A Fate Inked in Blood is a 2024 fantasy novel by Danielle L. Jensen. It was released in February 2024 and published by Del Rey. It's the first entry in the Saga of the Unfated series.
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.
The plot of the novel is very compelling. The story follows Freya as she begins to truly come into her power, and tries to navigate the complicated, dangerous world of the jarl and uniting a nation. The story gets started very quickly, and remains exciting as it progresses. She discovers her own strength, while being forced to face some unfortunate and, at times, uncomfortable truths. The author keeps the story interesting with exciting action scenes, while building up tension as needed, but also taking the time to slow down when needed and build out the world. While the plot takes a number of twists and turns, the "big twist" felt like it came too late in the story to be effective for this book, but sets things up very nicely for the next installment. The twist is effective, it's surprising but well foreshadowed and it's satisfying, but it has less of an impact because the revelation happens so close to the end of the story. It's then immediately followed by a bigger, different twist, lessening the impact even further. I liked the twist itself, and I'm intrigued by what it means for the next book in the series, but I could easily see some readers feeling frustrated with how it was handled.
Freya was a fantastic character and protagonist. Since the story is told exclusively from her perspective, the reader is able to understand the struggles she faces as the story unfolds, as well as witness her growth on a more intimate level. She begins the novel dreaming of battle and glory, only to realize that battle isn't as glamorous as she believed, but that she's much stronger than she, or anyone else, would've ever imagined. The conflict that she feels over the role she's meant to play and the lives that could be lost as a result is compelling. She's flawed, to be sure, but her flaws fit well with her character and allow the story to unfold in a unique way. Bjorn was equally compelling, as he wars not only with his position, but also his attraction to Freya. The dynamic that develops between them is somewhat hot-and-cold at the start, but grows as the story progresses and adds depth to the story as a whole. I can't say very much about the other characters. Since the story is told from Freya's point-of-view, and she spends significantly less time with other characters. The reader is shown snippets of them, but nothing substantial. This works, on one hand, because it allows the reader to see other characters, such as Freya's brother Geir, exclusively through her eyes, and based off of her perception, pre-existing or otherwise, of them. It can also be frustrating, as a character might make what seems like a "stupid mistake" to Freya, which the reader is inclined to agree with, while not having the full context of that choice.
The writing in the novel was beautiful. The author had lush prose, which was descriptive without being flowery. The narrative balanced out the exciting and dramatic battle scenes with more calm, introspective scenes used to build the characters and the world. The pacing was pretty good, with only one or two slow points. It was very easy for me to become immersed in the story. It was told in first-person perspective, which I found fit the story very well.
A Fate Inked in Blood was a great read. It told a compelling story, which was fascinating as well as surprising, though not a perfect execution. The characters were intriguing to follow and the writing was beautiful. It was a fantastic Norse-inspired fantasy, and one I'd recommend to anyone interested by the blurb.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
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