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��3.5 stars, rounded down

✎�� “I wanted you the moment I first set eyes on you. I wanted you in Fjalltindr. I want you now, and tomorrow, and all the tomorrows, Freya.��

Okay friends, don’t come for me, trust me this rating hurts me to give!! 🫣😭

☆I’ll Start With What I Did Love:
The romance delivered. Freya may not have been my favorite, but Freya and Bjorn together?! 😮‍�� Their banter, their lust, their chemistry leapt off the page and I lived for every second. I loved that Freya wasn’t afraid to admit her feelings and ask for what she wanted. Can’t blame her! Bjorn and his massive fiery ax…Tyr save me 🔥🤭🫠

✎��“No oath is worth your life. No amount of vengeance is worth your happiness. I’ll let the past burn to ash, Freya, because you are my present. My future. My destiny.��

My hardcover copy also has metallic teal sprayed edges and it might be the most beautiful book on my shelf 😍

☆And What I Didn’t Love:
If you combined Vikings with From Blood And Ash, you would get this story. I found many of the twists to be predictable unfortunately, which pains me to say as I loved Jensen’s previous work. A strong-willed FMC, labeled as a “maiden,�� someone who is constantly used, has hidden powers and a tendency towards violence? Along with a desire to want who she shouldn’t? And that final twist? If I didn’t have FBAA in my mind from the beginning, that for sure sealed the deal.

I mentioned previously that Freya was not my favorite, as even though she is a strong badass FMC, she was also a bit too naive for my preference. Her family was a piece of work, and I felt for her every time she continuously sacrificed herself for their wellbeing. But Bjorn was right every single time: they did not deserve her.

This isn’t all to say that I didn’t enjoy the book, because I definitely did. I liked the Norse mythology, but would have loved an even deeper dive into this aspect. Hoping the next in the series delivers on that, and bc it ends on a cliffhanger, I of course have to continue the series. This might be for Bjorn alone, but who can blame a girl??? 😅

☆Q�ܴdzٱ��:
✎��“If a bird shits on his head, he’ll find a story to spin to make it seem a message from Odin himself. But sometimes, Freya, it’s just shit.��

✎��“Don’t underestimate my tongue, Freya. Especially in the dark.��

✎��“‘I have a great many doubts,�� he finally said. ‘But the courage of Freya Born-in-Fire is not one of them.’��

✎��“It is hard to keep one’s wits when faced with a woman as beautiful as the sight of shore to a man who has been lost at sea.��

✎��“She is much consumed by fear for her home and Snorri has a man’s ability to offer comfort, which is to say none at all.��



* ゜・。。・゜゜・。。・��*
Pre-review:
I’ve seen nothing but great things about this! Slowly but surely working my way through my physical tbr, but lemme tell you, my body is beyond ready for some spicy Norse romantasy 😏😮‍��