What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mirror Worlds #1
Fragments of Your Soul
Since the sudden death of her father, Arvid Bergen is fighting to support herself and her unemployed mother. After she unintentionally crosses the border to another world, Arvid is driven by a single to leave this dark mirror world as soon as possible. Looking for assistance with this seemingly impossible task, Arvid encounters the god Loke with whom she strikes a bargain. However, her confidence is suddenly shaken when she learns that Loke is a liar, traitor and murderer and one she should neither trust nor help. But longing for home, Arvid throws caution to the wind.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2015
154 people are currently reading
1,596 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
April 18, 2020
Arvid demands to speak to the manager
Now, I really liked this book...and despite how much I disliked Arvid's personality, I liked her as a character—even when I was yelling at her through the screen. I took to thinking of her as Angry Arvid, Arvid the Aries (because ANGRY as a personality is a real mood in this work), and Arvid, a Finnish Karen. Because Arvid is an angry, confused ball of chaos who has little imagination or inclination to understand how things work beyond how she wants them to, and she has no tact and makes a lot of demands for everyone to bend the impossible to make her happy. So yeah...she's a real tool and hard to read at times. Thus, my taking over a week to read a 440 page book. Especially in the first half, I could read only 5-10% in a day before I wanted to find a way to reach through the screen and slap her for being stubborn and entitled again.
Or dreadfully, willfully slow on the uptake, even when things were said plainly to her 2+ times before it sunk in and she deemed it worth paying attention to. If she didn't want to hear it, she usually ignored it.
Excellent traits to have if you end up going through a portal and wind up in a magic-based world where nothing works like it did back home, yeah?
My biggest frustration with her was less who she is and more that she's so lacking in self-awareness that she wanted to believe that she wasn't a total menace and loose canon capable of some really terrible things—even back in our world.
But.
This seems to be an intentional cornerstone of her character, and as I read more of the book, learned more about Loke, and started to follow the little strings with hints and clues...it made more sense and sat better with me. Without the second book to hopefully snap everything into place, it's just conjecture, but Arvid is just a less fragmented and less powerful version of Loke. I really want more information on this Angry Dark that resides within, what that has to do with the pain the protection circles cause them, and more about how Odin is this same type of a soul.
This book is translated to English and is a little clumsy to read at times, but it's not to the point of being impossible to understand. I had to re-read a handful of passages throughout, but the meaning came through. And overall, I liked what I read and want more of it. Witnessing the changes in Arvid as she S L O W L Y adapts to the shadow world and lets herself attach to her friends and Loke was satisfying and made for better reading after the 50% mark. She never got around to considering the full impact and ramifications returning to the light world would have had, but I will take her acceptance and decision to stay where she is for Loke. Because, again, Arvid is not that bright nor quick on the uptake.
Hopefully someday the second book will be translated and available to read. There are still a lot of loose threads waving in the breeze.
Now, I really liked this book...and despite how much I disliked Arvid's personality, I liked her as a character—even when I was yelling at her through the screen. I took to thinking of her as Angry Arvid, Arvid the Aries (because ANGRY as a personality is a real mood in this work), and Arvid, a Finnish Karen. Because Arvid is an angry, confused ball of chaos who has little imagination or inclination to understand how things work beyond how she wants them to, and she has no tact and makes a lot of demands for everyone to bend the impossible to make her happy. So yeah...she's a real tool and hard to read at times. Thus, my taking over a week to read a 440 page book. Especially in the first half, I could read only 5-10% in a day before I wanted to find a way to reach through the screen and slap her for being stubborn and entitled again.
Or dreadfully, willfully slow on the uptake, even when things were said plainly to her 2+ times before it sunk in and she deemed it worth paying attention to. If she didn't want to hear it, she usually ignored it.
Excellent traits to have if you end up going through a portal and wind up in a magic-based world where nothing works like it did back home, yeah?
My biggest frustration with her was less who she is and more that she's so lacking in self-awareness that she wanted to believe that she wasn't a total menace and loose canon capable of some really terrible things—even back in our world.
But.
This seems to be an intentional cornerstone of her character, and as I read more of the book, learned more about Loke, and started to follow the little strings with hints and clues...it made more sense and sat better with me. Without the second book to hopefully snap everything into place, it's just conjecture, but Arvid is just a less fragmented and less powerful version of Loke. I really want more information on this Angry Dark that resides within, what that has to do with the pain the protection circles cause them, and more about how Odin is this same type of a soul.
This book is translated to English and is a little clumsy to read at times, but it's not to the point of being impossible to understand. I had to re-read a handful of passages throughout, but the meaning came through. And overall, I liked what I read and want more of it. Witnessing the changes in Arvid as she S L O W L Y adapts to the shadow world and lets herself attach to her friends and Loke was satisfying and made for better reading after the 50% mark. She never got around to considering the full impact and ramifications returning to the light world would have had, but I will take her acceptance and decision to stay where she is for Loke. Because, again, Arvid is not that bright nor quick on the uptake.
Hopefully someday the second book will be translated and available to read. There are still a lot of loose threads waving in the breeze.
April 19, 2018
See my other reviews at Never Enough Books
Since the death of her father, Arvid Bergen has worked hard to support herself and her mother. When she accidentally steps through a portal that leads to another world, her only thought is returning home. While she is told the task is incredibly unlikely, if not impossible, Arvid is undeterred.
Upon meeting the god Loke, she strikes a bargain with him. Too late she learns that Loke is a liar and a traitor, and one she should not trust. Still, Arvid is determined to get home one way or another, even if it means pairing up with a murderer.
I will be honest, dear reader, I was first drawn to Fragments of Your Soul because of the artwork. When I joined Tumblr, I saw some of Eleathyra’s artwork for the book and was intrigued. And while I eventually was able to obtain a copy of the book, it has only been recently that I was able to sit and read it.
With that out of the way, it breaks my heart to say that I did not enjoy this book. I tried so very hard to like it, but there were several times I nearly threw my e-reader across the room in anger and frustration.
Firstly, the English translation from the original German isn’t that good. There are times when the dialogue feels awkward and the action is at times clunky. It is also a rather long book, the Kindle edition I read was just over 400 pages. Unfortunately, this means that at times the story becomes kind of boring. There were times I had to force myself to continue just to find out what happened next.
Next, the characters. Arvid is a young woman in her mid-twenties, and like most her age she works a job she doesn’t particularly enjoy and has a strained relationship with her mother. She has anger issues which resulted in a broken hand at the opening of the book, and continues throughout the story. She also has a bit of a superiority complex, her way of thinking sometimes tends to follow the “my way is the only way”, especially when she is met with servants or those who are considered lesser than. When she inevitably tries to persuade them to rise up or act different, she is frustrated when they refuse. She seems unable to understand that just because she thinks one way, not every one around her does.
Loke is another character that quite honestly I did not like. He is cruel and manipulative, and a times even verbally abusive; not just to Arvid but to other characters around him. His past is used as an attempt to explain and even excuse his behavior and the love that Arvid develops for him somehow makes him a better man as if by magic. This, unfortunately, is a trope that has been used too often recently and with little to no success.
While Erbsland does an excellent job of building a world based on Norse mythology, an interesting world itself does not a good story make. There must be equally interesting characters; characters we develop feelings for and root for. Alas, while we have the first in Fragments of Your Soul, the second is severely lacking. I’m afraid I simply cannot recommend this one to my readers. Instead, I encourage them to head over to Eleathrya’s art page, enjoy the pictures there and make up their own stories.
Since the death of her father, Arvid Bergen has worked hard to support herself and her mother. When she accidentally steps through a portal that leads to another world, her only thought is returning home. While she is told the task is incredibly unlikely, if not impossible, Arvid is undeterred.
Upon meeting the god Loke, she strikes a bargain with him. Too late she learns that Loke is a liar and a traitor, and one she should not trust. Still, Arvid is determined to get home one way or another, even if it means pairing up with a murderer.
I will be honest, dear reader, I was first drawn to Fragments of Your Soul because of the artwork. When I joined Tumblr, I saw some of Eleathyra’s artwork for the book and was intrigued. And while I eventually was able to obtain a copy of the book, it has only been recently that I was able to sit and read it.
With that out of the way, it breaks my heart to say that I did not enjoy this book. I tried so very hard to like it, but there were several times I nearly threw my e-reader across the room in anger and frustration.
Firstly, the English translation from the original German isn’t that good. There are times when the dialogue feels awkward and the action is at times clunky. It is also a rather long book, the Kindle edition I read was just over 400 pages. Unfortunately, this means that at times the story becomes kind of boring. There were times I had to force myself to continue just to find out what happened next.
Next, the characters. Arvid is a young woman in her mid-twenties, and like most her age she works a job she doesn’t particularly enjoy and has a strained relationship with her mother. She has anger issues which resulted in a broken hand at the opening of the book, and continues throughout the story. She also has a bit of a superiority complex, her way of thinking sometimes tends to follow the “my way is the only way”, especially when she is met with servants or those who are considered lesser than. When she inevitably tries to persuade them to rise up or act different, she is frustrated when they refuse. She seems unable to understand that just because she thinks one way, not every one around her does.
Loke is another character that quite honestly I did not like. He is cruel and manipulative, and a times even verbally abusive; not just to Arvid but to other characters around him. His past is used as an attempt to explain and even excuse his behavior and the love that Arvid develops for him somehow makes him a better man as if by magic. This, unfortunately, is a trope that has been used too often recently and with little to no success.
While Erbsland does an excellent job of building a world based on Norse mythology, an interesting world itself does not a good story make. There must be equally interesting characters; characters we develop feelings for and root for. Alas, while we have the first in Fragments of Your Soul, the second is severely lacking. I’m afraid I simply cannot recommend this one to my readers. Instead, I encourage them to head over to Eleathrya’s art page, enjoy the pictures there and make up their own stories.
March 31, 2019
Grāmata mani pārsteidza ar savu uzrašanos un saturu tik pat ļoti, kā tās galveno varoni Arvidu Bergen nokļūšana paraēlājā pasaulē, kas gandrīz vienmēr ietīta ēnās un tumsā, kurā dzīvo Dievi, dēmoni, cilvēkiem ir maģiskas spējas, bet viss tomēr atgādina Zemi. Fascinējoša pasaule, interesanta versija par Skandināvu mītiem un Lokiju. Fantāzijas cienītājiem varētu patikt.
Grāmatu atklāju, pateicoties savādajām vāka autores ilustrācijām, lūk viena no tām:
Grāmatu atklāju, pateicoties savādajām vāka autores ilustrācijām, lūk viena no tām:
September 30, 2017
5 stars❤
Let me start by saying, LOOK AT THAT COVER!! Its so beautiful..
I have always had a thing for Loki❤..
It took me a very long time to find this book and I was very excited to finally be reading it..
To be honest, I felt like this book was very slow paced..
Since Loki doesnt really show up a lot throughout the first half of the book, at times I got really bored..
The second half of the book on the other hand, had so many Loki moments, and I couldnt put it down (:
The ending was beautiful!!❤
Loki deserves some love..
I LOVE THIS BOOK..
Let me start by saying, LOOK AT THAT COVER!! Its so beautiful..
I have always had a thing for Loki❤..
It took me a very long time to find this book and I was very excited to finally be reading it..
To be honest, I felt like this book was very slow paced..
Since Loki doesnt really show up a lot throughout the first half of the book, at times I got really bored..
The second half of the book on the other hand, had so many Loki moments, and I couldnt put it down (:
The ending was beautiful!!❤
Loki deserves some love..
I LOVE THIS BOOK..
February 19, 2016
First of all the cover. It is just amazing. The best cover ever, but this is not a book to read just for the romance.
The story itself is good, even if it takes a little while to get into it properly. The character herself takes a little time to be loved, she starts as a good for nothing uninteresting and becomes more strong and more interesting to follow during her travels, not just because she discover her "powers" but because she grows and suffers and that changes her. I love when characters do that
Loki is... really Loki. So you will want to strangle him for 80% of the book, kill him painfully for the rest but still you will fall in love with him somehow.
The story itself is good, even if it takes a little while to get into it properly. The character herself takes a little time to be loved, she starts as a good for nothing uninteresting and becomes more strong and more interesting to follow during her travels, not just because she discover her "powers" but because she grows and suffers and that changes her. I love when characters do that
Loki is... really Loki. So you will want to strangle him for 80% of the book, kill him painfully for the rest but still you will fall in love with him somehow.
May 3, 2018
Super Recommended !! / Super Recomendo
The writing is well-tied, fluid and engaging story.
Unfortunately there is no Portuguese translation (my mother tongue) so I had difficulties with a few expressions. But that didn't take away my excitement to read the second book in the series.
A escrita super bem amarrada , estória fluida e envolvente.
Infelizmente não tem tradução em português (minha língua materna) então tive dificuldades com algumas expressões. Mas isso não tirou minha animação para ler o segundo livro da série.
The writing is well-tied, fluid and engaging story.
Unfortunately there is no Portuguese translation (my mother tongue) so I had difficulties with a few expressions. But that didn't take away my excitement to read the second book in the series.
A escrita super bem amarrada , estória fluida e envolvente.
Infelizmente não tem tradução em português (minha língua materna) então tive dificuldades com algumas expressões. Mas isso não tirou minha animação para ler o segundo livro da série.
August 9, 2024
Great world building and quite complex characters. The first 30% is quite slow, and the end is really rushed with everything happening in the last 10% of the book. The relationship between the MCs is mega slow burn :))) if you're looking for steam, you have to wait until 75%. Quite good and enjoyable and I was invested in the story.
May 27, 2021
Trigger warning: abusive relationships
Okay, so this was a doozie. On one hand I enjoyed the world building and atmosphere and I enjoyed the concept of the book. However the characters, at least the side characters were not well developed in mu opinion and the main protagonists motivations were muddled and conflicting. Loke, is not a great character in my opinion. Not because he is “evil, cruel and chaotic” but because he read like a teenager with anger problems. The romance was abusive. And there is no excuse for that. You can make Loke a complicated and dark character without him being abusive. Arvids desperation for an abuser is frankly unsettling, and all the “power” and “strong will” disappear from her character. There is so much potential for this story and at times it was awesome to read, but other times I rolled my eyes so much it hurt. I don’t understand how people can continue to write and justify abusive relationships. I also must say that the author really created an amazing world with so much detail and care that I don’t understand why she would ruin it with Loke being so evil abusive. It was not necessary, and Arvid was so useless towards the end the book. The artwork is amazing and the book is not great but it still was a good book to delve into for the world building and atmosphere alone. I truly hope she will work on the problematic issues during the next book. P.S. there is some LGBTQ representation in the book and that was super cool too. But I don’t know if that is a good representation as I am not part of the community.
Okay, so this was a doozie. On one hand I enjoyed the world building and atmosphere and I enjoyed the concept of the book. However the characters, at least the side characters were not well developed in mu opinion and the main protagonists motivations were muddled and conflicting. Loke, is not a great character in my opinion. Not because he is “evil, cruel and chaotic” but because he read like a teenager with anger problems. The romance was abusive. And there is no excuse for that. You can make Loke a complicated and dark character without him being abusive. Arvids desperation for an abuser is frankly unsettling, and all the “power” and “strong will” disappear from her character. There is so much potential for this story and at times it was awesome to read, but other times I rolled my eyes so much it hurt. I don’t understand how people can continue to write and justify abusive relationships. I also must say that the author really created an amazing world with so much detail and care that I don’t understand why she would ruin it with Loke being so evil abusive. It was not necessary, and Arvid was so useless towards the end the book. The artwork is amazing and the book is not great but it still was a good book to delve into for the world building and atmosphere alone. I truly hope she will work on the problematic issues during the next book. P.S. there is some LGBTQ representation in the book and that was super cool too. But I don’t know if that is a good representation as I am not part of the community.
November 16, 2020
This book was an endeavor. I’m waffling between 3 and 4 stars. In reality I’d probably give it 3.5? There are portions of this book that are molasses-grade slow, and boy is it aggravating. Arvid’s personality and general dense nature (as pointed out by other reviewers) is at times repugnant. But the places where this book absolutely shines is in the world-building. So here I am in the middle, complaining about pacing but praising the world-building. So take that how you will I suppose? It did take me longer than usual to finish it because I just couldn’t get into it at first because of the slow pace. I just kept putting it off and putting it down. I couldn’t stay glued to it. I truly loved the gender fluidity of Loke however. I wish that we could see more characters like this in romantic leads in novels. He was a real treat. I can justify the fourth star on Loke alone TBH. So there you have it. 😄
March 2, 2018
Can't wait for the sequel!
I could have taken a few marks for for some odd phrasing used, but that was before I realized this was translated from another language into English. That said this was a fantastic book full of character development, incredible world building and unexpected twists. I found a summary of book 2 on another site and I cannot wait for it to be released on Amazon so I can read it.
I could have taken a few marks for for some odd phrasing used, but that was before I realized this was translated from another language into English. That said this was a fantastic book full of character development, incredible world building and unexpected twists. I found a summary of book 2 on another site and I cannot wait for it to be released on Amazon so I can read it.
Read
September 30, 2023DROPPED.
So great news, I only got to page 182 on my ebook reader out of 2900 pages and decided to call it quits. Fragments of Your Soul was a story you'd either like or dislike, because of the characters. Personally, I couldn't stand Arvid. She was a lost cause, and so horribly unlikeable, if this was HUNGER GAMES or SQUID GAME, I'd be the first to sacrifice her life in order to save others.
That being said, I read a review whereby Arvid's character was deliberately written that way. From what I can gather in the first 2 chapters? She was UNGRATEFUL, WHINY and HOT-TEMPERED. Perhaps even SELFISH. And I read Loke wasn't any better, so yeah, I doubt I want to waste my weekend to read a story where I cannot and will not like the characters at all.
Such a shame.
So great news, I only got to page 182 on my ebook reader out of 2900 pages and decided to call it quits. Fragments of Your Soul was a story you'd either like or dislike, because of the characters. Personally, I couldn't stand Arvid. She was a lost cause, and so horribly unlikeable, if this was HUNGER GAMES or SQUID GAME, I'd be the first to sacrifice her life in order to save others.
That being said, I read a review whereby Arvid's character was deliberately written that way. From what I can gather in the first 2 chapters? She was UNGRATEFUL, WHINY and HOT-TEMPERED. Perhaps even SELFISH. And I read Loke wasn't any better, so yeah, I doubt I want to waste my weekend to read a story where I cannot and will not like the characters at all.
Such a shame.
December 28, 2017
Crazy love
Billy Joel sings a song, You May Be Right. There's a line in it that very much applies to this book, "maybe it's a lunatic you're looking for..." No need to turn off the lights, the world they're in is of Shadows, but Arvid will do her best to save Loke, anyways.
Arvid falls through a shimmer of air into the Shadow World. It is both as ominous, and not as ominous as it sounds. Demonic beasts chase her but humanity here is more cohesive than her home in the Light World. After landing, naked, in this new world she is rescued by another hapless human who dropped in over a decade before her. This world has gods, small g, that have abilities but aren't the immortal deities known in theology/mythology here on Earth. While they are in charge, they aren't omnipotent, just more like fuedal Lords and Ladies with some fancy magic tricks. Well, a prophecy about a dark haired female human proceeds Arvid's arrival so the gods decidento shuffle her off to a distant farm to "keep her out of trouble". Although that plot turns out darker than she first realizes as she sees the horrors that occur there. Green Acres it ain't. After escaping that little slice of hell she eacapes to the city, where her previous rescuer attends classes to have her fate changed. At this point Arvid isn't sure what's going on but she's not been too happy with the "generosity" shown her so far. Godly experiments that result in human transplants, blind human obedience to these gods, the farm that made little patricidal children in corn fields seem like a comedic holiday and then the oaf that sent her the note that had her packed off to the not so fun farm is arguing with her about how she should be happy that the gods are willing to provide for her? Doesn't add up to an amenable Arvid. As she argues a new voice pops up and offers her help. The only process he asks is a, undecided as yet, favor in the future. While not particularly enjoying the Godfather-esque ominous tones of it, she lacks a way to decline. In return this new god is willing to provide for her housing, education and clothing. It really is an offer she can't refuse. But, the classes teach her the new language she needs to read and speak, about the powers people can posses here, the history of this world, and maybe if she can discover it, a way back home. So, off to college she goes. While discovering that she is a white mage (can work light) new faces pop up and present challenges. And her benefactor shows his face, too. But when Odin gets antsy about that prophecy things get really crazy.
I love books about mythology. True to form or rewritten, I enjoy the read. This presented a slightly different slant on Norse mythology and the deities and beings of that culture. The start up was slow but once all the dominoes starting falling it moved quickly. Our leading lady was fierce, maybe a bit violent but I'm not opposed. The leading male was fractured and sometimes spiteful, but true to his mythological self. The god of lies and chaos isn't going to have an easy story and he suffers in this book. While it is a great read, and has an HEA, it isn't rainbows and sunshine. This story takes place in a world of darkness and the story reflects that. But it is a very good book and I'm excited to see where this author takes us next. And the artwork that goes with this story is stunning. Look it up on social media.
Billy Joel sings a song, You May Be Right. There's a line in it that very much applies to this book, "maybe it's a lunatic you're looking for..." No need to turn off the lights, the world they're in is of Shadows, but Arvid will do her best to save Loke, anyways.
Arvid falls through a shimmer of air into the Shadow World. It is both as ominous, and not as ominous as it sounds. Demonic beasts chase her but humanity here is more cohesive than her home in the Light World. After landing, naked, in this new world she is rescued by another hapless human who dropped in over a decade before her. This world has gods, small g, that have abilities but aren't the immortal deities known in theology/mythology here on Earth. While they are in charge, they aren't omnipotent, just more like fuedal Lords and Ladies with some fancy magic tricks. Well, a prophecy about a dark haired female human proceeds Arvid's arrival so the gods decidento shuffle her off to a distant farm to "keep her out of trouble". Although that plot turns out darker than she first realizes as she sees the horrors that occur there. Green Acres it ain't. After escaping that little slice of hell she eacapes to the city, where her previous rescuer attends classes to have her fate changed. At this point Arvid isn't sure what's going on but she's not been too happy with the "generosity" shown her so far. Godly experiments that result in human transplants, blind human obedience to these gods, the farm that made little patricidal children in corn fields seem like a comedic holiday and then the oaf that sent her the note that had her packed off to the not so fun farm is arguing with her about how she should be happy that the gods are willing to provide for her? Doesn't add up to an amenable Arvid. As she argues a new voice pops up and offers her help. The only process he asks is a, undecided as yet, favor in the future. While not particularly enjoying the Godfather-esque ominous tones of it, she lacks a way to decline. In return this new god is willing to provide for her housing, education and clothing. It really is an offer she can't refuse. But, the classes teach her the new language she needs to read and speak, about the powers people can posses here, the history of this world, and maybe if she can discover it, a way back home. So, off to college she goes. While discovering that she is a white mage (can work light) new faces pop up and present challenges. And her benefactor shows his face, too. But when Odin gets antsy about that prophecy things get really crazy.
I love books about mythology. True to form or rewritten, I enjoy the read. This presented a slightly different slant on Norse mythology and the deities and beings of that culture. The start up was slow but once all the dominoes starting falling it moved quickly. Our leading lady was fierce, maybe a bit violent but I'm not opposed. The leading male was fractured and sometimes spiteful, but true to his mythological self. The god of lies and chaos isn't going to have an easy story and he suffers in this book. While it is a great read, and has an HEA, it isn't rainbows and sunshine. This story takes place in a world of darkness and the story reflects that. But it is a very good book and I'm excited to see where this author takes us next. And the artwork that goes with this story is stunning. Look it up on social media.
August 9, 2020
This was not what I was expecting . Indeed, the end was enjoyable but the whole book was not as good as I was expecting . The reason why I did not like it was because the story felt too 1D . The story could have been much better were the writing style and some plot elements better. I am well aware that this is originally written in German , and that it has been translated to english. Despite the fact that the english translation is accurate to some extent , it felt Soulless and plain . No actual beauty or no soul of it's own. It made the story so boring .
The characters on the other hand are more interesting. Especially Locke . The only thing that kept me going was to know WHO locke is . And by who I mean his inner self, not the god of chaos that the myth knows all too well. The way in which the author made him felt so accurate . He was an ass for most of the book until the end that he got better. Captivating.
Arvid was one annoying character at the beginning, but she got better later on. Aside from those two, we had only two characters who were well presented . Nod and Thoke. The rest blends in the background and you find yourself not caring about them at all.
The setting is fabulous! It's so amazing and sets a very nice mood. I had wished that the book set off right when they went to the north as the majority of the book was wasted. The plot was quite bad. I can not really understand how it was wasted . Just that it felt inconsistent the more we progress.
IF THIS BOOK INTERESTS YOU, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE POSITIVE TRAIT IT HAS IS THE MOOD, SETTING , AND TWO CHARACTERS AS WELL AS THE WAY THEIR RELATIONSHIP EVOLVES. (Romance based book)
I am willing to read the second book if I ever find it in english. I just hope there will be a different translation that makes it more poetic and less stiff . Just telling what happens rather than letting you feel it .
The characters on the other hand are more interesting. Especially Locke . The only thing that kept me going was to know WHO locke is . And by who I mean his inner self, not the god of chaos that the myth knows all too well. The way in which the author made him felt so accurate . He was an ass for most of the book until the end that he got better. Captivating.
Arvid was one annoying character at the beginning, but she got better later on. Aside from those two, we had only two characters who were well presented . Nod and Thoke. The rest blends in the background and you find yourself not caring about them at all.
The setting is fabulous! It's so amazing and sets a very nice mood. I had wished that the book set off right when they went to the north as the majority of the book was wasted. The plot was quite bad. I can not really understand how it was wasted . Just that it felt inconsistent the more we progress.
IF THIS BOOK INTERESTS YOU, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE POSITIVE TRAIT IT HAS IS THE MOOD, SETTING , AND TWO CHARACTERS AS WELL AS THE WAY THEIR RELATIONSHIP EVOLVES. (Romance based book)
I am willing to read the second book if I ever find it in english. I just hope there will be a different translation that makes it more poetic and less stiff . Just telling what happens rather than letting you feel it .
October 3, 2019
This is a difficult book for me to review because I have mixed feelings about it. One moment I loved this book and there are elements within it that really intrigued me. Yet the first 50% of the book dragged.
The plot was a little ambiguous, for lack of a better word, and some elements were not resolved. The world transitions and the demons didn’t play a roll by the end and it became more about Loke’s revenge. I feel like the story started off with one story that then changed in the middle and then became another story at the end altogether.
I loved the depth of Loke’s character. He was an enjoyable character but Arvid was a little irritating at times. She is easily offended and her reactions to some situations seemed a little much for me.
I think this still warrants a three star rating because there were some great characters and relationships. The world was interesting and so were the different races and presence of giants.
I probably won’t read the sequel if it is ever published though I’m sad to say, Loke just is enough alone to make me read a sequel.
Also a very minor point is as this is a translated book some sentences are not translated properly and you have to rejigg the words to make a coherent sentence. There aren’t many of these but the ones that are present are noticeable.
The plot was a little ambiguous, for lack of a better word, and some elements were not resolved. The world transitions and the demons didn’t play a roll by the end and it became more about Loke’s revenge. I feel like the story started off with one story that then changed in the middle and then became another story at the end altogether.
I loved the depth of Loke’s character. He was an enjoyable character but Arvid was a little irritating at times. She is easily offended and her reactions to some situations seemed a little much for me.
I think this still warrants a three star rating because there were some great characters and relationships. The world was interesting and so were the different races and presence of giants.
I probably won’t read the sequel if it is ever published though I’m sad to say, Loke just is enough alone to make me read a sequel.
Also a very minor point is as this is a translated book some sentences are not translated properly and you have to rejigg the words to make a coherent sentence. There aren’t many of these but the ones that are present are noticeable.
November 3, 2021
Por onde anda E.S Erbsland????
January 13, 2019
I know I'm in the minority here, however a book wrote in third person narration style is challenging for me to engage with the characters.
August 25, 2021
I have to admit that I have such mixed feelings about this book. Like a couple of other reviews, I got attracted to this book because of the art and as such, I had high hopes that it was going to be as interesting as the illustration, but...
As fiery and angry as Arvid was, which gave her a lively character, being in the Shadow World has watered her down. She became unsure, hesitant and dimmed as if she was a firefly before and suddenly lost her light. Her manner of speech had become quite annoying after a while. She...started to speak like this, all these ellipses attached to her sentences. "I...don't understand." "I...don't know." By the end of the book, it was unbearable. The ellipses are pauses and having to mentally do that over and over was an exercise in and of itself.
As for Loke (can't say it any other way but Loki), he was a huge asshole. Now, I'm attracted to assholes, good ones, and bad boys, but he was really neither. He was mean and verbally abusive. I understand that his true nature is chaos which is why his body is so mutable, and that his past is the reason why he's lashing out, because he doesn't know better, but... If he really married Arvid just to protect her, I didn't feel it. Yeah, sure, he hesitated a bit at one of the meetings and I definitely got the tingles at their first sex scene, but the romance was lacking. So badly lacking.
I never once felt any romance in this book. Yes, Arvid had at some point fallen in love with him but this was so muted I didn't even realize that until the days before the sham marriage! It was just such a disaster. Perhaps this is the fault of the book's translation from its native language to English, but that's what quality control is for. I just...I wish I could say I want to continue the series, but I'm not so sure about that.
As fiery and angry as Arvid was, which gave her a lively character, being in the Shadow World has watered her down. She became unsure, hesitant and dimmed as if she was a firefly before and suddenly lost her light. Her manner of speech had become quite annoying after a while. She...started to speak like this, all these ellipses attached to her sentences. "I...don't understand." "I...don't know." By the end of the book, it was unbearable. The ellipses are pauses and having to mentally do that over and over was an exercise in and of itself.
As for Loke (can't say it any other way but Loki), he was a huge asshole. Now, I'm attracted to assholes, good ones, and bad boys, but he was really neither. He was mean and verbally abusive. I understand that his true nature is chaos which is why his body is so mutable, and that his past is the reason why he's lashing out, because he doesn't know better, but... If he really married Arvid just to protect her, I didn't feel it. Yeah, sure, he hesitated a bit at one of the meetings and I definitely got the tingles at their first sex scene, but the romance was lacking. So badly lacking.
I never once felt any romance in this book. Yes, Arvid had at some point fallen in love with him but this was so muted I didn't even realize that until the days before the sham marriage! It was just such a disaster. Perhaps this is the fault of the book's translation from its native language to English, but that's what quality control is for. I just...I wish I could say I want to continue the series, but I'm not so sure about that.
June 9, 2021
A Pleasant Surprise!
I came across artwork for this story on deviant art (DA) and then found out that there was a book about the characters. I wasted no time buying it on kindle and reading it.
This is a book I read day and night until I finished it. It is well-written and entertaining. It featured the use of magic and runes, gods and goddesses, and various mythical creatures. My favorite feature was the giants; you can find many stories featuring giant/tiny people or creatures as the main characters on DA, but there aren't many books that have them as main characters or even secondary characters. I was very happy to read a story that did.
Do I have any dislikes or criticisms?
Well, I wish there was a second book that picked up the story, or even a few more chapters at the end that show us how life for Loke and Arvid was when the returned home. Regardless, it ended on an open note, and I hope that this story continues in the future.
I came across artwork for this story on deviant art (DA) and then found out that there was a book about the characters. I wasted no time buying it on kindle and reading it.
This is a book I read day and night until I finished it. It is well-written and entertaining. It featured the use of magic and runes, gods and goddesses, and various mythical creatures. My favorite feature was the giants; you can find many stories featuring giant/tiny people or creatures as the main characters on DA, but there aren't many books that have them as main characters or even secondary characters. I was very happy to read a story that did.
Do I have any dislikes or criticisms?
Well, I wish there was a second book that picked up the story, or even a few more chapters at the end that show us how life for Loke and Arvid was when the returned home. Regardless, it ended on an open note, and I hope that this story continues in the future.
April 7, 2018
This book felt a bit like pulling teeth starting out, it’s very slow to start and personally I didn’t find ANY of the characters particularly likable. They do grow on you over time as they grow and change. I started really enjoying the story around the 70% mark and only wished the rest of the story had been more like it. I understand that adversity is a good tool in storytelling, it’s just that I can see some people abandoning the book because there isn’t a lot of joy in the first half. Stick with it, it does get better for everyone.
October 29, 2018
An absolute delight! So rich in original/remixed mythology, and the love story was well-developed, the characters likable and their progress intriguing thorough the story. I would have left this review in German as I bought the book in German so as to read it slower and enjoy it for longer, but I'm afraid my written German is not as good as my reading it, so... I just wanted to let you know, dear author, how much I appreciated you writing this story, and how enthusiastic I am about the sequel :)
July 23, 2020
I really liked this book it was an easy reading and very flowing.
My ONLY thought is that this book couldve been so much more original and unique if the author gave different names to characters without the reference to the Nordic mythology... It felt forced and so unnecessary...
Asgrad couldve been called a different name. Lock, Thor and Odin as well.
It couldve been a REAL original fantasy artwork if not for this..
So i really think it was a bad choice for the author =/
Other then than like i said- i enjoyed the book very much.
My ONLY thought is that this book couldve been so much more original and unique if the author gave different names to characters without the reference to the Nordic mythology... It felt forced and so unnecessary...
Asgrad couldve been called a different name. Lock, Thor and Odin as well.
It couldve been a REAL original fantasy artwork if not for this..
So i really think it was a bad choice for the author =/
Other then than like i said- i enjoyed the book very much.
June 20, 2021
Fragments of his soul
All in all this was a really good read.
Slow building, action packed, can get a bit confusing or stalled in some areas. The romance part doesn’t happen until a little after 85% way through the book, so if you’re looking for smut this wouldn’t be the novel for you. This book is definitely a journey, with layers to
The characters, the world, and the adventure.
I really liked the world building, the characters, and how they all grew over time. They all start as a mystery it seems, and grow beautifully.
All in all this was a really good read.
Slow building, action packed, can get a bit confusing or stalled in some areas. The romance part doesn’t happen until a little after 85% way through the book, so if you’re looking for smut this wouldn’t be the novel for you. This book is definitely a journey, with layers to
The characters, the world, and the adventure.
I really liked the world building, the characters, and how they all grew over time. They all start as a mystery it seems, and grow beautifully.
July 29, 2021
Would’ve been 5 stars if the beginning wasn’t SO SLOW.
Honestly Arvid is the only reason that I kept reading the first 100 pages- it was one of the slowest beginnings I’ve ever read. The prophecy about her literally isn’t introduced until maybe 100-200 pages in? The end just felt a bit rushed because of this, but overall it was really good
Great fantasy elements and loved the idea of Arvid’s character and her development. Loke was an interesting take on the God but nothing outstanding, but I love the two of them together.
Honestly Arvid is the only reason that I kept reading the first 100 pages- it was one of the slowest beginnings I’ve ever read. The prophecy about her literally isn’t introduced until maybe 100-200 pages in? The end just felt a bit rushed because of this, but overall it was really good
Great fantasy elements and loved the idea of Arvid’s character and her development. Loke was an interesting take on the God but nothing outstanding, but I love the two of them together.
July 10, 2022
En resumidas cuentas y sin hacer quizá un spoiler voy a decir que le tenia muchísimas ganas a este libro, MUCHAS, pero me dio una enorme decepción leerlo, ya que la portada es lindísima y tiene buena puntuación. Pero como decía al inicio, el libro es básicamente esto:
-Un libro muy denso (o sea que se pone bueno en la pagina 250)
-Los personajes tienen muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucha ira, especialmente Irvid.
-La trama es definitivamente nada de lo que se espera.
Así que sí se decide alguien a leerlo, les recomiendo que lo lean en alemán, porque la versión en ingles deja mucho que desear.
-Un libro muy denso (o sea que se pone bueno en la pagina 250)
-Los personajes tienen muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucha ira, especialmente Irvid.
-La trama es definitivamente nada de lo que se espera.
Así que sí se decide alguien a leerlo, les recomiendo que lo lean en alemán, porque la versión en ingles deja mucho que desear.
May 22, 2020
I tried to get through the translation. I got to about 40% before it became unbearable to me.
I'm still unsure of where the plot was going, and feel this book probably has focus but I may not be able to dissect it from the translation. The world building is there, but the rest is incredibly frustrating from characterization to plot. I want to give it 1 star, but I feel it isnt fair to the author as the translation could be what has broken this story.
I'm still unsure of where the plot was going, and feel this book probably has focus but I may not be able to dissect it from the translation. The world building is there, but the rest is incredibly frustrating from characterization to plot. I want to give it 1 star, but I feel it isnt fair to the author as the translation could be what has broken this story.
July 6, 2020
Wow! Great read, very entertaining.
I stumbled upon the artwork for this book on facebook was instantly intrigued. I really enjoyed this reading this book. The story was so detailed that you felt yourself submerged into that world... I'm just sad that i can't read more... I found info online saying the 2nd installment was suppose to have been realased back in 2017🤷♀️...? Hope to see a second book soon.
I stumbled upon the artwork for this book on facebook was instantly intrigued. I really enjoyed this reading this book. The story was so detailed that you felt yourself submerged into that world... I'm just sad that i can't read more... I found info online saying the 2nd installment was suppose to have been realased back in 2017🤷♀️...? Hope to see a second book soon.
July 22, 2020
Magical Norse story about humanity, power & love
Magical Norse story about humanity, power, survival & love set in a mysterious parallel world the protagonist discovers. Loki, the Norse God plays a character that you hate & love. He has his legendary arrogance, but also deep, painful secrets. This is supposed to be a series and Book 1 does not end with a cliffhanger (thankfully). I LOVE IT!
Magical Norse story about humanity, power, survival & love set in a mysterious parallel world the protagonist discovers. Loki, the Norse God plays a character that you hate & love. He has his legendary arrogance, but also deep, painful secrets. This is supposed to be a series and Book 1 does not end with a cliffhanger (thankfully). I LOVE IT!
October 18, 2024
pretty good
At first I thought it was poorly written but It’s translated to English. So sometimes the writing is a bit broken and different. The story is good. Very good world building. A stand alone book which is nice. The main female character is a bit annoying but I didn’t find her as annoying as other reviewers did. Overall pretty good. I would recommend it but it would have to be for someone who enjoys fantasy.
At first I thought it was poorly written but It’s translated to English. So sometimes the writing is a bit broken and different. The story is good. Very good world building. A stand alone book which is nice. The main female character is a bit annoying but I didn’t find her as annoying as other reviewers did. Overall pretty good. I would recommend it but it would have to be for someone who enjoys fantasy.
November 16, 2018
Waste of time, truly. Art is amazing, but nothing else is. The main character is awful, world building is too much and not enough at the same time. It is so boring I had a hard time keeping myself awake. Loke isn't bad character here, but the 'mysterious' guy in modern books is already a cliché I am getting tired of. Nod or what was his/her name I forgot the only character I really liked.
November 17, 2024
5 ⭐️
*Read this book ages ago (decided to add all the books that I remember reading and established 2017 as the year to add all those reads).*
I remember that I loved the book, that it was very dense, but also very different from all I was used to read. I loved how they brought the Loki mythology here, bringing the part of the story that he is a giant.
*Read this book ages ago (decided to add all the books that I remember reading and established 2017 as the year to add all those reads).*
I remember that I loved the book, that it was very dense, but also very different from all I was used to read. I loved how they brought the Loki mythology here, bringing the part of the story that he is a giant.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews