A fantastic read! Mackenzi Lee just has a way about her writing that makes her books very hard to put down!

This Marvel book explores Loki in his younger days (before the Avengers movies). It is a fun romp, filled with banter and more of the Thor/Loki brotherly relationship we crave. The book allows Loki fly his rainbow Pride flag, which is a topic the author is experienced at and is well done in the book. It's the first of a planned trilogy and will be perfect for teen fans of the character.

“You’re already the villain in everyone’s story, Loki. Why not start playing your part?”

Yes. YES. YES!

I have been waiting for this book ever since I found out a YA book based on Marvel’s character of Loki was in the works. Even with the occasional hints of foreshadowing, the book stood well on its own. The relationships Loki maintained with other members of his family were well-written and were reflected in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although Thor did seem a little one-dimensional.

Loki’s character remained snarky as ever with a mix of confidence and self-doubt seen/interpreted in his dialogue and actions. The genderfluidity of his character wasn’t made to be at the center of his character, but was just part of the overall whole of his identity.

“I don’t change my gender. I exist as both.”
“You’re not…That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does to me.”
“Well, all hail Asgard, then.”

It’s just so casually mentioned and accepted, especially when the conversation previously centered around Theo explaining his arrest due to showing affection to someone he believed reciprocated but ended up leading to his arrest for indecency. Despite the causal turn taken in Loki and Theo’s conversation later, I think this helped both characters to accept a part of themselves others had always condemned.

Loki, by Mackenzi Lee, provided a fun story with some well-known characters and delved into the background of the villainous/anti-hero Loki. I would love to read further books by this author on Loki and other characters in the Mavel Universe.

3.5 stars. I so badly wanted to love this. Everything I love about the character in the MCU - the snark, the banter, the mischief - is there, but only in brief glimpses. The best moments for me were when Loki and Thor were together, being brothers. I loved it. But since most of the book takes place when Loki is on Midgard/Earth, there wasn't enough of the banter to offset the rest.

There were a couple twists in the story that I enjoyed, but for the most part this was "flat" to me. I didn't care for any of the characters except Loki. The romantic bits (with both a male character and then a female character) had no spark or chemistry. Yes, Loki is genderfluid (I caught only one statement that affirmed that) and queer in the story as he is in comics conon, but even that seem tucked in to satisfy fans. It didn't *go* anywhere.

The biggest factor for me was Loki's motivation. An antihero like this - with such a huge fandom through the MCU - has to be compelling. As the character is on the young side in this, he's still trying to figure out who he is, especially in regard to his magic and his family. I love a good identity story, but this never became that for me. I wanted to be convinced that because of events or circumstances or whatever, he *has* to cross the line to villain. But this left me with the impression that he does what he does to live down to the expectations of Odin and myth. "Oh, fine, I guess this is all you think of me, so I'll be the bad guy." There's no agency or control in that, and that didn't feel very Loki-ish to me.

There's a zombie piece of this that some fans will enjoy, but is not my preference. There's violence and some gruesome bits with that which didn't help my enjoyment of the whole book. That's a matter of personal preference - other fans will love that piece. (Language, violence, LGBTQ+)

Of all of the Marvel characters, Loki has been one of my favorites. And Mackenzie Lee has captured the not-quite-villain/not-quite-hero perfectly. Here is a young man torn between loyalty and personal desire; caught between his overbearing father Odin, and The Enchantress Amora. This tug of war highlights Loki's own shifty personality while showcasing his witty humor and mischievous nature. I love what Lee has done with this origin story!

Mackenzie Lee is having fun, probably, the best way to tackle best-selling novels on this time and age. With her <em>Gentleman′s guide to vice and virtue</em> she deftly showed what an experienced light can cast over troubled young man′s feelings. Of course, Loki is not agonizing about true love and gender identity, but he is definitely suffering over two very important things to him: sibling rivalry and Odin′s mistrust upon his power.

Now, young Loki doesn′t know how to do magic, he is conscious of its possibilities, but he is not able to harness it. Besides, no one is willing to teach him magic, until Amora comes along. She is everything he thinks he ought to be: wild, defiant and mischievous. Someone that speaks his language, someone to sneer at Thor from behind, feeling smug.

However, together they will destroy a prized possession of Loki′s father; a mirror that sees into the future, while trying to discover if one of Odin′s sons will cause the destruction of the realm.

As a result, Amora will then be banished to Earth, where there is no magic, a punishment meant to serve as a warning for him as well.

The setting is laid out then: pre-Avenger Loki is already feeling out cast and mistrusted:

"He could have spoken up. He wanted to. He wanted to be like Thor and argue with his father and come away from it feeling righteous and right, knowing Odin would be secretly pleased with his hot-headedness and the way he stood his ground. But he was not his brother. Insolence would not be a sign of strength, but defiance. He and his brother may play the same game of his father′s devising, but the rules would never be the same. Darkness moves in a different way than the light. It is always there before the light. It has to be faster, and smarter, and stealthier".

However, he will do his best to please his father, beginning with forgetting about Amora. Years on, Asgardian magic is detected in relation to a string of mysterious murders on Earth, and Odin sends him to investigate.

Loki will have to descend upon nineteenth-century London, embarking on a journey that will involve murder suspects, the seduction of power, and probably who he's meant to become. Of course, all of that will be done in style:

"He looked down at himself, mud now splattered up to his knees and his clothes sticking to him from the hot rain. He sighed, then conjured a small spell to shield himself from the rain. Frigga had warned him that Midgard would drain his strength faster than Asgard, and without magic thick and native like it was on his home realm, his power would be slower to replenish. Small spells would take more energy, and in excess, would eventually bleed him dry. Magic didn′t live in the air here like it did in Asgard—he would have to rely on the built-up reserves of strength his mother had taught him to carry like canteens of water on a desert expedition.

But surely his own comfort constituted some kind of emergency".

I like Lee′s writing style, she enjoys giving nuanced descriptions of everything, from parties to expressions, faces and feelings; toying with giant monsters and magic with the same ease as Jane Austen writing witty dialogue. Full of charm and mystery, this is an appealing YA read: for we all love Loki, we root for him and hope he will become a hero; however, we really care about him because he may be able to do the right thing, yes, but he will never would enjoy doing it the nice way.

Also, this is the first young adult novel out of three, as she partnered with Marvel for two more books about popular but flawed characters within the Marvel Universe.

′Loki, Where Mischief Lies′ is on sale since September 3, 2019.

I wanted to really love this, but I didn't. There are a lot of good things about it (and I'll get to those in a minute). The pacing was slow for me. The cover jacket promises Loki on Midgard in Victorian England. This doesn't happen until a little past 30% and while I mostly enjoyed our time on Asgard, I was really impatient to get to Midgard. The pacing issues continued though, and it was lacking some much needed tension. At the prose level, there were a lot of filter words, especially some version of feel, that became a little distracting. It also didn't have nearly the voice I was expecting for this character and from this author.

I did really enjoy how quickly Loki was established as a queer character and that his queerness was not at all the focus of the book. It was simply a part of his character and there were several good conversations with Theo, a Midgardian, about gender identity and sexual orientation and how Asgards views differed from Midgard's. Loki's character arc was superb, and I really enjoyed seeing him figuring out who he could be and how other's views affected that and if/how much he should let other people's opinions and their set roles for him matter. The novel fits well in the Marvel canon, and I love Loki as a character and enjoyed seeing him here. Though I had some issues with it, I really hope there is a sequel, and we can see Loki in a female form more.

Loki is one of my favorite characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and in Norse mythology as well. I'm not very familiar with his comic book counterpart - yet. So when I heard Mackenzi Lee was writing a young Loki novel set in the 19th century I was already sold. I love her brand of historical fiction and somehow I managed to get approved for the ARC via NetGalley. Luckily for me this was a great introduction to young Loki. His voice is spot on and she has created a marvelous sibling relationship between him and Thor. The banter between them, by the way, is pretty much perfect. She also does a brilliant job with Frigga as we learn more of Loki's relationship with his mother who helped train him in magic. As for Loki visiting Victorian era London, it's clear that Lee has done her research on the time and place. I also appreciated that she discusses the LGBT+ community there in comparison to Asgard's open mindedness and Loki as genderfluid. Overall, you will absolutely need Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee if you loved her Montague Siblings series, Norse mythology, and Tom Hiddleston's portrayal of Loki in the MCU. I can't wait to see what happens in the next two installments of this projected series. Mackenzi Lee is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

I was unable to finish this one as I planned to because of hurricane preparations. I'll finish it and post my review to my blog ASAP. I'm 25% in so far and it's pretty good so I'll rate what I've read so far here before the title is archived.

Who doesn’t just love Loki and some good mischief, his character in the MC world is one of my favorites but this book only had moments where I was like, Oh, there’s the Loki I know and love. The plot was slow moving and not surprising. I can’t say that there was anything that I really liked or made me want to speed read through. It just didn’t do it for me as much as I wanted the book to. There are others that seem to really like it so maybe you will but for me it was just meh. 2 stars

I was provided with an electronic ARC by Disney-Hyperion through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this a lot once it got started, but have to give the caveat that a YA book doesn't have the luxury of such a slow start. I felt the story didn't gain any momentum at all until almost halfway through, although it worked as a whole.

I thought Mackenzi Lee would be great for writing Loki, and I'm thrilled to say I was right. She really captured his spirit. The story is a fun take on Loki. I loved the mystery (even if it was a little obvious), and it really helps lay the foundation for how Loki views the world so differently from Thor. The original characters created for the book are fun too. Would definitely recommend for any Loki fan.

Let me just start off by saying that Loki has become one of my favorite characters in the Marvel universe. Thor Ragnorak changed my opinions on a lot of things in the Marvel universe, and probably my life, but Loki emerged from Ragnorak in my heart. Loki has been seen as The Trickster and is assumed to be in the wrong, to be up to no good. So what breaks my heart is to see Loki as a teen, desperately struggling to be someone which would appease everyone, even though they consistently think the worst of him. My poor Loki baby. And what Loki: Where Mischief Lies illustrates is the power of expectations and perception. When the world expect us to do bad things, no matter what we do, what we try, we can’t escape that shadow.

Loki is still young and his stories have not yet happened … or have they? He knows that time is not linear and sometimes your future is someone else’s past. Everyone expects him to do bad things, even his father, Odin. The only person who believes in him is Amora and when she is sent away to Earth for something she and Loki did, he loses this one positive influence in his life. As time continues on Asgard without Amora, Loki slips deeper into darkness as his brother, Thor, is continually praised and loved. After magical murders are detected on Earth, Odin sends Loki to discover the source. He finds himself in nineteenth-century London and begins to learn more about himself and the secrets of his father.

Loki: Where Mischief Lies is a stand-alone novel about the creation of a character everyone loves to hate. Lee promises to write two more young adult novels about other Marvel characters but this book can definitely be read on its own. I love alternate storylines and character retellings, but this novel left me feeling that something was missing. It was still a good read, just not a great read. I don’t know who the other two novels will be about, but I will be looking for them to learn more about them.

Good blend of Marvel aesthetic, Lee's wit and charm, and a new spin on Loki while keeping much of what we love.

I enjoyed Loki’s characterization, to a certain extent. I think the way he presents to the world was really well-done – as this cold person who doesn’t care about anything. I also think Lee nailed his wit and the banter in this book was really well-written. I loved the way Lee wrote his relationship with Thor, which is frustrating for both of them, but loving in their own way. And I really enjoyed the way Thor was written, as this brutish, self-assured and dumb-but-in-a-cute-way golden boy. I think his characterization is in line with how Loki sees him, so I think that was really well done.

I also think Loki’s battle with what is right or wrong, or what is right for him was really well done as well. I feel like his desperate need to impress Odin was portrayed really well, and I love that a lot of his actions, although questionable, were done in order for him to be as appreciated and as revered as Thor is. And the feeling of being cast out because of his magic was also something that I think was written well and added depth to Loki’s character. I feel like the motivation for him was always this need to be accepted and recognized and admired for his power, so I loved seeing that in Lee’s version of him as well.
And bonus points for making Loki attracted to both Amora and Theo in this one and him stating that he exists as both a man and a woman at the same time. But we don’t see a lot of that aspect of him. He also is obsessed with high-heeled boots, so there’s that.

Loki meets up on Earth with the first people who made up SHIELD and that was a fun little nugget of the story. Mrs S., Theo and Gem are the secret SHARP organization that handles “aliens” from other worlds. Theo is an interesting character and I really liked what we saw of him, but there wasn’t enough of that for me to grow attached.

However, my biggest grievance with this is the pacing – it did not work for this book, and I feel like this is an issue with all of Mackenzi Lee’s books. The characters usually make up for that (or they did in Gentleman’s Guide) but here the side-characters weren’t developed enough to make me overlook the poor pacing.

The first half of this book is set in Asgard and I did enjoy the setting and the dynamics between Loki and his family that were explored in it, but the fact remains that the main plot point wasn’t introduced until the 50 percent mark. Which means that the story dragged in the first half. And from there, things happened to quickly and weren’t given the proper time that was needed there. Loki’s relationship with Theo was supposed to be something we care about, but we were more told about it than we were shown how it progresses, which was frustrating. And the plot of this is feeble and predictable, which is again something I find true in all of Lee’s novels.

Moreover, I don’t think Loki had a lot of agency in this, until the very end. I wish this book was more about him making the choices himself, rather than being pushed by Amora. I felt like a lot of the sort of self-serving, “evil” choices that he made were because of her and I just wish we saw more of his own inner conflict and I wish he had more agency in his own story. While I get that this was supposed to be the origin story of why Loki is the way he is, but I wish it wasn’t so reliant on another character. And then the switch from her making choices for him to him taking control was too abrupt and did not feel organic. But I did like the ending in itself and I think it ties well into who Loki becomes, I just wish it was more firmly based in the narrative of the book itself.

To Sum Up
This was enjoyable, but nothing spectacular. While I enjoyed some aspects of it, there were some that left things to be desired. I don’t think that this is a bad book by any means, and I think it’s a fun read, and I would still recommend it, as long as you don’t go into it with high expectations like I did.

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Out of all the superhero tie-in books I've read, this one has to be my favorite. Loki makes for a great main character, and adding in the Victorian setting really makes this novel work. I loved Lee's other series, so this was not a big challenge for me. Her commentary on Loki's sexuality was also very well done. My favorite parts in this book were the occasional moments peppered within where Loki's trickster personality really presented itself.

I wasn’t certain when I first went into this book – but it was exactly what I wanted from a story about Loki. I’ve been experiencing some exhaustion of the Marvel franchise recently. There are too many movies to keep up with and I’m only invested in a handful of the characters at this point. Luckily one of those characters that I happen to be invested in is Loki. This book delivers exactly what most Loki fans will want.

We get to see more interactions between Loki and his family members. We get to see Loki paint his nails and wear more high heels. We get to see Loki fall for a girl, and a boy. We get to see how he became the villain that we know in the Marvel universe. Who he was before he decided to be evil.

The thing is, this is a book where you know how the story will end. You know Loki isn’t the good guy. But you still root for him, the whole book you never really expect him to decide to be bad. Lee has made him so complex and likeable. You get upset with Loki when Thor is favoured. You want Loki to have a fair shot at being king – even if you know it’s hopeless. I knew how this book would end and I was still hoping Loki would be a hero in the final pages.

It’s excellent writing and it makes me even more excited that we might get more looks into Marvel villains similar to this. Quite a few of them deserved a little more focus.

The historical setting is a lot of fun and something that couldn’t have been done with many other characters. I loved the look at old London, at bars and weird occult gatherings. Loki interacting with the humans was absolutely adorable. Definitely the sort of thing you would see in fanfics – but in a good way. There was a lot of clear fanservice and wish fulfilment in this book and I think that’s what makes it amazing.

I think fans of Loki will be very satisfied with this book. You get all kinds of fun scenes and cute details. I loved seeing the soft side of Loki. This book is clearly for Loki fans and it perfectly nails what they’ll want to see out of something like this. It wouldn’t make a great popcorn flick but I hope the Loki television show hits a lot of these beats as well as Lee managed to hit them.

This! Book! WAS AMAZING!!!!!!! I CANNOT EVEN! Omg, like please read this book. If you love Loki it’s a MUST. Very well done, very well researched.

Though I am biased toward Loki on principal I think any fan of Marvel, fan or not of the god of mischief, will enjoy this book. Mackenzi Lee brings her brand of humor and unique creativity to Loki's story and though it took me forever to read it (due to extenuating circumstances, not waning interest) I was so satisfied with what I read. Can Mackenzi Lee do all the YA Marvel book series?