352 pages
Published October 10th 2017 by Feiwel & Friends
Let me start by saying that the YA world is saturated with female protags with magical powers. Frankly, I’m a little tired of it. That being said, I don’t listen to myself at all so I picked up this book. Mostly because…Vikings.
Well, it has nothing truly to do with Vikings, but the powers the four Norse siblings have had been passed down by generations. They are blessed by the old Norse gods. Or so they believe.
Or do they?
Anyhow, this book is told by multiple perspectives. The main ones are Hanne, whose gift is called a “Berserker” meaning she has great power to kill. She lives in Norway with her two brothers and younger sister. When her dad is attacked one day and Hanne ultimately kills said attackers, they all must flee their home. So, they leave for America.
Que the cowboy! Note, this does take place in 1883 or so, where America is up and coming and gold rush and cowboys and all that jazz. Our second protag is Owen, a bastard out on his own, making his own way and making a lot of mistakes along the way. We know from the start that he’s going to be the romantic interest for Hanne, but it’s slow burned and almost set onto the back-burner, which I kind of liked.
Well, this Owen character ends up being the guide for the siblings on the run. They need to get to their uncle’s home somewhere in Montana. There’s a catch of course. There are men after them. These men seek out and find people with the “Nytte” gift.
Basically the mashup of Norse myth and The Wild West was just amazing for me. I didn’t expect it to be as violent as it got and at one point, I almost threw down the book with anger. Which is good. I book should invoke emotions. Even if you wanted to throw it out of the window.
Setting, characters, story, all of it worked for me. I will preorder the sequel the second it’s available. Emmy is an autobuy author for me.
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