I needed this story so badly, and it was everything I wanted it to be. Well, that's not entirely true. I wish we had a bit more time with Svafa and Angantyr. I know it was a short novella, but after reading 4 books at this point, alluding to how much Svafa and Angantyr loved each other, I really wanted to see more of them together. 

Either way, the story was enthralling and heartbreaking, but it really couldn’t have gone any other way. 

 

 

This series gets better and better. Honestly.

This one really hit hard on so many emotional levels, I lost count of how many times I had to take a second to clear the tears from my eyes. There was a lot of loss in this one, but in the same breath, so much new life gained and my entire heart is invested in this story and its characters. 

I absolutely love watching Hervor grow into herself as a person, as a Jarl, as a mother and now 

as a Queen, she is everything I want in a fmc and I couldn't ask for more. 

I won’t lie though, I’m terrified of where we’re going in this story with her new baby. Will all of the bad omens and the Gods warning Hervor to be careful what she wishes for, I’m very nervous for what I’m walking into with the final installment in the series.

 

 

Well. I think of the three books in this series, I enjoyed this one the most. 

While it may have been outlandish, quite unrealistic and extremely overdramatic, this installment had more plot to it than both book one and two combined, and I was quite happy to finally feel like I was actually reading something with a little bit of substance. 

That being said, I still don’t like El. She’s just such a fake character and very self centered; I never could get past any of it to actually like her, or even connect with her on the smallest level. She also somehow transformed herself into some kind of super spy in less than six months after being  very kept and spoiled her entire life, and the entire flip of her felt forced and so, so fake. 

I don’t know. I won’t one star this one, because I wasn’t bored out of my mind the entire time like the first two, but I also can’t say that I enjoyed this… at all. 

Shout out here to the most confusing and random Pandora’s Box ending that didn’t fit the story and just served to absolutely stun me.

 

Nothing happened in this book until the last five pages. The entire thing was poor El, back with her rich family, woe is me, which man will I pick. While the men fight each other constantly even though they “love you like a brother” each other. She's spent weeks, literal weeks with each guy, and fancies herself madly in love with them both. 

There's clearly something here that I'm missing because people seem to love this book, and I have no idea why. El is the most annoying fmc I've read in a very long time, and I truly do not like her at all. Her guys are no better with their fake ass macho, I'm better than you are, if you step out of place, I'll beat you up, attitudes. Her “brothers” are boring. 

The “mystery” secrets so far have been flat and boring, and I've been feeling really let down this entire series. 

Modern day Helen of Troy, my ass. 

 

This series is really just wonderful.

This might be my favorite installment so far. 

We get to see Hervor come face to face with her grandfather and finally give him the comeuppance that he deserved, and I have just been waiting for this moment since ten pages into book one. It was everything, and I love Hervor all the more for it. And Svafa. This woman is amazing and so flipping badass. I really hope that we get to see more of her and Yrsa’s story come into play now that they’ve moved from Dalr into Bolosmo. 

I also loved seeing Leif and Eydis’ little family bloom. And Hervor and Hofund with their little Blomma. The little sentimental and cute moments in this book are so well placed, and there are just the right amount of them to kind of keep the battles and politics in balance with the lives of all of the characters. 

Seeing everyone flourish in this one was wonderful. Oh, and Hella and her Jarl! Ugh. My heart is just so invested in these books. But I also love the wars and the battle sequences. They’re so well done and keep me on the edge of my seat. I can’t say enough good things, and as always, I can’t wait to get into the next one.

 

 

This installment, definitely better than the last, but still not up to par with the first three books in this series. The pacing was just off. I can’t handle how slowly these books are moving along. There’s so much filler that I’m finding it really difficult to wade through and to get to the actual meat of the story. I need more plot, because at this point, the characters aren’t holding down the fort anymore and I am spending WAY too much time bored.

I stand by what I said in my last review. Osrick and Rissa pov’s are unnecessary and add pretty much nothing to this story plot wise. I don’t even understand why they were introduced in the first place. Everything that happens in Osrick’s chapters in this book could have been a conversation that happened in Slade’s pov and it would make pretty close to zero difference. 

The separation of Slade and Auren really didn’t work for me either. We just ended up with both characters pining over each other and being nothing but miserable for the entire book. To be completely honest with you, after the last two books with these characters, I don’t even know if I like them anymore. 

And then there was Malina. I had such high hopes for her as well. And she was also just mopey and cry-ey and woe is me for most of this book. And then even her chapters just turned into a crap love story rather than the badass woman I was hoping for.

Now. NOW. The worst part of all. Fucking Amnesia. I don’t even know if I want to finish this series because of this. This is my hands down, without a doubt, my least favorite (read: most hated) trope. Auren and Slade have been separated for an entire novel out of this series, and now that they're finally going to be reunited, amnesia. Really? Don’t you think that’s a bit of a cop out? I really wanted to focus on the political pieces of the story in the last book. I really wanted to focus on a war with the fae in the last book. I really wanted to focus on Auren and Slade using their bonded powers together in the last book. And instead I’m probably going to spend the first 500 pages annoyed and pissed off with an Amnesia trope and everyone just trying to help poor poor Auren. 

Oh. And Dragons. Let’s introduce Dragons into the series in BOOK FIVE. Suuuure thing. 

I’m annoyed. I don’t even know if this is a 2 star rating, or a 3. 

 

 

Oh Boy. This review is just a bunch of my random thoughts written down because I can’t be bothered to put them together.

Eleanor is the worst kind of fmc. She's so pick me it bloody hurts. Everything she says is so cringey. I have 3 guy best friends, and no, I won’t give them up for you. I'm not like other girls. I'm pretty and I'm not afraid to tell people so that makes me better than other girls. Man. Oh. Man. 

The guys too though. Surfer boy that works in a bar and lives in a boat. Can you get more cliche than that? Yes. You can. Super secret mercenary that lives on a beach and can’t tell you what he does for a living. 

Insert mobster bad guys for tension, and to prove that stereotypical surfer guy is actually a *bad boy* and had a dark past. Ughhhhh.

There is literally zero substance to this book. I'm just here to figure out what really happened to her parents. 

Also. “I'm going to run away from love and never let myself get close to anyone!” *falls in love with 2 *2!!!* guys instantaneously within a one year time span* 

Give me a break. 

 

This book had me go through all of the feels. Man. Goosebumps. Tears. (I cried twice!). I smiled and laughed so many times. Hervor’s relationship with Yrsa and Edyis is so heartwarming, and their banter and interactions with each other was phenomenal. All the feels. 

I was just so happy to see Hervor finally loved and accepted and finding her place and I swear my heart grew. 

This book was full of clan wars and (broken) alliances, and of course Norse gods, and it couldn’t get any better. It’s action packed with political aspects and I loved everything about it. 

 

Considering this is the last book in the series, I am severely, severely let down.

I didn’t love the first trilogy in this world because I found the story convoluted, full of holes, and confusing as hell. I was so happy going into book 3 of the second trilogy because we went in a different direction, and although this whole 2 lovers absorbed into one thing (I’ll come back to this) was a little weird, the story was pretty decent. But something happened in this book with Keefe and Orry and it just restarted the whole confusing balance nonsense over again. I read the first 2 books in 2 days. This one took me a week. I just couldn't bring myself to be interested at all. 

I really, really liked the guys in the first book. The banter was great, the chemistry was there, I was super excited to see where it was going to go. And then Andas. I get it, we all like the morally gray bad guy but Andas wasnt that. He didn’t even feel like a villain to me. Silver played the whole “oh no, you did a terrible thing, but it's just your nature, so I forgive you” card a million and one times and it got old. This dude literally absorbed the two men that she “loved” and then she just… 1. Lets him take over Aaden’s body when they’re messing around (and gets off on it) and 2. Falls in love with the guy and takes his side over two 3 world’s worth of people over and over again. 

The worst. The actual worst. 

I made it through 6 books, and I can’t really recommend this series. Like… it wasn’t bad. There were some good things to come out of it. But it really wasn’t good, and I can’t say I had a fun time.

 

 

11/21/2021 ★★★★★

11/01/2024  ★★★★☆

I’ll start by saying this: I love Auren. I do. But. Buuuuut.

Here's the thing. She started getting this backbone, and I was super excited to see where she was going to go with it. And you know where we went with it? Nowhere. For this entire freaking book. Around and around in circles with Midas having the same conversations and the same arguments and the same glaring fights. It got old for me. I really needed to see more movement in the plot earlier on than when it finally did happen.

BUT. I love Auren’s backstory. Those chapters were some of the best, heartbreaking? Absolutely. But there was so much feeling to them that they really hit the hardest. (And they weren’t just fluff and filler). That twist with Midas?! Man. I knew he had secrets and he was a huge DB but, still!

I also love seeing her interact with her friends from fourth. This found family thing that's going on is absolutely to die for. 

And Malina. I had such high hopes for her. The tension just went up in each one of her chapters and I’m just over here holding out hope that she somehow connived her way out of that situation and is going to shock and awe later on. 

Now, the same issues that I’ve had since book one persist. Everyone is so over the top and melodramatic and it feels excessive. I have a hard time really caring about a lot of the side characters (read: saddles) because of this. Everyone just needs to tone it down just a little. Hate her, but man. Hate her less excessively. Its too darn much. 

My biggest issue with this installment was the big ol lull in the middle there, where I needed something more to happen and maybe I wasn't *all the way bored* but… I was pushing that line. 

The end though, the end saves it. I love the constant conniving going on with the rulers of these kingdoms, it makes my twisted heart beat faster.