I was so excited that I got approved for this book as it has everything I look for in a book Romance, Fantasy and Norse mythology.
The world building in this book was fantastic and the book was so well written. I adore the author’s writing style and found it easy to follow along. The plot was fast paced and i enjoyed that there was always something going on. There were many twists and turns in this book, that at times it kept me on the edge of my seat, especially that ending!
The romance in this story is definitely a slow burn throughout the book. I like that you could feel the chemistry growing between our two main characters Freya and Bjorne.
The book is written from Freya’s POV.
I enjoyed the magic system of this book and the fact that not everyone is gifted with the blood of a god but those that were are amazing.
This book also features revenge, betrayal, trust issues, fighting for power, threatening family, trust issues and more! It leaves you with so many emotions throughout.
I did not see the end coming! It left me shocked and I really felt for Freya.
I absolutely can not wait for the next book in the series to see where this goes!

Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this eARC, the following is my honest review.

The premise of this book really hooked me in - I'm a fan of anything mythology retelling/ related fantasy series, and I feel that Norse/ Viking is something not largely seen in the fantasy genre. After hearing and reading lots of great views and being recommended this on Goodreads and social media, I was really excited to read this.

However, it just wasn't for me. The writing was great, in that it was easy to follow along, but there were just a few things I personally didn't like or wasn't sure on:
- the two main characters hardly knew each other. A few banter scenes does not equate to love, and this was definitely too insta-lovey for my tastes.
- the female main character, Freya, was not to my liking. I found her actions and decisions questionable at best and downright stupid at worst. Her addiction with protecting her family seriously annoyed me - she continuously chose to protect them over the people in her country even though she wasn't close to them at all, we saw 2ish interactions with her family of which showed they were horrible people but she was still protecting them? It would have made more sense if we saw greater depth interactions between her and her family.
- The plot line very much lacked logic and consistency at times, especially towards the end. It was also really boring at times in the middle, even the fighting scenes I wanted to just skip over.
- The bad guys didn't really do it for me. Nothing bad seriously happened in the book for me to think Freya should be acting the way she was

Things I did enjoy:
- There is potential here for sure. As rushed as the ending was, a lot happened and it made me want to finish the book to find out who was the traitor/ spy.
- the mythology/ lore with the Gods. The author definitely put a lot of thought into this, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the book.

A Fate Inked in Blood | eArc Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 /5 | 🌶️🌶️/5

I was super excited about this book, because it had Romantasy, Norse Mythology and was written by the same writer as ‘The Bridge Kingdom’ (a series that I enjoy), and it didn’t disappoint!

The book immerses you straight into the action, the world-building is light and spread across the book, and the two main characters are well-developed and have great chemistry.

This was such an enjoyable read for me, I haven’t read a Dane/Viking book in a very long time and I was so glad to be immersed again in Norse Mythology. I would say that this book is primarily a Romantasy than a full-blown Norse book. The romance was a slow burn and you could empathise with the characters’ struggles and feelings during their journey.

However, I felt that the plot’s ending dragged slightly, which made it easy for me to predict the twist at the end. This hasn’t dampened the book’s enjoyment, and I can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you to Danielle Jensen and Random House Publishing Group, for the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

‘A Fate Inked in Blood’ comes out on February 27th 2024. Add it now to your TBR! 

Read this book if you like:

🛡️ Norse Mythology 
♥️ Adult Romantasy
✨ Prophecies
🦸‍♀️ Strong Heroine
🚫 Forbidden love
🔥 Slow-burn

What drew me most to this book was the Nordic/Viking vibes.
Freya situation in the beginning is not one of the best... (although I kinda loved how she handled that..)
She does make some frustrating decision, but for me that made her feel more real. A MC who doesn't always make the perfect choices.
I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to being able to read the sequel!

A Fate Inked in Blood is a fast-paced, thrilling and exciting new Romantasy story from the author that gave us the gem that is the Bridge Kingdom series. Filled with hilarious banter, swoon-worthy tension and epic battle scenes, AFIIB is un-put-down-able. Freya is such a likable and feisty FMC, who is well-fleshed out and so easy to root for, and going on the journey of discovering her own self-worth and honing her abilities with her has such satisfying pay off. The plot itself was interesting and you can definitely tell the level of research and detail Jensen put into it, though most of the plot twists are fairly obvious and easy to uncover. This never took away from the enjoyment of reading though, so I think as long as people don’t go into it expecting to solve a great mystery, they will love it too.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone, and NetGalley for providing me with the eARC. All opinions are my own.

“If there is nothing in your life worth dying for, then what is there worth living for?”
“You are mine, Born-inFire. Even if only the two of us know it.

These two quotes perfectly sum up this book and what you should expect going into it.
A headstrong main character with everything to lose and everything to fight for.
I loved the Norse mythology tied into the story and the fantasy elements with the power given by the gods was fascinating.
Overall the story was excellent and compelling.
The romance was an important factor in the high rating. With the forbidden nature of it creating such tension. But it’s nice to see a fantasy book where the romance is not all physical and you can actually believe that the main characters like each other!!
There are plenty of plot twists that set up for an interesting next book in the series. Even though some of them were predictable, they still set a good foundation for what is to come.

My only issue with this book, and I feel it is personal preference, was how much detailed description there was of the fighting. This I found I was skimming over. So if you love fantasy with lots of action and epic fight scenes then this book is 100% for you!!

I think Danielle L. Jenson is highly underrated, she knows how to write a compelling story and I can’t wait for more to come.

The romance tropes that stood out to me were: Forbidden romance, enemies to allies to lovers, touch her and you die

I've debated a lot whether to rate this book 3 or 4 stars, as the first half was firmly a 3, and the second 4. I found certain sections of the story a little slow, but the pacing in the second half was much better. The foundations for the romance felt a little weak to me, but by the end I was fairly hooked by the tension, and the twist at the end was fantastic. I'm excited for the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I've been excited about this book ever since I saw the author teasing it in early 2022, so needless to say, I screamed when I got the email that I got approved for the ARC and dropped my whole reading plan to get to this.

I had no doubt that I would love this book. I mean, we have vikings, Norse mythology, romantasy and it's written by one of my favorite authors, but I am still so happy to report that it was everything I wanted it to be.

I really love how the book took vikings and Norse mythology and stayed true to it while also twisting it in a new way, so that it felt like its own fantasy world.
I'm not an expert on vikings but I would say I have a decent knowledge, and I really liked how vikings were the very core of the worldbuilding and I think it stayed very true to the historical inspiration. I think with vikings and pirates, there is sometimes a danger that authors make them a lot more... mellow than they actually were. Here, the vikings actually brutally raided and conquered their enemies and it was neither romanticized nor crucified, it's just the way they live.

The magic system was very much based on Norse mythology and the Norse pantheon of Gods, but with the twist that some humans are "children" of the Gods and therefore inherit some of their powers. There were also some other creatures from Norse mythology. In general, the book wasn't very heavy on fantasy elements, but it was all so cohesive and just worked.

The book is very much a romantasy, so there is a heavy emphasis on the romance, however, I love that there is a very organic element to why the main couple can't just easily be together. There's tension, there's a bit of a slow burn, and while it's not really enemies to lovers, it comes with some of the banter that the trope is known for. It's also spicy, and personally I found it to be a great balance of the romance and fantasy elements.

One of the reasons I love DLJ is how she makes her books feel so unique, even if they have a rather simple concept at their core. That is why I love The Bridge Kingdom so much, and it's why I loved this one so much. At its core, it's a story about a woman being used for her magical powers to advance a man's thirst for political power. However, there is so much more that goes into it, and the more the story progressed, the more I got invested.

The book was also really focused on Freya's character development. She very much felt like the fantasy version of the meme "in my villain era (setting healthy boundaries)". Freya is used to being used, to being a pawn, to doing her duty because she wants to protect her family. Yet she is also defiant and strong, and is very much caught in between duty and desire. It's not a new concept by any means, but I found it to be executed very well here and I felt a lot for Freya.

I think it's become quite evident that I loved this book. It was so good and I know I'm privileged to have gotten an ARC and having been able to read the book months before release, but I still have to say... I need the sequel ASAP and don't know how I'm supposed to wait for probably 1,5+ years to find out how the story continues :(

A Fate Inked in Blood is the first book in Danielle L Jensen’s new Norse-inspired fantasy romance series. I loved this book. After not finishing several fantasy romance books and feeling that I’d never find another that would hold my attention, I picked up this one and immediately knew I was reading something great. The writing style was superb and I was very quickly enamored with this book. The story instantly swept me away into this unique and captivating world. I loved the magic and the Norse-inspired world. The relationship between Freya and Bjorn was nothing short of epic and the build up of tension was perfectly paced. There was plenty of romance and spice.

If you're a fan of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Kerri Maniscalco, or Carissa Broadbent, this book is an absolute must-read. This book does end on a cliffhanger and will make you want to read book 2. I’m eagerly awaiting the release and hope the author doesn’t keep us in suspense too long.

I’d highly recommend this standout book and plan to read The Bridge Kingdom by this same author next.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful guilty pleasure read this turned out to be.
I came across this book while aimlessly browsing and after just recently returning from a short trip to Norway I thought it would be fun to read something Norse inspired and I am a big enjoyer of the whole Vikings vibe so I picked this up thinking why not.

Very rarely have I picked up a book that hooked from from basically the first page - and I can't even really put my finger on why lol. This was just an enjoyable read that kept me speed-turning page after page. I was enthralled in the intrigue, enjoyed the characters and dialogue, and my god the slow-burn romance was done just right in my opinion. I definitely felt the tension between the chararcters, loved the whole magic 'blessed by the Gods trope', really exciting to develop the gifts of the different characters. I felt like the writing flowed and suited the kind of story - this was truly un-putdownable.

Sure, while this is not the most original of stories, I am willing to see past all the flaws I thought this book had due to the immense enjoyment and pure norse vibes that captivated me while reading this. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a big sucess especially on BookTok. It's got all the ingredients of what readers seem to like at the moment; big props to the forced proximity (I don't want to admit it but it is one of my favorite tropes when done right) in this, it was just chef's kiss.

Thumbs up to the ending - even though it was predictable I am equally smiling while punching the air, furious that there isn't a book 2 I can immediately sink my teeth into.. Great start to the series, can't wait to read more and needless to say I have added further Danielle L. Jensen books straight onto my TBR.

>> Review also posted on Goodreads

Freya is a young fisherman's wife. Although it's not the life she always dreamt of. She wants to fight for the jarl, to be worthy of Valhala, and own her own life.
One day, jarl Snorri comes to her, and asks his son Bjorn, who owns a God power, to fight her. To protect herself, she then reveals her biggest secret, and her life is changed forever...

Danielle L. Jensen wrote a new series, and as for the Bridge Kingdom, I'm hooked ! This one takes place in the Northern territories, and nordic Gods rule among these lands.
Every little thing that I enjoy in a romantasy book is there : great building of the world and the mythology, slow burn and banter between the two main characters, forced proximity and some spicy scenes.
But also revenge and duplicity, true love and week family, fights for land and power, and a little bit of God's magic.
I really enjoyed this book, couldn't put it down, and can't wait to read what comes next ! Thank you NetGalley and DelRey for sending me this book !

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'A Fate Inked in Blood' by Danielle L. Jensen.

This is the start of a new series by Danielle L. Jensen, and me and her kinda have this love meh relationship. Sadly this book was the meh of the two. My reasoning is quite simple and it was that I felt the story dragged and didn't really need anymore added to it. It definitely could have been a standalone, and I possibly would have rated it higher if it was so. Will I read the others? Probably.

Let me start by saying that I absolutely devoured this book. It’s a real page turner and I could not put it down!
Freya has been selflessly trapped in an abusive marriage to help provide for her family. When it is revealed that she is the shield maiden, her world is changed and she has the opportunity to become the warrior she always wanted to be. However, now she has been discovered, everyone wants to use her for their own advantage!
This book feels like a real adventure as you read it, there’s a lot of action, and a forbidden love with pining from both sides and spice!
I really liked the main character, Freya who was a badass MC but still has her flaws to overcome and her banter with Bjorn was perfection. I found myself laughing out loud reading this- I think I must have a very similar sense of humour to the author. I don’t really have anything negative to say about this book. I had no idea how to pronounce some of the names or places but is it even a fantasy if you can pronounce them? I knew from the first few pages of this book that I loved it and it would be a 5 star read and it certainly was! But waiting for the next one is going to be a killer! This one doesn’t even come out till February but I would highly recommend adding it to your TBR!

I think this book is now my new favourite by Danielle Jensen! Thank you netgalley and DelReyUK for sending me the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
As a romantasy set with Norse Mythology, I found it gripping from chapter 1 and just didn't want to put it down! It has the perfect amounts of romance with the fantasy, has Jensen always does well, and I really enjoyed diving in to a Norse world as it's not one I've read about much. I feel like I got to know the world well without it being info dumpy - like I said, I was hooked by the end of chapter 1 and the story moved along at a fast pace. Jensen also has a great ability to end a chapter at the point where I need to know more, making it really hard to stop!
Freya was a really interesting main character as we could explore her emotions whilst she was thrown into different situations that were beyond her control. I really enjoyed getting to know her and my heart broke for her a few times when we saw her need to protect everyone, even when they didn't seem to be deserving.
My favourite part has to be the romance. I loved the dynamic between Freya and Bjorn and simply can't wait for more! They had such great banter with each other but then you could really see their relationship grow and develop. The spice was excellent and scattered throughout without it being too much.
For a lot of the book I wasn't sure where things were going, especially at the beginning, so it kept me needing to keep reading. I did find a few of the end reveals were predictable but I can't wait to find out what happens next. When is book 2?!
I highly recommend if you enjoy: Norse Mythology, romantasy, MMC protectiveness, fierce FMC badassary and spice!

This book sounded so amazing and I really liked the premise as well as the love story. However, a lot things especially the world building wasn’t as fleshed out as I wanted it to be. I do like it when fantasy books throw you right in the middle of happening but in this case it was oftentimes hard to follow the story because scenes felt like they were simply glued together instead of creating an organic flow of story. It was a struggle to keep reading this book, I took so many pauses because the story felt all over the place. It couldn’t captivate me enough which is a shame!

While I did like the characters and their chemistry, it was too much instant attraction. I couldn’t really understand why he would do these things because of her. I love it when he is whipped for his girl, but I need some explanation why she is "the one". It was way to insta-love like.

The story definitely has a lot of potential and considering this is an ARC and the book release is months away, I do hope the author will still make some changes/edits to flesh things out more. The current book was ok, but definitely not an highlight and not a book I would reread.

The heroine was sometimes very annoying because she seemed so immature. I definitely preferred Bjorn. The overall story wasn’t really knew but ok. The Nordic vibes definitely were something else but could have been more.

To conclude, good premise but definitely still needs a lot of deeper writing. The plot was predictable and the love story too instant. There also should be a better connection between scenes because it felt very bumpy. Let’s hope the final book which releases 2024 will be improved.

Oh I loved this I’m already a huge fan of this author so I was so excited to get to this!
What a great start to a series
Well paced and a slow burn romance
Can’t wait for the next installment in this

What a beginning for this amazing series!! This book had me hooked from the very first chapter. I loved loved how the world-building was vivid, the characters were compelling, and the romance was a swoony, slow-burn. Moreover, the plot was full of tense political manoeuvring, deception, and there was plenty of action to go around! Can’t wait for the next instalment already!

Thank you to Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this e-arc via Netgalley.

Total rating: 4.83 stars

Rating breakdown:
Plot: 5
Pacing: 4.83
Writing & Language: 5
World building & Characters: 5
Romance: 5
Spice: 4

WOW. This book absolutely BLEW me away.

I was enthralled from the moment we meet Bjorn up until the very last page that left me wanting for more.

The pacing was absolute perfection from start to finish and I never felt as if the story dipped or became boring. The pacing was also really good, it never felt like the story was happening too fast or too slow.

The writing and use of language overall was really good and was done in a way that really suited the characters and world. I felt like at every turn I was reading the dialogue in the same accent as in the series “Vikings”.

The world building was done to perfection, my understanding of the land, where places were from each other, the gods and how the magic worked all given through in a way that was easy to understand and wasn’t an info dump.

The characters on their own were each also very interesting and lovable and it was easy to want to know what will happen with them.

Lastly, the romance was amazing. The slow burn, the tension of wanting each other from day one but having to deny themselves, keeping their feelings from each other. These are the things I live for.

There wasn’t a lot of spice but what was there was well written and didn’t feel cringe. I did wish there was more sexual tension between the characters but overall it did not impact the story.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy and though this book has not yet been published I’m looking forward to the next book!

I am a judge fantasy book fan and this book did not let me down. I was absolutely hooked from the very beginning. The story line drew you in and made putting it down very difficult. I loved the characters, in fact I loved everything about this book and would highly recommend it. Cannot wait to buy a physical copy

A Fate Inked in Blood is a Norse adult fantasy where some mortals have been gifted a drop of blood from the gods, giving them powers to wield lightning, conjure axes of flames and even curse people to Helheim. It’s an epic tale about fate and love and war, and the first 40% was so good, so so good, yet from there, everything got more complicated than it needed to be. The story turned into a slog rather than its beginning exciting pace, and the book was just too long.

There were a lot of issues with this book; the worldbuilding was non-existent, I just picture the Vikings, the insta-lust wasn’t satisfying in the least, and some of the heroines’ choices were just really flipping annoying. There were some nuggets of interest towards the end, but sadly, the book got harder to read the longer it went on.