OVERVIEW:

ONE GIRL. A DEADLY QUEST. AN EPIC JOURNEY.

Nora Hunt has just joined the deadly quest to discover the ancient legend of the nine worlds of the Vikings. Her post-apocalyptic dystopian world, Triangle of Peace, is the only home she’s ever known. But at sixteen years old, the skilled young warrior joins an elite band of raiders called Jarls. Her mission? Merely to win the perilous battle for the artifacts that awakens the Viking realms and avoid falling in love with the charming boy who just happens to be her worst enemy…and she’s not quite sure which task is more difficult… But when Nora learns the Norse gods bestowed her with a mystical secret tattooed on her back the stakes are higher than ever to claim the great Viking Empires.

Experience the beginning of this fast paced fantasy saga that will have you turning the pages. If you are a fan of Divergent, The Hunger Games and Cassandra Clare you will enjoy this series.

Warning: This book contains action, mystery, romance and general badassery. Read at your own risk.

The Viking Assassin Series:
City of Skies
City of Vikings
City of Assassins (out early 2018)

MY THOUGHTS:

e-book format

This book has received great reviews and is compared often to the Divergent series with a Viking flavor.

Is that so…

First person narratives limits the perspective to the MC and her point of views only, very limiting at best, stifling at worse.  Then there’s the rules about using info dumps in fantasy stories and how to, when to and when not to use them. Never rush information needed and never ‘dump.’ The narrative should be woven into the story, the magic exposed within the first chapter, the setting introduced and the MC’s goals outlined and ready-to-go within the first chapter as well.

World building is absolutely necessary to the genre, and often times, a map is included to help the reader become accustomed to the different locations.  Sometimes, not necessary to the genre, there’s a prologue to introduce a significant scene that affects the story but also helps build the world and give the reader an idea about setting before getting into the story. It should never be dull, but build tension so that you can’t wait to turn to the first chapter and begin.

Nora… hard to tolerate at times. She fell flat as an MC, nothing really shone about her. She is, she did, she was… eh! Her character traits made her cold, judgmental and cruel and this could have been avoided if the story was told in third person… giving the depth of her character many perspectives shown through multiple interacting characters. The challenges set before her seem to miss their mark, as she doesn’t rise to meet the challenges with gusto but rather, she accepts, she does them, she moves on… eh!

Instead of telling us how someone is, show us! Give visual involvement to the description, allow the reader to experience the cruelty first-hand… to experience the anger and hatred, frustration first-hand, instead of saying “they’re this, or it’s that.”

Although the author’s voice is strong, the writing well edited (mostly). She has her definite style which is neither wrong or right, it’s just hers. I appreciate that. There were times, my reading was halted by it and I had to sit and think through what I thought she was trying to say. Again, this is her unique style.

I think at times, when the reader is allowed in to Nora’s thoughts, where it’s meant to show inner struggle and conflict, the word choices are not the best and can be confusing.  Also, she whines a lot and goes on and on about something. You want to shake her. She says things that are left unexplained and these holes make the pace jarring at times. It was hard to immerse myself in the story and enjoy it thoroughly.

There are things contained in this story that could have been researched more, defined better and explained properly. And, there’s a usage of similar situations found in other books, movies and/or series that seemed redundant and worth a forehead slap and a head shake.

Romance in fantasy… the era controls “lover” reactions/actions.  If a time of barbarians, the first time love scene will differ greatly from a contemporary marriage love scene. If you’re not sure, don’t add them, Fantasy readers can and will live without them.  Or, if between royal parties in a world where public displays of affection are just not happening… set this culture issue up BEFORE attempting to write a love scene held outdoors.

I think there’s an interesting story here to be told and I believe with a lot more work, it could happen. It just didn’t happen for me today.

I gave this book: