SFF

A Fate Inked in Blood

by Danielle L. Jensen
Del Rey: Ballantine. (Saga of the Unfated, Bk. 1). Feb. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9780593599839. $29.99. FANTASY
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Freya, a woman with a magical secret, spends her days dreaming of being a warrior while tied down in a deeply unhappy marriage. When her husband betrays her secret and sells her out to the local warlord, Jarl Snorri, Freya is forced to fight the Jarl’s son Bjorn, a celebrated warrior. To survive, she must reveal her identity as a shield maiden whose protective magic will repel any attack. Snorri believes Freya will be instrumental in a prophecy that sees him ruling all Skaland if he controls the shield maiden’s fate. Blood oaths are sworn, training is done, sacrifices are made, and battles are fought while Freya’s powers, and her attraction to Bjorn, grow.
VERDICT Jensen (“Bridge Kingdom” series) has rooted the first entry in her “Saga of the Unfated” in Norse mythology, giving readers a glimpse into a cold, violent society, but she doesn’t skimp on the heat. This reads like the love child of Genevieve Gornichec’s The Witch’s Heart and Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Silver Flames. Romantasy fans will be ravenous for more.
Reviewed by Lacey Tobias , Dec 01, 2023
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