Freya is taken hostage and forced into marriage by a power hungry king when the king discovers she has a unique power.

I disliked Freya immensely. She seemed extremely juvenile, particularly considering her circumstances and powers. The love story was not doing it for me either. It seemed a little too insta-love for my taste. Her constant obsession over Bjorn (both his body and his status) got old quickly. I was interested in reading a book with Norse mythology, but the writing style honestly made it feel pretty lackluster. I've loved many of Jensen's past works so I know she can be a talented and engaging writer. This story just didn't have enough substance or uniqueness to keep me invested or interested. Hopefully it will work for someone else!

Wow! Loved this! So good. This was fast paced and had me hooked from the very first page. The MMC Bjorn is perfection 🥵 and the FMC Freya is fierce with a smart mouth. The banter between the two of them is amazing 🫠
It’s a medium burn and when the spice hits it’s 😮‍💨 so good!
I knew this would be good because of the author, I love Danielle Jensen’s writing. But this was so addicting, I couldn’t read it fast enough while also wishing it would never end. And speaking of endings…. Arghhhhhhh! That ending! It wasn’t a true full on cliffy but the last 30 minutes of reading blew me away and I’m now dying for more of this story! I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Read this if you like:
🗡️ Viking Vibes
🗡️ Gods & Goddesses/ Norse Mythology
🗡️ Banter
🗡️ Slow/Mediumish Burn
🗡️ Spice 🌶️🌶️
🗡️ Forbidden Romance
🗡️ Forced Proximity
🗡️ Hidden Powers/ Chosen One
🗡️ Epic Battles

Thank you to NetGalley for my eARC, all thoughts & opinions are my own.

This was a really fun start to a new fantasy series! I loved the Norse mythology that built out the world and how the magic system felt like it really belonged in the world that Danielle L. Jensen created. It felt very unique compared to a lot of other fantasy on the market right now and it's bolstered by a cast of characters that are all really well defined with constantly changing allegiances and motivations.

I loved Freya, even as I found myself wanting to scream at her to stop what she was doing half the time (the other half I fully supported her actions). She's a boiling pot of rage and after reading about her life, who can blame her? Bjorn is also amazing, serving as a perfect counterbalance to Freya. Their love story is so well written and it comes with a hearty dose of yearning, which every book could use more of.

I can't wait to read what happens in the sequel, especially with how the ending leaves off.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you love books with cliff hangers that leave you begging for more this book is for you!

This was a Viking-inspired romantasy that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. The FMC- is feisty, sassy and relatable. The MMC is funny, cocky, protective and possessive. This book has it all from battles, raids, sarcasm, and plot twisting secrets.

I truly enjoyed this book! ITS NOT EVEN RELEASED YET BUT I AM BEGGING FOR THE 2ND BOOK!

Thank you so much, Del Rey, Netgalley and Danielle Jensen for the ARC!

A Fate Inked In Blood is the ultimate fantasy book that 2024 needs, filled with banter, historical references, killer main characters and excellent writing and don’t forget the spice. 🌶️

As a mood reader, this one took me a little longer to read - but between winter and a lot going on, I gravitated towards this book and loved hearing what was going to happen next.

Overall, I’m rating this book 4/5 stars:
- the chemistry was INTENSE and boy did I get it right away and really appreciated it. The romance was honestly so perfectly inserted, I was glad it was there but it wasn’t too much.
- Freya was a kick ass main character, who grew on me a LOT over the book.
- Honestly there were some words that definitely didn’t exist at the time when this book was supposed to be happening, starting with f and ending with uck, if you know what I mean. And a few others.
- Additionally, I would have loved more Norse history and more of the overall context of what was going on, right at the beginning! I know that sometimes you need to get dropped in a plot, but I felt myself going “BUT WHY!!” a few times.

Overall, I recommend this book to my friends and fellow romantasy readers!

dnf or put on pause at 76%. listen, I really tried to finish it but I cannot push myself anymore or my dislike for this book could turn into hate. it’s quite boring. I have no interest in any of the characters or the relationship between the characters or the plot or the pacing or the- . I feel nothing but disinterest for this book.

I received a digital galley in exchange for my honest review.

I got a quarter of the way through the book and I realized it is not for me. The premise was so promising with the Norse magic and Viking-esque warriors but as I continued to read I became increasingly irritated with the main character. Something about her rubs me the wrong way…especially how awful she is about Snorri’s wife…minor spoiler alert but Snorri was obsessed with the prophecy about Freya and united the tribes. He has to marry her to “control her” of course his wife is going to be surly about that.

This is a legitimately a line in the book:

“…pulled a dress over her naked body, which was a combination of long lines and rich curves that helped explain Snorri’s devotion to her, though in my opinion even perfect breasts couldn’t compensate for her personality”

Excuse me? Just gave me an ick.

I have such a book hangover from this book. I can't hardly gather my thoughts because I'm just internally screaming because it was so good.

Vikings + Norse Mythology inspired + gods gifting magic + unique magic system + slow burn [forbidden] romance + secrets + power hungry jarls + forced proximity + one horse + I'll kill anyone who touches you = one heck of a whirlwind adventure.

There were a few moments A Fate Inked in Blood gave me strong Vikings: Valhalla vibes. And it was glorious.

Freya feels well rounded and complicated. She vacillates between her feelings of love and rage, allowing love to blind her from those she cares for who might use her to rage at those who want to use her for their gain. Her journey seems so straight forward at the beginning, but gets complicated and there are so many layers that get peeled back until the end. And OH. MY. GOSH. that ending!! I just can't! I NEED ANSWERS!

All that said, there were a few moments in the middle that were a little sluggish, but served a quieter purpose, so they weren't wasted. They just weren't heart pounding like other moments.

Having a drop of blood from one of the gods is an honor. Granting amazing power and respect. Or at least, it should. A prophecy about a blessed shield maiden gives hope to Freya's dreams of becoming a warrior and escaping her brutish husband. But proving her strength and magic not only leads her into another unwanted marriage, but also into the protection of a blessed warrior that ignites a passion in her unlike any other. Can Freya live up to her fate as a kingmaker and protect and unite the fractured nation? Or is there more to the prophecy and her power than her new husband and lord so fanatically believes?

In this action-packed steamy Viking themed fantasy read, a young woman is trapped in an unwanted marriage to a Gods-touched fisherman for the sake of her family and village, but when her own Gods-given warrior talents are revealed and she meets the handsome son of the king, she must cope with the aftermath. Is it an escape, or a curse? A good choice for readers of fantasy romance reads such as those by Ilona Andrews.

Danielle is a mastermind in storytelling. An autobuy author for sure & I cannot wait to see what’s next!!!

3.5⭐️

Freya is one of the unfated. She is blessed with a drop of a goddess’s blood and has been foretold to be the key to uniting all of Skaland under one king. Jarl Snorri, believing himself to be this king, weds Freya to him in order to utilize her and her magic to achieve the power he believes he is fated to. In learning to become a warrior and finding herself, Freya is constantly tested by the gods and most of all, tested by her budding attraction to the jarl’s own son.

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read from Danielle L. Jensen so far and this was the first Norse-inspired fantasy I’ve read, so I was so excited to dive into this!! It started off so strong and fast paced, but it kind of lost me in the middle and it’s so hard to put a finger on why. I tried not to do this but couldn’t help myself - I kept comparing this book to the world of The Bridge Kingdom and so I kind of felt the world building aspect lacking. There was a lot of telling instead of showing and wish the politics and relationships had been explained more. The middle chunk also became fairly repetitive, so thankfully the final plot twist pulled me back in.

I did have so much fun with Freya and Bjorn! I do wish there was more depth to them - it was very much list at first sight with not a ton of meaningful encounters that would warrant their strong feelings for each other. I am intrigued to see where this series goes and will keep reading! I do think that this author weaves such interesting stories, but this story is just not as strong as her other work so far.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC to honestly review!

I was really excited when I saw this book was coming out this spring. For one thing, I would have been interested purely on the cover alone. I really like the style of this art, and I think it’s a great example of a cover effectively conveying exactly the sort of book you’ll be picking up. It’s also nice to see character art on a cover that isn’t super cheesy. But, beyond this, I’ve had this author on my TBR list for a while now. I know her “Bridge Kingdom” series is incredibly popular, but I just haven’t managed to getting around to picking it up. So this was a great in for me to start up with this author without having to commit to a multi-book series.

However, this book did leave me with a lot of mixed feelings. I’ll say right off the bat that I’m still very interested in reading this author’s original fantasy series. Reading this book, it’s easy to see that she’s a compelling author, and several of her strengths are just the sort that I look for in my fantasy authors. Her descriptions are clear, her prose runs smoothly, and her dialogue and banter are both funny and earnest. On this last point, I think that too often we forget how important good dialogue is to the appreciation of a story. I’ve read other books where everything else is perfect, but the dialogue itself is written in a way that is either cringey, corny, or simply doesn’t fit with the rest of the vibe of the story. Here, however, I often found myself enjoying the dialogue more than anything else!

There was also strong evidence that the author can write interesting characters. I think the love interest character, in particular, was very effective. I really appreciated that the book was told from a single POV, demonstrating the author’s strong abilities with characterization in that I felt like I understood and knew Bjorn just as well as Freya, even without seeing inside his head. See?? Authors take note! It is possible to write compelling love interests who don’t need chapters to themselves so they can just tell the reader how they’re feeling at all times. You know, showing instead of telling and all of that.

However, on the other side of the character coin, I did struggle with Freya’s character. It was tough, because throughout a lot of the book, I really enjoyed this character and her voice. She had a lot of the bullet point character traits I look for in my heroines, and even had a decent number of action scenes where we got to see these traits at work! But she was also incredibly frustrating to read. About halfway through the book, I found myself continuously putting the book down and trying to understand why I was struggling to remain connected to the story. And part of what I came up with was the fact that Freya’s own story had very few stakes, arc, or motivation Yes, there is action and violence and drama, but Freya herself is only every reacting to the things going on around her. Even worse, while Freya tells us why she’s choosing to allow others to determine her choices, the reader is never given a compelling reason to understand this choice. She must protect her family…but we never see most of her family and those we do see treat Freya terribly in the brief number of pages they have. So, throughout the bulk of the story, we have a character whose entire drive comes down to a choice that makes very little sense to the reader centered around characters the author has made clear are not worthy. It’s fine to write a character who’s been blinded to the realities of those she loves, but we just didn’t get that character work for Freya. She just tells us that she has to protect them…and that’s it. Nothing about why she’s so sure of this belief in the face of their poor treatment. Nothing showing us moments of kindness that she would use to justify her own mistreatment. Just…nothing.

Beyond that, the story was also incredibly frustrating with its central premise. It’s not a spoiler since it’s right there in the book description, but the entire plot is driven around a prophesy that whomever control’s Freya’s fate will reunite the land. Well, I give you approximately one guess to put together the clues of this fate and how exactly it works. Which, fine, I think there is a way to tell a story like this, even if some of its conclusions are obvious to the reader. But it wasn’t just the fact that Freya seemed completely oblivious to the obvious interpretation of this prophesy, it’s the fact that she paired this cluelessness with other wild jumps of logic and assumptions. Throughout the middle portion of the book, she jumps to a pretty crazy assumption, and then, even in the fact of others pointing out this wild leap, and even when she herself acknowledges that she has no real reason to believe this thing other than her own biases, she just…goes right on doing it! And, of course, there are a million clues that makes the reality of the situation obvious to the reader, which just makes Freya’s determined cluelessness all the more frustrating to put up with .

So, that was a fairly big rant. But Freya’s character arc and characterization was a huge struggle for me for much of the middle portion of this book. Which was really frustrating because at other times, I was completely into this world, this plot, and, even Freya herself. There were wild swings in my enjoyment levels; at times I thought I’d be rating this around a 9 and at others, I almost quit. But, overall, I do think there were a lot of strengths to be found in this book. I liked the world-building and the overall plot. And I can see signs that she also knows how to write some fantastic characters. I’m not exactly sure what happened here, honestly. I’ll probably pick up the second book, however, to see where the story goes. And I’m definitely curious about the author’s other books. Was Freya an exception that proves the rule?

Rating 7: There were a lot of good bones to this story, but the main character’s arch was nonexistent for much of the book which ultimately left it feeling a bit flat.

(Link will go live on The LIbrary Ladies on February 17)

A Fate Inked in Blood is a Norse inspired Romantasy. Those blessed with blood of the gods develop special abilities. Freya has always hid her abilities from the world, until her husband betrays her and trades her to the Jarl. Freya must reveal her magic in a fight to the death with the Jarls son, Bjorn, who is also gods blessed. Once it is discovered that Freya is the shield maiden the Jarl has been searching for, Freya is forced to become the Jarls second wife. The Jarl tasks Bjorn with guarding Freya against the many enemies that will come for the shield maiden. Freya must fight her growing feelings toward Bjorn while passing a series of tests the Jarl believes the gods have set for Freya.

What I liked——— The fantasy was fairly easy, and the reader was given all the information needed to understand. The author did a wonderful job of explaining the world and lure. The characters’ background stories were so interesting, and gave context as to why they made certain decisions throughout the book. The tension between Freya and Bjorn was palpable. The banter was delicious. The spice was 🔥. The twist/ cliffhanger was perfection. I can’t wait to continue this series.

A Fate Inked in Blood had me hooked from page one. I was fully invested in the relationship between Freya and Bjorn from the moment she threw a fish at his head.

I will be honest, some characters sent me into a tiny rage every time they spoke - Ylva being the primary culprit.

There were a good number of twists throughout the book - some of them I saw coming while others were a complete surprise. For the first book in a series, it kept my attention throughout and rarely had a ton of downtime - I will be continuing this series as more books come out because I am excited to see where Freya's story goes and what decisions she makes.

Special thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so this book was definitely an exercise in humility for me. I typically don’t like the “romantasy” genre, and when I requested this ARC it was sort of on a whim and I was unaware at the time that it fell under this categorization. Because of this it took me months to give the book its fair chance, but ultimately I’m glad I did. Despite not being what I typically go for I can honestly say that I had a really fun time reading this story, and will probably end up reading its sequel once it comes out.

If you DO like this genre, then you’ll undoubtedly love “A Fate Inked in Blood” and if you don’t you might just end up enjoying it anyway.

Oh my gosh this rating hurts me, but I need to be honest. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and I didn’t love it. It was also my first Danielle L Jensen read. I’ve heard so many great things about the Bridge Kingdom, so I was so hopeful going into this. I had a bit of a struggle getting through the middle of this book, I’m not sure if it was the pacing or because it was predictable at every turn. The ending/plot twist didn’t come as a surprise for me. The other thing I struggled with was the FMC, Freya, herself, for me she felt like a dumbed down “ragey fierce” version of what she could have been, but maybe that’s just the author laying the groundwork for her to become a better version of fierce in the future and me being an impatient reader. I did love the Viking Inspired world and Norse Mythology…the magic system is interesting and definitely evocative of Norse God behavior! The romance was very meh for me…I don’t say this often but I think the plot would do fine on its own without the romance. I do plan to continue on with the series, there is so much potential there!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"A Fate Inked in Blood" by Danielle L. Jensen is an absolute masterpiece that deserves every bit of its five-star rating. Jensen's storytelling prowess shines as she crafts a rich and immersive fantasy world. The characters are compelling, their development nuanced and deeply satisfying. The intricate plot unfolds with precision, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Jensen's prose is poetic, elevating the entire reading experience. In this exceptional tale of fate, blood, and magic, Jensen proves herself as a master of the fantasy genre, delivering a literary gem that resonates long after the final page.

Danielle L. Jensen has been a favorite since Stolen Songbird. Her characters are interesting, her romance is good, her dialogue doesn't disappoint. A Fate Inked in Blood's plot was interesting, I didn't feel bored or like it dragged. The mythology was cool and I enjoyed the banter between the main characters. This was one where the plot overshadowed the romance. With romance, I like it when the plot would still exist without the romance, but this was just very complicated, but that's the way Jensen writes. I guess it depends on what you're looking for, do you want fantasy/mythology with a side of romance or do you want more romance with some good plot but the main thing in the book is the romance? A Fate's sex scenes are really good, the tension built over time was a bit annoying, but they were well done. I recommend this book and this author every time.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Wow! I have no adequate words for how amazing this book was. I sat in shock staring at the wall for a solid 10 minutes after I had finished just so I could process it all. I absolutely can’t wait for the second one.

Freya has the power of Hlin but she has to hide it until one day she’s forced to expose herself. Once she’s exposed everyone knows that she’s the shield maiden everyone has been waiting for. But is Hlin the only god who has blessed her?

Bjorn is the jarls son and has been blessed by Tyr and now he wields the fire of the gods. He’s been charged with protecting Freya night and day. But will he be able to protect her even from herself.

In this book you have Vikings and Norse mythology and people touched by the gods who can wield their powers. I cannot recommend this book enough!!

10/5 stars and I will be recommending this book to EVERYONE…and buying a physical copy for my shelf. This will be hard to beat for my top book of the year!