A Curse Carved in Bone

We know, book one ended with Bjorn betraying Freya and secretly working for King Harald. Freya is captured and literally shipped to Nordeland. We start the second book off with this journey. Freya is pretty pissed — and honestly? Fair. No one enjoys being betrayed. Especially not by the person they love. And that’s pretty much the emotional landscape for a while. A long ride of snide remarks, hurt feelings and Bjorn trying to get back into good graces.

They arrive in Nordeland and I will let you guess what happened. Think back to book one. What was something that happened like every two pages, and wasn’t perfectly well executed? Exactly, fighting! So yes, they arrive in Nordeland and a town there is being raided.  Naturally, some children of the gods are part of the fight. But this time, we recycle. We have another child of Thor, and one of Njord. The latter moves the fight to the water where some Orcas try to kill Freya and Tora (one of the Nordelanders and apparently a friend of Bjorn’s). They win the fight though, with Freya using the power of Hel.

At this point I should warn you. You should probably stop reading now, if you haven’t finished the book yet. I know this is a full spoiler review, but well… I think you get where I’m going with this when you continue reading.

Okay. That being said. We’re on page 44. I will now quote the third sentence that I’ve written down whilst reading this book: “I think Harald is a child of Loki and very manipulative.” I’ll let that stand. But those who know… know.  

Anyways, the story continues with their arrival at King Harald’s castle — or hall. Or fortress. Honestly, I don’t remember. And the fact that I didn’t even bother to write it down probably says enough about how memorable the worldbuilding is.

Once there, we circle back to a problem I already mentioned in the first book: too many characters introduced too quickly and far too shallowly. We meet one of Bjorn’s supposed closest friends — clearly positioned as his best mate — and I couldn’t even tell you his name. Not because I wasn’t paying attention. But because he appears maybe three times and has the depth of a decorative shield on the wall.

And that’s such a missed opportunity. This could have been real character development. We’ve mostly seen Bjorn as a lone wolf. Seeing him interact with his actual friends could have added dimension — shown us who he is outside of Freya, outside of war, outside of betrayal. Instead, we get handed the idea of depth and are expected to imagine the rest ourselves.

That’s not character work. That’s homework.

Sadly, this book hasn’t learned a single thing. If anything, the pacing feels even more rushed. Instead of giving us time to explore Nordeland and its people, Freya almost immediately leaves again to seek out the seer who foretold her fate.

Or in other words: Bjorn’s mother.

Yes — the one we were told was dead in book one. Just another lie to add to the pile.

On their way there, the story attempts to sprinkle in some Norse mythology in the form of a Huldra trying to seduce Bjorn. And honestly? It feels unnecessary.

This series already clings rather loosely to mythology — and not always accurately. (I did my homework. Fire has nothing to do with Tyr, which makes Bjorn’s axe more aesthetic choice than divine symbolism). So why insert a mythological creature for a brief detour that doesn’t meaningfully impact the plot?

If we’re not committing to a proper mythological framework, that page time would have been far better spent on pacing, character development, or actual worldbuilding. The Huldra subplot adds very little — and costs the story momentum it can’t afford to lose.

And the rushing doesn’t stop there. We arrive at Saga’s cabin in the woods — and once again, there’s no room to breathe. No time to explore who she is. No space to understand her relationship with her son. Instead, we immediately jump to checking whether the prophecy has changed.

It hasn’t.

Saga then proceeds to downplay Bjorn’s lies, framing them as unfortunate but necessary — as if Freya’s anger is simply an overreaction to difficult circumstances.

I hated that.

Maybe it’s the woman in me speaking, but I have very little patience for narratives that twist a man’s betrayal into a woman’s emotional flaw. Freya was lied to. Repeatedly. Her anger is not hysteria — it’s consequence. Accountability shouldn’t be negotiable.

That being said, Saga invites Freya into her sauna. And at that point I could practically smell Melon-Gate material.

Naturally, I googled whether Vikings had saunas. And to Danielle L. Jensen’s credit — they did. Though historically they were typically stone-built sweat lodges, not wooden structures resembling modern spa saunas. But you know what? I’ll be generous. I’ll let that one slide.

To change the prophecy Freya and Saga suggest that Bjorn takes the lead and commands Freya. Since he’s off Snorri’s blood this would work and prevent her from being controlled by Snorri instead. Bjorn refuses though, because he doesn’t want to take her freedom from her and play her like a pupped. Especially since he’s trying to rebuild trust. And though I also get why Freya is mad at this I give him credits for his good intentions.

Back at Harald’s residence, we waste no time and obviously go straight into the next fight. Apparently, Snorri has figured out where Freya is and attacks Harald’s stronghold. (Notice how I’m trying everything to paraphrase where Harald lives. That even makes me laugh whilst writing it).

During the fight Freya gets captured and kidnapped. Once again I’d like to quote my notes on that situation: “Did Harald plan this, to have a reason to invade Skaland?”. Make of that what you want.

Bjorn saves Freya though and…yup. That’s all there’s to say to that.

Obviously now everyone agrees that they have to sail against Snorri for revenge. Freya takes over planning still hoping to find a way out of the prophecy. They meet on the water but Snorri outsmarted them, and the fight is taken to Freya’s ship.

In order to save his people Bjorn throws his previous concerns overboard and takes control of Freya. Mind you he goes totally overkill with it and orders Freya to take all of Snorri’s men to Hel.

Really fucking overkill. Especially since many times in this book it was stressed that he hated how the toll this took on Freya and that he’ll do everything he can to prevent her from using that power. Well. Guess that didn’t work out. Just like the character development.

Now I don’t exactly remember how but somehow they end up on the beach. I guess the boat burned down or something. There we go into the fight that was long expected. Bjorn vs. Snorri. Bjorn wins and kills him, whilst in a magical circle that Saga (who also showed up) drew on the beach. Freya tries to help Snorri – bound by her blood oath – but Bjorn’s command to stay down prevents her from doing shit.

When Snorri dies Saga goes into hysterical giggles. They creep everyone out. And whilst looking closer her secret is revealed. She isn’t Saga. She’s Harald. A child of Loki.

A “major plot twist”. If I hadn’t already seen that coming at page 44. You guys remember, right?

So, Saga is dead. And Harald played them all for fools. Because apparently as a child of Loki he enjoys that.  Fair. But I have to say: evidently everyone in this book is freaking stupid. Because how in the hell did no one notice????

Harald and his supposedly beloved wife are never – not once – seen in the same place at the same time. I mean… really? She is the love of his live and he goes out of his way to “save her” from his enemy Snorri and no one is even a little bit suspicious that they are never in the same place? Even with her child living with Harald? I’m sorry, but at some point this stops being a clever twist and starts feeling like collective incompetence.

Which is why I feel like what’s to come is somewhat deserved, with that stupidity going around.

Somehow Harald manages to trap Bjorn and Freya in his magical circle. He reveals all his evil deed (e.g. he was the one responsible for Saga’s death). And instead of killing them — which (call me an evil genius) would’ve been the sensible move if you’re trying to keep your secrets safe — he simply… leaves.

Bold strategy.

Bjorn and Freya try to make it out of the circle. And when that doesn’t work they do the next best thing: the reconcile and have sex on the beach.

Naturally. Would’ve been my immediate survival tactic as well.

At some point (when both are once again dressed) Ylva arrives at the beach. She learns of Snorri’s death and is heartbroken. Somehow they get her on their side and she frees Bjorn to trade him for her son (which she suspects Harald is going after next). She doesn’t free Freya though and leaves her on the beach to die.

Freya is then visited by the mysterious burning figure from book one. Turns out that is actually Saga who is dead but trapped between realms. She tells Freya how to get out of the circle. Which is by going to Hel. Which — conveniently — is possible. Because Freya’s mother is Hel herself.

So Freya journeys to her divine mother.

In Hel’s realm, she discovers that she truly did send all of Snorri’s men to the underworld. Determined to return to the living world and save Bjorn, Freya makes a bold decision: she raises the dead and forces them to fight for her. Hel is not happy with this decision.

But Freya and her freshly assembled army of draug manage to escape before Hel can stop them. Among the undead is Freya’s brother, Geir. And this is where I genuinely lost it.

In book one, Geir was consistently awful. Selfish. Cruel. And even Freya herself admitted she was tired of him. Now? All is forgiven. He’s not even remotely upset that she killed him. I’m sorry — what?

This isn’t growth. It’s narrative convenience.

Freya needed an ally in Hel, and so character consistency once again quietly boarded a ship and sailed away.

Meanwhile, back in Skaland, Bjorn and Ylva uncover another delightful twist: Harald is pretending to be Snorri. Tora — one of Harald’s God-Children and Bjorn’s friend — clearly despises this development. Unfortunately, she is magically bound to serve him, courtesy of yet another convenient supernatural leash.

We build towards the “big fight”.

Spoiler: there isn’t one.  

So I’ll sum it up from here:

Bjorn is thrown into prison. Ylva plays along, so that she can save her son. Harald plans to execute Bjorn to lure Freya into a trap.

Freya and her army of draug don’t attack the city. They know the execution is a set up. Steinum, who initially wanted no part in the plan, suddenly finds her courage and publicly exposes Harald as a child of Loki.

Harald flees. The people want revenge.

Freya tries to save Bjorn from burning to death (her plan was to smoke Harald out of the city, which backfired. He isn’t trapped anymore, so she starts searching for him. Freya finds Bjorn. Turns out it’s Harald.

And as all evil masterminds do he tell her all about his “rise to glory” and his plans.

Turns out the child of Loki isn’t Harald either. We don’t get to learn who he was though. That’s simply never mentioned. We do, however, learn that in order to impersonate someone, he must consume the person first.

Yes. Literally.

It’s grotesque. It should be horrifying. Somehow, by this point, I was mostly tired and this revelation didn’t hit me too hard.

To kill Harald – or what’s his name – Freya takes him to Hel with her. I think she died during the fight? Honestly, all of this was so poorly executed that I can’t even fully remember. All I know is that somehow all the gods ended up watching the fight and Odin offers her a place in Valhalla. Somehow though she gets a chance to fight her way back into life, with the help of Hlin? Yeah – I really don’t remember.

Anyway, she survives. Bjorn is happy. All the people who wanted to kill Harald for what he’d done to them were robbed of that chance. But since we barely knew any of them I guess it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.

Ylva’s son becomes the new Jarl. Freya and Bjorn put away their swords and settle for a life as farmers.

In the epilogue, we learn they both hate it — and are quietly relieved when they’re summoned back into conflict.

And that is it.

Christ, Odin, Zeus, Buddha, Allah – every god imaginable – thanks for that! It has been a ride.

You can probably tell this wasn’t my favorite read. For me, the book suffers from a lack of cohesion — in character development, in mythological consistency, and in narrative payoff.

That said: I didn’t hate every second of it. I wanted to know how the series ended. The writing style itself isn’t bad — as I mentioned in my first review — and if you’re reading for light entertainment rather than historical or mythological depth, I can absolutely see how this would work.

And since there are books out there that are far worse, I’m comfortable settling on a three-star rating.

Yes, I probably won’t reread it. But if you loved it? I’m genuinely glad.

As always — this is just my opinion.