A Fate Inked in Blood

Saga of the Unfated, Book 1

By: Danielle L. Jensen

Narrated by: Nina Yndis

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.

It’s okay

First, the performer is amazing! She really is talented and I’ve enjoyed listening to her tell this story.

The story itself is…well, okay. I’m an avid fantasy reader and this isn’t one I’ll recommend to others as a must read/listen to. I’m halfway through the book and while the narrator is fantastic, she’s the only reason why I’ve listened to the book this far in. The premise of a Nordic fantasy book was so appealing to me, but it ultimately fell flat. I found myself not caring or even liking the two main characters (Freya and Bjorn). They’re just okay people - not exceptional characters and I stopped trying to care about their story. The author is clearly talented but, this read just didn’t garner excitement or enthusiasm at any point from me. I’m putting it aside halfway through. While this is my experience, it may appeal to someone else that enjoys a slow burn of character development and storyline.

Main female character is rash and stupid

I went into this with high hopes. It did have some good aspects but…the MFC was just so rash and stupid. She would constantly blame herself for causing harm ( both justified and unjustified) then rashly target someone to take her anger out on again and again without ever thinking. Then when she would pout about it only to do it again. Her blindness about this got really annoying. Not sure if I’ll be able to make it to the next or not.

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