4.5 Excellent audiobook narration. The narrator was animated and full of emotions, really making the story come to life.
Darn that ending ! Cliffhanger !!!
I really liked this story of a weak/strong/stubborn/sometimes dumb/sometimes bright/sometimes mature/sometimes immature girl/woman. I admit she got of my nerves a few times, really I wanted to bang my head on the wall, arguh girl ! She was stuck in between the rock and the hard place many times and did what she thought best, even though I thought it was stupid. LOL ! I liked that, the author did not follow the rules, she let her characters act their knowledge. Each had this wonderful freedom but Freya was the star and had the most bumps in her road. The other characters were fun too, read it to find out how fun. I'll be reading book 2
Fantasy, magic, gods, action, love, lust, hate, vengeance, misogyny, back stabbing fun ! ( )

I love Norse mythology, Vikings, shieldmaidens (thank you Éowyn from Lord of the Rings), fantasy, magic, medieval battles, forbidden romance, slowburns but instant attraction – and let’s not forget the absolutely gorgeous cover – so it was only natural I would adore this book!

“It is hard to keep one’s wits when faced with a woman as beautiful as the sight of shore to a man who has been lost at sea.”

This is my first Danielle L Jensen book and I cannot believe I have not read her work sooner! Be assured, The Bridge Kingdom series is going further up my TBR list. I was a little late to buying a physical copy and even later reading it, but I am ever so glad I have now!

Aside from its stunning blue dust cover and art, the story’s plot itself was excellent – so much so that I did not want to put the book down. The world-building was done especially well, as was the pacing in general, and the depth of the characters. It was good to see the dynamic of toxic relationships and families, effectively raising awareness of this sort of thing.

It was also very entertaining, especially whenever Freya and Bjorn had conversations. For me, I especially loved the scene in which Bjorn and Freya meet – what I call love at first flung fish haha – it got me grinning so much that I said to myself then and there that even if the rest of the book was terrible, this was a great scene. I can say without a doubt that these two were the best parts of the whole book. Especially Bjorn.

The plot twists at the very end were great, most of them I had seen a mile away, particularly *that* betrayal – but did not make it less enjoyable when they were revealed! Indeed, I was squeaking “I knew it!!!” to anyone who listened. I had no idea what the other half of Freya’s blood would be and I should have realised given those powers had happened before, but that was an interesting surprise.

Danielle did an outstanding job at drawing me into this universe, I honestly did not want to return back to the real world. Being the first part of a Saga, I am very excited to see where the story goes from here. I cannot wait to read more, though I have a feeling we will be waiting a little while.

Also, kudos to her for having a page on her website with audio clips to help people with the pronunciation of the Norse names. It would have been more useful, however, to have included a phonetic pronunciation at the end of the book and inserted a QR code there to direct readers to the website for further help.

The only thing I disliked was the cliffhanger ending. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, I am just not so keen when people do it – though I can see why it has been selected, and it was done most effectively. Apparently, Danielle likes to do cliffhangers so again, this is understandable. ( )

Good.

The Plot:
Freya was forced to marry Vragi and spend her time cutting fish and be loyal to her husband that she hated. One day, after finishing with her job, she met Vragi and jarl Snorri with his warriors in the woods, jarl Snorri asked her to fight his son Bjorn if she wanted to join his army (which she dreamed of) and be free of marriage with Vragi. During the fight she asks Hlin (goddess) to give her power and at that moment all of them witnessed that Freya has god’s blood in her and she is the Shield Maiden that Snorri was looking for years in order to use her power to become a king.

She is forced to marry jarl Snorri and help him achieve his goals to become a king. Bjorn was always at her sight and protected her along the way.

And I’ll leave it here…

My Thoughts:
The book hooked me up from the beginning. Very well written and entertaining. It is told in 1st person POV which I liked, sometimes I wanted to have Bjorn’s POV as well, wanted to get in his head but it’s even better, author left us space to think and wander.

Tho, it’s a 4⭐️ for me, Freya acted stupid a few times and just made me want to shake her up! The way she protected her enemy at the end just didn’t make sense to me. She didn’t want to hear the truth and was constantly throwing accusations without listening! One moment Bjorn is everything to her, the next moment she is willing to send him to Hel. Stupid!

The story was interesting but the plot was predictable.
I’ll grab the second book in series when it comes out! Would love to see what will happen next. The book ended up interesting so yes, I am invested what the author will bring us. ( )

A fate inked in Blood is a fantasy romance book that is based on Norse mythology. It has magic, forbidden romance, secrets and betrayal and is a slow burn. The main female character is a strong, stubborn and independent character trying to fine her way through her new world. I loved the story and can’t wait for the second book to be released ( )

I liked the setting a lot, but the characters a bit less. Plenty of action, blood and near the end, some steam, but I felt the ending was a bit less. Maybe the sequel will change all that, as I'm eager to read it. ( )