Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Review: Heart of a Valkyrie (The Vinland to Valhalla Saga #1) by Melanie Karsak @MelanieKarsak

Heart of a Valkyrie

The Vinland to Valhalla Saga #1

by Melanie Karsak

Published: March 5, 2024

Publisher: Clockpunk Press

Genre: Norse, Viking, Myth & Legend, Historical Fantasy, Fiction, Icelandic, Fairy Tales


Blurb:


Born hearing the call of Valkyries.

Dreaming of distant shores.

Torn between the past and the future.

Destined to become a legend.

Iceland, 976—Freydis Eiriksdottir, born to a völva mother and berserker father, lives a quiet life on her remote farmstead in Iceland. Busy dreaming of the sea and haunted by the loss of her mother, she has no idea what the Norns have in store for her. When her father, Eirik the Red, marries the daughter of a powerful chieftain, the course of Freydis’s life changes forever.

Deciding that Freydis would be better off with the gothar, Eirik sends his only daughter to serve the Norse gods. Freydis learns the ancient ways and discovers that her world is endangered—a rising new religion threatens to reshape everything.

Amidst the uncertainty, a distant land beckons Freydis. However, as Freydis forms a close bond with Brien, an Irish thrall, she confronts the harsh realities of their world.

Readers will relish this sweeping Viking saga that chronicles the life of Freydis Eiriksdottir. Dive into The Vinland to Valhalla Saga, a thrilling Viking historical fantasy series by New York Times bestselling author Melanie Karsak.


Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ BookBub


My Review:

When I read the summary for Heart of a Valkyrie I couldn’t wait to start reading it. I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading Heart of a Valkyrie but what I found between its pages was not it. What I did find was way better than anything I was expecting.

I enjoyed reading Freydis Finnbogadottir's story. The descriptions were so vividly written it felt as if I was there with Freydis when she was taken from her home and sent away to live with the gothar. The day her home was taken from Freydis her life was changed forever.

Freydis was not happy that her father was going to marry the daughter of a powerful chieftain but she never thought he would send her away. But boy how wrong she was.

She thought her father loved her more than anything in the world. After all, he did raise her all by himself after her mother died. Everyone kept telling him to send her away to let her be raised by others but he would not hear of it.

I felt so bad for Freydis I couldn’t believe her father could do that to her. When he sent her away it broke my heart. I could only imagine how Freydis must have felt being sent away to a place where she knew no one or knew anything about the place.

I couldn’t believe her father sold the person who she loved very much the person who raised her after the death of her mother. This woman was like a mother to her. The closest thing she has ever had to a mother.

Heart of a Valkyrie is a great start to a brand-new series. I can’t wait to read more in The Vinland to Valhalla Saga. I can’t wait to see what the next book Sword of a Valkyrie has waiting for us as this historical saga continues. I can’t wait to read more about the Norse gods, and what comes next for Freydis and her father, Eirik the Red.

I highly suggest that you grab a copy of Heart of a Valkyrie today and join Freydis on her adventures with the Norse gods!  


Connect with Melanie Karsak:

 Goodreads ~ Amazon  ~ BookBub

 




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