Lee's take on the trickster god is fresh and a lot of fun! It was nice to go back in time with the royal misfit of the 9 realms, pull back the curtain and see the source of his powers and vulnerabilities. I'm excited to see where Lee takes this story next.

It is a good Teen and YA novel. It has a very interesting plot that had started out slow, but the story grows on you as you read. The Prince Loki had always been my favorite, but not so much with his love for Amora, but I had enjoyed reading how the characters were built, the settings, the twists and turns that keeps surprising me until the very end, even in the romance plot of the story. It is a good read Thanks NetGalley for letting me read this book.

When I found out that this book was happening, I was over the top excited. I’ve been a huge fan of Loki for a while now. Both Marvel’s version of him and of course the classic Norse version. I just love this trickster god and I’ve enjoyed Lee’s books in the past, so without a doubt I had high expectations for this book.

Right off the bat we start off with a royal event in which we have Loki and our other main character Amora. Going into this book, we know that these are the days long before the Marvel movies and the Loki we have grown to know. This is him before he found out the truth about his birth and still wanted to be heroic and capable like his brother. However, this isn’t the trickster silver tongue god. It’s an uncertain teenage boy who doesn’t know how to control his magic and blushes when caught looking at a pretty girl. I think I would have been fine with that, but then we meet Amora and she's everything that I expected Loki to be. From her attitude, to her magic. Just everything. Which threw me off completely.

Maybe Lee wasn’t so much focusing on the movies, but I remember even as children Thor would comment on Loki’s trickster ways. Before he ever found out about being adopted, he still had a way of causing chaos too. I feel like if this wasn’t Loki and some other characters, then I think it would have been fine, but the fact that I love this character so much (and other comic books characters) made me realize that these stories made about them just aren’t for me.

Overall, the book was nicely written, though sometimes a little slow. I wanted to know more about some characters as well. I think others might greatly enjoy this though.

Loki: Where Mischief Lies was a delightful adventure story, and I'm so glad that Mackenzi Lee got to work with the character of Loki! She did a great job bringing him to life, and this was absolutely a page turner. I loved the original characters (especially Theo who was adorable and honestly I want a series about him) 

The settings and characterizations were excellent and I'm definitely looking forward to recommending this to readers in our library!

*incomprehensible fangirl squealing* 

Ok, now that I've gotten that over with... Since Loki: Where Mischief Lies is a young adult novel, we get to deal with adolescent versions of Loki and Thor, which is a pretty long time ago considering that they’re gods and they age very, very slowly. Either way, teen Loki has a best friend/partner in crime named Amora (I see what you did there, Ms. Lee, don’t think I didn’t see what you did just there). Amora is a sorceress in training, and she’s been secretly helping Loki learn magic. Asgardians aren’t big on their princes being sorcerers - they’d rather their princes be golden boy warriors with huge muscles and blonde hair. You know, like Thor. Poor Loki, eternally trapped in Thor’s shadow. 

Things get worse when, at the feast of Gullveig, Odin looks into the Godseye Mirror, which is this a supercool mirror that can show the future. The Godseye Mirror just shows general warnings about Asgard’s enemies and Odin then shares what he sees and tells everyone how they will triumph. You know, the things you do with a future-telling mirror. However, at tonight’s feast, what Odin sees in the Godseye Mirror is so terrible he refuses to speak about it publicly. Loki and Thor, eavesdropping on Odin and his council, learn that the prophecy Odin saw had to do with Loki doing something terrible. Gasp! Of course Loki has to know more. So he and Amora sneak into the vault to try and look into the Godseye Mirror themselves.

Except they accidentally break it. 

Whoops!

Amora takes the fall for the whole scheme, and, as a result, she’s permanently exiled to Midgard, where she will live the rest of her life without magic. Loki is bereft at the loss of his friend, but Frigga, being the best mom ever, takes over Loki’s magical training, Asgardian prince-standards be damned. 

An undetermined amount of time goes by (again, immortal beings, time doesn’t really have much meaning with them) with Loki still, STILL, living stuck in Thor’s shadow. Everybody loves Thor - Thor seems to be able to effortlessly do everything right, while Loki is always having to prove himself. Even when Loki follows all the rules and does everything right, he still manages to fall short of Thor. Plus, there’s still that vague Godseye Mirror prophecy hanging over his head...

When the Norn Stones - the most powerful magic amplifiers in the whole of the Nine Realms - are stolen, Odin tasks Thor with looking for them. It’s a pretty plum assignment, the sort of thing you’d ask a future King to do. Loki, on the other hand, is punted off to Midgard to help some dumb humans. Not a very kingly assignment, but still, Loki has to do it. He arrives in 19th century London to help the SHARP Society investigate a string of murders that appear to have links to Asgardian magic. Unfortunately, the SHARP society isn’t exactly your 19th century version of SHIELD - the whole society consists of Mrs. S, the elderly widow of the society’s founder, Theo, an engineer with a badly damaged leg, and Gem, a cop who has to keep his association with the society secret or else he’ll lose his job. 

The indignities Loki must put up with just keep getting worse and worse, but still - if he wants to actually impress Odin, he has to complete this assignment. But humans are just the absolute worst. Only, Theo might not be so bad...

As a Marvel Fangirl, I absolutely loved Loki: Where Mischief Lies because of course I did. I do have a few complaints, though: at times the plot moves a little too slowly, and some of the characters, especially those of the SHARP society, seem a little underdeveloped. I wanted more scenes between Theo and Loki, more time for them to develop a rapport. Honestly, I just wanted more in general. This book could’ve been 800 pages and I would’ve been happy to read it. I mean, it’s Loki gallivanting around 19th Century London solving crimes. If you’re a fan MCU’s Loki, then you’ll love the book. If you’re a very serious book reviewer who doesn’t read books for fun, then, well, you might have a tough time of it. 

Still, who knows - the copy I read is an ARC, meaning the text is unfinished. There’s bound to be some changes made to the copy between now and the September release date, so perhaps all my complaining about pacing and underdeveloped characters will be rendered moot. We shall see. In the mean time, Mackenzi Lee + 19th Century London + Loki = one very happy fangirl.

Mackenzi Lee gives us a adventurous and intriguing story starring Marvel's Loki. A complex character, Loki is the anti-hero we can get behind.