A Flame in the North

3.5 Stars This is a solid start to a new Norse-inspired epic fantasy. The writing was good and characters were fairly developed. I liked the worldbuilding we got but it felt underdeveloped. If I'm reading Norse fiction, I want rich, in depth descriptions. This was a good first novel but it very much f......more

3.5 stars. While I did really like this book, it was hard to get through at times. The writing was really heavy handed, and the pacing was slow. Overall, a very interesting premise. It’s going to be a long wait for the next book of the series. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me w......more

This book was NOTHING like I was expecting. It reads like a retelling of an epic Nordic saga, and yet it’s a work of original fiction. I honestly found myself enamored with it by the end. 💙 The book follows the volva, Solveig, and her shieldmaid, Arneoir, as they venture into a land believed to be my......more

Picked this new release up because I've found Saintcrow's books engaging in the past. Solveig has a respected position in her father's hall as one of the most powerful magic users seen in generations. But when her brother impulsively kills a man in a brawl, she's sent north with the dead man's kin a......more

2.5 A Flame in the North was an enjoyable fantasy story, strongly inspired by Norse mythology and the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. It is this latter inspiration, though, that also caused the most issues for me. While I found the story of the volva and her shield maiden original and intriguing, the high fa......more