Norse-inspired adult fantasy romance

I love immersing myself in epic new worlds with strong heroines and intricate conflicts. At the sight of the cover for A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L Jensen—the first book in her Norse-inspired Saga of the Unfated duology—instantly HOOKED. And when I found out it featured open door romance and action-packed fantasy? Hel yeah!

Danielle L Jensen is well-established in the fantasy romance genre. She’s a New York Times bestselling author known for series like The Bridge Kingdom, Dark Shores, and Malediction. Saga of the Unfated is planned to be just two books with A Fate Inked in Blood originally released back in February 2024 and A Curse Carved in Bone set for release on May 13, 2025. Since then, the first book has garnered a respectable 3.93 rating across 135K+ total ratings on Goodreads. Not too shabby!

Tl;dr this book TOTALLY captivated me. I blazed through it within 24 hours, and now I patiently wait for the sequel. If you’re like me and want to keep things fresh in your mind before the next book, then this post is for you—I summarize characters, places, gods and their powers, and major conflicts:

• character list
• gods & their powers
• plot summary
• how the book ends
• book review & loose threads
• my favorite quotes

We also talked about this book on the Story Darlings podcast, so feel free to tune in for some friendly banter!

Warning: This entire post contains a detailed summary with major SPOILERS for A Fate Inked in Blood. If you haven’t read the book yet, proceed with caution.

The world of A Fate Inked in Blood

One of the things I love about this book is its atmosphere and the brutality of the various settings and how they impact Freya’s journey. A Fate Inked in Blood isn’t just about a woman discovering her hidden powers, or the forbidden attraction between her and the handsome son of a jarl. It’s about her strength as a woman, family challenges, gods, the politics of men (the never-ending pursuit of power), and the weaving in of Norse mythology into a rich tapestry of magic and destiny.

Freya’s story unfolds across the rugged, fjord-scarred lands of Skaland and its rival, Nordeland. We visit places like:

• Selvegr: Freya’s small fishing village
• Halsar: Jarl Snorri’s stronghold at the start of the book
• Grindill: Jarl Gnut’s fortress (a key battleground later)
• Fjalltindr: a sacred mountain temple where jarls convene for rituals and sacrifices
• Path to Helheim: a dangerous passage through the mountain Hammar; infested by draug (undead)
• Skaland: the main land, a collection of territories ruled by various jarls, ripe for unification according to prophecy.
• Nordeland: the formidable kingdom across the Northern Strait, ruled by King Harald

But what makes this world really fascinating is the presence of gods who bestow magical abilities on their “children.” Similar to the silverbloods in Red Queen having various abilities, the children of the gods in this alternate Norse-inspired world have powers based on their divine parentage.

Gods in A Fate Inked in Blood

Beyond the political drama, there’s a fun system of magical abilities based on divine parentage:

God	Child	Power
Njord	Vragi	God of the sea. Grants his children magic over sea creatures.
Hlin	Freya	Goddess of protection. Grants her children the power to conjure a protective magical shield.
Tyr	Bjorn	God of war. Grants his children exceptional fighting prowess and the ability to summon a weapon of divine fire.
Hel	Freya	Goddess of the underworld (Helheim). Her children possess power related to death and curses.
Eir	Liv	Goddess associated with healing. Grants her children healing magic.
Forseti	Jarl Bodil	God associated with justice and truth. Grants his children the ability to discern truth from lies.
Thor	Tora	God associated with thunder and lightning. Grants his children the ability to wield lightning.
Ullr	Skade	God associated with hunting and archery. Grants his children unerring aim with magical arrows.
Bragi	Steinunn	God associated with poetry and skalds. Grants his children magical abilities related to song and storytelling.
Hoenir	Ragnhild	God whose children can communicate mentally or instantly transmit images.
Odin	unknown	The Allfather, chief god. Seers receive prophecies and knowledge from him.
Freyja	unknown	Goddess associated with love and fertility. Freya is named after her and prayed to her to prevent pregnancy with Vragi.
Frigg	unknown	Goddess associated with marriage.
Loki	unknown	Trickster god.
Baldur	unknown	God associated with beauty.
Norns	unknown	The weavers of fate, determining the destinies of mortals and most gods.
Sigyn	unknown	Mentioned by name during a ritual, but no specific domain or power is described.
Snotra	unknown	Mentioned by name during a ritual, but no specific domain or power is described.

It’s unclear if we’ll get more information on these gods (or if others will be introduced in A Curse Carved in Bone), but I was impressed by Jensen’s ability to juggle so many Norse gods while making them more accessible and exciting to casual readers.

Characters in A Fate Inked in Blood

Jensen’s cast of characters is just as rich and complex as her world-building. The relationships and motivations run deep, creating a web of alliances, betrayals, and impossible choices. Here’s the official pronunciation guide if you need help saying their names!

Name	Description
Vragi	Freya’s detested first husband. Cruel, abusive, and greedy, he wields magic over the sea granted by the god Njord. His betrayal sets much of the plot in motion.
Ylva	Jarl Snorri’s sharp-tongued wife and mother to his younger son, Leif. She is a powerful volva (witch) skilled in runesand plays a complex role, initially antagonistic towards Freya but later proposing a magical alternative to consummating Freya’s marriage to Snorri. Her motives remain ambiguous.
Leif	Snorri and Ylva’s 15-year-old son and half-brother to Bjorn, seems to genuinely care about Bjorn and get along with him.
Kelda	Freya and Geir’s mother; widow to Erik; tends to the family farm.
Saga	The seer who was given Odin’s prophecy involving Freya, Bjorn’s mother, we find out she’s actually alive and in Nordeland.
Geir	Freya’s older brother, a loyal warrior in Snorri’s war band. His safety and future are often used as leverage against Freya.
King Harald	The powerful King of Nordeland, Skaland’s rival nation. He held Bjorn captive for years, raising him as his own son, creating a complex relationship built on layers of deceit and hidden motives.
Steinunn	Jarl Snorri’s skald (bard), gifted with magical storytelling abilities by the god Bragi. She chronicles Freya’s journey but is revealed to have secret allegiances.
Liv	Jarl Snorri’s healer, she dies saving the women and children when Jarl Gnut attacks Halsar following Freya’s wedding ceremony to Snorri.
Jarl Bodil	The only female jarl, allies with Freya and trains her to fight with the valkyries. Tora kills her with lightning at the siege on Grindill.

What happens in A Fate Inked in Blood (plot summary)

Freya in the beginning

A Fate Inked in Blood opens with Freya suffering through her abusive marriage to Vragi. Her life is one of drudgery and fear, brightened only by her secret defiance in preventing pregnancy. She refuses to bear Vragi a child, using lemon juice as her Plan B.

After fighting with Vragi on the proper way to gut fish, Freya has a chance encounter with a charismatic warrior named Bjorn (shirtless in the nearby fjord btw). This ignites an unexpected spark, offering a glimpse of life beyond her current misery, though Bjorn’s identity and purpose remain unknown.   

Prophecy, power, forging a new path

Everything changes when Freya is summoned to meet Jarl Snorri. He calls Freya on her desire to be a warrior and forces her into a deadly duel with his son who is none other than the charming, dimpled Bjorn. During the duel, Freya is pushed to her limit and awakens her slumbering magic—a shield of pure light, identifying her as a child of Hlin the goddess of protection. Vragi admits he knew and betrayed her to Snorri.

Snorri then reveals a prophecy that a child of Hlin, the shield maiden, is destined to unite Skaland under the one who controls her fate. Believing himself to be the one controlling her fate, Snorri coerces Freya into marrying him. When Vragi threatens to marry Freya’s friend Ingrid (her brother Geir’s sweetheart), Freya snaps, seizing Bjorn’s divine flaming axe—severely burning her right hand in the process—and burying it in the back of Vragi’s skull. This earns her the name “Born-in-Fire.”

At Snorri’s stronghold, Halsar, Freya’s burns are treated by the healer Liv, and Ylva (Snorri’s first wife) brokers a deal—Freya swears a magical blood oath of loyalty to Snorri, sparing her the consummation. The oath ritual marks Freya and reveals not only Hlin’s shield tattoo on her left hand, but also a corrupted second marking on her right hand that hints of another’s power.

Freya is tested by the gods—Snorri’s words

Word travels fast, peace short-lived. Halsar is attacked by Jarl Gnut. Amid the chaos, Freya escapes the besieged hall and, with Bjorn’s help, burns Gnut’s getaway ships to draw off the attackers, nearly dying in the process. Halsar is left in ruins, and Liv the healer is killed while trying to save the vulnerable.

Snorri, obsessed with the prophecy, decides to seize Gnut’s fortress, Grindill, and gain alliances with other jarls. En route to a sacred temple at Fjalltindr to meet with the jarls, a specter warns Freya she must make a sacrifice or die. To avoid ambush, Freya and Bjorn are forced to take the Path to Helheim (inside the mountain). There they battle hordes of the undead called draug. Freya discovers she can wield Bjorn’s axe if she protects her hand with Hlin’s power and uses it to kill the draug leader. She then unleashes Hel’s power, damning the remaining draug.

Sacred rites & alliances at Fjalltindr

At Fjalltindr, Freya and Bjorn face Jarl Sten’s blockade but steal disguises to pass the magical barrier. They encounter King Harald, revealing deep enmity between him and Snorri, particularly concerning Bjorn’s past captivity and his mother Saga’s death. During Freya’s sacrifice, the gods themselves seem to manifest, acknowledging her as “child of two bloods.” Alliances shift, with Jarl Bodil pledging loyalty to Freya. Freya overhears Harald conspiring with a hidden figure.   

Vengeance, betrayal, war

Snorri launches the attack on Grindill. The battle is brutal. Bodil is killed by Tora’s lightning protecting Freya. Consumed by rage and grief, Freya goes into a bloodlust, unleashing her power, slaughtering enemies, her eyes burning red. Bjorn intervenes before she kills Gnut, revealing she was walking into an ambush.

Later, Freya visits her mother in Selvegr and learns the truth of her birth—Hlin took pity and intervened after Freya’s mother agreed to a bargain with a mysterious goddess to save Geir’s life when he was a baby (and cruelly ended up dying a different way). Her mother urges Freya to end things with Bjorn, revealing she knows about their connection. Freya refuses, finally rejecting her family’s manipulations.

Bjorn confesses Saga’s darker prophecy about Freya causing widespread death. As they argue, Harald’s god-blessed hunter, Skade, arrives, having been tipped off to their location, and murders Freya’s mother. Freya is devastated. Bjorn pleads with her to flee Skaland with him, away from the prophecies and manipulations.   

A Fate Inked in Blood ending

Just as Freya grapples with the choice to flee or stay, Bjorn reveals the final, stunning truth—King Harald saved him and Saga from Snorri, who had tried to kill them. Bjorn’s true allegiance is to Nordeland, and Saga is alive. Freya realizes Bjorn’s plan was always to deliver her to Harald. Feeling betrayed, she unleashes Hel’s power, cursing Harald’s nearby warriors, who are insta-killed by dark roots dragging them down to Helheim. Before Freya can fully react, Snorri’s skald Steinunn is revealed to be Harald’s spy and drugs her.

Freya awakens on Harald’s ship sailing for Nordeland. She tries to escape by jumping overboard, but Bjorn retrieves her. He begs her to come with him, to meet his mother Saga and understand the full truth before judging him.

Heartbroken, wary, and needing answers, Freya agrees to go, leaving Skaland and her old life behind.

Book review: book one of Saga of the Unfated

A Fate Inked in Blood is a fantastic first book in the planned duology—I’m only sad there won’t be more! Jensen’s world feels authentic in its Viking roots while adding magical elements that enhance rather than overwhelm the story.

Freya’s discovery of her connection to not only the goddess Hlin but also a darker power linked to Hel, goddess of death. As she navigates political machinations, battles undead creatures, and struggles with her growing feelings for Bjorn, Freya evolves from a woman seeking escape to one who might wield power to reshape the world around her.

I gave A Fate Inked in Blood 5 stars. It has everything I desire in epic fantasy romance. Complex characters with motivations driven by trauma. Political intrigue that adds depth and doesn’t bore the reader. A sloooow-burn romance that sizzles with tension. And world-building that whisks you away completely.

The writing was beautiful and evocative. There were many moments that had me holding my breath or gasping in shock. Jensen doesn’t pull punches when it comes to showing the harsh realities of this world, but she balances it with moments of tenderness and hope.

Unanswered questions

A Fate Inked in Blood sets the stage for A Curse Carved in Bone, leaving us desperate for soooo many answers:

A Fate Inked in Blood quotes

It was the wanting that made my life hard. If I could only stop wanting, perhaps I might find some happiness in what I had.

All is fated except the lives of the children of the gods. Your path is unknown and as you walk it, you rearrange the threads of all those around you.

Each rush of steam looked like a breath on a cold day, from a great sentient beast that consumed the wary and unwary alike.

Where you go, I go, Born-in-Fire. Even if it’s to the gates of Valhalla.

Don’t underestimate my tongue, Freya. Especially in the dark.

It is hard to keep one’s wits when faced with a woman as beautiful as the sight of shore to a man who has been lost at sea.

I used to dream only of fire and ash. Now when I close my eyes, all I see is your face.

Final thoughts

If you haven’t read A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L Jensen, I strongly urge you go do that. Especially if you enjoy fantasy with strong heroines, complex moral dilemmas, and spicy romance scenes.

Here’s a video podcast episode for those interested in watching a book discussion:

💡 If you’ve already read this book, let me know what you thought in the comments! Are you #TeamBjorn despite his betrayal? Or are you hoping Freya forges her own path? I can’t wait to see how Jensen finishes this story in A Curse Carved in Bone.

And if you’re looking for another series to dive into, the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard might be right up your alley. It’s a YA story that follows a young woman discovering her power and challenging oppressive systems. Simply put, Mare Barrow is a badass. And for you history enthusiasts looking for an ADULT alternate world take on the Roman Empire (with dragons), might I suggest Firebird? I loved it. Happy reading!