We love the idea of a fierce heroine, of prophecies and fates. If you also love a fantasy evoking vibes of Lord of the Rings (you’ll know the scene), Nordic vibes, and heroines this is for you. Keep reading this book review of A Fate Inked in Blood for my full thoughts.
Summary
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. It was foretold such a magic would 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 swore to protect.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
A Fate Inked in Blood revolves around this central theme of wondering how much control we have over our own fate. It begins with the concessions women have to make to soothe men’s egos, to survive, to protect ourselves. And quickly it turns into a story asking how much of what is fated will come to pass? We can so easily be seen as only what we do, as a possession to be owned, controlled, and paraded. But what about our own choices?
I enjoyed Freya’s story. It is full of adventures, battle scenes, and sinister secrets. If you love a story of adventure featuring a heroine who is trying to figure out her own role then this is for you. There are training sequences, spice, and a love story which seems doomed from the start. But I think what I enjoyed the most, and what kept me reading, only really occurred towards the end when A Fate Inked in Blood explores the price we pay for destiny. No one who ever makes it into the epics and sagas have an easy life, a life without struggle, sacrifice, and death.
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
Overall,
The question at the end of the day is who pays the price? With old ghosts and histories which are brought back, A Fate Inked in Blood explores the price of fate. The people who will get caught in the cross hairs, the betrayals that we face, and the loneliness of our roles. We have moments where we see ourselves become monstrous, where fate makes demands of us, and we have to ask ourselves – is this who we really are? Are we a sum of these choices that turn us into someone we don’t recognize? Find A Fate Inked in Blood on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.