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.

A Fate Inked In Blood, Danielle L. Jensen
Pub Date: 27 February 2024

4.5 out of 5

Danielle L. Jensen transports the reader to a small viking village with hidden magical powers in A Fate Inked in Blood. Here, as well as all of Skaland and Nordeland, a person can have hidden powers if they are blessed (or cursed) with one drop of blood from a god or goddess of the Norse Pantheon. Freya was told all her life to hide her gift due to a prophecy that would not only put her in danger, but also under someone else’s control.

When her gift is revealed to the jarl and his men, Freya leaves her life controlled by her husband to be a weapon controlled by the jarl. But as a child of a god, fate is their own to weave.

Will Freya be able to break away from the path others so desperately lead her down or will she fulfill the prophecy how she sees fit and make her own way?

The Norse mythology in this book as well as the world itself felt so wonderful and new. With books upon books of Greek mythos based stories or retellings on the shelf of every bookstore, it felt so nice to see A Fate Inked in Blood based in Viking lore. Are there some out there? Yes, but not being pushed and promoted like this book. And I am here for it. 

Some of the characters felt a little too bland. They were focused only on one thing the whole time and said the same lines over and over, but they drove the story forward. Freya, as much as I loved that once her powers were publicized she wasn’t instantly good at everything, she did get on my nerves halfway through the book.

She made plenty of mistakes and bad choices until the very end of this book. She felt relatable, but at the same time, was annoying since she never learned.

I think book 2 will help her character grow. It’s looking like that may be the direction for her. 

Let’s talk about the other character the book focused on: Bjorn. A big, hulking, powerful, smart, sarcastic, flirtatious, conflicted Viking warrior. I literally shouted at him while reading his last sentence of the first paragraph on the last page. And while I am screaming the same words in my head as I write this, I will not say anything further. 

The relationship and sexual tension between Bjorn and Freya was very exciting and had me questioning “Will they, won’t they?” so often, but at a certain point of the book, I was very frustrated with the very slow burn until I lost interest. 

The ending of the book pulls you back in, though. It made all of my annoyances and frustrations melt away and consumed me. I looked at the dwindling pages of the end, fearing the end of this book.

With the short chapters (the long ones have some nice breaks in them), the interesting story, and the easy flow of the words written, I had a hard time putting this book down. I definitely recommend A Fate Inked in Blood,especially if you enjoy Vikings, the Norse religion, heroic tales, magic, and the lust for power.