This book sounded so promising, but I was bored out of my mind for most of it. I did really like Solveig's narration; the writing style was great, and I loved her friendship with Arn. But the plot was so repetitive: travel, fight, travel, fight. The worldbuilding was really promising, but I just felt like nothing important was happening for most of the book. I don't think I will be continuing with this series.

I greatly enjoyed this Norse-inspired book and can't wait to find out what comes next! Solveig has powerful magic and looks forward to a future protecting and leading her people until her brother kills a visiting Northman. His people demand she be sent with them as weregild for a year, in compensation, a thinly veiled excuse to kidnap her away and use her magic in their fight against evil powers in their own lands. The majority of this book consists of her travel towards those lands as she slowly learns about her companions and discovers that evil powers she once thought defeated and consigned to the realm of stories do still exist.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

I really enjoyed the writing style, though I have to admit that the story was a bit slow and difficult to follow at some points. It did get a bit repetitive with travel, fight, travel, injury, fight, travel...etc. In the beginning, it was difficult to understand all the different terms that Sol was called so it was hard to follow who they were talking about. My favorite character is the shieldmaiden because she's a BAMF. I am interested in continuing the story and think that fans of fantasy would enjoy this. Beware there is no romance, but a little hint of it towards the end.

Did not finish, read 15%, it was too hard for me to follow. The language was difficult and very heavy and clunky. I may try at a later date but right now its just not for me.

Title: A Flame in the North
Author: Lilith Saintcrow
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.8 out of 5

The Black Land is spent myth. Centuries have passed since the Great Enemy was slain. Yet old fears linger, and on the longest night of the year, every village still lights a ritual fire to banish the dark.

That is Solveig’s duty. Favored by the gods with powerful magic, Sol calls forth flame to keep her home safe. But when her brother accidentally kills a northern lord’s son, she is sent away as weregild—part hostage, part guest—for a year and a day.

The further north Sol travels, the clearer it becomes the Black Land is no myth. The forests teem with foul beasts. Her travel companions are not what they seem, and their plans for her and her magic are shrouded in secrecy.

With only her loyal shieldmaid and her own wits to reply upon, Sol must master power beyond her imagination to wrest control of her fate. For the Black Land’s army stirs, ready to cover the world in darkness—unless Sol can find the courage to stop it.

They thought the old ways were dead. But now, the Enemy awakens…

I love the Norse-inspired mythos of this story, but it felt very, very slow. Sol and her shieldmaiden, Arn, were great characters, but everyone else sort of blurs together into a hazy backdrop. I couldn’t keep them straight, even the Elders. The worldbuilding and setting were fantastic and well-done, but everything else sort of dragged.

Lilith Saintcrow is a bestselling author. A Flame in the North is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review.)

I will say, Lilith built one heck of a story.
This starts very slow and I found it took me a little while to get into, I will also admit that I was in a bit of a reading slump so for me that was an added difficulty.
Let it be known that the comparisons to LOTR are very on the nose. I found myself understanding the world and its history more than the character. They felt very much a part of it and the world moved with them, not for them as I find is so common in most new fantasy novels these days. The story does pick up and flows smoothly with plenty of character moments and action.
So whose perspective do we see this old broken world? Solveig, our all-knowing horse calming, main girl, or volva. She's great I love her, there is no romance but Sol and Aeredh have such great chemistry I wouldn't be surprised if we see something in the future. But if they stay the best of friends I am still fully on board. I really liked Sol's relationship with her family, I know they only play a part in the first 15% of the story but they stay with her throughout the Saga. Even though there aren't characters we get a lot of time with I know how Sol feels about them, her father and her mother in particular. Her brother is so stupid and headstrong but it was so relatable that I had to laugh.
I would have really appreciated some sort of glossary as it was hard to keep track of all the new Viking and Norse terms. Not impossible of course but it would be a nice touch.
All in all, this was a really nice story, again it is slow and drawn out but it built the world and I didn't find it to be a detriment.
If you've read Goddess of Nothing At All or Name Of The Wind I think you would like this.

I want to thank NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a Nordic fantasy novel while an enjoyable read, it misses the mark for me. I kept wanting to enjoy it more, but in the end, I cannot give it more than three stars, and with that, I might be being a little generous. But first, let me give a synopsis of the plot.

This is a first-person narrative told from the point of view of Solveig an elemental witch, volva. As our story begins, Sol is nervous as she has a very important task to perform. Sol is responsible for the lighting of the bonfire through her use of magic and keeping this fire going through the Long Night. At her side is her loyal shieldmaid, Arenoir. But while this is a festive time, that all changes when her brother Bjorn, accidentally kills someone from a northern clan. The members of the clan seek retribution for the death. Retribution is in the form of weregild, a pact, it is agreed by her father that Sol will spend a year and a day with these Northerners and leave the only life she has known in the South. Arn, ever loyal, will accompany her. So begins Sol's adventure and journey of self-discovery as she uses magical powers that have rarely been scene in the lands for generations and to fight back the evils in the far North, the Black Lands.

Great character development is what makes a great fantasy novel. And while, Sol and Arn, the two main characters were well developed to where you cared about their plight. The secondary characters, while interesting and fantastical, the characters were not developed to where I was invested in them. The reason for this is mainly this is a first-person narrative from a character that is an outsider and it limits the reader's ability to really get to know the secondary characters, the Northerners. Also, the greatest limitation, is with a first-person narrative, is only knowing what is within the viewpoint of the main character. The secondary characters and what we learn about them is exciting, but they never get to take the spotlight because of the decision of this novel being told from the first person.

Secondly, while the adventure scenes are well written and exciting. The last fifteen percent of the book was very enjoyable with good battle scenes. Too much of the book was traveling from point A to point B. While the descriptions of the cold North, made me shiver, it just felt like there was too much of this. I was very much challenged to fight the urge during some of the travel sections of skimming pages until the action picked up. This is not a good sign that you are truly enjoying your reading experience when you fight this urge. Some may like the pages and pages of travelling by foot and horse in this cold North, but it didn't work for me.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read where some readers may enjoy its slow burn at times. And even with not truly enjoying the novel, there is enough promise here to where I would likely read the next book in the series when it comes out in 2025. As my biggest disappointment at the end of the novel, is that I wanted to know what is going to happen next.

3 1/2 stars

I'm a fan of all things Viking so it is easy to understand why I snatched this book up.. Sadly, it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. The world building was well done and detailed with a solid plot and storyline. Yet, there were times the story felt redundant and like I had deja vue and had read it all before.

I so wanted to love this book and I have no doubt that many people will. It just wasn't for me. I needed more from it and was left feeling like something was missing. That said, I will read more by this author because it's glaringly obvious that she is a strong talent. This story just didn't appeal to my specific tastes.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

The author has created a new fantasy realm that'll fit right in with other epics like Lord of the Rings. It took a little bit for me to get used to the language and writing style--it's heavy, but I got used to it after a few minutes of focused reading each sitting. I really enjoyed Sol's journey once she left her home! There was very descriptive imagery; I could really picture their perilous journey through the woods and across the Glass. Saintcrow is excellent at writing battle scenes from Sol's perspective, with just enough description to let the reader imagine the monsters the band faces in their minds, but doesn't give away any details that she wouldn't know or be able to observe.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Sol evolves once she learns more about how to use her magic. Everyone has more faith in her than she does in herself, even after all the work she does on their journey. There hasn't been any romance so far, but do I foresee a little brewing between her and our heir of Naras?? 👀👀 We'll see next year in the second book 😁

It has always seemed an impossible task to me to create a fantasy world like this, and have it thought through in the first book. Having the intros at the beginning of each chapter with a little hints or forewarning of what's to come (told through stories and songs of the past) takes a lot of foresight--I respect it! Overall good read and I'll be anxiously waiting for Book 2 in 2025 💙

One thing you should definitely know about this book is it is very heavy with Vikings and Norse fantasy. If you like epic books, especially ones in a series, then pick this book up because you are who it was meant for.

The world building is gorgeous, but it did feel epic (possibly because battles kept happening then we would go to another place and fight again and then travel and fight.).

I do love the revealing that the myths that our main character was taught might not be all she thought them to be and that we unravel those and in a way get to find our own origin stories might be what we make them.

Settle in and wait for a few more years, as the next two books will be out yearly!

Thanks Netgalley for a copy of this book for my honest opinion!

This book took me longer to read than most. It took a bit for me to understand the flow of the writing and the narrator's voice. There were many times when I needed to reread a part because I had read it wrong.

Solvieg is a fantastic representative of a firstborn daughter with magical powers. She feels so much responsibility for her siblings and her community. Her entire life, she's been training to become her community's volva. When her brother acts without thinking, she faces the consequences, with the understanding that she will be back with her family in a year and a day.

While this was slow to start, I found myself engrossed in the narrative. However, I do wish there was a glossary for the Germanic words. I was constantly pulled out of the narrative to search for the term on my phone. Any that I didn't find, I was able to make a hypothesis based on context clues.

I'm not impatiently waiting for the next book in the series.

When I say this epic Nordic adventure belongs on the same shelf as Tolkien, I mean to say: it's an ambitious, big-scope, high fantasy with many of the charms of–– and echoes of –– Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. And it's darned good.

The similiarites, for those who know the Lord of the Rings books, will feel both familiar and fresh: this story is the first part of a quest against big evil who has been defeated once, but who is once again on the rise. There's a fellowship of sorts who are journeying to the edge of the big evil's stronghold. The fellowship includes nearly immortal Elders (pointy-eared, beautiful people who love stars) and some fairly innocent humans. This world has a long, long history. As in the LOTR, the language of the story is formal, archaic even, and includes many words in the "Old Tongue."

What makes A Flame in the North modern, or at least more palatable to modern sensibilities is that the main character is Solveig, a young magic-practicing woman, who, along with her shield-maiden bodyguard, Arneior, are swept up into this fight without knowing quite what they are getting into. Unlike the Middle-Earth of Tolkien, this is a fully Nordic world: Odynn the Allfather and Fryja the loving Allmother are among Solveig's gods, and Arneior actively channels the fierce power of black-winged valkyra. Warriors in this world play at flyting, a traditional sort of poetry slam popular among Viking warriors.

The story begins with Solveig's ritual relighting of the midwinter fires of her family's town by channeling her unusual elemental magic (seidhr) while her impetuous older brother impulsively strikes and kills a visiting stranger. That stranger turns out to be the son of a king, and the man's companions demand recompense: they ask that to pay the blood debt, Solveig be their captive (weregild) for a year and a day.

Solveig, who narrates the story in first person as from a recollection, is honestly a little happy to have an adventure and leave her father's hall for a change. Weregild captives are, by age-old tradition, treated fairly. And it's only going to be for one year and one day, thinks Solveig, and her shieldmaiden Arneior will accompany her to be sure of her safety.

The women head North with their captors, but quickly learn that the men are more than they appear: there are shape-shifting wolf men and Elders (Tolkien fans insert "Elves") and they travel the "weird ways," covering uncanny distances North. Solveig negotiates her way out from the obligation of weregild, but learns that the Elders hope that her elemental magic will help them in the coming battle against the dreadful evil that Solveig's people have assumed to be long since vanquished.

Saintcrow has written many urban fantasy novels: entertaining stories with strong female heroes who kick serious butt. With this novel, however, it feels as if she has stepped up her game. While Solveig and Arneior are plenty tough, their modesty and behavior aligns convincingly with their setting and the mores of their environment.

As with the best classic high fantasy, setting and world-building becomes a main character in the story: Saintcrow paints a bleak, bitterly cold picture of their destination as the way North grows increasingly difficult for our group. The lyrical writing –– high fantasy is often "written large" -- invites the reader to settle in and enjoy the style even as the plot rolls along.

As the narrator (and one suspects hero) of the story, Solveig filters her discomfort as well as her bravery through a deep sense of self-doubt, which provides a welcome measure of character development, sometimes lacking in the genre.

In all, this is a wonderful read. I wish I were not finished already. I am impatient for the next installation of the saga. I envy readers who have yet to step into this world.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit publishers for the free e-ARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.
sub to amaz 2/20

3.5 stars
This was difficult to rate. I enjoyed it, but there really wasn't much of a plot. We pretty much follow the characters from point A to point B with some monster fighting along the way.

I really liked Solveig and her shield maiden Arn. The magic is interesting. I kind of feel like this was setting up book 2. I'm going to have to read it to see.

An interesting writing style but I couldn't get into the writing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

When Solveig’s brother accidentally kills a man from a neighboring village, she is forced to spend a year with that clan to make up for it.
What started as an interesting premise quickly became difficult to read. The writing was clunky and slow. The build-ups felt insignificant and out of place. The journey was too long, the characters felt only surface deep and the battle scenes left me wanting more.
While this was not for me, I do believe those who love a slow-burn with Norse mythology references will love it!

Thank you to Orbit Books and Hachette Audio for the copies! The book releases today, February 13, 2025.

Not my favorite. This story was pretty slow and heavy-handed. It would've been fine if it was that way for the purpose of world-building but unfortunately, it didn't help expand on my knowledge of the setting too much. If I wasn't familiar with Vikings, I would've been lost completely.

Book Name: A Flame in the North
Author: Lilith Saintcrow

ARC
Thank you to Orbit Books, Orbit and Netgalley for ARC of Lilith Saintcrow’s A Flame in the North

Stars: 1

New Series
Slow Paced
FMC POV
Historical Viking Fantasy
Similar to the Northman movie

- Thoughts.
- Atmospheric
- Very Narration Heavy
- Wording Was Clunky
- Lost in its Prose
-

The story had So much potential but it was SO hard to follow due to the writing style. The phrasing was heavy, clunky, and archaic. It was not very accessible as I had to read paragraphs two or three times to ensure I knew what Saintcrow was saying.

Additionally, I was not too fond of the book’s pacing, as it drew out the mundane and then flew through the interesting and actionable. The final straw for me was the immensity of the worldbuilding with various gods, powers, creatures, and politics that are not explained whatsoever, it was fully left to us as the readers to cobble together what these things are and their intentions. overall this was 1/5. Terribly disappointing

Due to the Negative Nature of this review, I will not be posting it to Goodreads or retail sites with respect to the publisher and author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The pacing was slow, but also.. vikings. I really enjoyed this book! I liked how epic this book felt, even if it had slow pacing (for me!) and what I see others saying is not the best execution.

I enjoyed the Femc Solveig, she was the best part for me!

Based off the book’s description, I found A Flame in the North by Lilith Saintcrow to be so promising. Solveig can always count on Arn, her shieldmaiden, to be by her side. Her confidant and protector, who will follow her into the depths of hell and back. They never anticipated that HELL would be freezing cold, covered in snow and ice, and filled with demonic creatures. The Black Land’s army is spreading its tendrils into the North, and it has great ambitions to spread further. Solveig must face her fears, embrace her powers, and ally herself with unlikely friends to protect the land she loves.

I did NOT like this novel. It is incredibly detailed and very, very unique, but I didn’t like it. I have read Sarah J. Maas’s novels. Rebecca Yarros’s “The Empyrean” series, as well. The simplistic, modern language in both of their works irritated me greatly. I like to think when I read. I FLEW through Maas’s and Yarros’s books because they were far too easy to read. A Flame in the North by Lilith Saintcrow is the opposite. The writing is very HEAVY. Saintcrow’s style reminds me of Tolkien in many ways. It’s formal and archaic. I struggled so much to read this novel, and I had to read paragraphs two or three times to ensure I knew what Saintcrow was saying.

Additionally, I did not like book’s pacing. A Flame in the North moves slowly. It features long periods of travel with limited action. And when there IS action, it is only a couple pages. I wanted more. I needed more. In 400 pages, I also felt the characters never grew. They were very, very flat, and they had no personalities. I kept waiting for some great revelation, but that never happened. Nothing about A Flame in the North by Lilith Saintcrow made me want to read the second book, and I don’t think I’m going to.

what a great book and i loved reading this author. I haven't read her in many years. loved the romance and how the couple came to be. Loved that they worked through their issues and found love.