I requested this because of the premise that Hela is going to make an appearence. Because you know, you gotta have an interesting time making deals with the Norse goddess of the dead!
Happy to say that we even got some more of the gods (which I was not-so-secretly hoping for)!

Lena is the oldest daughter of Fredrik, the chief of the village and head of his clan. She has two best friends in the world: her younger sister Fressa and Amal, the boy who came to live in the village from a foreign land. Lena is learning to be a healer and she's to be the chieftess after her father, while Fressa is already a more skilled swordswielder than most young men in the village.
When Fredrik returns from one of his raids, Fressa dies under mysterious circumstances before she could tell his father about her and Amal's engagement.
Lena can't accept her sister's death and summons Hela to bargain with her for Fressa's life, but soon she gets caught up in something much bigger than she expected as the gods have plans with Fressa's soul.

Norse mythology and settings are one of my favourites, so I just enjoyed being in this world a lot, and I could picture it quite easily.
I feel like for some people this story could prove to be slow-moving, there's a lot of inner monologue and not much conversation, but I didn't mind that at all. To me, it was kind of slow, and I felt being kept in the dark for the most part, and at the end everything got dumped all over me.

Lena is quite a likeable main character, I was surprised to see how fearless she was when it came to getting her sister back. I feel like she didn't think twice before conjuring a dangerous, fearsome goddess, and I like this kind of duality to her. She is so surprisingly fierce while I first pictured her as someone calm and peaceful practicing to be a healer.
Her grief is SO STRONG, so moving! I think it portrays that heart-wrenching, never-ending feeling of losing someone dearest to you very well. Actually, most of the book I felt like Lena pretty much lost her mind in her grief and I was thinking: "OMG, how is this going to play out now?".

The only thing that I had minor problems with was Lena's thinking at times: she could've understood what Hela was going for in the first place (she made that teeeeeerrible bargain by the way!), but again, she was kind of crazy with grief, so I can't blame her all that much.

I loved the epilogue with Fressa, and I'm confused because I feel like this totally ends like a first book in a series?! Will there be more? I'd read it.

How far would you go to save your sister? Would you kill a stranger? A friend? In Tammi’s novel The Weight Of A Soul Fressa is faced with those questions when her sister mysteriously winds up dead in the forest by her village. Set in the times of vikings we are thrown into a plot that is ever more complicated due to the mysterious Norse gods that Fressa meets along her journey.

Fressa is given the near impossible task to find a soul that weighs the same as her sister’s so that Hela can retrieve her from Valhalla. Time is running out as Fressa’s parents, the aloof chief and chieftess of the village pressure Fressa to marry her sister;s betrothed. Fressa struggles with the loss of her sister and the fear of betraying her love,

I struggled deciding how I was going to rate this novel. I will be honest the pacing is very slow and it was not the grand adventure I expected. Almost the entirety of the novel takes place in the small village where Fressa lives. To me it was a little bit boring to stay in the same place for so long, the same setting played over and over. For a fantasy novel to really stick out the setting has to be unique in some way, I didn’t feel a particular draw to the landscape. I kept waiting for this novel to take me to places I had never seen, and the one place it does take you to is seriously lacking in the detail department. So that was a little disappointing.

Something Tammi handles really well is grief. When Fressa finds her sister dead you can feel the Earth shattering pain that Fressa feels and you can see her depression thicken around her like a cloud. This is important because it helps us to understand Fressa’s descent as a human, she becomes a cold-hearted killer. She sinks low and is constantly trying to work out who is worthy to take her sister’s place in Valhalla, strangers become enemies and friends become potential victims. Everywhere Fressa turns a deadline is looming and her desperation grows.

In my head I went back and forth about whether I thought that the Norse mythology was used effectively or not. The gods play an important role in this novel and the symbolism is outstanding, but to me the gods themselves felt a little flat. Most history/mythology buffs know who Hela, Loki, and Odin are so I can understand why Tammi may have lightened their character development, but to me they came off as uninteresting. I was very excited for the mythological angle, but it left me wanting.

As I dug through this novel I was constantly debating with myself over whether this book is a 4 star rating or not, and the ending almost convinced me. The ending really wraps the story together and gives it a warm feeling, but it was also a little bit predictable. I absolutely did not dislike this novel, in fact it was quite good, but it had some boxes that needed filling to satisfy my reading expectations and it didn’t do that.

This book is a solid 3/5 stars. If there was a continuation of some kind I would read it out of curiosity, but I won’t be adding it to the top of my TBR pile.

The Weight of a Soul by Elizabeth Tammi.

I received an ARC copy of this via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
(I will not be uploading this review to Goodreads or my other social media platforms.)

I apologize as I've decided to dnf this book at chapter 3. About 14% through. I'm just not enjoying it. There is an awful lot of info dumping right away in the plotline. And a trope that is glaringly not well handled.
A lot of characters were introduced right in the first chapter, and I feel like the pacing is too fast for the genre.

*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

4.5/5
Wow. This book really surprised me. In the best possible way. I came into it with no expectations but I ended loving most every part.

The Weight of a Soul by Elizabeth Tammi is about a girl named Lena who wants nothing more than to bring her sister back no matter the cost, even if it means hurting others to do so. In this fast-paced semi-fantasy novel based greatly on Norse mythology, comes a heart-wrenching story of grief, honour, family duty, and most importantly, sisterly love.

The beginning of the book started a little clumsily for me. I couldn’t quite get into the hang of Tammi’s writing style until about 2 chapters in. Looking back, the opening of the novel makes a lot more sense in how the whole story played out.

I can’t get enough of Lena. I love her. I love how emotionally deep and interesting she is. I felt for her every page. I want more of her and other of Tammi’s characters cause she writes such a well developed world with actual not boring characters (bless).

I can’t even be mad with that ending. It was so beautiful. And I don’t say that often. It left you wanting more while also being completely satisfied at the same time. I really hope for a sequel or companion novel to this book cause I would just eat it up.

**Will be posted to my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on November 3, 2019 - nearer to publication date**

Thank you to Flux and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

This was an interesting read and what kept me reading was watching Lena deal with the grief of losing her sister. But as the story went on and Lena makes a deal with the goddess of death to bring her sister back, I thought Lena was at some points, truly losing it.

Making that deal made her do some heinous things and all because she wanted her sister back. Talk about sisterly devotion.

What I liked:

*The Norse mythology with the involvement of gods and goddesses in Lena’s life was something I enjoyed. It definitely made Lena make some interesting choices.

*Lena’s love for her sister is admirable and tragic. Everything was motivated by Fressa’s death, or so we think.
The portrayal of grief and how it can make someone spiral into depression and despair was well written. I could totally relate to all of that.

*I like the expression of a “weight of a soul” and how it is explained. That was quite fascinating.
I love the cover and the gray palette!

What I didn’t like:

*Poor Amal (Lena’s friend), I felt like all he was doing was crying in this book. But his life is so messed up by Fressa’s death and then Lena’s actions. He couldn’t catch a break. But I felt like he could have stepped into the role of future leader of the clan much better. But all we see is someone falling apart as much as Lena is (understandably) – and here I am now not cutting him some slack! Sorry Amal! 😂

*I felt like most of the book was just going through Lena’s grief and not much else. It was a bit slow for me in certain parts and some chapters were really short, I don’t know if that was on purpose or an error.

*With all the Norse mythology represented, I felt like it was lacking something – not enough mysticism? It was dark for sure but I think I wanted it to delve more into Lena’s darkness. Is it bad that I want this dark book, to get darker? 😅

*I mostly liked the book but was left feeling the story was just okay. But the writing is good, I think it’s just I’ve read a few Viking inspired stories the past few months and they were much grittier, harsh , brutal, and you get my drift. So I felt like this book could have gone deeper, especially with Lena’s character. But that’s just my personal preference though!

I think most people who like Viking-inspired and Norse mythology stories will actually enjoy this one.

To be completely honest..from reading the summary of the novel, I was fully expecting something different than what this story provided. It sounded as if there would be a lot more adventure to the story but I found myself with a mythical family drama.
Magdalena's grief over losing her sister was the driving factor of the entire book and for the most part,she drowned in her own grief for a good chunk of it, with very little going on otherwise.
I wish I wouldn't have set any preconceived notions for myself before diving into this book because the writing was fantastic, characters had substance and it was not a bad book overall. I just could not help but continuously wait for something exciting and crazy to happen, and when things finally did happen they felt pretty mild and anticlimactic. This was 100% my fault though.
As long as you don't go into this with the same mindset as I did, this book should be enjoyable. Just don't expect an action packed adventure .
3/5

Character and plot development was good. It was very slow at the start, but the climax and ending really pick up the pace and wrap the book up together nicely.

I loved Lena, and I was so sad at her ending. I think she deserved more, the poor girl had been through hell and back for her sister.

My one, and biggest gripe about the story were the GODS. I am not familiar with Noors legends, and I feel a good backstory and explanation of the gods would have been very nice. We get a few stories here and there, but at the end of the day I still don’t know very much about any of them and they are such key parts of the story I wish the author had delved into that more. Plus I just love mythology, I wish the author had breathed life into the Gods.

I think this was a very touching story. In the end, I enjoyed it. There were a couple slow parts, like the wedding was not one of my favorite scenes, I thought it was overdrawn and long. I wish there had been more storytelling and life in the gods. But it was an entertaining read, and it kept my attention well. I would recommend!

This review will be published on my Goodreads on August 2nd 2019.

ARC provided by Flux, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Weight of the Soul by Elizabeth Tammi is a story about love between sisters - (Magda)Lena and Fressa. They are part of a Viking society and are daughters of the chief of the clan, who during the book goes back and forth between travelling (aka raiding) and being your typical brawl-y father figure. Their mother, Val, is present but is not given much of a character. Early in the story something happens to Fressa and it's Lena's love towards her sister that drives the story forward. She goes back and forth between Helheim and Midgård and meets up with the gods on her quest to help her sister. Meeting with the goddess of death, Hel, she is given terms she must fulfil to get the goddess's help in the matter. Terms that are harder than Magdalena intentionally thought they would be.

As a Swede it's always interesting to see Norse mythology being used in works written by non-Scandinavian authors to see how the stories may differ from what I was taught in school and the material I've read on my own as I happen to enjoy mythological stories (from any pantheon really!) - I did like the way the mythological side was used, it felt well-written and not that out of character from any of the deities that Magdalena encountered on her quest. I also enjoyed that the actions she took during the quest had consequences for her life which isn't something that every writer takes in consideration. They have their characters do horrible things with nothing bad happening to them, and Tammi took the opposite route - good choice!

Other things I didn't enjoy though. First thing - the main character's name - in Sweden, at least (can't speak for the rest of Scandinavia), the name Magdalena did not appear in historical sources until 1455 (Lena even later in 1481) and this was something that took away a lot for me story wise. I realise that this is a fantasy story, but there were still enough elements in there that showed the author had at least read a book or some articles about how life in the 900s in Northern Europe. Names are important to a story.. .

I also did not get why the sisters were so important to one another more than that they grew up together. From the get go we, the readers, are told that these two characters mean a lot to one another. I have a sister too, but I'm unsure if I'd go to the underworld and back to try to get help for her. My point is that there is no explanation to why the sisters love each other that much more so than that they are related!

I give this a 2 star rating.

**Thank you to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

3/5 stars due to missing passages.

Unfortunately I think my e-ARC was missing quite a few pages, as it often jumped to the next chapter in the middle of a sentence, which also meant I missed crucial parts of the story. I loved what I was able to read enough to try and keep going, but I ended up missing large chunks of the plot that made it impossible to continue.

From what I was able to read, The Weight of a Soul is packed with Norse mythology, which was what caught my eye in the first place. At its core, however, this is a story about the unbreakable bond between two sisters, and the varying dynamics in the Freding family were what kept my interest. Lena and Fressa's relationship is unique in that Lena, as the eldest, will be chief one day and is training to be a healer, while Fressa is their village's most promising warrior. Rather than the younger sibling feeling as if they are being overshadowed, Lena is the one who must prove herself against her sister, but it's never treated as a rivalry. Instead, Lena's sole mission is to bring her sister back, even if it means dealing with Hela, the goddess of death, in order to do so.

Despite the problems I experienced with my e-ARC, I look forward to buying a copy of The Weight of a Soul and finding out how Lena and Fressa's stories end.

DNF at page 114

Wow

This book started out so promising. The blurb sounded amazing and I was really curious to the characters and their journey.... But this just wasn't it for me. The characters fell flat and there's more politics and mulling in thoughts then there is searching for her lost sister and meeting with gods.

I was provided with an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review

The Weight of the Soul was based in Norse mythology tales and is what really intrigued me, however, that was really the most interesting part of the book. Lena the main character goes on a quest to bring her sister back from death. There were a few twists and turns that I enjoyed but for the most part most of the book was not as intriguing as the beginning and the end.

#TheWeightofaSoul
Thank you to NetGalley and Flux for the opportunity to read and review The Weight of a Soul.
I found myself having trouble getting the pace at first. It does start slow, but quickly gets going with the bond of two sisters. Lena is a wonderfully written character that will keep you turning page after page to find out what happens to her. The twists and mythology of the story is well done. It is a dark, haunting tale of love and the bonds we cannot let go.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of The Weight of a Soul from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Cool novel! Very original. This was a semi-dark--but interesting--story that did not turn out as expected at all. Lena is a very tangible character, who deeply misses her sister and will stop at nothing to see her again.
...I feel that a sequel may be in the future, which I would also read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Every book has it's reader, and in this case I was not that reader. I found the plot obvious, the characterization shallow, and the motivations of the characters uninteresting and unworthy of the amount of text dedicated to them. I can see most other reviewers strongly disagree and loved the book. We'll have to chalk this one up to different tastes.

*I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book wrecked me. This story was so beautifully written and entwined with emotion. When I finished the last page, I let my kindle fall into my lap and I stared at the ceiling in awe for several minutes. I was truly wrecked and also, heartbroken.

LENA DESERVED BETTER!!!
I struggled with the fact that this entire book was about bringing Lena's sister, Fressa, back from the afterlife. Halfway through the book, my mind was screaming, "Who cares about Fressa anymore?! I love Lena and Lena alone! And Amal needs to love Lena as I do!!" And yet, Lena risks her life and reputation over and over again to bring Fressa back from Valhalla, a character we saw for 0.2 seconds.

Oh and the ending, you guys. I shan't say a word about it but just, WOW. I never saw any of the twists coming. If I felt free to say spoilers, I would go more into detail about the ending and how I felt about it. But overall, it was a beautiful but deeply sad ending that left me more sorrowful than I ever expected to be from this book. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that this book will be receiving a sequel? The story ends with many unanswered questions and I dearly hope that Ms.Tammi will write another to answer them.

Overall, a gorgeous, breathtaking, and deeply moving story that truly taught me "the weight of a soul".

** I was provided with an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Elizabeth Tammi's sophomore novel, The Weight of a Soul, follows Lena and her clan in the Viking age of Scandinavia. Of course, the Norse gods have their own plans, and Lena and her sister, Fressa, have roles to play.

It seems to be a somewhat recent theme in YA novels to go with a Viking sort of setting, and I am absolutely here for it. Tammi comes across as respectful to the mythology she draws from, while also interpreting the gods and their magic in her own way.

Tammi also does well with pacing throughout the course of the novel, and establishes the potential/need for a sequel without leaving the reader in a nasty cliffhanger. She also doesn't make things easy for Lena in her quest for the gods, which was nice to see.

I am absolutely excited to continue to follow Tammi in her future books, particularly in this same series as it was decidedly my favorite so far that I've read in this Viking theme.

Overall, well written, a one-sitting read, and a really good time.

This is a story with many twists and turns, it keeps you guessing and wondering what will happen next! Great read and a great story!

I received this arc from Netgalley.
Honestly this book was just too lackluster for me. I could predict the ending within the first pages, which I could live with if I felt anything for the characters.
I really did not get a feel for any of them, since their only personality traits were grief or anger.
Idk since I am Scandinavian, I also did feel like the use of the norse mythology brought anything new to the table. That said if you are new to the whole thing, then you might enjoy it more.

One last thing that is a bit of a petty annoyance from me. I get that the author want to signal that the old lady is old by calling her Nana. But 1. the name Nanna is from norse mythology and 2. the spelling Nana is the french version (or at least not norse) . Even more so Nana is not used in Scandinavia as a grandma type of name.

I enjoyed reading The Weight of the Soul by Elizabeth Tammi very much. From the description, I thought I would like it but did not realize just how much. The thing that struck me was the relationship of Lena and Fressa. While we did not get a lot of time with both sisters and most of our knowledge of their relationship is through Lena, we can sense the strong bond between them. The girls are complete opposites in nearly everything and it is made clear that Fressa seems to be just about everyone's favorite sister. Their parents and the villagers all seem to gravitate and understand her while Lena is something of an outsider. She mentions that feeling throughout the book and most especially once she begins her attempt to bring Fressa back. It would have been too easy and unfortunately the expected thing to have the sisters compete against each other. Luckily, our author is too smart to fall into that tired trope. She recognized that more often than not sisters, women, indeed all people are better and smarter than that.

I sincerely hope Ms. Tammi continues this story, the ending is written in such a way that another book naturally comes to mind (and expectations).

I came for the Norse mythology and I stayed for the imperfect in the best way characters. You would never know until you got to the author's note that there was some of the "second book syndrome" while writing it. The question that fuels the story in this book is how far would one person go for the love of a sister? Lena was a character who felt she knew what she had to do but was confused and then berwhelmed by it, understandably. When Hela and Loki appeared in the story, it was well done. The gods and mythology aspect of the book were well incorporated. I'm usually a little more judgmental when reading a book marketed as teen/young adult because I've read some many that are just too juvenile but this certainly was not. A good book for people who enjoy well written fantasy.