Review - A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated, #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

 

 Title: A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated, #1)

Author: Danielle L. Jensen

Pages: 434

Publisher: Del Rey

Release Date: 27th February 2024

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.

Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.

Freya's dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region's jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest She possesses a drop of a goddess's blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.

Believing he's destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.

 Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

My Review:

 - DNF @35% -

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Cornerstone and NetGalley*

 

 
Stuck in an unhappy marriage, Freya yearns for more in life.
When the secret magic that Freya has concealed since childhood is revealed, her life changes, but not necessarily for the better.
Freya finds herself in possession of a man who is intent on using Freya and the prophecy concerning her to convince others to unite under his rule as king.
Now with a target on her, Freya must do all she can to survive, and to resist the pull she feels to Bjorn, the would-be king's heir.

The blurb for this book intrigued me as I liked the sound of the mix of Vikings, gods and magic. However, I ended up being disappointed.
Freya was a mixed protagonist for me as there were times I felt sorry for her - people thought of her as a thing to own, and she didn't have any say in what was happening. However, she frustrated me with how often her thoughts turned to mentally undressing Bjorn, and while I didn't dislike that she was attracted to him, it was overused and made it feel like she had no personality.
The concept of people having a drop of a god's blood and being able to use their power was interesting.
The plot was not enjoyable for me and didn't hold my attention or make me care about what would happen at all. I'm not sure if it was a mix of the plot with the writing style, but I really didn't like the way the story was handled. It got to the point where I couldn't bring myself to read anymore, and I decided to stop.
I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more, as I thought it had a lot of potential.

Overall, this wasn't for me.