I squealed with excitement when the email came approving me for this one. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the writing style, and I didn’t enjoy the old-fashioned names mixed with modern slang. As a Norwegian, it’s creating serious cognitive dissonance, and so I stopped after chapter 1 (4%). No comments on ratings as I am not sure who the target audience is for this. Just leaving five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

I post my review with a bit of trepidation. The idea and plot reminded me of Tolkien in the best and worst ways of high fantasy.
While our characters stumbled along their adventure, I found myself stumbling through descriptions that somehow pulled me out of the story more than in. This may in part be my own lack of familiarity with this style of storytelling but it made the barrier for entry for me high, and was a struggle to visualize enemies or thus empathize with characters. This was not a pleasure read but an undertaking that sometimes took gritted teeth. However, I think there are a lot of sparks and potential with some of the side characters, and fantasy readers more comfortable with a complex writing style may be far fonder of the journey than I.

This is a wonderful viking fantasy book that will keep you entertained throughout. I really liked our main character Solveig and her shield maiden Arn. The battle scenes were vivid and engaging. That being said I only gave this book three stars. I did enjoy this story and will continue to read future books in this series but for me the story was a bit repetitive. Travel/fight/travel/fight. I'm not quite sure why it took me longer than usual to read this book but I was forcing myself to finish instead of reaching for it. I do feel that many people with absolutely love this book and I get that, but for me there was just something missing and I can't quite put my finger on it. Some other reviewers complained about the language used and there not being a glossary which I can see as an issue, but luckily for me this was not the case as I had read similar books with similar language but had I not, it may have been a bit more difficult.

Overall I will stay the story is well done and if you are in the mood for vikings and battles, then definitely pick this one up.

Thank you NetGalley, Orbit Books and Lilith Saintcrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit, and Lilith Saintcrow for giving me an eARC of A Flame in the North in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. A big part of what those mixed feelings boil down to is that this book is very plot-driven and as someone who values a lot of character development, I struggled a bit more with this book. Additionally, I was often confused by what the terms meant. There was rarely an explanation, which led to me wishing there was a glossary that I could reference to to know what the client was referring to. However, I did enjoy the book. The setup is good and I am truly curious to know what happens next. I will read the sequel when it comes out. I think a portion of what I was having trouble with is that this book felt like it was a setup for a big fight down the line, however, the characters have to get to that point first. Don't get me wrong this is a good book and will be a favorite for so many fantasy lovers it just was not one of my all-time favorites.

Very enjoyable viking infused fantasy, Great female protagonist. Plot rips along. Will definitely be ordering for my library.

A Flame in the North is book one in the Black Land's Bane series by Lilith Saintcrow.
And it’s an epic fantasy about ancient myth and magical destiny.
I thought the storyline was really entertaining.
And the writing was engaging.
The world-building is just outstanding here. The author did a fantastic job pulling the reader in and holding them captive.

Thank You NetGalley and Orbit Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is a new author to me and I'm thankful to netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book. This book takes a couple of chapters to get used to the language used in the story. But it moves smoothly once you overcome that hurtle. The main character Solveig is the volva ( wise woman and magic user) of her settlement in a viking-esk world. She has a rare power that makes her an elementalist. Her father is the leader of the settlement and she has a sweet sister and hot headed brother. Due to her brother's hotheadedness Sol finds her self the bonded wergild ( blood price ) to a group of northern warriors. She finds herself as well as her shieldwoman heading north with this mysterious group of warriors. The further she gets from home the weirder the situation becomes. Myths from the past return to life and reality posing a danger to her as well as anyone whose company she is in. This story is the beginning of an epic and it lives up to that name. I hung on every word of each chapter and had trouble putting the book down. Excellent work and I look forward to the rest of the series.

This was intriguing. I really liked the premise but struggled to connect with the writing style. I would still recommend as I had a fun time with this story. It had immersive world building,which I really liked. Another enjoyable aspect for me was the Norse mythology. It was really interesting and I look forward to future books. Thank you to the publisher for the early copy.

For the most part, I enjoyed this, though it took some time for me to get into. I'm not exactly sure on a rating, though. 3 stars feels a bit too low and 4 slightly too high; maybe hovering around a 3.75, maybe?

The book is narrated in 1st-person and the writing style itself feels very antiquated(?). It's not a writing style I'm used to or particularly gravitate towards, so there were a few instances where I got tripped up reading and had to re-read a passage or two to get the intended meaning down. There's also a lot of terminology I'm not familiar with, but it didn't completely bother me that much.

The plot is essentially a travel story. Solveig and her shieldmaiden are forced to accompany a group of Northerners to Some Place (they're very secretive about where they're headed and for what purpose). I feel like Lilith Saintcrow did a great job at capturing the long, arduous journey taken by Sol and her companions, as well as illustrating the horrors they find in the North. I will say that there were times when the journey felt too long. In a way, it reminded me of Lord of the Rings. A large portion of the story is essentially journeying. I do wish that there had been a bit more time spent in Sol's home before she was shipped off because I feel like I needed a bit more shaping of her world before she had to leave it to really fully grasp the scope of everything. Because it felt like all the stuff of the Black Lands and the Enemy really just came out of nowhere while traveling because it hadn't been established enough on the onset.

That being said, I'm definitely interested in seeing the next part of Sol's journey.

An elemental witch and her shieldmaiden journey into a world of ancient myth and unexpected destiny in this sweeping Norse-inspired epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow.

I've been meaning to pick up one of Lilith Saintcrow's books for a while now and I'm so glad I finally did! The characters, world-building, and prose are all top-notch. I would definitely recommend this to fans of fantasy!

This e ARC was given to me from Netgalley.com and I am providing an unbiased review.

This is a wonderful start to what I expect to be an epic story based on Viking imagined living, beliefs, and other mythological/religious lore. Solveig is our main character, that has a skill, similar to what we would call an elementist in the fantasy world, that marked her to train as a Volva (kind of a Viking shaman-woman) but her skill is stronger than has been seen for lifetimes. Do to an unfortunate death caused by her brother, she is sent as weregild for a year and a day with a group calling themselves the Wolves of the North. On their journey returning to the Wolves northern homes, she discovers one amongst them is Elven, and learns of other types of magic. She also learns that truly there is a great evil that is awakening again, and many believe her to be the one last hope to stop it.

Let's just say that when I started this book, I was riveted to it. I have read many of Saintcrow's works, and found them enjoyable, but this tops all of them - hands down. I also believe, that this is her best work to date. I found the reading to be very attention getting with the storyline, though there were parts that felt a bit wordier than needed to be. It is written in first-person, from Sol's point of view, and, like a person's thoughts, there is quite a bit of mental wondering, which I believe kind of adds to the writing style. In my opinion, they were many terms I believe to be Viking lore related, and the lifestyle portrayed, region and climate, all added to what I see as Viking lore. Also brought in is some of the Norse gods (Thor, Odin, et cetera) and some comments even of the 'robed ones' that preach their god that died on a cross, versus going to Valhalla.

Truly one of the top books I have read this year, and I am so looking forward to the next one, and I am guessing a third as well. I found it easy reading, even good descriptions of many of the Viking terms used, and the inter-mixing of lore and beliefs.

This was a case of 'not for me'. I think the writer is talented but this book did not keep my interest, unfortunately.

I gave it a really strong effort but I just could not get through this book. It very well may be a case of 'it's not you it's me." I knew it was a Vikings story going in but I must have underrated the amount of vikings terms and traditions I didn't understand. I felt like I was dropped right in the middle of some ritual but had no idea what was going on or the purpose. There were quite a few titles and names called out that I didnt understand and the book doesnt provide additional insight on (volva, granr, weirdling, etc.,). I was hoping once the character was on her adventure these things would matter less but it didnt work for me. There wasn't much of an explanation of the magic system. When the fmc used her power for the first time it seemed very underwhelming for all of the buildup around it. I also didnt get much of a back story on anyone from what I did read. I didnt know the history of the characters relationships and motivations besides what was apparent in present activities. I do appreciate the effort the author put into making this book feel authentic but wouldnt recommend it for someone who is not familiar with all-things Vikings.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

An amazing fantasy story set in the world of the Vikings! The language was more formal than I liked, but it didn’t stop me, I didn’t want to stop!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I’ve been on a Norse kick lately having picked up books by Genevieve Gornichec and was so excited to get chosen for this ARC!
Once again Orbit has introduced me to a new author and a new world that I just loved. Really enjoyed the character dynamics and worldbuilding.