Fabulous reads – Amanda Hocking falls from grace with latest novel

Between the Blade and the Heart (Valkyrie #1), Amanda Hocking, Pan Macmillan, ISBN: 9781509807680

I WAS beyond thrilled to give this book a read as it revolves around Norse Mythology, there is magic, its set in a dystopian future, has an LGBTQ+ protagonist and is written by the international bestselling YA author, Amanda Hocking.

Sadly, this book falls quite short of my expectations and comes across as a steaming, hot mess.

Malin is a valkyrie and her sworn duty is to return (kill) immortals to the afterlife to ensure the earth’s survival.

When she finds out her mother failed her duty it throws her world into chaos and she is forced to right her wrong.

It is entirely unfortunate that I was unable to connect with the main character and the non-existent relationship between mother and daughter failed to endear me to her.

The bisexual love triangle felt nothing short of bland as she seemingly hops into bed with quite a few characters throughout the 416 pages.

The world building, especially near the end in the Underworld, left me irritated.

The world building is possibly the worst I have come across since I began reading.

Another gripe was the setting.

The book takes place in a future where there are hover cars but people still use cellphones and tablets.

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The populace despise the valkyries, who receive their orders from an organisation with immense wealth, but who only receive a pittance to continue their survival (despite their dwindling numbers).

Surely they should be both feared and revered?

Norse mythology is barely involved in this book. Amanda seems to have taken a few concepts and completely warped them into something entirely unidentifiable.

Her only saving grace comes in the form of Malin’s best friend and roommate, Oona. You can’t help but love her character.

There is no specific age group this could be targeted at, its slightly immature for most teens and too adult for those under 13 years old.

It saddens me to leave a review like this because Amanda Hocking’s previous works carry some serious punch. Maybe give this one a skip and rather jump into her Trylle Trilogy and the Kanin Chronicles.

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