I did enjoy this book but i had some issues with it.
I actually really enjoyed the Viking aspect, a lot more than I expected. I thought the magic of the gods was really interesting and well done and that the clans and the troubles of Viking life were portrayed well. The characters all fit into the world well and I liked seeing the different gods’ blood powers.
The plot was interesting enough though very predictable; I guessed the main reveals pretty earlier on so mostly spent the book waiting for everyone else to realise it. Still, I liked the progression of the story and the romance though it was rather fast paced. Bjorn was an entertaining love interest and I did enjoy their banter a lot. Towards the end I really began to like their pairing.
However, I do think this could have easily been a YA book if the author had toned down the sex. I personally enjoy smut however this didn’t feel like the right book for it. Freya was often thinking about wanting Bjorn instead of her many many problems, it got tiring having her so focused on Bjorn and her lust when I would have liked her to be thinking more about her role/ how to escape etc. and the moments they did share were unnecessarily graphic - the actual joining was great but the rest was jarring and this just wasn’t the sort of book that needed or was improved by detailed encounters.
In fact Freya was so focused on Bjorn and her lust / love that she didn’t ever stop to think about things and just went along with everything. I understand why she initially got trapped but surely she could have looked for ways around her oaths and to hide her family? Or at the very least ways to undermine Snorri and stop him from being King but she just seemed content for him to be King and to fight for him. It was frustrating. Overall I didn’t mind her but she was too impulsive for me to love her.
It was an enjoyable read with fleshed out characters and an excellent Viking world that drew me in. I’ll probably read the sequel as I would like to see how it plays out (though I have a strong guess) but it didn’t blow me away in any area except for the Viking aspect and Gods blood being a nice change from the usual fantasy worlds.
