This book was so much fun!! A Norse inspired romantasy with great world building and the concept was awesome. The first 2/3 I was so sure this would be a 5 ⭐️ but the end just didn’t do it for me. However! The romance was adorable and the banter was hilarious! Honestly just ignore the part of the description that talks about the romance because it did not do it justice at all!

A Norse-inspired romantasy with power struggles, battles, and the best slow burn I've read in a while! We've got prophecies and specters, blackmail and betrayal. And that cliffhanger left my jaw on the floor, so I'm really looking forward to book 2!
Freya, our fierce heroine, dreams of bigger things that being a fishmonger's wife. She wants to be a warrior like her brother, to protect those who can't protect themselves from the raiders that come every spring. She's young and naive, but her wits and stubbornness help get her out of the trouble she finds herself in. The whole book is told from her perspective, and I loved it. Her ferocity and rage at her circumstances was palpable and really helped drive the plot forward.
Now, Bjorn? Mr. Axe-on-fire, biggest baddest warrior in all the land is stuck watching and training Freya at his father's behest. Scenes with him were some of my favorites because of his humor and level of patience with Freya. A dry sense of humor is just perfect. 🤌 He's flawed, though not necessarily morally gray. I'd love to get his POV in the next book!
The magic and lore of this world is really interesting. Not too complex and no info-dumping, so I think if someone is kind of familiar with Norse mythology and wants a quick romantasy, this one would be a great jumping off point!
Reading this as an ebook and audiobook together was perfect. The audio was quite well done! I loved the emotions from the narrator. Their performance was so evocative.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

3.75

Parts of this book was great. Though it was a little predictiable and the pacing was rough at times, I would check out book two. though I won't seek it out.

Loved this take. I feel like I haven't read a fantasy set in this type of world in a long while. I've always enjoyed Danielle L. Jensen's writing style and this just feels elevated from that. The plot was intriguing, the characters were believable and had buildable arcs, and the slow-burn romance was delicious.

This is too adult for my students, though perfect for my 30-something self.

I liked it, but didn’t love it.
There was just something missing. While the characters were enjoyable, I never felt connected to them. What really solidified it as just an okay read for me, was the ending. Like that was so foreseeable.

Thank you to NetGalley for the E-Arc in exchange for an review.

Huge thanks to Danielle Jensen and Del Rey Publishers for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually have a few signed copies of this book by now. I saw Danielle in person and she's just as cool in person as she is in her writing. This book follows our main character Lagatha as she comes into discovering she has a coveted power that promises success to its holder. She is forced into a political marriage after the death of her husband and the story goes from there.

I have nothing negative to say about this book. The characters are fleshed out. The plot is action packed and flows well. The romance is slow burn. It has Vikings and Norse Mythology. The story has heavy influence from the Viking tv show. If you like the show, you'll like this book.

I gave it 4,5 stars out of 5. I haven't had an urge to pick it back up because I have other series I like better from her but I would recommend it to everyone who wants a good story.

I absolutely love this book. I didn’t want to put it down once I started it. Love everything bout the story. Plot and characters are great and work good together. First time reading this author’s books and will be reading more.

It took me a minute for me to pick up this book (especially being a mood reader, which makes it hard) but once i did, i could not put it down. The plot, with Freya and Bjorn and then the magic system really just grabs your attention in the first chapter. This book is 5 stars for me and i will continue to recommend this to everyone. Its a viking fantasy and it definitely gives the vibes of Viking (the show, if you loved it like i did) please bump this up on your TBR because its a must read!

So far a very good read. I unfortunately was unable to finish the book before it was published, but my library has added several copies to the collection and I'm looking forward to finishing it!

A Fate Inked in Blood was truly captivating and was so hard to put down. I recommend it for a fan of fantasy. There were a lot of fun plot points. It was such a fun read!

An excellent romantasy that manages to feel fresh in a market currently saturated with much of the same (no disrespect to those, I read and enjoy them as well!). The forbidden romance is great—there’s banter, angst, spice, forced proximity, one horse—but it never overtakes the FMC’s journey and own inner turmoil about her purpose and fate. In a post-Vikings tv show world, it filled a gap that I’ve been missing and I ate this up. I didn’t even mind that the twists were so obvious because it was entertaining to see them play out. Looking forward to the next one!

I loved the Norse Mythology, I loved the romance, and I loved the characters. While this was a romantasy, the romance never felt like the central plot which was good and it gave the characters more depth. Great read overall.

I’ll give this book a 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. I found the story enjoyable, if a bit predictable. It took the entire book for the main character to realize about her parentage what I thought was pretty obvious from the get go. Overall, I was entertained and learned a lot of new Norse words!

First book received on NetGalley, but forgot to publish a review before it was released and ended up rereading the published version.

I am very picky with my high fantasy novels, and this is the only one I've read since receiving the ARC/the book being released that I had almost no qualms with. My biggest critique is that it wasn't longer, simply because I enjoyed it so thoroughly, but I also felt that the length of the book was appropriate for what needed to be told in the first book. I really appreciate DLJ's ability to build a world while not falling into the trap of heavy world-building that only allows for action in the last 150 pages. Any imagery is shown, not told, and with the amount of romance fantasy books being published right now, that isn't easy to find. She has also successfully created a FMC that is easy to like and root for without being a "quirky, different, brooding" FMC.

Overall, my biggest praise of this book, as well as DLJ's work in general, is the balance she's found when it comes to all of the elements in her novels, especially when it comes to fantasy. I gave this book a 5 star rating, and it has been the only one I have rated 5 stars in almost a year.

Absolutely gorgeous and I cannot wait for the second book! At the beginning, the characters felt a little flat and the pace felt a little too slow, it was hard for me to stay motivated. But i am so glad I stuck with it, the last 1/3 had me staying up late every night trying to finish. The mysteries finally being revealed had me hooked until the last second. I won’t say they are the most intricate mysteries, I had my suspicions, but the pay off was still worth it.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of the book for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

A Fate Inked in Blood is a true page-turner that's impossible to put down. I recommend it for fans of fantasy, romance, Norse mythology, and Vikings.

I think that the premise behind this was great and I think that the story would have been great if.... it wasn't always getting distracted by a hot bod and wanting sex. I liked Bjorn as a character... Freya not so much. The author tried to make her this badass warrior maiden but failed miserably with her fickleness. Once Freya found out how hot and likable Bjorn was the whole thing fell apart.

I enjoyed the setting, in a world where the Norse gods bless certain chosen people with their gifts and favor. The story was decent enough, but (purely coincidentally, given the cadence of the publishing world), the plot was so similar to that of Fourth Wing in many ways that it felt like it was hitting many of the same beats throughout, especially at the end. I was also taken out of the story by the fact that the heroine "bit the insides of her cheeks" approximately every other page. First of all, try it right now - it's not easy to bite the insides of BOTH of your cheeks simultaneously without making a really weird face. This does not comport with the description of the heroine as astonishingly beautiful. Also, it sounds like it would hurt.

Why did I wait so long to read this book! Not only did I receive a NetGalley ARC, but I own the book and will be buying a special edition of it! It’s THAT good.
Ever since reading ACOTAR, TOG, and Caraval/OUABH series, I have been searching for a book and series of that caliber—action, characters you would die for, world building, etc. I’m happy to say that this book is one of my favorite of 2024 so far and has its name up with my favorite series. I will also be going to Jensen’s canon to read her past books!
Anyways, read it! lol.

ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Is this the end? Not death in battle but freezing to death on the side of a mountain”
“It’s not a fucking mountain, born-in-fire.”
“Is this the hill you wish me to die upon?”
“Not funny.”
“It’s a bit funny.”

I would like to thank Random House - Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for the copy of this eARC. Exploring Norse mythology was so much and a wonderful change of fantasy scenery when fae has become so popular nowadays compared to gods and goddesses.

Honestly was a bit torn one 4.5 to 5 stars, but at the end of the day it doesnt make a difference and I truley feel like this story gave me a lot of what i've been lacking in fantasy for a while. Amazing world building, well written spicy scenes that progress the story forward, character development that pays off, small threads woven to figure out the mystery.

I made it 25% into this book several months ago and from there I was throwing at everyone I knew. I paused on it for a while because I needed something more light hearted and for a fantasy book, this one definetly can get a bit darker, but coming back to it made me question why I waited so long. It's rich story telling made me feel like I was watching it, and the descriptions were so intense, that I felt like I was seeing a Game of Thrones level scene playing out in my mind as I read.

Some of the twists I was able to predict quite early, and I don't know if that's just because I've read so much fantasy that it can be a little predictable for me, or if the intention was to let the reader in that much. Regardless it gave you those small victories as a reader that make you excited to keep going when you get it right.

Slow burn is also my go to. I can't do instant love, which is maybe why I always lean enemies to lovers, because the payoff and overcomng adversity is so much more rewarding. A Fate Inked in Blood gave me that payoff. It still had spicy moments prior and for someone who can read smut with a straight face, I don't know what Danielle Jensen baked into this one, because I was blushing like I was a teen, but it was so freaking good.

The ending had me correct in many things regarding the skald, Bjorn, and Harald, and it makes me so excited to get my hands on book two. I know we don't have a release date on that yet, so I will jsut have to settle for finally tackling The Bridge Kingdom instead.