I thought I’d survived everything life could throw at me. All I wanted was to keep my distance from the criminals I work for and get my little brother out of the hell that is our mother’s house.

Then I died and woke up to four stunningly hot gods telling me I’m now a valkyrie.

Sly, sharp Loki.
Jovial but ferocious Thor.
Dreamily compassionate Baldur.
Grim and secretive Hod.

They all have something to teach me. And around them, my walls start to crack.

But the gods didn’t summon me just for kicks. Their king is missing, and they need me to find him. The first three valkyries they sent on the job never made it back.

More power is awakening in me than I could ever have imagined—and the gods’ enemies are more devious than even they knew. It’s going to take every trick in the book for me to save myself, my brother, and these divine men who’re getting under my skin in the most alluring way.

I’m Aria Watson, and Valhalla ain’t seen nothing yet.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

First book of 2024, coming in hot with another spicy book from Eva Chase. I fell in love with this author in 2022 and have been devouring her books since.

This is the first book in a series and it follows Aria who is reborn as a Valkyrie following her death in the mortal realm. She has been summoned to help Loki, Thor, Baldur, and Hod find the allfather, Odin, who has gone on a ramble.

As the reader we get character P.O.V chapters from Aria, Loki. Thor, Baldur, and Hod. Freya is also present throughout this book but as more of a secondary character.

I love ancient history and while not as ancient in terms of the Greeks and Romans, I’ve often found Norse mythology to be quite fascinating. One of my favourite parts of any mythology are the continual interpretations and translations of it. A story told a thousand ways…

So, knowing this was Norse mythology and the 3 gods (+ Loki) were to be the males involved elevated my expectations.

Now, Aria is a character who comes from a bad part of town. She had had to fight to survive the cruel world and she carries a lot of trauma with her The only person she consistently cares and worries about through the book is her brother Petey – which shows how little she values her own life. When she first awakes as a Valkyrie, she is desperate to return to him and much of her earlier interactions with the males is done with sneakier motivations.

There is an element in the plot surrounding the idea that the longer the goss are on Midgard the weaker they get and that only Odin can open the Biofrost back to Valhalla. This irritated me because it was an element of the plot that wasn’t given much attention and ended up feeling paper thin instead of water tight.

Between the five characters there is mutual attraction. This is a reverse harem so no choosing between characters. They each seem lost, and whether that is from the past, present, or future will be up to the characters to explain. The foundation blocks to future relationships were set up here but I was surprised that when Aria first crossed the finish line, who it was with.

The villains of the story – or at least who is being set up in this book – are the dark elves and my only real impression of them was their oily nature and cold souls. I’m sure that as the series progresses I will learn more about them and form more of an opinion about them.

I read this book on Kindle and I made 3 annotations. The first is from chapter 11:

“She was shifting from her wary tone to the brasher one I was becoming equally used to. I’d have thought our Valkyrie had only two modes if I hadn’t heard her voice soft with affection at her little brother’s window last night.”

Chapter 11 is in Hod’s P.O.V. This thought comes after Aria tried to sneak away to see her brother but got caught by Hod. They end up visiting him together/ I felt this moment reflected a moment of clarity for Hod, for up until the visit to her brother, none of the males had been interested in her human life and what emotions were held there. This was like Hod realising there was more to her than meets the eye.

The second is from Chapter 20, Loki’s P.O.V:

“Oh, take your gloom and doom someplace else, nephew. I have internet access. Soo I will rule the world.”

This just made me chortle, seeing Loki on a laptop while the others remained curious and confused.

The last two come in quick succession. One in chapter 21 and the other from chapter 22. They are both from Aria’s P.O.V and are interactions with Loki.

Chapter 21:

“When my gaze caught on a tall lean figure slinking through the sea of bodies, straight towards me. As if he knew exactly where I was. Because he did.”

Chapter 22:

“This could still be a bad idea,” I felt the need to point out. Loki’s smile widened. “My favourite kind.”

In my mind, I saw Aria bonding more with Hod and Baldur than anyone else. So, these interactions were unexpected but when I thought about it more deeply, I realised that Loki and Aria share a hidden vulnerability, which has allowed them to connect so easily.

I haven’t given a spice rating to this book because this book has been more about scene building, plot setting, and character building.

The only thing that reduced the read for me was guessing the intent of a character on their entrance and seeing it realised.