As someone who usually finds Norse mythology, or just mythology in general, very compelling, I couldn't get into this book. Maybe it was something about how slow it is or how little I'm drawn to the characters.

The lack of world-building doesn't help either. In a world where humans and immortals live side by side, they don't really go into how that changes society other than the bare basics.

The ending is incredibly anti-climatic and I didn't feel any tension at all. One character that's supposed to be somewhat powerful gets taken out in one page, as does another character they had difficulty beating before. It's definitely a book that goes 0-100 really quick and not in a good way.

I hear this author's other work is pretty good, so maybe I just picked the one dud first. We'll see if I come around to reading her other stuff.

This book just seemed like another standard entry into the junior fiction magical animal genre. Perfect for kids who like the Warriors, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, and The Familiars series. I don't think it's as creative as those last two, but it's in no way terrible. It just didn't stick out for me.

I think this book had a good idea to start with, but the execution is a little bland. It goes through all the motions: main character finding out they're different, assembling a group of like-minded friends, coming together to stop an ancient evil. If there were some more original stuff along the way, I might have been more interested.

It wasn't a book for me, but kids will definitely find it interesting. A decent summer adventure read.

3.5 stars

A decent debut novel of "kids learning magic, shenanigans ensue." While it does hit the usual plot points beat for beat, it does so in an entertaining way. The magic is detailed, the antagonists threatening, though I think the characterization could have been better.

Will definitely check out the sequel to see where the story goes from here

A very fitting and satisfying end to another awesome title under the Mythology for Kids genre. I probably didn't enjoy this one as much as I should have, seeing as it has been a few years since reading the previous installment, but I was still glad to read this.

It seemed to go by a lot quicker than the other books, but maybe that was just because it's the last book and it's time to wrap everything up. The characters were still likable and previous antagonists were more filled out so they weren't too 2-dimensional.

I think what I liked most about this series was this great sense of unwavering friendship and camaraderie. Sure, not everyone in the group got along and, even at the end of the series, one character still dislikes another, but in spite of that they still worked together and got stuff done. Somehow the friendships just felt very genuine to me.

This series is one that seems very middle of the road. It's not as tense as say the Percy Jackson series, but, I really dislike comparing every mythology based kids book to PJ for various reasons. This book will easily appeal to those interested in Norse mythology

While predictable at times, this book still has a lot to offer. A creative take on the superhero genre, a fun romance, and great LGBT rep. Some plot points could have been a little more developed, such as Jess' relationship with her sister, but it didn't ruin the whole book for me.

Looking forward to reading the sequel.

A funny, coffee table type of book. Most of them are spot on.