Reviewed by PizzyGirl
AUTHOR: Gaia Sol
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 316 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 25, 2017
BLURB:
Peace reigns in Midgard and with no wars to fight, Yngvi, soldier and fancy-free charmer, craves danger, excitement and adventure. He finds all that and more in a mysterious stranger whose arrival in Midgard coincides with an unexpected attack on Asgard’s pantheon by the fiendish armies of Loki, renegade god of the Underworld.
Shara has pursued a killer to Midgard and can’t afford to be distracted by the charismatic Yngvi, not when the fugitive has eluded him twice already. But Yngvi is like no one Shara’s ever met—annoyingly tenacious, but also brave, loyal and inconveniently attractive. A single night together shouldn’t change anything. But it changes everything, and Shara finds himself giving Yngvi his body, his trust and much more.
Caught in the riptide of Shara’s shocking secrets, Yngvi joins him on a quest for vengeance that takes them across the stars, onto new worlds and into battles with gods, monsters and their own unfamiliar, conflicting feelings. Disloyalty breeds distrust, threatening to destroy their new, fragile bond, but they must each choose between heart and life when they finally uncover the startling past that will change the future.
REVIEW:
I am torn on this story. On the one hand I loved the world and the plot. On the other hand, the romance and the main character’s were not to my taste. I think this is a case of personal preference so I encourage you to read this one and make your own decision.
I think the title was perfect for this story. It captured the essence of the plot and world perfectly. The story was built on the premise that all pantheons were echoes of one another, overlapping and sharing a core. It was a fantastic concept and really played on the similarities between all the various ancient worlds.
I loved the mystery and the way the god killer was presented and chased. The way the plot worked hand in hand with the world building made for a really cohesive tale. From the confusing prologue, to all the clues along the way, to the end which tied everything together. It all worked really well for me.
However, the romance did not work for me at all. I personally don’t think it was necessary to the plot at all and the way it was presented was underdeveloped and unexplained. Granted, this is the ancient world where the concept of love was very different than in modern times, so I had to readjust my thinking about the initial way it came to be. But it was the fact that other than sex, there was ZERO communication between these men. They kept everything inside their own heads, even when they KNEW they needed to communicate, and it caused a mess of unnecessary angst and blame. This compete inability and failure to share even the basic communication led to actions that almost made me quit reading.
I do honestly think that if the romantic journey was presented in any other way than the lack of communication, I may not have been so annoyed by it. But that is one of my biggest turn offs when reading because it is such a frustrating trope and I personally hate it.
Like I said before, you really need to read this one for yourself. The world itself is worth it and the cover is Fantastic!
BUY LINK:
Sounds like a case of the dreaded Big Misunderstanding, oh dear…
I agree with you, PizzyGirl, the cover is fantastic! Thank you for the review
Im some ways, this sounds like a book that should be perfect for me. I think I’m going to give it a go with the understanding that it’s romance is secondary or less.