Cover Image: The Weight of a Soul

The Weight of a Soul

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Member Reviews

This was a delightful read! "The Weight of a Soul" beautifully combines mythology, family dynamics, and moral dilemmas. While thoroughly enjoyable, my busy week slowed down my reading pace! The author's writing style, emotional and philosophical, deeply explores themes of family and morality. Though the characters are engaging, I wished for more depth in their development, especially concerning Fressa. While the plot had its highs and lows, unexpected twists kept me hooked, though I anticipated more action. Nonetheless, the shocking ending and clever plot twists made it a satisfying read overall!

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<i>I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

DNF: 30%

For a book that had a lot of events happen in the first third, it's very slow and boring. So little went into the character development that I couldn't care about them. They were caricatures: the Warrior, the Healer, the Lover, etc.

More could've gone into the world-building, too. It felt lacking. Rather than drag my feet to continue, I chose to move on.

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I really enjoyed this book!! It was different than anything I’ve read but still a great read. The bond between sisters was so well written!

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I really wanted to like it, espesially the mythology part and that part was enjoyable, but the characters were just so incredible boring...

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A beautifully written book. Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read

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Je n'ai malheuresement pas termine ma lecture de ce livre. Je crois que je n'étais pas le public cible et j'ai trouvé l'histoire avait des longeures...
Je ne lirais pas la suite malheureusement.

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What I liked so much about this book though is how much we get to see inside Lena. We are with her the entire time, we get her reasoning, her feelings. I think it works really well for the story Tammi wanted to tell here.

To be honest, I expected a more fast-paced novel where more stuff … happens … but I’m actually glad it’s slow-paced and more focused on how Lena is dealing with everything. I love these kinds of deep looks into a character.

I still think I would have liked … more but overall I’m very satisfied with this. Lena is a complex and interesting character and I love how she does what she does, what her reasons are and that she is uncomfortable. It’s a little like those reluctant hero stories. Only that she’s not the hero here. And I loved that!

Lena goes through a lot of different emotions but I loved how real and collected she always was. It fit so well and was very realistic with her being raised as the chief’s daughter. Prepared for leading alongside her husband one day.

She understands people and power very well, sometimes better than those around her and I liked how aware she was of those things and how she tried to preserve that. Especially when in contrast to her sister.
Their relationship was also really heartwarming to read about. I especially loved a sentence that comes a bit after Fressa dies. Lena talks about how Fressa just knows her without Lena ever having to explain herself or her reasons. She just naturally does, even though they are quite different.
Or the quote about how the very things that Fressa excelled at and that defined her was also the thing isolating her … uff!

Another thing I think is done very well here is the world-building. You can really see the Viking-inspired village in the cold north without the author really shoving everything in your face. It’s effortless and I loved how normal it felt that the gods are involved in Lena’s life.

And although this may sound weird … I actually liked that the mythology side kinda took a backseat to Lena dealing with her grief. I mean, yes, it’s what propelled Lena to do what she does, but it’s still more in the background and I appreciated that.

That being said, I sometimes had trouble really connecting with the characters. Lena is great, has good traits and flaws and I really grew to like her but the others stayed a little flat for me. I feel like that is always a possibility if you write in 3rd person but focus only on one person (Lena). I always felt a bit distanced. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my time reading.

The book was also a little predictable but I didn’t care all too much because I liked following Lena and her realizing stuff. But I thought you should know.

I think The Weight of a Soul is definitely worth checking out, especially if you like character-focused stories that deal a lot with the emotions of the main character.

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Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get invested into this story when I picked it up. I do hope to read more from the author in the future though.

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I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

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Going into this book, readers should understand that it is intentionally morally grey. The MC is not supposed to likable or not. It is a story about quite literally the weight of a soul. It is meant for you to question if you would make the same decisions if you would in a similar situation. Through in the Norse Mythology and viking themes and I was sold. My major issue was the pacing. I didn't feel like we got enough time with the character before the major plot points were being thrown at us. I need to be able to care about the characters and connect with them before I'm able to care about what happened to them. I will definitely check out his authors other works in the future.

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Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.

I love anything related to Vikings and Norse Mythology. I enjoyed this book overall, but the pacing had me drop a couple stars. I think more people need to read this.

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‘The Weight of a Soul’ by Elizabeth Tammi was a heart-wrenching, beautiful read full of history and Norse mythology. Definitely recommend!

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I thought this book was okay. It was not the best book I have ever read but it was not the worst book I have ever read. I love anything that has to do with any sort of mythology but this book fell a little short for me. In other words, it was a little on the boring side. I felt like I was constantly waiting for something exciting to happen but the shoe never fell. I think people will like this book and it is a pretty good recommendation for someone looking in this genre but it just wasn't for me.

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Fantastic!

I really enjoyed this cosy fantasy! The writing was great and I loved the characters. Although the pacing was a little slow, it was still enjoyable!

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*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Unfortunately, this book failed to really capture my attention. I struggled to actually care about any of the characters beyond Amal (17), and I mostly just pitied him even though he was a good person. Lena (18) was occasionally likable, but overall, I didn't care for her. She was selfish and lied to herself about her reasons in an attempt to justify the horrible things she did. And I don't feel like the end was what it should have been--and I'm not just saying that because I didn't get the ending I wanted. In truth, I couldn't even think of how I wanted it to end. I like happy endings, and no happy ending would have fit. So really, this just isn't my kind of book, though perhaps there are others who would like it.

Note: Possible LGBTQ interest for the main character (hinted at).

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The Nordic Mythology aspect of this book was very interesting but I didn’t really enjoy the book overall. It was not quite what I was expecting and I was hoping to love it.

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• Honestly the pacing feels really slow in the 26% I read through - I wanted to sleep more than I wanted to read the book.
• This book sounded dark and atmospheric with mythology and history but while there were attempts to be atmospheric, it just didn't work out well and I felt like I was slugging through. I don't even think I even noticed if it was dark but it certainly tried and started.
• It felt confusing and as though we were supposed to know what Lena knew even if that weren't the case. Sometimes I second guessed myself and would quickly go back to find out if one thing or another was covered earlier but it wasn't.
• Mainly I just wasn't a fan of the writing style and I didn't care about any of the characters. I know I'm supposed to care about Lena's and Fressa's sister relationship but it just feels lacking and she just dies with Lena wanting to go after her without ever really developing. And whenever it is, it was told.

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The Nordic mythology was so fascinating in this book. The book itself raised interesting questions about immortality and the soul itself. Also questions about morality and ethics.
A very interesting read!

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The Weight of a Soul is the kind of book that should be amazing. Anything to do with Vikings gives you a lot of room to do something brilliant. Unfortunately, the Nordic mythology is the best bit of this book as the pacing just threw me off. It felt both rushed and slow with no real depth considering the plot.

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It was a good read, very intriguing in the start and kind of fell through in the end. The characterisation of the main lead was finely done. The book was worth a read

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