Unraveling fate might sound like a good job, but Ikepela Ives has been ignoring her own fate since her absentee mother dropped that surprise on her three years ago. Until now Ives' closest contact to the supernatural has been her best friend, the brownie Jules. Now an insistent Valkyrie is claiming Ives needs to use her abilities as the Fate Cipher to help stop the Norse apocalypse, Ragnarok. Seeing outside the box and possessing high-level snark may be two of Ives' biggest talents, but will they be enough to help her survive her first day on a new job?

I went into Ragnarok Unwound not entirely sure what I was getting into, or if it was a good idea. One chapter in and I knew this book was going to be a winner! Ives (don't call her Ikepela!) is a heroine full of snark, courage, and a fantastic ability to roll with weirdness. Completely unprepared for her job and in total denial of her heritage, Ragnarok forces Ives to confront her destiny. Like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, Ives has no clue what she's doing, but before long is fully committed to doing it anyway and trusting that luck and fast-talking will help her stall until she's figured it out. And it works. She's completely believable, and absolutely who you'd want at your side for an impending apocalypse.

Ives comes at Ragnarok thinking that it doesn't make a lot of sense and that Loki and his children got a pretty lousy deal through it all. What if they aren't the monsters the legends have turned them into? On meeting Hel, goddess of death, Ives knows there is far more to the story than what's on the surface. She becomes determined to figure out her abilities, to save Hel's family and to stop Ragnarok. Things are complicated since Hel's brothers are a giant wolf and the World Serpent; they've lost Hel's father; there are frost and fire giants destroying Las Vegas and Hawaii; the Hound of Asgard protecting Ives' father is completely incompetent; and it turns out that using her Fate Cipher abilities too many times will kill the mortal Ives.

I can only hope we get more of Ragnarok's cast of secondary characters in future books. Hel and Loki in particular are wonderfully entertaining and scene-stealing. There were enough touching moments to see that Jacques has talent for emotional depth as well as humor and is good at doling those moments out just when they are needed. Unexpected twists and turns, surprise allies and enemies, characterize a book full of non-stop action that you won't be able to put down once you've started!

Full knowledge of the mythology isn't needed to enjoy Ragnarok Unwound, but is always a good excuse to re-read Neil Gaiman's magical Norse Mythology.

Norse and Hawaiian legends meet in a way that Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Xena & Hercules/Marvel fans will love in this first book of a new and delightful series!

Don't you hate when you just want to get a bit boozed, trying to enjoy a nice night after bumping with your ex-boyfriend, and someone - A Valkyrie of all things - shows up to tell that you have to help her to save the world from Ragnarok?
Yeah- our heroine Ikepela Ives, the Fate Cipher - really hates that.

All she wanted after bumping into ex-bf was to enjoy some drinks while going through Tinder, but our favorite Valkyrie Hildr comes to ask for her help. Asks for her to fulfill her job as Fate Cipher and find our favorite god so the Ragnarok doesn't help (Guess who's the favorite god? You all know and love him!)

With a fast paced and fun writting, Kristin Jacques created a really nice world of fantasy! I loved reading, loved the characters, their diversity, and their chemistry!

Ragnarok Unwound is a fun romp of a story that blends Norse mythology into an urban fantasy setting. It follows Ikepela Ives, a human girl with the superhuman ability to see and change fates. One day, she is confronted by a Valkyrie, who needs Ives for the one thing she has been trying to avoid: her powers. But Ives quickly realizes she can’t avoid this situation, for something terrible has been set into motion - Ragnarok, the Norse apocalypse. Only Ives has the power to keep the world from ending.

This was a fast-paced, lighthearted, and fun read. Ives’s mission is to stop the apocalypse, yet this was not a serious or heavy story. After Ives meets the Valkyrie - Hildr - she finds out she must locate the god Loki and his children Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungand because they are directly tied to the success of the apocalypse. In her quest, she finds that there is more to this Ragnarok story than meets the eye.

This is very much an urban fantasy - there are gods, goddesses, and other fantastical beings - but most of the action plays out in recognizable places. From Hawaii to Las Vegas and New York. One complaint I had was that it wasn’t immediately clear what the setting was in the beginning - it took me almost half the novel to realize that Ives was from Hawaii.

Despite these qualms, the locations were lush and beautifully described - I could feel myself in these places. I especially loved the descriptions of Vegas, which I thought perfectly captured the place:

“... Vegas was the city where the party never stopped. The air was constantly aglow from the flashing lights of the casinos, beckoning the tourists with the scent of stale smoke, sweet perfumed sweat, and the lulling laughter of women with lipstick-stained teeth.”

Writing is definitely not one of the flaws of this book, in fact I was continually impressed by it.

I thought the use of Norse mythology was unique and entertaining - I liked that the author used some of the lesser-known Norse gods. There is also the inclusion of Hawaiian mythology, which made for an interesting mix. I did wonder why exactly Norse and Hawaiian gods were chosen, of all combinations? Do the other pantheons exist in this world?

The characters were equally as fun as the story. I enjoyed the majority, but there are also a lot of characters - some we get to know better than others. Ives, Jules, and Hel are the most well-developed, and we get to know their motivations the best. But I really loved the characters - even the ones that weren't as developed as others. I hope that if there are sequels, some of these characters are explored more. 

Overall though, I thought this book was a delightful surprise! It wasn’t perfect, but I had a lot of fun reading it. I was excited following Ives’s story, and all that she discovers about herself and her powers along the way. The story is set up for a sequel, and honestly I am excited for that possibility. There is so much that I still want to explore in this world. I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for a lighthearted, well-written fantasy read.

I got this book via NetGalley.

I`m REALLY excited about this book, it`s tons of fun. I loved the characters, the setting, the diversity of the main cast (!!!), I`m a really big fan of these mashups that mix modern day with mythology, and this book delivered SO much fun, the interesting concepts it presented where executed perfectly. Another thing i really loved was the main character, she comes off as strong but doesn`t fall into the "strong female character" trope that kinda simplies characters into just being "badass", she comes off as a brave and strong character with flaws and the whole package.
Would probably recommend it for teens (maybe??) and young adults, it reminded me of Dianna Wynne Jones works (especially Howl`s Moving Castle, for some reason i can`t quite point??) and American Gods by Neil Gaiman. If you like those, i totally recommend this book.

Don’t you hate when you sit down for a drink at a bar and a Valkyrie approaches you to ask a favor? Ikepela Ives can relate. Ever since her parents dropped the bombshell that Ives is the world’s designated Fate Cipher--whatever that means--Ives has been trying to keep off the radar of everything supernatural. Unfortunately, Ragnarok is about to kick off and Ives might be the only one who can stop it.

Ives starts to track down Loki and his children (the central characters in getting Ragna-rocking and rolling), but the deeper she digs, the more something just doesn’t seem right. Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungandr don’t seem out for revenge. And Loki appears to be fighting it altogether. So who exactly wants this?

Ragnarok Unwound is a first entry in a fantasy series centered around a young woman of color. The writing and flow are a little rough around the edges, but it reminds me a lot of The Iron Druid Chronicles in that it’s a fun take on mythology-heavy fantasy. It’s less polished, though.

I struggled with some of the elements of the book. The author doesn’t spend a lot of time in exposition, which means that I am unsure if I completely grasp what, exactly, a “fate cipher” is supposed to be in the context of the story. Ives (never Ikepela!) seems to be able to undo the threads of Fate? She’s supposed to be a balancing force in opposition to the Fates, though it’s not clear if she’s attached to a particular belief system in this role--she seems like a free agent?

The pacing doesn’t quite work. The scenes often change to other characters just after I’d forgotten that there was other action. Terribly jarring. And I think I was supposed to care more about the mystery of the best friend character, but I wasn’t interested in her at all.

So, three thumbs up. The things that I didn’t care for aren’t insurmountable. I look forward to seeing where it goes.

I received a free copy from netgalley for review. If you like any the the Percy Jackson series or the Blackwell Pages, but wanted a slightly more grown up version- this is a great first in the series. This was a fun, fast paced book, with a mixed pantheon, and lots of twists and fun turns. There’s clear wrap ups from this novel, but a great clear path ahead in the story as well. My only wish would have been to get an idea where the story started (geographically speaking) as the descriptions were generic until the pantheons were starting to be discussed. I’m looking for the next of this!

I love that mythologies besides Greco-Roman are on the rise (Norse, APIDA: Asian/Pacific Islander/Desi - in this case Hawaiian, etc), but it also means the market is starting to become oversaturated and I need to stop leaping for books because of their premise. (Plus, the diversity is limited to "bronze-skinned" characters on the Hawaiian side and "inhumanly pale and attractive" on the Norse side.) I also really appreciated the strong female relationships, particularly since they took precedence over the too-convenient heterosexual romances.

This one had an interesting idea, but I found it generally underdeveloped. I wasn't quite sure what was going on in terms of worldbuilding - it's implied that all the mythologies are true, a la Riordanverse, but besides a couple of exceptions it's limited to the Norse pantheon and Hawaiian deities - and the Fate Cipher role itself seemed to be defined as "whatever keeps the plot on track," with far too many instances of perfectly-timed divine intervention and frankly illogical developments, leaning heavily on the "main character doesn't know her own strength but will somehow manage to save the world through good intentions and sheer force of will and convenient magical abilities" trope. In addition to the unnatural progression of Ives' powers, the plot development seemed a little contrived, hinging on offhand comments and random remembrances, and it was far too easy to figure out what was happening because the POV jumps gave the reader much more information than the characters could know - the villain and their plot were completely obvious.

While I've found that excellent prose can make up for a formulaic plot, that unfortunately wasn't the case here. The action was bogged down by an excess of description, ominous statements, and a lot of cliched turns of phrase; the characters were pretty archetypical and lacked nuance. I also found the attempts at modernization a little jarring, and not altogether relevant to the story.

So with all that said, it definitely wasn't for me, but if you like modern mythology with strong female leads and you're less nitpicky than me, it's probably still worth a try.

Hello, I will post the review on Instagram, blog, and Goodreads two weeks before publication date. I will also add the review to Amazon and Barnes & Noble on the publication date. I will add links to reviews once they are public, thank you.

Title: Ragnarok Unwound
Author: Kristin Jacques
Publication Date: January 8th, 2019
Rating: 3 stars

eARC received from publisher through NetGalley

Ragnarok Unwound is set in the 21st century and follows Ikepela Ives as she tries to figure out who she really is and stop the world from ending. She meets notable Norse Gods along the way as well as other mythical  beings that are sure to delight readers. 

It was a pleasurable weekend read filled with enticing characters and a fantastic world. She has a way of bringing Norse and Hawaiian mythology together that doesn't feel odd. I enjoyed how Hel was very down to earth and relatable with her personality and likes of things.

The story is fast paced from the beginning which can sometimes lead to unanswered questions as some scenes just lacked a bit. Some of the dialogue between characters felt as though they shared the same personality. 

Overall, I did enjoy the plot and the characters since I love mythology. If you are like me and enjoy a new take on mythology, give this book a try!

Thank you NetGalley and Broad Universe for this arc.

This was a fun read! It's been decades since I was last familiar with Norse mythology, and I can't claim to have ever been familiar with Hawaiian myths, so understanding the "real stories" behind the story line of this book are not necessary for enjoyment. What great characters! A great fast moving read! Loved the Los Vegas part! What an imagination Ms. Jacques has!. Mayhem and foolishness.... fun, fun, fun. A great read for a rainy weekend. When will book 2 be ready??

Ikepela Ives sits in a bar one night, hopelessly scrolling through Tinder, when a tall and mysterious woman walks in, requesting her aid. Ives has no desire to be called upon for her magical abilities by the Valkyrie. She has no desire to be Fate Cipher for the Worlds’ mythology, but sometimes one has little choice for where life takes them. It is not long before Ives is whisked into a life she has spent her years avoiding – a life where she now has to save the world as Ragnarok looms.

Set in the 21st Century, this light and unique telling of the Norse myths warms the heart with its authenticity and lighthearted approach, coming together in a funny and feisty young-adult novel.

I was pleasantly absorbed by this novel. As a fan of works of fiction revolving around myths and legends myself, this was a refreshing take on the dark and twisted elements to the well-known stories.

Jacques did wonderfully in making this a female-led novel, with the power of friendship being held alight for so long throughout the novel, and with bonds well developed. I could not fault the connections between the characters and the uniqueness of their individual personalities – particularly that of Hel, who became the sassy side-kick every person wants in their life.

Jacques has such a way with words in bringing the Norse Gods to life, a hard feat to achieve in storytelling where there are so many depictions and variations of them. Her soothing and then intimidating depiction of Heimdallr chills to the bone particularly.

Although this book was refreshing to read, there were several elements that I feel could have come through better. I think the story at times was underdeveloped. It would have been nice to have more aspects to scenes drawn out and described, and even explained. When I reached the end of the book I had so many unanswered questions that left me confused. I think the problem is not with an underdeveloped idea, though. It felt more like Jacques had such an excitement when writing the story (and who can blame here, her ideas are fantastically fluid!), that she seemed to have narrated the novel in one almighty breath, leading to crucial elements that would have enhanced the story being left out.

I truly feel that this book would be greater with just another read through, and minuscule scene developments. Nonetheless, still a wonderful read.

This book ended up not being for me. That doesn’t mean I think it’s bad or anything, I think I’m just not the intended target, and that fine. I thought I would be, but oh well. I can definitely see why people would like it, though.

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For some odd reason, I didn't expect much from this novel. It didn't have a cover, I hadn't heard much about it, but I do love Norse mythology so I thought, why not.

Wow. I was completely surprised at how much I loved it! This had all the classic elements of Norse mythology as well as a nice addition of Fae and towards the end, Arthurian. The cast of characters was fantastic and I really enjoyed the author's own personal twist on them...making Fenrir and the sea monster, human with glamour was genius! The unfolding story was really engaging, simple to follow, and I just couldn't get enough.

I laughed often while I was reading this. It was just those small, personal little touches, like Hel's choice of elevator music lol (Rapper's Delight). I was sad to see this story end...but wait...there's another one in the works! I couldn't be happier that this is a series, however I want to get my hands on the next one! I need more Loki in my life!

Such a fun read, I would highly recommend, especially for those that are into Norse mythology and would appreciate a modern take on it.

Ragnarok Unwound by Kristen Jacques, a great fantasy tale. Ives is a fate cipher, someone who can look at and manipulate a persons fate. But she is untrained and when a Valkyrie shows up out of the blue and asks for her help in unwinding Ragnarok, Ives doesn't know what to do...

This book definitely wasn't for me, very heavy on the young adult/fan fiction vibe for my tastes. The writing seem to improve as it goes on, but this book was in desperate need of an editor and a second draft. Honestly, it doesn't feel ready for publication yet. The blended mythology is cool, and I feel like there are some good ideas here, but more polish is necessary.

I am so conflicted right now and that’s pretty much the feeling I had the entire time I was reading Ragnarok Unwound. I must have spent my entire reading time constantly flipping back and forth trying to decide how I feel about this book. I still have no idea but I’m going to write until I figure it out.

First, the good! I loved this storyline. I am a huge fan of mythology, be it Norse or Greek or whatever else. There is something about Gods, Goddesses and their histories that I am a complete sucker for so right off the hop I was intrigued and excited to see where this book would take me. The mix of Norse and Hawaiian mythology (which I had to look up, by the way. I had no idea who Pele was until Google) along with a bit of Scottish folklore thrown in was…different. I actually really enjoyed that diversity because it is something that you don’t see very often and I think it worked very well here.

While I really enjoyed having Norse Gods and Goddesses so involved in the action, I’m not sure I am in love with the modernization that came with them. Now, I do love the banter and there is a HUGE part of me that wants to have the Goddess of Death as my nerdy gamer friend, but I think I might prefer a little less casual-ness when it comes to immortal deities. I just think that there is a certain amount of respect and formality that comes with being a divine immortal. Maybe keep the nerdy-ness but a little less of the “bro” and “sis”? I mean, I know that the way Hel, Ives and the group interacted with each other brings more of a human quality to them but….Gods. There is a level of informality that you can take but it just went a little over in my opinion.
Let’s talk about pacing for a minute. Now, I love a book that can keep a good, steady flow. It holds my interest and doesn’t allow for boredom with parts that just drag on. Ragnarok Unwound achieves that flow…unfortunately it is in hyper speed. I would almost bet that Kristin Jacques wrote this entire book in one breath. You can almost feel the urgency to get from one action point to another and it’s a little overwhelming. It would be one thing if it was just the action that was rushed but every aspect of the book seemed to have that same “this needs to happen now” quality to it. The path of the heroine mastering her powers and destiny at an alarmingly fast pace is common enough in fantasy books but I was surprised at how quickly trust was displayed, how fast battles came and went and how easily everyone just accepted what was going on around them and who was showing up next. It blew my mind. There was so much fast jumping from one city to the next and into the In-Between and other immortal worldly places that I had no idea where we were supposed to be at any given time and had no clue what was going on. Everything just happened so fast and I could NOT keep up. I tried, I just couldn’t do it.

At the end of the day, I did find this book a really quick and enjoyable read. I do wish that I would have had more time to breathe and process what was going on as I was reading and I have a lot of questions that I need answers to (like what the hell is Jules?? Was this answered and I missed it?). I’m thinking that this is the kind of book that you have to read at least twice before really understanding everything about it. Kind of like watching Deadpool….every time I see it I find something I missed. We’ll see.

I do hope that there is going to be another book. I’m quite curious to see what’s going to happen next!

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher to read and provide my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this. I can’t wait for anything else she writes. I was gripped from start to finish. You have to read this!

Finally a Ragnarok story I can get into! This is a great tale that the taps it's toes into many different cultures mythos, in a respectful manner. I love the change of pace one she is sent to Hel. The tale was woven like a fine tapestry (pun intended). I hope this book goes beyond book one, and two, crossing many myths from around the world. The character development was fast for many, or so you think, until you read on. Most are deeply developed in the end. Some are left with bits of backstory, I hope to find in book 2. There was one small error in the end where LoKi is giving into the threads of Ragnarok and close to ----. The word 'lost' is jumbled. Other than that I enjoyed the story, and saw no glaring errors. For those that love a good Norse story, this one is worth a read. Keep in mind, Gods do die, some are alive somewhere, lost, and betrayal that I though came from one, was actually another.

Energetic and delightful story of mythic. Figures transposed into psychologically motivated stories ... a little younger than I truly enjoy, it's aimed at YA ..but I can see its appeal ..

I simply love the Norse mythology and all the interpretations of it that our culture brings forth. This one is another unique one. With great humor, sass and wonderfully flawed characters, Kristin Jacques tells the story of an unusual heroine: a fate cipher, whose job it is to unravel people from the unjust threads of fate laid onto them. But then she is asked to unravel the biggest fate of them all, Ragnarok itself, and needs a ragtag team of friends to help her tackle this task.

The characters really shine in this modernized fairytale. From the very beginning, the voices are fresh and funny. Despite their various powers and godly pedigree, the characters are very human, down to earth and therefore relatable. This book tells its story with the usually overlooked heroes, instead of the same old Thor and Odin. Nevertheless, it is everything but boring. From the sass to the magic to the story telling and colorful world building to the truly epic action scenes, to the many unusual budding romances and friendships, his is a great book. I loved the message of the dangers of messing with fate and the interesting concept of the physicality of the threads of fate literally binding people to be unable to speak or act in ways that go against their fate. The only tiny problem I had with this novel was the ending, which was a little too much of a set-up for the sequel and takes to story out of the Norse realm of myths. And I don't know if that works out as well as this book did, but I am willing to give it a try.

This work is an exciting and surprising amalgamation of Norse and some Hawaiian mythology. Jacques uses a simple main character that anyone can relate to as the center of real apocalypse avoiding story. She does not utilize the tired understanding of Norse mythology to advance her story but instead introduces a story around and through the typical story.

Jacques leaves us with a story that can easily continue and expand to other mythologies and people. I look forward to what I hope is a series of mixed mythology fiction.