When the fate of the world is at stake
Loyalties will be tested
Game of Thrones meets Blade Runner in this commanding new YA fantasy inspired by Norse Mythology from New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking.
As one of Odin's Valkyries, Malin's greatest responsibility is to slay immortals and return them to the underworld. But when she unearths a secret that could unravel the balance of all she knows, Malin along with her best friend and her ex-girlfriend must decide where their loyalties lie. And if helping the blue-eyed boy Asher enact his revenge is worth the risk—to the world and her heart.
I am a sucker for books about badass females, so I jumped on the opportunity to read a book about the Valkyrie warriors from Norse mythology! I was so happy that this book DELIVERED on the mythology and the powerful women!
The Norse mythology in the novel was so interesting! It was obvious the author did a lot of research into the mythology, especially in regards to the female warriors called the Valkyrie. I know of the Valkyrie from some characters in other books and movies, but I felt like I didn't really KNOW much about the Valkyrie. This story really delved into the world of the Valkyrie women, and I loved every moment of it. Some of the other plotlines in this book were a bit weaker and slower in comparison to the Norse mythology. I would have like to have a stronger focus on just the mythology and world building in this book.
Malin was the main character, and I will admit that she was a bit hard to warm up to at first. She felt brash, unfiltered, and unapologetic. Those strong personality traits were a lot to handle all at once when first being introduced to the character. However, I learned to really enjoy and admire her strong personality. Malin was a girl who could not be pushed around or told what to do. I liked that she was a girl who wasn't afraid to speak up and be just as dominant as any male character. #FemalePower. Malin also did have some growth throughout the story, and I liked how she became more mature and understanding as the story progressed.
Malin was a bi-sexual character, which I ADORED. I love seeing different sexualities represented in YA novels, so I was over the moon excited that the main character was bi-sexual. There was some romance in this novel and it involved a bit of a love triangle. I notoriously hate love triangles, so it was a bit disappointing to see it presented at first. However, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would!
Overall, Between the Blade and the Heart was a fascinating and high stakes novel! If you are intrigued by the concept of Norse female warriors, then I would definitely check this book out!
4 / 5 Fangs
*This ebook was given to me in exchange for an honest review. *
The Norse mythology in the novel was so interesting! It was obvious the author did a lot of research into the mythology, especially in regards to the female warriors called the Valkyrie. I know of the Valkyrie from some characters in other books and movies, but I felt like I didn't really KNOW much about the Valkyrie. This story really delved into the world of the Valkyrie women, and I loved every moment of it. Some of the other plotlines in this book were a bit weaker and slower in comparison to the Norse mythology. I would have like to have a stronger focus on just the mythology and world building in this book.
Malin was the main character, and I will admit that she was a bit hard to warm up to at first. She felt brash, unfiltered, and unapologetic. Those strong personality traits were a lot to handle all at once when first being introduced to the character. However, I learned to really enjoy and admire her strong personality. Malin was a girl who could not be pushed around or told what to do. I liked that she was a girl who wasn't afraid to speak up and be just as dominant as any male character. #FemalePower. Malin also did have some growth throughout the story, and I liked how she became more mature and understanding as the story progressed.
Malin was a bi-sexual character, which I ADORED. I love seeing different sexualities represented in YA novels, so I was over the moon excited that the main character was bi-sexual. There was some romance in this novel and it involved a bit of a love triangle. I notoriously hate love triangles, so it was a bit disappointing to see it presented at first. However, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would!
Overall, Between the Blade and the Heart was a fascinating and high stakes novel! If you are intrigued by the concept of Norse female warriors, then I would definitely check this book out!
4 / 5 Fangs
*This ebook was given to me in exchange for an honest review. *
ONE
The air reeked of fermented fish and rotten fruit, thanks to
the overflowing dumpster from the restaurant behind us. The polluted alley felt
narrow and claustrophobic, sandwiched between skyscrapers.
In the city, it was never quiet
or peaceful, even at three in the morning. There were more than thirty million
humans and supernatural beings coexisting, living on top of each other. It was
the only life I’d ever really known, but the noise of the congestion grated on
me tonight.
My eyes were locked on the
flickering neon lights of the gambling parlor across the street. The u in
Shibuya had gone out, so the sign flashed SHIB YA at me.
The sword sheathed at my side
felt heavy, and my body felt restless and electric. I couldn’t keep from
fidgeting and cracked my knuckles.
“He’ll be here soon,” my
mother, Marlow, assured me. She leaned back against the brick wall beside me,
casually eating large jackfruit seeds from a brown paper sack. Always bring a
snack on a stakeout was one of her first lessons, but I was far too nervous and
excited to eat.
The thick cowl of her frayed
black sweater had been pulled up like a hood, covering her cropped blond hair
from the icy mist that fell on us. Her tall leather boots only went to her
calf, thanks to her long legs. Her style tended to be monochromatic—black on
black on black—aside from the shock of dark red lipstick.
My mother was only a few years
shy of her fiftieth birthday, with almost thirty years of experience working as
a Valkyrie, and she was still as strong and vital as ever. On her hip, her
sword Mördare glowed a dull red through its sheath.
The sword of the Valkyries was
one that appeared as if it had been broken in half—its blade only a foot long
before stopping at a sharp angle. Mördare’s blade was several thousand years
old, forged in fires to look like red glass that would glow when the time was
nigh.
My sword was called Sigrún, a
present on my eighteenth birthday from Marlow. It was a bit shorter than
Mördare, with a thicker blade, so it appeared stubby and fat. The handle was
black utilitarian, a replacement that my mom had had custom-made from an army
supply store, to match her own.
The ancient blade appeared
almost black, but as it grew closer to its target, it would glow a vibrant
purple. For the past hour that we’d been waiting on our stakeout, Sigrún had
been glowing dully on my hip.
The mist grew heavier, soaking
my long black hair. I kept the left side of my head shaved, parting my hair
over to the right, and my scalp should’ve been freezing from the cold, but I
didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel anything.
It had begun—the instinct of
the Valkyrie, pushing aside my humanity to become a weapon. When the Valkyrie
in me took over, I was little more than a scythe for the Grim Reaper of the
gods.
“He’s coming,” Marlow said
behind me, but I already knew.
The world fell into hyperfocus,
and I could see every droplet of rain as it splashed toward the ground. Every
sound echoed through me, from the bird flapping its wings a block away, to the
club door as it groaned open.
Eleazar Bélanger stumbled out,
his heavy feet clomping in the puddles. He was chubby and short, barely over
four feet tall, and he would’ve appeared to be an average middle-aged man if
it wasn’t for the two knobby horns that stuck out on either side of his
forehead. Graying tufts of black hair stuck out from under a bright red cap,
and as he walked ahead, he had a noticeable limp favoring his right leg.
He was a Trasgu, a
troublemaking goblin, and his appearance belied the strength and cunning that
lurked within him. He was over three hundred years old, and today would be the
day he died.
I waited in the shadows of the
alley for him to cross the street. A coughing fit caused him to double over,
and he braced himself against the brick wall.
I approached him quietly—this
all went easier when they didn’t have time to prepare. He took off his hat to
use it to wipe the snot from his nose, and when he looked up at me, his green
eyes flashed with understanding.
“It’s you,” Eleazar said in a
weak, craggy voice. We’d never met, and I doubt he’d ever seen me before, but
he recognized me, the way they all did when their time was up.
“Eleazar Bélanger, you have
been chosen to die,” I said, reciting my script, the words automatic and cold
on my lips. “It is my duty to return you to the darkness from whence you came.”
“No, wait!” He held up his
pudgy hands at me. “I have money. I can pay you. We can work this out.”
“This is not my decision to
make,” I said as I pulled the sword from my sheath.
His eyes widened as he realized
I couldn’t be bargained with. For a moment I thought he might just accept his
fate, but they rarely did. He bowed his head and ran at me like a goat. He was
stronger than he looked and caused me to stumble back a step, but he didn’t
have anywhere to go.
My mother stood blocking the
mouth of the alley, in case I needed her. Eleazar tried to run toward the other
end, but his leg slowed him, and I easily overtook him. Using the handle of my
sword, I cracked him on the back of the skull, and he fell to the ground on his
knees.
Sigrún glowed brightly, with
light shining out from it and causing the air to glow purple around us. Eleazar
mumbled a prayer to the Vanir gods. I held the sword with both hands, and I
struck it across his neck, decapitating him.
And then, finally, the
electricity that had filled my body, making my muscles quiver and my bones
ache, left me, and I breathed in deeply. The corpse of an immortal goblin lay
in a puddle at my feet, and I felt nothing but relief.
“It was a good return,” my
mother said, and put her hand on my shoulder. “You did well, Malin.”
Amanda Hocking is the author of over twenty young adult novels, including the New York Times bestselling Trylle Trilogy and Kanin Chronicles. Her love of pop culture and all things paranormal influence her writing. She spends her time in Minnesota, taking care of her menagerie of pets and working on her next book.
Author Website: http://www.worldofamandahocking.com/
Twitter: @Amanda_Hocking
Facebook: @AmandaHockingFans
