the romance and the greater plot of politics and war. While the storyline and characters stay true to trope, the execution is phenomenal. This does end on a bit of a nail-biter, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting book two! I highly recommend for readers of fantasy romance and anyone interested in tales of Norse mythology!

Danielle L. Jensen does it again! After having discovered and fallen in love with her Bridge Kingdom series, I was excited to join her on this new adventure, while awaiting the next installment in the Bridge Kingdom series. And I was not disappointed. This new story set in Norse mythology follows the life of Freya the shield maiden who was foretold as being the force that would unite the people of Skaland under one King who would control her fate. What follows is a story of one woman’s desire to forge her own path in life. To stop being used and seen as a pawn by all those around her.

I’m excited to read the next part in this amazing series. The story pulls you in from the first page and leaves you wanting more!