Danielle L. Jensen’s “A Fate Inked in Blood” is a fast-paced ode to Norse mythology. With unlikeable characters and tiresome tropes, it transparently wasn’t my favorite read, but it did remain consistent and easy to follow. At times, Jensen deploys clever plot devices that propel her story forward. If you like fearless protagonists that refuse to give up and fierce battle scenes, this could be the book for you.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Flew through this book! Such a fast paced read that hooks you from the first chapter. The banter, the romance, the thrill, the Norse inspiration.. perfection. READ IT!

This book had me in it grasps from the beginning.

Freya is a fierce, witty, strong FMC and one of the best ones I've read in a long time! Bjorn is her perfect counterpart.

The mythology was great and I had to look up so much to help me understand it better, but I loved it.

The build up and spice level was perfect!

10/10 would recommend

Thank you to Danielle L. Jensen and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen is a Nordic fantasy set in a world where children can be born with a drop of power from one of the many Gods. Freya is one of those, now a fishwife with a horrible husband. She’s spent her life hiding her powers until they were revealed to a powerful Jarl who then claimed her as his second wife to fulfill a prophecy that he thinks will make him king. Freya has made a bargain for her family’s safety in exchange for going along with this but finds herself struggling to find her way with her new responsibilities, personal values, and a forbidden romance developing. This book does follow a typical fantasy story pace and has some shocking plot twists along the way.

Overall I really enjoyed this story! There were interesting characters, witty banter, and a lot of “will they, won’t they” tension. If you enjoy books with Norse mythology, fantasy, forbidden romance, and prophecies/destiny, then this one’s for you! I will say that it’s a bit gruesome at times (given the whole war plot and the lengths people take to get what they want) so if you don’t like to read that type of stuff then this might not be the book for you. This was the first book I have read by this author and I plan to read more soon!

Thank you to NetGalley (@netgalley), the publisher, and the author for granting me a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book is expected to come out in February 2024.

I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an Arc copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A Fate Inked in Blood follows the story of Freya who is a very strong willed, stubborn, sassy FMC. She is not only a shield maiden, but THEE shield maiden who a power hungry king has been seeking. Freya is loyal to her family and will do anything to keep them safe. The king orders his eldest son, Bjorn, to protect Freya at all costs. This relationship runs hot but Freya cannot give in due to her duties. This is a very fast paced adventure following a fiery FMC and her struggles with her heart and duty. I thoroughly enjoyed this Norse inspired fantasy. There is battle, there is whit, there is lust, and there is a great involvement of the norse mythology and gods. I thought of this book and the characters even after finishing. This book had good spice, forced proximity, and an enjoyable magic system. I cannot wait for book 2

I was so excited to receive this ARC! I love Danielle L. Jensen's writing and this story didn't disappoint. I love a good Viking story. Feyra was a strong & sensitive FMC (Female Main Character). I enjoyed the internal & external struggle she went through. The story was interesting dealing with the gods, prophesies, & fate. The end was a great cliffhanger a bit predictable for a fantasy lover but still a great ending & starting to a new series.

A spicy, viking age inspired fantasy romance. This book was a fun read! I did not expect to be sucked in, but I absolutely was from the first moment I picked it up. I read about half the book in one day, and finished the rest within the week which is unheard-of for me. I have not read any other stories by Danielle, but I will be reading more after this. The story is fast paced, as usual I am a sucker for mythology and have an interest in norse cultural history, so seeing the little nods to historical figures, places and things that the author wove in was nice. The witty banter is great, the FMC Freya is strong, stubborn, and I love her. I enjoyed the system of divine magical gifts.

Do you like political intrigue, norse mythology / norse gods, forbidden romance, prophecy / fate, powerful women, power hungery men, and feel ready to fall in love with a woman who throws live fish at your face? This is the book for you.

I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for the next book in the series!

This book was such an adventure. If you loved Bridge Kingdom like I did, then I’d definitely encourage you to read this book. If you are new to Danielle Jensen this is an excellent place to start. Her work is like watching an action movie where your heart is left pounding from beginning to end. I loved the Norse inspired setting, the magic system, and the tension and angst were unmatched. Thank you to NetGalley and Danielle Jensen for the ARC.

This books was literally amazing.

In this Nordic set world, children can be born with the power of the gods and thus access to actual power. Freya has spent her life hiding her power, a powerful woman married to a dumpster of a man until he decides to prove that there truly are more reasons one can hate him. A Jarl learns of her power, knows she’s the shield maiden, and plans to use her to become king. With a war brewing, she never knows who to trust.

This was nothing short of the quality we have come to know and love from Danielle. I loved every minute of this book and am now currently dying to get my hands on book 2. Great spice, forced proximity & slow burn tropes, and a really great magic system.



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Freya is a shield maiden who has been hiding her godly blood her entire life to avoid a dark prophecy. When her husband betrays her, Freya is forced into a marriage with the land’s jarl. Freya struggles to find her way in this new world between her new responsibilities and her growing attraction to her husband’s son.

Content warnings: forced drugging, themes of sexual assault (none shown on the page), violence, death, family abuse, one explicit reference to infanticide, explicit sex scenes

The Good:

✔️ I really loved the writing style. It’s engaging and easy to read.

✔️ I’m a sucker for Viking fantasy

✔️ I love the idea of people with a drop of a god’s blood

The Bad:

❌ Insta-love which is not for me

❌ Freya has no agency in her own story despite the whole theme of the book is about “weaving your own fate”.

❌ There doesn’t feel like there’s a conclusion and not just because it’s a cliffhanger, it doesn’t feel like anything changes from the beginning of the book to the ending.

I had a fun time reading this. I was pleasantly surprised I enjoyed the explicit scenes and I love the idea of random, average people having a drop of godly blood. I’m a sucker for Viking-inspired fantasy so that definitely biased my opinion of this book. It is a pretty simplistic romance-fantasy novel with an emphasis on the romance being the main plot and lukewarm politics thrown in for ✨spice✨. There’s nothing wrong with this type of novel, it just is what it is.

There are a few things I want to bring up, however. I didn’t like how Freya’s family is portrayed as irredeemable. Like, yeah, they’re kind of crappy but we’re mostly just told by Bjorn that they’re using Freya and don’t care about her. I also didn’t care for Freya’s character at all. She has no agency in her own story and is so wishy-washy. She constantly swings back and forth from running away, being with Bjorn, yelling at Bjorn to stay away, protecting her people, doing whatever Snorri says, etc. It feels like from page to page she’s decided to do something different and then she just ends up doing whatever the plot requires of her. The plot happens to her, instead of her influencing the plot.

A Fate Inked in Blood has its flaws. It’s not some revolutionary literary fiction, but I had a fun time reading it and I want to continue the series. Go check out the content warnings (I definitely missed some, but this gives you an idea of what to be wary of) and maybe give this a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing the Arc in exchange for review!

This one got 4/5 stars from me!

Ok- let’s start with what I didn’t enjoy as much, and why this got docked an entire star. (Then move onto the good stuff)

-Freya was smart in MOST of the story, until it was necessary that she act stupid to further the conflict and tension. At several points she loses control of her power, then regrets it…. But makes no effort to control them the next time. There were also a few points where things are very blatantly stated or laid out for her, and she just…. Isn’t picking up what’s being put down? Which was kind of annoying for what an intelligent character she was to begin with.

-The ending was also a bummer for me, considering how much the rest of the romance elements in the rest of the story worked for me. *light spoilers ahead* a conflict is introduced between Freya and Bjorn in like the last 5% of the book… which just felt so frustrating since it could have easily been prevented, and will definitely be excused in the next book after a few pages of arguing.

Anyways-let’s start with the things I liked!

-Freya is loyal, determined, strong, and capable, without becoming a caricature of a strong female character. She has natural limitations, and flaws that she has to spend the book working through. Freya is allowed to be strong without it necessarily becoming an overly trite “girl power!” statement. Which I enjoyed, and I think the Norse setting may have helped facilitate this.

-Bjorn, our leading man, also worked really well for me as a romantic lead, and I love how he interacted with Freya throughout the book. He’s tasked with being her bodyguard (and also is in love with her, duh), and as a result very much wants to protect her. Jensen was able to write him s a protective love interest, without becoming overbearingly possessive, or controlling in an effort to keep her safe. Plainly said- he’s certified nontoxic…. Mostly.

-The Slow burn romance between the two is lovely as well, they’re obviously initially attracted to one another- but as the story goes on Jensen works to establish a believable and satisfying emotional connection between the characters before they hop into bed together (or… rock, as it were).

-the actual story was a lot of fun, and had plenty of nods to norse mythology. I’m fairly certain there were quite a few creative liberties taken (which is definitely not a bad thing), so long as you’re not looking for a faithful mythological retelling, but rather a love story with a bit of Nordic spice, I think this will really work for you!

I think it’s also important to know what you’re getting into- this isn’t going to be a super brutal epic fantasy Viking grimdark… if that’s what you want (no shade, 4 times out of 5, that’s usually what I want) you’re gonna be sad… BUUUUUT - if you’re in a Viking mood, but you also want a lil romance to go with it, I think this is going to be completely up your alley! It’s a bit predictable, and the ending could have been better executed (in my opinion, at least), but a lot of the fun lies in the slow burn of the relationship between the two MC’s so the two cons shouldn’t dissuade you from picking it up, if you’re interested!

4.5/5 stars! Thank you netgalley for this advanced copy! This book has the most incredible first half. I couldn’t put it down and the Viking inspo was so different.. I LOVED it. I felt like the second half was slow for me and some things were repeated BUT I still hung on to that slow burn. I also guessed the plot twist but it was still good! Highly recommend for fantasy lovers!

“Her fate is inked in her blood…It’s carved in her bones. This power is Freya’s destiny.”

This was an interesting fantasy read, it starts off with action slows down a bit with all the traveling and then picks back up. I’ve not read any fantasy with Norse/Viking inspiration so I really liked that this world was different from the usual fae fantasy world. There are a lot of characters and moving pieces in this so it me a while to understand who the main players were. The world building also confused me a bit but I understand the general vibe. Freya the main character is a badass who wants to be a warrior and protect her family. She is thrown into another life unexpectedly where she has to fight in battles and use her powers. They’re a good amount of traveling, prophecies, magic, gods, norse mythology and tension. There is a slow burn romance that gets a bit steamy, both characters like each other but there’s a tension and longing before they get together. Overall if you want a new and different fantasy romance with lots of action, Vikings and mythology then you should read this!

Read if you like:
- Epic/high fantasy
- Magic
- Action
- Forbidden romance
- Forced proximity
- Romantasy
- Vikings

Thank you Del Rey and Netgalley for this arc.

*ARC Review*

Freya is a fishwife who is stuck in an unhappy marriage and dreams of becoming a warrior (and sticking it to her husband). She is also the fabled shield maiden, blessed by the gods and prophesied to unite the nation under the rule of the one who controls her fate. Once her identity is discovered, her story is set in motion.

Freya has instantly become one of my favorite female main characters of all time. She is strong, confident, sassy, and brave but simultaneously jealous, rash, emotional, and devoted to her loved ones to a fault. She felt so real, and was truly everything I wanted in a main character. Bjorn also held his weight as her love interest. He was loving, strong, and INCREDIBLY SASSY. Their banter was absolutely top notch, and I was giggling and kicking my feet for a majority of the book. Aside from having charming characters and a compelling love story, A Fate Inked in Blood was ACTION PACKED. From chapter one, I found it completely impossible to put down as if something could happen while I wasn't looking!

I was able to predict a plot twist or two, but only about a paragraph before the characters themselves caught on. Basically, I was shocked at every turn and occasionally just proud of myself for being more clever than our strangely competent main characters! I'll warn that there are some pretty intense battles in this book, but the gore was definitely more gently written than it could have been (to my relief).

This is a book for the Romantasy girls. If you like fantasy, romance, banter, vikings, Norse Gods, epic battles, or strong female characters, I highly recommend you pick this book up! This one is sure to set the internet ablaze.

I’m going to be honest. It took me a minute to get used to the Norse-inspired fantasy. There are a lot of gods and customs that I had never heard of. When it got going and the spice picked up (forbidden romance), my interest also picked up! As soon as I felt immersed in the world, it was over and had me wanting more. Looking forward to a sequel soon!

I devoured this in less than a day! I loved the Viking lore, the romance.. just about everything worked for me. The world building and all the characters were easy to follow along as well. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an ARC of A Fate Inked in Blood! If you enjoy The last Kingdom or Vikings, then you'll love this book! It's pure viking fantasy, and it's done very well. The world building is beautifully done, and the chemistry between Freya and Bjorn, is off the wall.
Freya is a strong FMC and she doesn't pull any punches. I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read the next one.

Early copy recieved through NetGalley and Del Rey, but all thoughts are enthusiastically my own.

Saga indeed. This methodically written tale of a fishmonger's wife becoming the weapon all kingdoms are fighting over is superb. Danielle L. Jensen knows how to masterfully craft a fantasy romance that is politically interesting, action packed but yet full of introspective and tender moments. At what point do you turn from fighting monsters to becoming one yourself? Bjorn and Freya are filled with tension, fight, and passion. I absolutely loved their interactions. While I did see the ending coming, it did not deter me in the slightest from this book.

If you have watched the show Vikings or The Last Kingdom at all, you will absolutely DIE for this book. It's the will of the gods, of course. 😏

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!

You know when you are so in the zone reading, you don't realize hours passing you by, and you don't notice hunger, or thirst, or any basic needs? That was me reading this book. I couldn't put it down, too invested in Freya's story and how it would all unfold. Every chapter was laced with mystery and intrigue. Did Danielle Jensen inject heroin into these words? Cause they were all-consuming. I loved Freya's quick wit and skewed morality, Bjorn's protectiveness, and how each and every character seemed so layered like individual mysteries to be unraveled. The fact that this was steeped in Norse Mythology was also so much fun. I was left at the end with so many questions, I can't believe this book doesn't even come out until February 2024! Until then, I shall be hyping it up to everyone I know.

YOU KNOW I LOVE AN EPIC STORY… I fell head over heels for this Norse inspired Romantasy (this has really been my favorite genre lately). This was my first Norse mythology book and it didn’t disappoint in the slightest. I loved The Bridge Kingdom by @danielleljensen so I knew I’d no doubt love this one as well. The tension between Freya and Bjorn is just *chef’s kiss* and their banter was EVERYTHING. Without giving away any spoilers, this book delivered on all fronts - from the plot, characters, Gods, the world, romance, betrayals, ALL of it. I seriously loved everything. This will absolutely be the next big romantasy that everyone will be talking about. People are going to love this, and I can't wait to see what people think. I’ve already preordered my copy for the February release and can’t wait to see what happens next. 🖤