A Fate Inked in Blood

Saga of the Unfated, Book 1

By: Danielle L. Jensen

Narrated by: Nina Yndis

Length: 15 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in the first book of a Norse-inspired fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom 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.

©2024 Danielle L. Jensen (P)2024 Random House Audio

Okay

It’s not the worst book I’ve read, it will pass the time. The main character is mostly her own self sabotage and her character and motivations constantly changes. The world building is a little lack luster but more than likely this will become a saga so the foundations are there to build off of. If this goes on sale it’s a nice buy.

A very enjoyable book

I very much enjoyed this book and it was different from a lot of books I’ve read in the past. The narrator did a good job and has a nice voice. My only issue with the book was that I saw the big reveal at the end of the book coming from almost the beginning. Overall though, I thought it was very good. I look forward to the next book.

Well darn, now I’ve got to wait…

I loved every minute of this book. The romance was lovely and I liked the heroine even if her guilt over everything did get annoying sometimes. But it was such a great story and the ending left me wanting more!

Best book of 2024

Please tell me book 2 will release this year!!!! I could lose myself in this story!

Woah.

This book was soooo much better than I expected. The characters are all well thought out and the plot was twisty enough to keep me interested. I cannot wait for the next.

Fresh new storyline

Great plot, amazing writing, and the narrator? Perfection! I loved this so much! Will definitely be rereading.

An ending that leaves you wanting the next installment

I really enjoyed this story and the main characters. I loved the plot twists. The narrator sounded robotic at normal speed. I had to speed the book up to 1.2x for it to sound like a normal person. After that change, I really enjoyed listening. Now I’m sitting here trying to figure out what to do with my life until the next book comes out.

"love scenes" got in the way

the plot is great, the romance budding is great, the writing is awesome, until yoi get to the sex scenes. it just loses me, doesn't feel realistic and almost takes away from the story. sometimes less is more

Entertainment at its finest

The story itself is very well written and captivates your attention from the first chapter but the telling of the story is mesmerizing. I have not always been a fan of audio books because I enjoy reading the words myself but this one could not have been any better. the characters came to life with the different voices and it kept me ready for the next word, next page, and next chapter. Highly recommend and worth the read over and over.

Riveting from Beginning to End

I never write reviews but I loved this book enough to want to rave about it. It’s entertaining from the get go. The banter between the main characters is amazing and the story is so good with some good surprises along the way. The characters are well developed. Really good listen/read.