Special thanks to Flux publishing, Netgalley and Elizabeth Tammi for giving me a free ARC copy of The Weight Of A Soul in exchange for an honest review.
A lyrical tale exploring Norse mythology and the depths of the love of sisters, The Weight Of A Soul is a fascinating and beautiful story that leaves you wanting more.
What is The Weight Of A Soul about?
The Weight Of A Soul is a story about Lena and Fressa, daughters of the chief of their viking clan. When Fressa is discovered dead, the whole clan mourns, but none to the level Lena does.
Determined that her sister should not have died, Lena will go to any lengths to retrieve her sisters soul. Striking a bargain with Hela, Norse goddess of death, Lena begins a dangerous double life.
Lena soon finds herself and her family are in far deeper than she could have imagined. They’re right in the middle of a plan by the gods to start the destruction of the whole world through Ragnarök.
With her sisters fate still unknown, Lena will go to any lengths to have her sister returned. Even to kill. But how far down this path can she go before the darkness consumes her?
What do I like about The Weight of a Soul?
The Weight of a Soul is beautifully written. The world that Elizabeth Tammi crafts is utterly absorbing and beautiful. The characters are vivid and complex, the village in which they live bound by dynamics and politics.
Speaking of the characters, I found the ethical challenges faced by Lena convincing and horrifying. The journey Lena goes through is a dark one, but I still despite the questionable events throughout the book I found myself really liking this character. I was moved emotionally by her sacrificial love for her sister.
What I Didn’t Like About The Weight Of A Soul?
I wanted more time with both sisters on stage, and I hope we may get this in future books. They’re both fantastic characters, who love one another dearly. Their relationship is vital to the plot, as is their separation when Fressa dies. Yet, I found myself at times wondering if Freesa was really worth all Lena was going through. I think this was due to not having as much time to get to know her prior to her death.
Some of the Norse mythology took a while for me to grasp. I haven’t read much Norse fantasy previous to now which could be the reason for this. While fascinating, I found at times I needed to reread passages to fully grasp what had actually taken place.
The ending of the book is a cliffhanger, which isn’t ideal in my opinion. I don’t like cliffhangers for the most part because they don’t feel like a real ending to the story I’ve invested in reading. I do hope there’s a next book, because I would like to know more about this world and the characters within it.
How do you feel about cliffhangers in books? Tell me by commenting on this post.
Recommendation?
If you love Norse Mythology, Fantasy or stories with strong bonds between sisters this is the book for you. If you like mystery elements and are okay with a little bit of murder and mayhem in your reads, look no further. This is a young adult novel, but is still enjoyable for adults.
The Weight Of A Soul is available for purchase from December 3rd. You can pick up a copy online from Amazon, The Book Depository or check your local bookstore!
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Steph Huddleston 