This was the most disappointing book I’ve read in a while... the best thing about it is the cover (which is beautiful) literally no other good points to make. The entire book could be summed up in a handful of sentences, there’s no character development, barely any plot, no descriptions/scene setting at all. I struggled through and the whole thing was pointless, very boring and entirely predictable (did I mention boring?) I was so ready for this to blow me away but it was a complete waste of time and money.

*Spoilers ahead* Ill save you reading it;

Eelyn sees her brother (who she thought she saw die 5 yrs ago) in battle fighting for the opposite team, follows him, is captured, saved by the family her brother now lives with. A 3rd clan attacks them so she asks her clan to team up with the enemy and the last scene is them winning this fight... also she’s suddenly randomly in love with her brothers adoptive brother... the end ( )

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

I will not go into a lengthy review because this is a case where I am not the right audience for this book. Basically, it is a young adult fantasy with many of the standard tropes we have come to expect – a feisty female protagonist, a relationship that gradually develops between former rivals, and lots of action sequences (which are extremely violent). I like the historical components, but for me, it employs too many stereotypes and melodrama. It lacks depth. If you often read this genre, you will very likely enjoy it more than I did.

2 stars = it was ok
( )

Meh. ( )

Originally 3,5 stars but I kind of forgot this book over time.....

This was not an action filled book at all. Besides the battle in the beginning the main character spends most of her time with the enemy. That's also the best part of the book: how gradually she realises the enemies are people too. I absolutely loved that. The characters were all very likeable: Eelyn, Fiske (weird name though), Halvard and Inge and perhaps Iri too.
The rest of the book... was not that great.
Yes, there is chemistry, but I couldn't see the romance until they were suddenly kissing. They would have made such perfect best friends instead... Can you imagine it? Two awesome fighters from enemy clans fighting back to back and keeping the truce? Alas.
The plot was not hugely original. Two enemies eventually team up to beat a larger foe. And one of each side falls in love with the other. The fantasy words were okay. Some sounded Old norse while the others were rather simple.
Speaking of Vikings, besides the names and the fact that they own slaves it did not particularly remind me of norsemen. ( )