With each chapter I found myself needing to know more. The book definitely keeps you hooked as there is an air of mystery around all of the characters. I get some Twilight vibes at times, but I am not saying that in a bad way! I love that we get to dive into the world of Nordic mythology/history (depending on your beliefs) as we don't see this every day, especially in YA setting.
The characters sometimes speak a little formal at times so sometimes I am a little thrown off by how a teenage girl is speaking but it doesn't impact how good the story telling is and how Jo transports you right onto the island with them.
I recommend this book and can't wait to read more from Jo!

This one was kind of a hit and miss for me. I did enjoy it but not enough to buy a copy. I do not think that I would reread this book or check out the series as a whole. I think that if you see this one and you want to check it out. I would try and get it from the library before committing to it fully. It lacked that flair I look for in a story. And the characters just weren't up to par.

The Undiscovered Descendants is the first book in a fantasy series inspired by Norse mythology. Now, when I first picked this book I didn't know about the Norse mythology part. The story follows Elin, a dormant descendant of one of the hidden clans favoured by the gods, Aedan, whose family is in hiding from the clan leaders, and Tristan, who's a hunter for the clan.

Now I'll be honest and say that the first few chapters gave Elin a super strong "pick me girl" vibe. She doesn't like dressing up, thinks her mom and sister are obsessed with dating and looks, and is surprised when one of the "popular seniors" wants to hang out with her. Yeah, I did not like that. The overall vibe of this book was also very heteronormative and pretty strong on the awkward teenagey crushes. However, the world was winning for me.

As the story goes on you learn more and more about the abilities of clan members, how they're fuelled and how the clan is as a society. The goal is to awaken Elin's dormant powers (which is luckily everyone's goal) but it's hard to achieve that goal when you have to hide from a powerful clan member.... whose house Tristan lives in while he continues his hunt. Tristan has that "morally grey pretty boy" vibe that bookstagram likes, and Aedan has that actual hero not wanting to be a hero vibe that I like. Overall, I would recommend this book. It was very interesting. I'm praying that the series gets less cisheteronormative as time goes on (and that I don't have to read "he or she" again).

TLDR: A pretty good fantasy book inspired by Norse mythology with a bit of the 2014 YA dystopia energy.

This is for an ARC copy from Netgalley.
This book is brilliant, captivating , warm and exciting to read. You get to enjoy the adventure and feel you are part of the story. How often does that happen when you read? I enjoyed the writing style, so thoughtful and lovely, finally something that makes you feel good. What else can we wish from a book. Can’t wait to read Book 2. I can see this adapted into a movie.

This book is about two boys after a girl with dormant abilities but each for a different reason. One wants to help her while the other wants to turn her into the clan. Meanwhile, she has no idea about these sleeping powers. The flow of the story is what I enjoyed the most as you will pick it up and read straight to the end. That along with the powers and magic elements happen to be right up my alley of interests. You watch as the main character learns about a whole other world filled with things she never knew existed. She never sees it as she is told if they, being the clan, were to get a hold of her, she'd be taken from her family and forced to use powers for their benefit whether she liked it or not. For me, there was really only one draw back and that was where the story ended. I don't even mind that we waited until the end of the first book before she awakens her power but there really isn't much of a climax. I realize that this is a series and we will be able to read on whenever book two comes out but I just felt that we could have been given more at the end of book 1. Having said that, you really get attached to the main characters as the author does a good job at making you feel as if you know them. You root for Aedan and Elin and hope she finds out the truth about Tristan sooner rather than later. You even learn to love their friends and family that surround them. Overall, even with the ending, I would definitely want to continue the story.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was a pretty easy read and short. I enjoyed the main characters, normality and I enjoyed the two boys. I enjoyed wondering which ones are good and which ones are evil. The world-building was done really well. This book was told from the perspective of multiple characters in the first person. The chapters did not say the name of the character so it was hard to keep track of which chapter was being narrated by which character.
I hope that the Author improves on this and for the chapters says, Chapter 1: (insert character name) (insert chapter title).

Let me start by saying this is a well-written and captivating story that can really open up to an amazing world of wonder. Jo Visuri has put together a fantastic world and story through Norse mythology, amazing powers and abilities, strong family ties and great friendships. This story was not short on bombshells and twists. I literally did not put this book down and read all 600+ pages within 24 hours. I cannot wait for the entire series to form into an amazing world.

However, as great as it was to see into the minds of our three main characters and understand their beliefs and values, the switching between their point of views virtually every chapter without knowing whose POV it was was very disappointing. In some chapters you knew immediately who it was, in others it took a while to gain your bearings. The retelling of events by two of the main characters or even all three of them is tedious. The constant rewinding back to events and showing how the other characters felt was kind of annoying.

This book is meant to set up the entire world and series to come, but this mythical world was described almost as an afterthought by the main characters. I wished more things could have been fleshed out in the story, like the Resistance and Falinvik among others. But I think because the author kept taking us back, she used up too much space for rewinds and could not give us more in other places.

The first 60% of the story is teenagers being teenagers with some supernatural thrown in until the half-dashed events of the school dance turns everything around and the story suddenly picks up at a mile a minute. You’re wondering how do they find the book, unlock some things, and deal with the conflicts at hand in five chapters? Very quickly and not completely as it turns out. I have a feeling we may be rewinding again in the next book as our heroine recaps the journey so far.

I loved the story and the characters, except Tristan and Derek. I did not love the changing of point of views and how everything happened all at once. But I still look forward to the rest of the series and I am a new fan.

I have just finished this book and I am so upset that I broke my own rule. Never start a trilogy (or series) if all the books are not written and published as I have no patience and I hate having to wait for the next installment.
Why am I saying this? well I really enjoyed this book.
This is a fantasy series set on Auor island. Elin is a happy teenager, with a good family and tight knit circle of friends. But this year is different from other years as her friends have moved away to the mainland to continue their schooling and she has new neighbours with a very handsome son, Aedan. There is also the new guy at school, Tristan, who wants to be with her all the time.
Soon, we discover that some people have supernatural abilities. Some have innate abilities and some only get them when they are awakened. These are called Dormants. They are rare and special. And Ellie doesn't know that she is one. Tristan however is a Hunter for his government. What he does is hunt people with supernatural abilities and bring them back to Falinvik where the hunted are remolded in the fold. And Tristan has figured out that Ellie is a dormant and wants to take her back to Falinvik, not for her welfare but for his own advancement and fame.
Jo Visuri did a wonderful job at creating a new world with well developed characters. The story evolves at a good pace. The chronology of events makes sense. I really liked Elin and her family, as well as Aedan. I liked the families banter, the discussions between parents and children, the closeness of the siblings, all these details that make you part of the story and feel good.
I am looking forward to the next installment of this book. I just hope that Jo Visuri works fast. :-)
Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy.

I LOVED it!! The Undiscovered Descendants is the first book in the Nordic Series by Jo Visuri. It is such an amazing set up for a series, if not a little confusing to start. There felt like there was going to be a lot of lore to unpack at once but this was a slow burn and an amazing world building/ set up novel. This book has a lot of my favourite tropes:
- 2 boys, who’s good and who’s bad?
- 2 sides of the same story.
- magical powers that differ for each person.
And some great family love in between it all!
I really enjoyed it, and am so annoyed the 2nd one isn’t out yet.. oh, the first one isn’t even out yet!

The Undiscoverd Descendants is a great, entertaining and fun adventure and, at the same time, has deep, well developed and complex main characters that really draw you into their world. The writing is effortless and beautiful. The enjoyment of reading this captivating book comes from the well constructed story and the multi-dimensional and vivid description of the world on Auor Island and the people that inhabit it, including the supporting characters.

Jo Visuri pulls off with flying colors the very challenging feat of narrating the book in first perspective from the point if view of three very different protagonists. This offers a view into their mind, feelings and their very different value systems and backgrounds. It feels like you get the privilege of not just being an observer, but actually experiencing the world and events within the characters. And what a whirlwind of events it is!

It starts off in a very subtle way. A teenager on a remote and peaceful island getting started with another school year, loving family, birthday party. All is well. Then mysterious events, especially in the company of new arrivals to the island foretell a cascade of events that keeps you breathlessly wishing for resolution. All this described from the different perspectives of the three narrators, colored by their backgrounds and conflicting objectives.

The story blends in history and the tradition mythology and folklore with references in names and story elements to real artifacts, historical events and places.

This book shows that with the right blend of insightful character development, deep understanding and beautiful writing, a book can transcend category boundaries and open up perspectives and becomes a source of true entertainment. A solid five stars, a rare accolade, but this one deserves it well!

Secrets. Magic. Teenage angst. Suspense. All in all it was a good read.
It felt a little slow in places but made up for it in all the others. 3.5⭐ rounded to 4. if it was a steady pace, I think I would have given 4⭐