⭐⭐

This is the fourth and final book in the Vikings of Highgard series.

Here we see the story more from Vora’s perspective. She teams up with Andor, a man from Modir who had given up his godly powers, and also Vora’s big love. Initially she tries her best to stay away from Andor, but a love such as theirs could not be denied.

The things I liked: All of Vora’s children come together and it was good having everyone back. Andor is a great man, full of passion and love. I definitely felt his love for Vora and his desire to be with her. He is also very concerned for everyone and wants to take care of them. Vora had a lot of doubts, but she eventually embraced all her different roles – lover, mother, friend, healer, and warrior. The villain, Alvadr, was truly scary and he seemed invincible. And at the end there was a long epilogue that told everyone’s stories after the depleters were vanquished. That was pretty cool.

The things I didn’t like: Again, the writing tended to be long-winded. In the middle they are all together in Highgard locked in a tower by Solveig, and everyone’s memories are revealed and analyzed. On the one hand this was super interesting as it helped to explain a lot of what had happened so far. But it was a lot of information to take in. And it was told to us, not revealed gradually as the story unfolded. But maybe that’s just my personal preference. Most of the story was told through dialogue, and again, it feels too much like the reader is being told what is going on, rather than shown. The dialogue was also a bit awkward and disjointed at times. There was a lot of characters going around, and some of them seemed to be there mostly so that everyone ends up with a partner at the end. Their abilities seemed somewhat inconsistent. It worked under some circumstances, but not others, and new abilities appeared out of nowhere.

The confrontation with Alvadr and the depleters was pretty intense. But it took a very long time to get to this confrontation. By that time Highgard was filled with all kinds of people and creatures, that never even participated in the battle. The fight was a bit strange and not what you would expect at all.

In conclusion: I liked the world and the idea of the story, but I didn’t always like the execution of it.

Was I hooked by this book? Not overly much.

Genre: Fantasy, Romance