Kristin Jacques

Prophecies don't untangle themselves. Just ask Ikepela Ives, whose estranged mother left her with the power to unravel the binding threads of fate. Stuck with immortal power in a mortal body, Ives has turned her back on the duty she never wanted. But it turns out she can't run from her fate forever, not now that Ragnarok has been set in motion and the god at the center of that tangled mess has gone missing. With a ragtag group of companions-including a brownie, a Valkyrie, and the goddess of death herself-Ives embarks on her first official mission as Fate Cipher-to save the world from doomsday. Nothing she can't handle. Right?

Ragnarok Unwound

Laura

ARC provided by NetGalley for reviewing purposes.


As much as I ended up enjoying this story, I really struggled in the beginning, mostly because it was hard at first to keep up with who the characters were and what powers they possessed and to whom they were related, but once the plot started developing the story took a turn for the better. Furthermore, the melding of both Norse and Hawaiian mythology was something I did not expect to happen (as the summary leads us to believe this story is about Norse Mythology) but loved.
The story was fast paced, leaving no time for the reader to come up with theories of what might come next or to have time to assimilate the plot twists. While the plot and the characters seem to be in need of being polished, and the text had several flaws and grammatical mistakes, I’m certain this has to do with the test being an ARC, and that those things will be corrected before publication date.

Pam Sartain

I recently joined NetGalley, where you can receive books for free if you review them, and that just sounds like heaven to me, and this is the first book that I've received! 

On her 18th birthday, Ikepela Ives gained the power to unwind the fates of gods, goddesses, and other demi beings, she lost the woman who could have taught her how to use the power, her mother. She has only used her powers once since then, and resisted every other attempt to get her to use them.

Ragnarok has begun, and Ives is called on to help stop it, and so begins a mission to save the world, with Ives gaining allies as she goes.

This was an enjoyable fantasy mystery story, with good pacing throughout the book, a good plot, with twists and turns, and Norse mythology liberally sprinkled throughout.

Ragnarok Unwound is due to be published on 8th January 2019, and I would really recommend you have a read!

If you'd like to read more of my reviews, you can either have a look at the label of Book Reviews on my blog (https://certainlygeeky.blogspot.com/), or look at my GoodReads profile!

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Kristin Jacques, this novel follows Ives, the Fate Cipher who, since she turned 18, has been avoiding her duties. Now she has to try and stop Ragnarok.

I really enjoyed this novel! Well written and fast paced, this story reminded me of the Dresden Files in its pacing and style. Which is to say very urban fantasy and very quick witted with a lot of mystery. 

The other great thing that Jacques did with this novel is how she handled the myths. I adore what little we know of the Norse Gods, and I really like that she didn't go with the Marvel version but the traditional. We get to see Loki! (And I want to see him in future novels.) But, the Fate Cipher doesn't only work in one mythology, but in all of them. King Arthur mythology is mentioned right at the beginning of the book and is hinted that the next could deal with that.

This author has created an excellent book that can stand on its own, but is also a wonderful start to a (hopefully) wonderful series. Highly recommend to any fan of action, adventure, or urban fantasy.