Name: A Curse Carved in Bone
Series: Saga of the Unfated #2
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Publisher: Del Ray
Format: Hardback
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mythology (Norse)
Noted Tropes: Forbidden Romance, Bodyguard, Forced Proximity, Oaths, Prophecys
Spice Rating: Explicit Open Door 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
The secret of her divine heritage revealed, Freya finds herself on a path that will see thousands of lives lost to the magic in her blood. Desperate to avoid this dark fate, she risks an alliance with Skaland’s greatest enemy to seek answers from the seer who foretold her future—the same seer who sent Bjorn to kill her.
While Freya still seethes with rage over Bjorn’s betrayal, the blood oaths that bind her demand that she keep him close as she hunts for a way to avert the looming war. Her magic draws her to the front lines of an old enmity, embroiling her with Nordeland’s Unfated—children of the gods who serve the king she was raised to fear. The same king who, unlike Bjorn, is now willing to fight at her back. For despite the desire that burns hot between Bjorn and Freya, his growing distrust of her chosen path threatens to drag them further apart.
As war approaches, gods and mortals must choose their weapons. Yet the fiercest battle will be the one Freya wages within herself. With the magic of two goddesses burning in her veins, she must weave the threads of destiny to decide her own fate: Will she be the shield that protects her people or the curse that destroys them?
Review:
A Curse Carved in Bone is the final book in the Saga of the Unfated duology by Danielle L. Jensen and I am so glad I read this duology. There are likely spoilers for A Fate Inked in Blood in my review, but any spoilers for A Curse Carved in Bone will be hidden as normal.
I may not have intended to buy this duology, but I really enjoyed the twist of Norse mythology rather than the very popular Greek mythology. I don’t know a lot about Norse, so it was really interesting finding out about the different Gods – and not only that but Jensen includes tidbits of the Viking culture as well. It felt very real in that aspect… with the addition of magic from the Gods. But all in all, I liked it! And I definitely want to read more Norse inspired fantasy!
A Curse Carved in Bone switched to Dual POV which I hadn’t expected – but I felt like it added a lot! After the cliffhanger of A Fate Inked in Blood, I wanted to know more from Bjorn’s POV because I was both angry and confused with him and wanted it explaining! Giving Bjorn a POV in the second book definitely helped me be less mad at him, I ended up really liking Bjorn!!
However, there was a good portion of this book that was hard to get through because of the relationship split between Bjorn and Freya as a result of Freya finding out she’d been betrayed by Bjorn… Yes, it was relevant and necessary, but sadly also yes it was a bit of a slog to get through…
Once we’re through it, and the plot and story are really getting moving… you start piecing things together slowly (sometimes before Freya, sometimes as she did) and realising just how crazy this plot actually was. I loved it. And the fact that it finished and I had no questions, I felt like everything had wrapped up really neatly with a satisfying ending (like REALLY satisfying, it felt so perfect – my opinion anyway!), was quite impressive… because it turned out there was A LOT going on.
All in all, I really enjoyed the duology. It’s only 2 books, so it’s not a massive time investment, so even though it’s not perfect it is still absolutely worth picking up. More so, as I said, if you like Norse mythology and the Vikings! The duology for me is around the 4/4.5 rating mark for me! I really liked it, I’d recommend it definitely, it just had a couple of kinks in the pacing. But overall, what a shock and a joy to have accidentally picked this up!
“The question you must ask is if you are willing to fight it alongside her.” That was no question. I had Freya’s back to the gates of Valhalla and beyond.”
Reading With Tyler 
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