Book Review: A Fate Inked in Blood

I actually think the cover is misleading. The positioning of her hand makes it look like her power is voice based or something, but the power of her shield comes from her hand (you can see the faint circles emanating from the hand).

A Fate Inked in Blood by (name) is an adult fantasy set in a Viking inspired secondary world. I found it as a best seller on Amazon and featured on Book of the Month, so I thought it might be a good idea to read to keep up with what’s been trending. This is book 1 of the Saga of the Unfated, with no other books in the series available yet.

This book follows Freya, a fishmonger’s wife with a huge secret. Her abusive husband sells her to a local jarl (like a feudal lord) and reveals the secret she’s kept her whole life: she has the power of the goddess of protection, Hlin. She’s also the subject of a prophecy about uniting Skaland under one king, and the jarl hopes to be that king. The already-wed jarl married Freya to control her and places his adult son, Bjorn, in charge of Freya’s safety. The two of them are forced to spend time together, trading barbs that barely conceal their lust. But when Freya must face trials from the gods to prove her worth, she must decide who to protect and who to leave behind.

This book had a really interesting world and I enjoyed the magic system a lot. I don’t know all the Norse gods, but what I do know of them seemed to align with the gods of this world. Freya and Bjorn had excellent banter, and if that’s something you struggle with writing I recommend reading this book. It had exciting battle scenes and a slow burn romance. 

On the downside, sometimes the romance was a little cringy. I also called the big twist very early on so when it took so long to hit I was just sitting there thinking come on, Freya, put two and two together! 

This books is for you if you like slow burn/forced proximity/high heat romance, Viking era historical fiction, or gods based magic systems. It’s not for you if you don’t like step-relation romance, if you want Viking tales set in our world, or if you prefer a magic system without gods/demi gods. Some elements of this book reminded me of The Norse Queen by Johanna Wittenberg, so if you liked this book try that series (or vice versa!) 


Have you read A Fate Inked in Blood? What did you think? Let’s discuss in the comments.