While the description of The Weight of a Soul hooked me initially, it didn't quite live up to this in the way expected.

Although I loved the relationship between the two sisters, the clear and present processing of loss/grief, the political complexities, and the clear and present mythology-there was just something lacking. Lena and Fressa have a strong sibling relationship cut short by the death of Fressa following some upsetting news. The rest of the novel centers on Lena's quest to make a deal with the gods in order to get her sister back. In the midst of this, there are some beautifully written scenes of introspection, authentically written cultural scenes, and honest depictions of grief. Several of the personal relationships are lacking, though-showing no depth or growth throughout the novel. In addition to this, some of the personal introspection from the protagonist rings false, as it doesn't hold true to her character.

Overall, this novel was beautifully written. However, there were issues with character development, personal relationships, and a lack of reflection at the conclusion of the novel.

A story with a great deal of heart, but not a lot of follow through.

The nucleus of The Weight of a Soul is the love and devotion between sisters, chief’s daughters Lena and Fressa. In the midst of political tensions within the clan and an unnatural early Scandinavian winter, Lena navigates deals with Norse gods and her clan’s expectations as she works to recover her sister’s soul and investigate the mysterious circumstances of her death. That determination and grief is the tether of almost every plot development and character decision. This makes it an exceptionally cohesive book, with clear character motivations and an easy to follow plot.

Unfortunately, the writing drags on. I’m usually a huge fan of introspective, character-driven books, but each of Lena’s internal monologues felt like a re-hashing of the last. And while the plot is clear, the emotional themes are muddled. Lena and Amal’s relationship doesn’t change and develop until the end, even though he above all other characters would have shared her grief over her sister. Major reveals come just a bit too late, when I really would have liked to see Lena reflect on them – we get only a few paragraphs before out next twist whisks us away.

Overall, The Weight of a Soul didn’t quite land for me. It was an interesting read, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to pick it up, but it just didn’t have the weight (ha) that I was looking for.

(Review will be posted on my blog Librarinna on publication date (12/3/19) under the attached link.)

This is the perfect fast-read that centers on Norse mythology. It has enough plot, character development and a little bit of mischief to make it an enjoyable read. The story follows two sisters, Lena and Fressa, who are the daughters of the local chieftain. Fressa is in love with Amal, the adopted son of the town's healer as well as Lena's mentor. However, everything goes wrong when it is revealed that Lena, who will become the next chieftain, is betrothed to Amal.

Fressa upset at this news, runs into the woods and later is found dead by her sister. Reeling from grief, Lena decides to do everything in her power to bring her sister back and right this wrong. This involves making a deal with the goddess, Hel, who promises to trade Fressa for another soul. Lena descends down this dark path and discovers what taking a soul entails.

As I said, this is a fantastic fast paced read that deals with grief, the results of gods meddling with human affairs and the unbreakable bond between sisters. I'm a huge fan of Norse mythology and really liked that Tammi also introduced the fact that vikings interacted with the East and the Mediterranean. So, bonus points for that!

Lena knows her path in life . She is to be the next healer in her village . The daughter of a chieftain .
Fressa is Lena’s sister , a warrior in her own right , and the other half of Lena’s heart and soul.
Amal is a childhood friend . He has grown up with both sisters , until his affection has gradually changed in the direction of Fressa
Amal and Fressa are so in love they are engaged to be married , and just await the chieftain to return to ask his permission. Unknown to the friends, Lena and Amal have been betrothed since birth. . The chieftain doesn’t care about love ... he wants to strongest to lead the village ... Fressa overhears this and with a broken heart , runs into the forest .
Lena goes to find her sister and finds her dead. . So many suspects at this point . Is it a rival clan ? Did someone sneak into their borders ? Or is it something supernatural? Lena thinks back to the gift her father brought back from a trip for Fressa that glowed green with ruins ?

I have to say I loved this book from the moment I started reading it . I didn’t want the story to end . This is heartfelt , sad ,poignant and will not end the way anyone wants.

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

When I first heard about this book, I was so excited! I mean - norse mythology, Gods, Ragnarök and vikings? I was sold! Well. Now, when I finished book, I'm only disappointed.

This story is about Lena, girl, who lost her sister under mysterious circumstances. Although everyone moved on after her sister's funeral, Lena didn't. Because she knew that she can get her sister back. Only for a small price. A soul.

Only character I actually liked, was Lena. She's quite naive and easily manipulated girl, but she loves her sister more than anything. And because of that - her power and endurance, I became fond of her. But, I cannot say that other characters were bad. Reader just don't have enough space to get to know them.

Plot was predictable and ending was really no surprise to me. I had my suspicion since Lena met Hel for the first time and... that was almost in the beginning of the book.

But, if I should choose one thing that was best in this book, it would be author's writing. Even in "not so interesting" scenes, writing was enjoyable and I haven't felt bored. Next thing I liked was world. This book is stand-alone so I didn't expect of author to make a spectacular world, but I think that she did a really good job. This, in combination with norse mythology was great. I enjoyed everything author gave us. From Gods, even to a few mythological creatures.

Overall, I would reccomend this book only to undemanding readers.

“They did not understand people as Lena did; they did not understand how fast power could seep through fingers that weren’t clenched.”

Everything in Lena’s life seems perfect. She’s studying to be the clan’s apothecary, her sister and best friend are betrothed, and her parents are still in control of their people, despite her father disappearing to raid their rival clans. But, after her sister is found dead, Lena makes a deal with Hela, the Goddess of Death and daughter of the Trickster God, Loki, to get her sister back. Yet, getting involved with the gods is never a good idea, and it’s a lesson Lena learns quickly after she finds herself in the middle of Ragnarök, a devasting battle between Loki and Odin, a war that could end her entire clan’s existence.

I really wanted to like this novel. And I did in parts. I loved the mention of gods and the interesting setting of Lena’s home. The ceremonies they performed felt authentic and true to the nature of a small clan. Lena’s grief for her sister was written and conveyed well, which broke my heart. But those are all minor compared to the plot, characters, and overall arc of the book, which I didn’t enjoy.

The idea of making a deal with a god or goddess isn’t new, so when you take on that theme, I think it’s important to do it well. And this book didn’t. After Lena makes her deal with Hela to get her sister back—and I’m intentionally staying vague so I don’t spoil anything here—she moans about it for chapter after chapter instead of taking action. And when she does finally take action, but it’s not enough, she continues to moan and gripe. Meanwhile, the only sign of Ragnarök is the sun disappearing as if an early winter has come. And the clan is uneasy, yet their fear and worry doesn’t read authentically, especially since Lena cares deeply for her people and clan, and you’d think she’d be worried about them.

I found Lena to be frustrating at times and annoying at others. She’s what I would call an unlikable protagonist, even if I sympathized with her grief and pain and understood why she made a deal with Hela. But I didn’t dislike her, I was irritated at her actions and thoughts. The relationships she held with her mother and friends (if you would call them that) didn’t feel real to me. Certain moments with her mother seemed touching, and others they were just plain mean to each other. I found it jarring to read about them because I couldn’t understand their relationship.

The Weight of a Soul started off strong, but by the middle, it had gotten dull. I predicted the plot twists (which for this book, I think they were meant to be that obvious? I couldn’t tell.) and didn’t care for either of them. The end wasn’t nearly descriptive enough and came all too quickly after a very long, very boring, middle.

Unfortunately, this storyline just didn’t pull me in as much as I would have liked. The concept of Norse mythology isn’t new (obviously) but it’s not something I’ve seen written about in YA that often. I had high hopes for this one, but it didn’t meet those expectations.

3/5 stars

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest and thoughful review.

**C-/D+** | While the premise was good and interesting, the execution was unfortunately mediocre at best. The story drags on and on. The characters are boring. Although grief and denial are explored here, it was difficult to feel anything because things felt dry, flat, and stale. This book might be called *The Weight of a Soul*, but there’s little weight or soul in this book.

Part of the reason why I requested this book on NetGallery and got excited when I was approved was because I was drawn into it due to the synopsis. Who could blame me? The idea of a sisterly bond so strong you would make a deal with Hela to try and get her back? Yes, please. I love books that explore sibling relationships and loss and grief.

I can’t even begin to tell you how disappointed and utterly frustrated I am with this book.

Everything — from the characters and their relationships to the plot to the ending — felt forced and unnatural at times. There was no emotion. This book goes into how souls have weight and one soul is not equal to another just because they’re both warriors. But where is this book’s weight? Where is this book’s *soul*?

One of my biggest beefs with this book is that we’re always told things, but never actually *shown* evidence of why we should accept what we were told as truths. We’re told that the sisters mean a lot to each other, but never actually shown just how close their relationship was before Fressa’s death. Yeah, Lena is willing to murder to get her sister back, but if you want me to be able to empathize with her situation and choices, then I’m going to need more than being told of how good her relationship was with her sister.

Give me flashbacks of the two as children. Give me memories. Give me _something_. This book would have been far more compelling if I got to see Lena and Fressa’s relationship for myself that wasn’t just Lena’s random thoughts of how she was the first person to make Fressa smile. Like, okay? That’s cool. Give me more.

Another example of being told things rather than shown them is with Lena herself. She’s meant to become the tribe’s leader. Sure, she has to marry someone to gain that power, but her “destiny” (if you want to call it that) is to rule the clan.

> “No—she had hesitated for power. For her rightful place as the leader of this village and its clans.”

Even she believes it’s her rightful place to rule. But she doesn’t act like a ruler. She doesn’t act like the heir apparent. If anything, she acts like a little girl playing dress up but will run away when responsibilities call.

Look, grief does all sorts of things to people. It can turn them into people they never wanted to become. But see, the problem is that we never get to see Lena be a leader or at least try to act like one. We never see Lena attempt to help her people through these tough and terrifying times. She makes comments like:

> “ Her family’s hold on this village weakened with every day he stayed away, with every second the sun stayed out of the sky in the middle of summer.”

And:

> “ Her family’s hold on this village weakened with every day he stayed away, with every second the sun stayed out of the sky in the middle of summer.”

Knowing this, I would have expected to see Lena taking up the mantle in some shape or form either in the present or in flashbacks, but I got none of that. It’s so disappointing, especially because I feel like Lena never truly got a chance to properly grieve nor did she ever actually develop. She was the same person from start to finish, albeit with blood on her hands.

This is made worse by the fact that Lena dies so she doesn’t even get to mature. Like wow, great. She brings Fressa back with her death, but at the cost of her never actually having full character development.

I don’t and can’t recommend this book. Despite it having an interesting premise, it was poorly executed.

Thank you to Flux and North Star Editions over at NetGalley for providing a copy of the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was just ok to me. I didn't love it but didn't hate it. I read it as part of our RetellingAThon and it was a fairly fast read for me. I felt like this story had a good grip on the main elements of Norse mythology but there was a lot that was changed. Loki and Hela were big parts in this book and I enjoyed picturing them as the actors that played them in the movies. Lena has a strong sense of family and wanting to save her sister. I admired that about her and it bled through the entire story. I think Hela's part in the book was also interesting and it all around made sense. I have only read a couple of Norse inspired books before so this was a departure from other writing styles and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I like the author's writing and I think that she does a great job of weaving in her own story with the original. 

I can't name specific things I disliked about the book except the mythology was very different at times and I was like what?! I had to go look it up to make sure that I wasn't remembering incorrectly but it's a loose retelling and using those elements so I will reframe it as that. I'm quite critical of mythology stories because I love it so much!

The Weight of a Soul follows Lena’s journey as she tries to bring her beloved sister, Fressa, back from the grave with the goddess Hela’s help. Her death was mysterious. Lena knows it wasn’t supposed to happen and tries to reverse it. Yet, greater things than the love she has for her sister are at play and Ragnarok is approaching.

I loved the setting of this book. I haven’t read anything mythological in a long time, and seeing the Norse gods portrayed fairly accurately was a relief after watching Thor: Ragnarok last year. I loved reading the author’s note. Elizabeth Tammi mentioned that she took some liberty with portraying the Vikings—mainly because of the lack of historical knowledge about their traditions and customs. Her inclusion of Amal was a choice that reflects that maybe Vikings had more diversity than we thought due to their extensive trade routes. She put a lot of thought and creativity into the setting, and I really appreciated that.

The plot had me intrigued the entire time. I struggled to get into it, but that’s just the way I am when I read ebooks. However, I loved Lena and the exploration of what she would do to get her sister back. It’s such a different take from many of the books I read where the characters are morally sound and find ways around the rock and the hard place. The arranged marriage wasn’t exactly something that I saw as necessary, but it definitely showed that the other characters were willing to move on after Fressa’s death. I was hooked, and continued reading with anticipation and fear as to what Lena would do next.

The characters were the only part of this book that didn’t wow me. Lena was a little hard to love. I loved the exploration of her morality, but as a person I didn’t really see many reasons to root for her. Her sister was a vibrant character who did seem worthy of saving, and their relationship as sisters was believable. Amal was a good friend but didn’t really stand up for himself or for his love with Fressa.

Overall, this was a great story! It explores the characters’ morality in ways that I did not expect and presents a story filled with vikings, mythology, and sibling love. I was satisfied with the ending, the execution of the story, and the creativity put into making the world.

So I didn't realize this was from the same author as outrun the wind. I really didn't like that book and I felt like this book was going to go through the same thing. Now this wasn't my favorite but it was better. I enjoyed the Viking and Loki. I figured out who the person was they wanted dead tho halfway through and I didn't really start enjoying this til like 60%.

The Weight of a Soul is an interesting fiction novel with roots in Norse mythology. The novel tells the tale of Lena, who after the unexpected and untimely death of her sister, starts a tango with the gods, one which she cannot understand the depths of. She continues to make sacrifice after sacrifice to appease the gods in hopes of getting her sister back. She has to come to grips with her actions in order to continue pursuing her goal.

While I enjoyed the book, I felt as though the ending left something to be desired, it felt abrupt and unfinished. My other dislike was that I found it to be fairly predictable. I enjoyed the slightly different take on Norse mythology and the development of the various gods and characters.



Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I found this book super interesting for a super weird reason, but I loved it because of the tie in's with Marvel movies! I know this probably wasn't the case or the inspiration for Tammi, but it is immediately what I thought when they introduced Loki, Hela, and Ragnarok. It was super awesome to read a book that involved these legends. Only was missing Thor!

The Weight of a Soul followed the daughter of the clan chieftain, Lena. Her sister Fressa died early in the book and Lena is trying to get her back, refusing to believe that she is gone. She strikes up a deal with Hela that will make Lena compromise everything she believes in.

I found this book to be interesting, with good characters and a solid plot. I believe the timing and pace was a little off for my taste, but it wasn't a huge point of contention for me. The ending caught me by total surprise and was very sad - but made a lot of sense after I thought about it for awhile.

For fans of Sky In The Deep and Warrior in the Wild, Elizabeth Tammi brings The Weight of a Soul, which makes you question a person's worth and value in relation to the weight of their soul compared to others. A tale about love, family, and how far one will go to protect their sister.

Takes quite a while to pick up pace. Even after the mythological bits have officially started, the book drags on forward. If I were to list the things that actually happen to make the plot move forward, it would be a discouragingly short list; too much of the book is about describing the protagonist's emotional state - grief and dread, basically - so in the end it's just repetitive.

Some excerpts:
"Lena wondered if she had just tried harder then, perhaps none of this would be happening now." - the general feeling of this line is repeated so many times.
"Lena hated the small stab of insecurity that punched through her. She swallowed roughly, staring down at her white-knuckled hands. Her throat ached as slivers of uncertainty and loneliness raked through her. She kept her gaze locked on her hands, afraid to breathe or speak or move without breaking."
"Lena blinked fast, her breaths coming hard. It felt like those first days after Fressa all over again—the crushing weight of her absence, acknowledged and discussed so openly by everyone around Lena. She’d tried then to complete the thought, to accept it: your sister is dead. Each time she tried, it felt like placing her hand on that iceberg’s tip—a shock of icy, insurmountable pain, and still she could not, did not, comprehend the dark depths to which the rest of the iceberg plunged beneath the surface. She had never let herself accept it. She was not sure she could, even if she’d wanted to." - this is just dragging on and on. If I wanted to paste what parts of the marriage ceremony chapters bored me, I'd need to paste the chapters themselves; and there's very little in terms of meaningful dialogue and action.
“Enlighten me,” Lena muttered, trying not to faint— at this point I was thinking, girl, get a grip, we're not going anywhere far if you feel faint after asking a question.

The ending didn't convince me because the protagonist didn't convince me. One of Lena's defining traits is that she was raised as a chief's first daughter - she's supposed to be a real pro at keeping appearances, reading people, and leading; a strategist, the polar opposite to her deceased warrior sister... Yet she kind of sucks every time she has to do any of these things throughout the story. She's so passive that the assassinations sound like things that happened to her. Another issue I had with the overemotional writing style is that it totally wasted the potential of what should've been a really cool setting (Viking village + ominous weather).
All that being said, I could not predict the final twist (I thought Fredrik would have to be the sacrifice for Fressa, not Lena; and I just accepted that he was a narcissistic jerk and a deadbeat dad instead of suspecting his identity), and I just enjoy Norse mythology in modern fiction. The cover art is really eye-catching.

I wanted to like this. I really did. The world building was complex and the narration was well written. However, the main character became insufferable. I understand grief. Grief can tear you apart. However, I don't see grief as a rationalization for all wrongs. It doesn't blind you or absolve you of all sins.
I don't understand the need to destroy everyone around you to bring someone back. Or the idea that because it's what the main character wants, it somehow is the "right" thing in the end. The justification for hurting the ones who love you was not sufficient for me, and the end didn't justify the means. I wish that the character was as multifaceted as the setting and culture.

I am always a fan of Norse-themed fantasy, and was really excited to dive into this one. I loved the relationship between the main characters, and the way the plot unfolded as they explored the mystery of her friend's death. The worldbuilding was really interesting, and I loved the beautiful prose.

First of all, the cover of this book really drew me in--it's just lovely. I also love the premise of this book: Lena's sister dies under mysterious circumstances and she strikes a deal with Hela, goddess of the underworld, to get her back. I'm very much a fan of the show Vikings, and I was eager to get into a book based on Norse mythology.

However, I just can't get into this one (I'm finally going to DNF this at a little under 60% finished). The writing is gorgeous, and Tammi paints a marvelous picture of Lena's grief, but this one is just...slow. I found it hard to get into and difficult to get through, and in many cases I was skimming just to get to something better. And though the Viking gods and goddesses were named, nothing felt particularly Nordic.

I did like that there was a reference list at the end, as I'm always interested at looking at sources used for historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flux books for providing this review copy.

I really loved this story. It was a really fun read. I’m hoping there will be a sequel because that abrupt ending had me wrecked and heartbroken.
It was fast paced and well written characters. I loved Lena and Armal so much. I really didn’t see some of the crazy plot twists coming. I also enjoyed the themes of family and estrangement.

Okay, I loved that this is a Viking book and features Norse gods and goddesses! There aren't enough of these books around so I'm always happy to read them. This started out strong, fast pacing and lots of questions about what's happening. I liked the relationship between Lena and Fressa and that Lena would do anything to help her sister. As I got closer to the ending, I thought there must be a second book because there's no way all this will resolve. Well, I was (mostly) wrong. Things wrapped up so quickly that I wasn't quite sure what was happening. I'm still holding out for a sequel because I still have questions and the ending is abrupt. Still a good, fun read!

The Weight of a Soul presents an interesting moral question - what would you do to bring your sister and best friend back to life? Kill a stranger? What if that murderous goal turns closer to home? How do you measure the weight of your loss against the loss of others you love?

Lena is devastated when her sister, Fressa, is taken from her. A warrior of great skill, Fressa is found dead with no visible illness or wound. Lena believes there is more there than meets the eye and demands the opportunity to speak with Hela, the goddess of death, to learn how she can change her sister's fate. Hela lays forth a challenge - bring her a soul of the same heft and Fressa's soul will be released from Valhalla.

This story was a slow beginning with one exception - Fressa is killed before we can even truly begin to care about her as readers. Over time, we learn to care about Lena and therefore want this situation resolved for her sake, but I found Fressa to be a figment of Lena's memory more than a character we desperately desired to save. This made Lena's descent more and more difficult to empathize with as she considers more extreme actions to meet Hela's challenge.

For me, the story picked up enormously about halfway through. We had more interaction with Norse gods, but you don't need any familiarity with the canon to enjoy the story - something that is often a barrier to entry for a less-known group of gods (unlike Greek/Roman, for example). We also had more interaction with the very small, insular community in with Lena lives. She is the daughter of the chief, tasked with leading the group when her parents pass away. I wished for more mother-daughter relationship building in particular, but overall the expansion of the story to encompass this small community strengthened the narrative.

Ultimately, if a second book is introduced here I will absolutely read it. By the last 20% of the book, I was eagerly flipping through the pages, hoping for Lena's sake that she failed in her quest. The tension quickly heightened in a way that was very engaging indeed. I would recommend this as a quick read with a digestible moral, but some bigger questions about how far each of us would go when pushed to fight for the ones we love.

**My thanks to Elizabeth Tammi, Flux, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.**

The weight of a soul follows our main character Lena, her sister Fressa and Amal who her sister intends to marry. They are vikings, Lena & Fressa’s father has just returned from raiding places overseas.

Fressa is killed under suspicious circumstances so Lena travels to the underworld to make a deal with a Goddess to try to get her back.
I love Norse mythology, after reading Norse Gods by Gaimain I always enjoy a book with this included.

I didn’t mind Lena as a main character, my issue was the writing style. I just didn’t like it at all, some of the descriptions of emotions were strange such as “stomach throbbing with hunger and some other emotion” this was used more than once to describe how Lena was feeling.

I gave this book 3 stars, love Norse Mythology, the plot was okay the writing style wasn’t for me and due to this it took me a super long time to read the book.


Thanks to North Star publishing and netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.