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anna_the_literasaurus's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Slavery, Rape, Blood, Gore, and Child abuse
elorathesun's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Murder, War, Grief, Self harm, and Gore
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Self harm, Animal death, Trafficking, Transphobia, Torture, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Alcohol, Slavery, and Panic attacks/disorders
softanimal's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Outing
Minor: Outing, Vomit, Slavery, and Rape
netanya_shira's review
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, Sexual assault, Slavery, Animal death, Rape, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Violence, Grief, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual content, and War
reka111's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
One of you clouds the futures of the others. For better or worse, your fates are intertwined
Genevieve did it again, she enchanted me. I liked this book as much as The Witch's Heart, but it didn't have such a strong effect on me. Honestly, I've been waiting for decades to read it, and now I regret waiting so long because I liked it immensely.
Gunnhild was probably my favourite, not only because she was so strong and cunning, but also because she had a bit of Angrboda in her—at least in my opinion, anyway, I really liked her. Signy and Oddny (whose names I read through half the book as Odin and Sigyn) have been through so much, especially the former, but I believe their wounds will heal, and their broken parts will heal again because they deserve it, more than anything. Although the former was not in the book, I was terribly hurt by her absence, I was excited about her along with Oddny and Gunnhild, I really was. Of the other characters, Erik may stand out, and for good reason; A king cannot be overlooked. He was a terribly difficult and complicated character, maybe he could have done better, but eventually he shows that he is capable of compassion and forgiveness, he was not a monster, but he was not an angel.
The plot was easy to follow, and I really liked that this time we were transported back to the Scandinavian 10th century (the Norwegian one). So much, so much I needed a historical fantasy for my soul, oh my goodness! Although there are scattered foreign words in the text, they do not make reading difficult at all. The phrasing was beautiful — as always. The only problem I had was the pace, which was too fast for me and there were plenty of time jumps, but apart from that, it was perfectly fine.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Trafficking, Kidnapping, Transphobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Slavery
morethanmylupus's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Rape
wildflowercrypt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
the historical inaccuracies are numerous and glaring. the writing itself is juvenile and in no way reflects the time period or its setting; everyone in this book talks like teenagers from a CW tv show— any CW tv show. the main character of Gunnhild is selfish, contemptuous, petulant, and for a nearly thirty year old woman, infuriatingly childish. Oddny is better, in that she’s at least likable, but her characterization is far too bland to be compelling.
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Rape