Freya is a fishmonger’s wife in a small village in Skaland. She hates her husband and is keeping a secret from everyone; she has a drop of Norse god’s blood in her which gives her a rare power. She is traded to the jarl to fulfill a prophecy as told by a seer about 20 years ago. Jarl Snorri has been looking for her ever since. Forced to become his second wife, Freya is to be protected 24/7 by his son, Bjorn. Which proves difficult as they are attracted to each other.

This book was super good. It was a mix between Vikings and Tristan & Isolde with a little Blood & Ash sprinkled in. I don’t think I’ve read any books related to Norse gods, and I really enjoyed it for something different. Freya and Bjorn are instantly attracted to each other but do their best to stay apart as Freya is his father’s wife. I did guess the main plot twist, but they still surprised me with a couple other twists at the end. This is the first in a series and I can’t find when the second is coming out. I’m distraught 😩

“Where you go, I go, Born-in-Fire. Even if it’s to the gates of Valhalla.”
~~~
Rating:🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️
Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
HOLY MOTHER OF GODS! This was soo freaking amazing!!!! Look at my face as I finished the book. I’m in such a book hangover!
The characters,plot, detailing was amazing!!! AND THERES BANTER, y’all know how I am with that. It’s crack to me, along with sexual tension which there was a good amount.
BUT THAT ENDING! I almost dropped my book in the tub! Look…I need the next book. That just…yup!
Thank you Danielle Jensen, DelRey, and NetGalley(I got the eARC too) for letting me read this!

This book was a fun ride! The romance had me clawing at my surroundings! The plot twists, both of them, were predictable enough that I saw them coming within the first quarter of the book, but it was still fun. I felt like Freya's plot twist was the more obvious of the two, and it was spelled out for her multiple times before someone else finally told her, it felt a little like the author forcing someone to not see the obvious.
The spice was HOT AF, I was home alone and still checking over my shoulder to make sure no one saw me! I'd say if you liked The Weaver and the Witch Queen, you'll like this!

This is a perfect fantasy book to recommend to your friends who don’t read fantasy. Easy to understand world building and magic system. Characters are all distinct as well. Even with the Nordic names, I didn’t have any issues keeping people straight. Loved that this was heavy on the Norse history as opposed to just being “inspired” by it. Couple good spicy scenes as well. Excited for book 2 which I know is gonna be at least a year from now and that makes me sad.

PHENOMENAL!!! A HUGE thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

AHHH!!! OBSESSED!! ADDICTIVE!! FABULOUS!! AMAZING!! REMARKABLE!! SPECTACULAR!! IMMERSIVE!! MAGICAL!! SENSATIONAL!! PEFFECTION!! WHAT A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND EPIC FANTASY ROMANCE THAT HAS EVERYTHING YOU COUD POSSIBLY WANT IN A STORY!! IT HAS YOUR NORSE/VIKING MYTHOLOGY, PROPHESIES OF THE GODS, ACTION PACKED BATTLES, MEDDLING GODS, SLOW BURN(SO WORTH THE WAIT), FORBIDDEN ROMANCE, FORCED PROXIMITY, ONLY ONE HORSE, STRONG FMC, FIRE MMC (YES PLEASE), WITTY BANTER, SEXUAL TENSION (THAT WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY), SIZZLING CHEMISTRY, SPICE (JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT), LOVE, FAMILY, LOYALTY, SECRETS, BETRAYALS, HEARTBREAK, SACRIFICES, VENGEANCE, INCREDIBLE WORLD BUILDING, FAST PACED PLOT, RICH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND A UNIQUE MAGIC SYSTEM!! I COMPLETELY DEVOURED THIS BOOK!! I AM SO SHOOK AND WAS NOT FULLY PREPARED FOR THIS MASTERPIECE!! ALL THE EMOTIONS!! I KNOW ITS ONLY JANUARY BUT I CAN SAFELY SAY THIS BOOK WILL BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE ADULT FANTASY ROMANCE READS FOR 2024!!!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ IN ADDITION, IT IS MY FIRST FIVE STAR READ FOR THIS YEAR!!! 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

A Fate Inked in Blood is about a shield maiden (Freya), blessed by the gods, who battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king all while fighting her growing desire for his fiery son (Bjorn). Yep, that's all you get from me on the plot. However, if you have to know more before reading it then you could read the synopsis which is the perfect summary. I just think going into it blind is best if you love fantasy romance.🥰🥰

I was totally captivated from start to finish!! The ending created the perfect set up for book two and I am dying to see what happens. I want MORE but now I have to wait!! 😩😭 I will definitely be purchasing the physical book to add to my collection of favorites!! This is my first read by Danielle Jensen and I am a HUGE fan already! I cannot recommend this book enough and it deserves infinite stars ♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️💫💫💫💫💫!!!!!

THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK IS GOING TO KEEP ME AWAKE AT NIGHT !!!!!

where to even start with this book. if you love romance (specifically forbidden (like really forbidden romance), slow burn romance, TENSION !!! fantasy, strong females, warriors & fighting & war, gods & kings, and twists - this book is for you.

even though some was hard to understand (newer to fantasy girly here 🥰) Jensen does such a beautiful job at the story starting on page one - it was so easy to get into and be obsessed with. there are no breaks in this story. this book is filled with so much. can not recommend this book enough and literally can not wait for the next one.

thank you so much for the ARC for my honest review!

Thanks NetGalley and Del Ray for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

As a lover of Norse myth, there was very little friction for me when starting this book. The way that Jensen weaves Norse myth into a compelling and page turning epic fantasy with an excellent romance is nothing short of astounding.


In addition to this, Jensen NAILS the landing with this story, with an ending that I honestly didn’t see coming at all until much later into the book.

There were moments in the book that left my jaw on the floor, and I loved it. I can’t recommend this enough, and I will absolutely be continuing the series when book 2 releases!

Omg I think this book will be one of my top reads of 2024. If you love fantasy, Vikings, or Norse folklore, this book is for you!! It was unique with so many twists that had me on the edge of my seat. There were so many clues leading up to the ending, I was just waiting to see how the puzzle fell into place!

tl/dr: fascinating story but writing style left me wanting. if you're in it for the smut, you'll enjoy this.

the story of freya and the unfated was filled with lore, bloodshed, sweat, tears and LONGING. i haven't read a lot of norse mythology or fantasy based on the topic, so i was terribly excited to do so. unfortunately, i did not find that the idea was well executed. as this novel falls under the new adult genre, i expected adult content and some YA tropes, but the writing style left me wanting. the amount of repetition of these tropes likely added 50 pages to this story that were super unnecessary and had me skipping through paragraphs to get to the next bit of new information.

this reminded me of "From Blood and Ash" in regards to storytelling and smut. would recommend if you liked that series.

A Fate Inked in Blood was a quick-paced, easily digestible read that, while sometimes predictable, was enjoyable from start to end. I’m really looking forward to book two, to see how Freya embodies being the master of her own fate, and what Nordeland has in store for us.

DNF @ 47%

I thought I'd like this book and I stuck with it for a while to try to give it an honest shot, but there were just far too many things about it that weren't working for me.

- Just in general, this book was incredibly prone to telling rather than showing. This wasn't too much of an issue for the worldbuilding — honestly, I think the best thing I can say for this book was that it did a decent job of gradually introducing the worldbuilding in a way that didn't feel like infodumps — but it got incredibly annoying when it came to descriptions of characters and their relationships. It felt like there was no expectation that the reader was intelligent enough to pick up on descriptions of body language or facial expressions alone to discern character's emotions and intentions, but rather, would go on to explicitly state everything we're supposed to infer about the characters via Freya's internal monologue. If you're going to market your book as being for adults, please have at least a little faith that we possess a singular brain cell for critical thinking.
- This felt like a bit of a side-effect of the over-explanation this book suffered from in general, but the romance was both incredibly heavy-handed but completely lacking in chemistry. Every single time Bjorn is on page, we have to read what felt like paragraphs of Freya talking about how attracted she is to him. No matter what other dire circumstances are happening to them, Freya somehow still manages to be horny enough to put forth a quick inner monologue about how big and muscular and hot he is. Even though I probably finished fewer than 200 pages of this book, it still managed to employ more uses of "warmth rushing to [Freya]'s core" than any romance or smutty book I've ever completed.
- The story also really wanted us to believe that Freya was a fierce warrior who, though forced into marriage before getting to become a soldier as she wanted, spent all of her youth training. This would be fine and great and feminist, except at the same time, there were multiple instances of Freya being in mortal peril only for Bjorn to sweep in and save the day. I'm not saying it's unrealistic that someone who never got to see real combat would not be as skilled as a god-blessed warrior, but it just seemed like an odd choice to spend so much character development attempting to subvert the damsel in distress trope only to end up employing it at every opportunity.
- While this may be more of a nitpick, Freya seemed to have a bizarre amount of disdain for women who were virgins? I may not have thought much of it, except variations of "I'm not some maid" (derogatory) popped up so many times as to feel as if the collective population of virgin women had somehow offended her personally. I'm all for sexually empowered women in fiction (though this is not the role Freya is intended to fill, since it's made very clear that she's only ever been forced into sex [assault] during her arranged marriage), but this doesn't have to come at the cost of belittling women for their lack of sexual history.
- I felt like this book did not take the time to properly set up the stakes in a way sufficient to be meaningful. Freya is regularly forced into compliance through the means of threatening her family, but we're never given time to see Freya's relationship with them in a way that would make this seem like an adequately compelling threat to yield to the things she's forced to. The only scene with a family member we're privy to is a singular interaction with her brother in which he's basically a selfish dick the entire time. It felt like the book was relying way too heavily on an acceptance of the premise that people would do anything for their family because blood is thicker than water or whatever, but I think this book could have benefitted from giving us even a chapter spent seeing Freya's relationship with her family so we could better accept that she is willing to put her life and future on the line for them.

I'm sure there's an audience out there for this book, but it simply is not me. Even when I wasn't actively being annoyed by various things about it, I was bored and uninvested in everything that was going on. The world of this book itself had the potential to be interesting and employ some innovative uses of mythology, but for me, the characters it was happening to were not compelling enough to make it a story I cared to get to the end of.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy (ARC) of "A Fate Inked in Blood." This fantasy novel, the first in what promises to be an exciting series, offers readers a rich tapestry of elements such as betrayal, forbidden love, a morally grey protagonist, and the enchantment of magic.

The author has a beautifully crafted writing style, immersing readers into a vivid and intricate world from the very beginning. The novel has all the ingredients for a captivating fantasy series, and the introduction to this fictional realm is promising.

However, despite the book's merits, I found it challenging to initially connect with the story. The pacing made it difficult for me to become fully engaged, and I struggled to maintain interest in the narrative. Additionally, the characters failed to resonate with me, and I found it hard to empathize with any of them. This lack of connection made it challenging to invest emotionally in the unfolding events.

One aspect that detracted from my overall enjoyment was the predictability of many plot reveals. While some twists did manage to surprise me, a considerable number were easily anticipated, diminishing the element of suspense.

The conclusion of the book left me somewhat unsatisfied, as it felt somewhat lackluster compared to the promising build-up throughout the story. However, considering the solid foundation laid in this first installment, I believe there is potential for the series to evolve and improve in subsequent books.

Despite my initial reservations, I do acknowledge the strengths of "A Fate Inked in Blood." The world-building is commendable, and the potential for the series to explore complex themes of betrayal, love, and morality is evident. With the hope that subsequent installments address the concerns raised, I do plan on continuing with the series to see how the narrative unfolds and develops. Overall, it is a solid start to what could evolve into a compelling fantasy series.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to receive this arc in return for an honest review!

i love danielle’s writing and think she has great storytelling ability, as i’ve seen from the bridge kingdom series which i adore!

this book was definitely a deep dive in to the new world danielle has created. i really enjoyed the different fantasy plot where you can gain the power of the gods by having the ‘gods blood’. it also contains a lot of war/political intrigue, so i hope to see more fantasy instead of multiple battles.

freya was an interesting, multi-dimensional character who i felt like was powerful and strong, but also frustrating to like at times. she had a lot of anger (which makes sense with the ending iykyk) where i felt i didn’t want to like her because of her actions. she had a great desire for revenge which left me feeling as though she has characteristics of a villain/anti-heroine rather than a heroine.

bjorn was complex and i wanted to learn more about him and get his pov. he was a mystery and i have a lot of questions with now having finished. the romance was sweet and i did love some of the quotes bjorn said to freya.

the side characters were definitely unlikeable personally so i hope to find more characters in the next book that are more friends than foes and offer real friendship to freya because she needs it.

the plot did drag on slightly and i felt like some moments could have been cut shorter, but overall it was a good first book in to a new fantasy world and series and i’m interested to see where the next book goes.

Aspiring warrior Freya has her world turned upside down when her husband betrays her resulting in her deepest secret being revealed. She is a shield maiden possessing blood of a goddess which in turn grants her magic to repel attacks. Upon learning of Freya’s heritage, the jarl sought to control her to fulfill the prophecy uniting Skaland under one rule. Freya is set on training to become a warrior; however, she finds herself being swayed by the jarl’s son. Will she risk her fate and her people to pursue the jarl’s son?
Jensen has once again written an edge of your seat, action packed tale filled with political machinations, betrayal, and of course sizzling chemistry. The building attraction between Freya and Bjorn is off the charts between their banter, training, and exploits. From the moment Freya first laid eyes upon Bjorn, you knew the chemistry was going to be incredible. I also loved Freya’s character development. She grew in a realistic way including facing setbacks particularly where her family was concerned. I also really appreciated all of the detail and thought that went into crafting this Norse, Viking inspired tale. While the plot felt stalled and repetitive at times, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. This is in part due to the fast paced nature of the story. This was an incredibly enjoyable read, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Wow this book was amazing! This romantasy based on viking/norse mythology was so captivating! While the extent of my norse mythology knowledge comes from my husband playing God of War Ragnorak, you really don't need to know anything about norse mythology to enjoy this book. The concept was so interesting with certain people being blessed with gods blood and giving them special abilities based on which norse god they have a drop of blood from. Freya had such a unique story being slightly older heroine who was already been married and forced by her parents to hide who she was because once it got found out, everyone wants to control her or kill her. The instant chemistry between Freya and Bjorn was amazing. They had some great banter and while it was slow burn and forbidden love, I loved every second of it! This book has it all: amazing world building, magic, epic battle scenes, and they way the scenes are described just transports you into the book. I can't wait for the sequel to come out!

This was a very enjoyable Nordic romantasy! I loved it! I thought it was a little slow at some parts but overall I really enjoyed Freya and Bjorn's story. I'm looking forward to the next one!

I enjoyed this book, but it did feel very disjointed. It felt like we were jumping from the 3 main parts of the story (Freya's mistreatment by her family and husband(s), fighting, and interest and love for Bjorn) over and over and over again. Freya was faced with the same conflict over and over and didn't approach it any differently. That said, I enjoyed learning about the mythology, and am interested in reading the second book.

This one was so good! I really liked how fresh the story was. I really enjoyed watching Freya start to become her own person and grow throughout the novel.

I really loved the tension between Freya and her love interest. I loved how even though it was a very slow burn, it was never stagnant between the two of them.

I really loved how Freya always put her family first even if it inconvenienced her. Overall this is a great book! I look forward to seeing where the next book takes it.

A Fate Inked in Blood tells the story of a young woman who is seeking to figure out her fate. She is the one foretold as the shield maiden, destined to unite the people with the one who controls her fate. I loved this book. The MC Freya is powerful, but because she was raised in a village hiding her power, she has a lot to learn about herself and the world. It is an interesting contrast to other books that her power is a defensive one. So while she is a warrior, we see her seeking to literally and figuratively protect those she loves.

I think what Jensen has always excelled at is the political intrigue and this book is no exception. It definitely kept me guessing and trying to figure out who to trust even until the end. The world building and pacing are both very well done. I don’t feel like there was any info dumping, but that may partly be that the Viking world gives a basis so she isn’t building from scratch.

The romance does not disappoint. Forbidden love, forced proximity, touch her and die tropes are well done. It doesn’t suffer from instalove but isn’t super slow either.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, particularly its original setting and magic system inspired by Norse mythology. The characters were also well developed and have believable interactions, and there’s a fair amount of budding romance and fun banter. I had such a good time reading and was prepared to be raving about it to anyone who would listen.

Unfortunately the second half got… LONG. The romance took over and the plot started to lose its thread. It felt like we were meandering from one quest to the next without a goal. Even worse, the interactions between characters became less believable and plainly convenient in what sadly felt like lazy writing. The main character’s thoughts started to feel very repetitive. I think this half of the book could have used a lot more trimming and editing.

Overall, I was disappointed with the second half after what felt like such a wonderful start. Thankfully the ending had some nice twists to it, which I enjoyed, and so I do want to read the sequel and discover another aspect of this imaginative world. Hopefully it will be as well crafted as the first half of this book!

Note: I read an ARC of this book from Netgalley.