Okay, so I lied. I thought I would be done with mini reviews for the week, and yet here I am with more! Gonna run out of books pretty soon, though…
Juniper and Thorn
I admit I was curious about this book because I adored A Study in Drowning. So did I expect the same level of dark that filled the pages of ASiD? Yes. Did I get the same level of dark? That and even more.
Did I like ASiD a little bit better than J&T? Yes. I thought this book was a bit slower, and while the stories were fascinating, I didn’t get a huge sense of how the magic worked in general. I also did feel like the relationship between Sevas and Marlinchen developed too quickly; that said, I did love the devotion they had to each other in the end, so I didn’t mind too much.
Please heed the content warnings!!! This book includes abuse of various kinds (including sexual), gore, cannibalism
This next book is all about the Vikings. Which…to be honest, I’m fairly lukewarm about? The cover of this book is STUNNING, though.
A Fate Inked in Blood
As for where the story was going, I wasn’t really interested in anything else other than the journey Freya had learning about her past, who she was, and her relationship with Bjorn. Which is kind of sad, because as a shield maiden, I had high hopes for her as a warrior. But she does the stupidest things. Honestly, she was more interesting when she wasn’t fully aware of her faculties and making ruthless decisions versus stupid ones. But I won’t get too into that.
As I said, the romance was my favorite part of this book. My favorite scene was easily when Bjorn and Freya took the climb to Fjalltindr. If there had been more of those situations and less of two-dimensional warring jarls, then I would have been a happier camper. Unfortunately, this story took place in a world where characters have frustratingly zealous world views. I didn’t care for the setting or the progression of the plot, and perhaps if this story had taken place anywhere else than a Viking-inspired land filled with a few gods-blessed and a lot of mysoginistic raiders, I might have given it another star. If the ending hadn’t happened as I knew it would several hundred pages ago, I might have also been a bit happier. This time, the predictability of the book made me want to be wrong. But alas, I was not.
That all said. The last 30 pages of the book? Effing filthy. I approve.
Story and Somnomancy 