Early Review – A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated, Book 1) by Danielle L. Jensen (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: February 27, 2024
ASIN: B0C6HNTQYH
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Saga of the Unfated
Source: eBook through NetGalley for Review
Rating: 3/5 stars
“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 secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. And it’s been foretold that such magic will 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 has sworn to protect.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Saga of the Unfated series. I got an eGalley for this for review through NetGalley.
Thoughts: This was decent Norse influenced fantasy romance. Previous to reading this book I had read Jensen’s Bridge Kingdom series (well I read the first two books, loved the first one, thought the second was okay and then never finished the series) and I also read her Malediction Trilogy (Loved the first two books, thought the third was just okay), and I have had her Dark Shores series on my list to read but never really got around to it. There were some parts of this I liked and, I as sit down to write this review, I am realizing that there were a lot I didn’t like as well. In the end this was mostly just kind of forgettable to me.
The story follows Freya, a young woman in an unhappy marriage who dreams of being a warrior. When her husband betrays her magical power to the region’s jarl, she finds herself bound to this jarl. The jarl has ordered his son, Bjorn, to protect Freya at any cost. Only Freya and Bjorn have a very strong attraction to each other that is making concentration on godly tests and wars very difficult.
To start with the things I liked. I really loved how Norse gods were woven into this story. I enjoyed the world building here and the action. There are quite a few fights and battles and these were well written.
Unfortunately, in a fantasy romance like this it’s important to like the characters and I really struggled with that here. At the beginning of the story I really like Freya and was enjoying watching her get a new chance to find some happiness. However, as the story continues, she makes poor decision after poor decision all in the name of loyalty to a family that has been vile to her. It was frustrating to watch; her poor decisions are what drive the storyline forward, I just couldn’t stomach it. In addition to this Bjorn starts off seeming like an intriguing character, however I started to intensely dislike him as well. Bjorn is deceitful and starts to treat Freya the very way he said he never would. In the end I thought they both deserved the mess they were in and didn’t want to read anymore about them.
The writing style here is fairly easy to follow and read. The pacing varied some throughout and there were parts I thought were a bit slow. It was fine but nothing specatcular.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this is a decently done Norse-based historical fantasy romance. Originally as I was sitting down to write this review I was planning on giving this 4/5 stars, but as I started to write the review I realized the way the story ended and the characters themselves really left a bad taste in my mouth. If you love fantasy romance and don’t mind unlikable characters that make poor choices this might be a good book for you.
Given how I haven’t really loved any of Jensen’s full series and mostly just really enjoy a book here and there, I think I will stop seeking out books by her. I also don’t plan on continuing this series.
