BETWEEN THE BLADE AND THE HEART
Valkyrie #1
by Amanda Hocking
Wednesday Books
YA Urban Fantasy
319 pages
When the fate of the world is at stake
Loyalties will be tested
Game of Thrones meets Blade Runner in this commanding new YA fantasy inspired by Norse
Mythology from New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking.
As one of Odin's Valkyries, Malin's greatest responsibility is to slay immortals and return them
to the underworld. But when she unearths a secret that could unravel the balance of all
she knows, Malin along with her best friend and her ex-girlfriend must decide where their
loyalties lie. And if helping the blue-eyed boy Asher enact his revenge is worth the risk—to the
world and her heart.
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MY TIDBITS
This one reminded me of the drama series, Lost Girl, nodding with an exciting variety of fantasy characters, action, mystery and a love triangle which pulls in two directions.
Malin is a Valkyrie and, as such, slays immortals when it's time for them to leave their earthly existence and return to the underworld. She's good at her job, although her social and family life doesn't run as smooth. When someone breaks into her apartment, she's drawn into a crime which involves more than a few murders. The entire world as she knows it is at stake.
This isn't my first novel from this author, and although I've thoroughly enjoyed her other novels, this one didn't draw me in quite as much. The world building is excellent. Malin and those around her come to life with attitudes and personalities true to their situations. They are easy to grasp, feel natural even when a bit harsh, and lure in to guarantee one or two favorites. It's no trouble to follow the mixture of the mortal and immortal world, and feel at home in the bars, clubs or even institution.
The writing flows and is easy to sink into. It's entertaining, fun and holds everything a dive into the world fantasy should. Despite all of this goodness, I couldn't get completely lost in the pages.
It's entertaining but a bit of depth and intricacy in the plot is missing. Obvious hints stole the surprise from several later twists and turns, and other moments didn't grab as much as they might have. Many events mount with logic, tension and exciting scenes, but others come across as familiar and don't hold quite the tension they could. Even the romance lacks a hook into the heart, which makes a good love triangle pull from all sides.
Still, it's a fun read with lots of wonderful elements and interesting characters. Fans of valkyrie, magic, and mystery will enjoy the read and get lost in the world.
SNEAK PEEK
ONE
The air reeked of fermented fish and rotten fruit,
thanks to the overflowing dumpster from the restaurant behind us. The polluted
alley felt narrow and claustrophobic, sandwiched between skyscrapers.
In the city, it was
never quiet or peaceful, even at three in the morning. There were more than
thirty million humans and supernatural beings coexisting, living on top of each
other. It was the only life I’d ever really known, but the noise of the
congestion grated on me tonight.
My eyes were locked on
the flickering neon lights of the gambling parlor across the street. The u in
Shibuya had gone out, so the sign flashed SHIB YA at me.
The sword sheathed at
my side felt heavy, and my body felt restless and electric. I couldn’t keep
from fidgeting and cracked my knuckles.
“He’ll be here soon,”
my mother, Marlow, assured me. She leaned back against the brick wall beside
me, casually eating large jackfruit seeds from a brown paper sack. Always bring
a snack on a stakeout was one of her first lessons, but I was far too nervous
and excited to eat.
The thick cowl of her
frayed black sweater had been pulled up like a hood, covering her cropped blond
hair from the icy mist that fell on us. Her tall leather boots only went to her
calf, thanks to her long legs. Her style tended to be monochromatic—black on
black on black—aside from the shock of dark red lipstick.
My mother was only a
few years shy of her fiftieth birthday, with almost thirty years of experience
working as a Valkyrie, and she was still as strong and vital as ever. On her
hip, her sword Mördare glowed a dull red through its sheath.
The sword of the
Valkyries was one that appeared as if it had been broken in half—its blade only
a foot long before stopping at a sharp angle. Mördare’s blade was several thousand
years old, forged in fires to look like red glass that would glow when the time
was nigh.
My sword was called
Sigrún, a present on my eighteenth birthday from Marlow. It was a bit shorter
than Mördare, with a thicker blade, so it appeared stubby and fat. The handle
was black utilitarian, a replacement that my mom had had custom-made from an
army supply store, to match her own.
The ancient blade
appeared almost black, but as it grew closer to its target, it would glow a
vibrant purple. For the past hour that we’d been waiting on our stakeout,
Sigrún had been glowing dully on my hip.
The mist grew heavier,
soaking my long black hair. I kept the left side of my head shaved, parting my
hair over to the right, and my scalp should’ve been freezing from the cold, but
I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel anything.
It had begun—the
instinct of the Valkyrie, pushing aside my humanity to become a weapon. When
the Valkyrie in me took over, I was little more than a scythe for the Grim
Reaper of the gods.
“He’s coming,” Marlow
said behind me, but I already knew.
The world fell into
hyperfocus, and I could see every droplet of rain as it splashed toward the
ground. Every sound echoed through me, from the bird flapping its wings a block
away, to the club door as it groaned open.
Eleazar Bélanger
stumbled out, his heavy feet clomping in the puddles. He was chubby and short,
barely over four feet tall, and he would’ve appeared to be an average middle-aged
man if it wasn’t for the two knobby horns that stuck out on either side of his
forehead. Graying tufts of black hair stuck out from under a bright red cap,
and as he walked ahead, he had a noticeable limp favoring his right leg.
He was a Trasgu, a
troublemaking goblin, and his appearance belied the strength and cunning that
lurked within him. He was over three hundred years old, and today would be the
day he died.
I waited in the shadows
of the alley for him to cross the street. A coughing fit caused him to double
over, and he braced himself against the brick wall.
I approached him
quietly—this all went easier when they didn’t have time to prepare. He took off
his hat to use it to wipe the snot from his nose, and when he looked up at me,
his green eyes flashed with understanding.
“It’s you,” Eleazar
said in a weak, craggy voice. We’d never met, and I doubt he’d ever seen me
before, but he recognized me, the way they all did when their time was up.
“Eleazar Bélanger, you
have been chosen to die,” I said, reciting my script, the words automatic and
cold on my lips. “It is my duty to return you to the darkness from whence you
came.”
“No, wait!” He held up
his pudgy hands at me. “I have money. I can pay you. We can work this out.”
“This is not my
decision to make,” I said as I pulled the sword from my sheath.
His eyes widened as he
realized I couldn’t be bargained with. For a moment I thought he might just
accept his fate, but they rarely did. He bowed his head and ran at me like a
goat. He was stronger than he looked and caused me to stumble back a step, but
he didn’t have anywhere to go.
My mother stood
blocking the mouth of the alley, in case I needed her. Eleazar tried to run
toward the other end, but his leg slowed him, and I easily overtook him. Using
the handle of my sword, I cracked him on the back of the skull, and he fell to
the ground on his knees.
Sigrún glowed brightly,
with light shining out from it and causing the air to glow purple around us.
Eleazar mumbled a prayer to the Vanir gods. I held the sword with both hands,
and I struck it across his neck, decapitating him.
And then, finally, the
electricity that had filled my body, making my muscles quiver and my bones
ache, left me, and I breathed in deeply. The corpse of an immortal goblin lay
in a puddle at my feet, and I felt nothing but relief.
“It was a good return,”
my mother said, and put her hand on my shoulder. “You did well, Malin.”
Copyright © 2018 by Amanda
Hocking in Between the Blade and the
Heart and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Griffin.
And here she is. . .
Amanda Hocking is the author of over twenty young adult novels, including the New York Times bestselling Trylle Trilogy and Kanin Chronicles. Her love of pop culture and all things paranormal influence her writing. She spends her time in Minnesota, taking care of her menagerie of pets and working on her next book.
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GIVEAWAY!!!
The author is giving away one copy of
BETWEEN THE BLADE AND THE HEART .
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below as well as your email address. A winner will be randomly chosen from all comments submitted by midnight (EST) on Tuesday, January 9th and announced here in the comments during the day on January 10th. The winner will also be informed per email. The winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is for US mailing addresses only, and entrants 18+ years of age. The value is around $10.99 (USD), and the prize cannot be exchanged or transferred. Only one entry per person. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. The giveaway is sponsored by Amanda Hocking.
Ever since she first read books like Chronicles of Narnia or Goosebumps, Alicia has been a lover of mind-bending fiction. Wherever imagination takes her, she is more than happy to call that place her home. With several Fantasy and Science Fiction titles under her belt, Alicia strives to write multicultural characters and stories that touch the heart. V-Card, the first book of the Sharing Spaces series, was her first Contemporary Romance.The mother of three and wife to a soldier, she loves chocolate, coffee, and of course good books. When not writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, shopping for shoes and fabulous jewelry, or spending time with her loving family.
