Book Review: A Curse Carved in Bone is Your Next Favorite Romantasy Read You Won’t Be Able to Put Down - Here’s Why
After the brutal cliffhanger in book one that Romantasy writer, Danielle L. Jensen, is so fond of writing, I could not wait to read the second installment and conclusion to The Unfated duology: A Curse Carved in Bone. And it picks up right where we left off in A Fate Inked in Blood. This book was everything I wanted from a duology conclusion, and everything that was missing for me from book one. Instead of instalust, we got more depth of relationships. Yes, there’s still spice for those that like it, but it wasn’t overwhelming to the story. Although, I could have done without some of it. I loved the richness of the plot, the battle scenes were once again epic, and the mythology and magic was so detailed and immersive. In short, I loved it. And I felt it was an improvement over book one, which felt more focused on the Romance. As a fantasy reader, this had a lot more depth to it. If you love Vikings and Norse mythology, this completed duology absolutely needs to be added to your TBR. I can also highly recommend the audiobook—it’s phenomenal with the various accents and duel narration.
P.S. Looking for a review of Book one, A Fate Inked in Blood? You’ll find it here. This absolutely gorgeous first edition printing of A Curse Carved in Bone includes these orange metallic sprayed edges:
Things to Know:
Book two in a completed duology
Adult Romantasy with spice
TW: death on page, gore
Viking setting
Norse Mythology
***SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT—YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!***
Freya is pissed. And rightly so. The man she thought she fell in love with has betrayed her to her people’s enemy, and now she doesn’t know who to trust. This book had some incredibly action scenes, and the unfated with their different powers were so interesting. In book one I felt like we didn’t get as much worldbuilding around the different gods, and wow was this remedied in book two. There was so much more detail, and I ate it all up.
I absolutely loved the Pirates of the Caribbean vibes/LOTR vibes with the zombie soldiers (I mean, that’s really what they are, right?), and her brother finally, finally wasn’t a wet blanket and actually stood up for her. Bjorn is, once again, a ‘touch her and die’ book boyfriend that we can all fall in love with. And he’s desperately trying to regain her trust. Spoiler alert, Freya’s not the forgiving kind. I also loved that we got a lot more time with other side characters, especially the other unfated, and seeing their various abilities.
And Helheim?! How cool was that? Danielle really throws Freya into impossible situations where you’re thinking, now how the heck is she going to get out of that?! And speaking of Freya, I loved seeing her come into her power and be confident, while still grappling with morality and the consequences of her choices.
Also the big plot twist?! I have to say, I didn’t trust Harald, but I was NOT expecting that! Brilliant. The way Danielle incorporated the magic with the various Norse gods was so well done. This was such a fun and fast paced Romantasy, and as always Danielle has me hooked with her amazing characters and worlds. If you’re looking for a great Romantasy duology to add to your TBR, this is a great one to pick. 4.5 stars
Favorite Quotes:
“You are my home, Freya. Everywhere else is just a place to lay my head.”
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