Review: A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
“You are mine, Born-in-Fire. Even if only the two of us know it.”
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The Basics
Title: A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated #1)
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Published: 2024
Publisher: Del Rey — Penguin Random House
Pages: 414
Format: Hardcover
Genres: Fiction — Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy romance, Low fantasy, Mythology
Book Synopsis
Stuck in a loveless marriage to a cruel man, Freya longs for freedom, but now, she fears it might be beyond her reach. Her husband has betrayed her, revealing her divine parentage and magic to the territory’s jarl, who has spent the last 20 years searching for a woman with Freya’s powers. He believes that Freya is the shield maiden prophesied to unite the kingdom under his rule, and he will stop at nothing to make her his.
Before long, Freya finds herself released from one unhappy marriage only to be forced into another with the jarl, a man old enough to be her father – and who is already married. Anticipating that word of Freya and the prophecy will spread, the jarl tasks his son Bjorn with her safety, commanding him to never leave her side. Bjorn is loath to be Freya’s bodyguard, and Freya isn’t particularly keen on the idea either. Proximity, however, soon alters their feelings, giving rise to a forbidden attraction, and once again, Freya yearns for freedom. This time, however, it feels within her grasp. After all, as a child of the gods, she is unfated, capable of weaving her own destiny.
My Review & Overall Thoughts
TLDR: A disappointing read with issues ranging from uneven pacing to an off-putting protagonist and an underwhelming romance.
In a market saturated with fantasy romance novels, A Fate Inked in Blood fails to stand out. It teases originality with its Norse-inspired world and mythos, but ultimately reveals itself to be nothing more than a formulaic tale of forbidden love rife with shortcomings.
The first issue that one encounters when reading this book is its inconsistent pacing. It begins with a bang, featuring several shocking moments within the first two chapters, but after that initial excitement, things slow down for roughly 50 pages. Then, there is a brief interlude of action before the pacing once again eases up for several dozen pages. This, however, is the narrative’s final slow-down; once the pacing picks up again, it continues at a steady clip for the remainder of the story. So, if you can make it through the turbulent first third of the book, the final two-thirds is smoother, albeit rather lackluster, sailing.
The plot, even when well-paced, is uninspiring, and that primarily comes down to the relationship between Freya, the protagonist, and Bjorn, her love interest. Their romance is the focus of the story, and it leaves a lot to be desired. From the unrealistically witty dialogue to the troves of tropes and cliches, their relationship feels like a caricature of a relationship. What’s more, their relationship arc is painfully predictable.
Predictability, however, seems to be the name of the game when it comes to A Fate Inked in Blood, particularly its end-of-the-book revelations. As it turns out, they are not all that revelatory. Two I had guessed early on, and one I had suspected. Mind you, I am no Sherlock Holmes, so I imagine others will also be able to deduce the novel’s “secrets.”
As for the characters, they too disappoint. Freya is both unrelatable and irksome. Her greatest flaw is that she always has the perfect comeback, a trait that is as grating as it is preposterous, for even the sharpest tongues lose their edge from time to time. She is also off-puttingly headstrong, often disregarding the advice of others to her own detriment, and as if that were not enough, she can be laughably, teetering on willfully ignorant. I often found myself wishing that I could reach into the book and shake some sense into her.
Bjorn and the other secondary characters, unfortunately, are not much better. The former is a walking cliché, possessing all the stereotypical characteristics of a romantasy male love interest without any of the appeal. The latter, including Snorri and Ylva, are one-dimensional and feel more like plot devices than characters; they serve a role and are of no note beyond that.
Also lacking is the world-building. While not absent, it undeniably takes a back seat to other aspects of the story – and when I say back seat, I’m talking third-row-in-a-minivan back seat. Descriptions of the land and the kingdom at large are provided as needed, but they fail to breathe life into the world. I have a gist of what Skaland looks like, but I cannot close my eyes and imagine myself there.
The Good
A Fate Inked in Blood is not without merit. Freya, while flawed, is laudable for her character arc. She grows over the course of the book, shedding her fears and eventually seizing the reins to her life.
Another praiseworthy aspect of this book is its narrative style, namely its use of the first person. In addition to lending the story an immersive quality, it imbues the tale with an element of suspense, as our knowledge is limited to that of the narrator, Freya.
Overall
A Fate Inked in Blood is not terrible; it’s just not particularly good. As a fan of Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom series, I had high hopes going into this book, but it missed the mark.
Have you read A Fate Inked in Blood? If so, let me know what you thought of it in the comments section below!
-Julia
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