River of Shadows

Underworld Gods Series, Book 1

By: Karina Halle

Narrated by: Jo Raylan

In order to save my father, I have to marry the God of Death.

When twenty-four-year old Hanna Heikkinen's estranged father dies, she reluctantly makes the trip to Northern Finland for his funeral. Being in the enchanting land of ice and snow feels miles away from Hanna's busy life back in Los Angeles, especially under the complicated circumstances.

But when Hanna discovers that her father's body is missing, that's when things really get weird. A mysterious man, Rasmus, tells Hanna the truth: her father was a powerful shaman who went into Tuonela, the Realm of the Dead, in order to barter for more life, and has been held captive by Tuoni, the God of Death. The only way her father can be freed is if she travels with Rasmus into the mythical underworld to rescue him.

Willing to do anything to have a second chance with her father, Hanna accompanies Rasmus into the dark and bloody realm, traveling via the River of Shadows, stalked by dangerous creatures, monsters, and the living dead, until they finally come into the haunted kingdom ruled by Death and his family.

Only for her to be captured and held prisoner by the God of Death himself.

Contains mature themes.

©2022 Karina Halle (P)2022 Tantor

LOVE IT! CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK!

Spice, romance, suspense, fantasy! it's got it all in spades and is automatically one of my favorites. can't wait for the next book!

God of Death

This story is not for everyone, but I love the story and Death.
Hanna is thrown into another realm and leaves you with the mystery of who or what she really is.
The spice is just right when you read the book instead of listening to it.
The narrator is not the best. Everything that is read sounds like a question or making portions of a sentence sound like an incomplete sentence. The narration ruins the sex scenes.

Story, world building, performance!

I love this book!
The Barbie mermaid! The scary unicorn!

I waited to listen to the second book before this review but sadly hated the male narration of the second book although the story keeps getting better and better.
You should absolutely listen to this book and then go over to kindle.

Unique romantasy

I can't finish this audiobook because of the narrator. Don't get mean wrong, her voice is nice enough when she is just reading along with regular passages. Her accented dialogue is good and works for most characters well enough to get into the story. However, she does this fluttery voice thing everytime the FMC (1st POV) gets the least bit anxious, which is about every other second, and its the most grating sound in the world after the first few times. If you listen to a sample, you may or may not hear the weird breathy lilting thing she does constantly. By the time Hannah and Rasmuss reach the underworld, its constant, and has genuinely ruined this audio book for me.

I am leaving a better review than I am feeling because its not Karina Halle's fault. Her book is likely much better than how I am feeling it is, because all I can think is why does this woman sound like a hyperventilating turkey with its toe caught in a trap? OK, maybe not, as I have never heard a turkey in such a scenario, but I have heard turkeys and turkey calls, and its not pretty. Not to drag on the narrator, just... 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 I have to finish this on Kindle.

It was a B

It wasn’t 100% for me, I was really really excited when I started it cause the reviews were so great, but for me it was ok…. It is a beauty and the beast meets mythology retelling, in theory, that’s amazing, however, I didn’t ever fully lose myself in the story. The romance never really seemed authentic to me, I wasn’t rooting for them to get together, it never seemed genuine. It wasn’t for me but I can say the writing was great and a beautiful world builder.