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Heathery Hebert
4.0 out of 5 stars It was almost comical how useless he was
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2015
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If one aspect of this book were different, it would have been a 5-star read for me. That aspect is the existence of Aidan. It was almost comical how useless he was. He spent the entire book being incapacitated in one form or another. He hindered Bryn every step of the way. Also, why did they even have a relationship? They hated each other, shared two sentences, kissed, and then were in love? Like, actually saying they loved each other. At first, I hoped Aidan would turn out to be a villain and that he was just using her. Then, their nonsensical relationship would actually start to make sense. But, that wasn't the case, and I was seriously just sitting there, wondering how I was supposed to believe in their "love."

Aside from Aidan, I really liked this book. It sucks that he was a main character. Some of the other characters were a little too "over-acted," such as Freya and sidekick-Valkyrie-what's-her-face. They weren't too annoying though. I loved Fenrir and wished he had been the one to go on the little mission with Bryn. He is a much more tolerable character than Aidan. I also really liked Loki. He was written very true to mythology.

Some people complain that there was too much world-building and "filler," but those parts in Asgard were some of my favorite in the book. I really liked experiencing Asgard through Bryn's eyes; it was never boring to me.

One thing I found a little ridiculous and unbelievable was the fact that they only retrieve a few new warriors per week or so? Ok, cool, apparently the warrior heart is a rare thing on Earth. Understandable! Oh, but wait... Four of them came from the same city. Apparently, it's not that rare of a thing. With that in mind, there should be thousands of Valkyries and thousands of warriors brought back every week. What about other parts of the world, too? It just wasn't very realistic and was something of a Santa complex (too many people, too little time).

Overall, I liked this book, but I'm pretty sure Aidan and their "romance" is going to keep me from reading farther into this series.
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Raven.FP
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Series Starter!
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2018
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The reason I chose to read this book initially is because I liked the cover & title so of course I then had to read the blurb . I love reading storylines related to Norse mythology.

Bryn is a fairly unhappy teenager. Following the death of her father she winds up in the foster care system and she is unhappy at school as she has just had to say goodbye to her best friend who died recently.
Bryn finds herself in a situation where it looks like her life is at stake when suddenly after everything goes black she wakes in a place that should only exist in stories.

I loved Bryn's character, I found her kind of funny & she is also intelligent & always in need of answers to her multitude of questions.
All the characters are easy to imagine as are each of the scenes. This books affords the reader a different view of Valkyries from other books that I have read. The book is very easy to get into but be warned it is not so easy to put down.

I have read a few of T.G. Ayer's books now and have loved them all. If you are just getting into her books this book promises to be a great series.
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book and voluntarily chose to leave this review.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient mythology in modern life
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2016
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Bryn's life has become a personal hell. Her father's dead, her mother didn't want her so she's in foster care and now her best friend's dead. Her foster mother and siblings are the only good things about her life that she has. Then she has a new foster brother arrive and her life is turned upside down.

As if things couldn't become more embroiled in turmoil, she finds that she's not human! Her life is turned around and upside down at every moment and yet she not only survives, she gains strength that allows her to foil those who wrong not just her but other innocents without her amazing skills as a legendary Valkyrie.

The author's blend of modern life with ancient Norse mythology has been crafted with excellence. The depth and details of mythology that she's woven her tale is seamless. The pacing leaves the reader eager to know what's next for Bryn. The storytelling and technical qualities of the writing such as meticulous editing and continuity will land the next book at the top of all to-read lists.
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Kriselda Gray
5.0 out of 5 stars Good, original Norse-based Urban Fantasy
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2017
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I have a great love for books that use Norse lore as a basis, so checking out this series was pretty much inevitable for me - and I'm glad I did. It's one of the better ones I've come across. Author TG Ayer mines the rich treasure that Nordic myths provide and keeps the main core of the various characters reasonably close to the source material while giving them a unique spin to make them her own. She gives Asgard and its denizens the sense of ancient grandeur and magical wonder they deserve interwoven with the culture and technology of today, giving the series depth and relatability.

Ayer also does a nice job of keeping the story fresh by subverting some of the tropes that are all too common in the Urban Fanfasy genre. There were a number of times throughout the 5-book series where I thought I knew exactly where something was heading only to be surprised when it played out in an entirely different way. That's something I appreciated so much, I'm now checking out some of her other series in the hopes that they, too, will provide such freshness (and in the case of  Dark Sight  - the only one I've finished so far - that's been the case.)
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Lyn & Nino
5.0 out of 5 stars Blown away by this amazing book!!!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2017
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I completely and absolutely adored this book!!! I have always had a huge love for mythology which i still have today and Valkyrie’s have always interested me so as you can imagine this was definitely a book for me. I thought the pacing of the book was perfect, it flowed really really well and it felt that everything happened at the right time. There is a lot in this book, a lot of information especially if you don't have any former knowledge of the culture that this book bases itself in but even if you are a novice the way this book is written explains it really well in such a way it's the characters learning about it so you learn alogside them.

It's hard to pinpoint certain parts of this storyline that i loved because if i am honest i loved every moment of this book and i am dying to find out what happens next in this book series. It really is an action packed book and as it's based in mythology you never know what is going to happen next as everyone's interpretation of mythology I's different especially in a novel. I would love to rave about all the differentiates of this book but I would give things away from this story that need to be experienced firsthand.

My favourite character….strangely not a main character, but I loved reading about Fen and I can't wait to find out more about him, I can't say way he is a favourite, maybe the Mystery to him, that he is not as expected text but I was drawn to him as a character. I did adore Bryn, she grows so much within this book and as the reader you go through this growth with her, comparing how she is at the beginning go who she is at the end, there is no comparison, she is so different. Butte one thing that does not change about her is her ommission and her big heart as well as how courageous she is.

I can't express how much readers needed get this book, it is just amazing!!!
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Sarah
4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2013
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(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to author T. G. Ayer.)
16-year-old Bryn always knew that she was different, but despite a pushy psychiatrist, she's always been able to see a golden glow around certain people. Now Bryn knows what the glow means though, and she's scared.

It started with a girl at school - she glowed gold, then she died. Then it was Bryn's best friend Joshua, and he died too. Now it's Bryn's younger foster brother Brody, and she doesn't know what she can do to stop what seems inevitable. Her newest foster brother Aidan is different though. She barely knows him, but she can't help but be attracted to him, and to also feel like she can confide in him.
What or who is Bryn? Can she trust Aidan? And is there anything she can do to prevent her younger brother's death?

This was an interesting story about a teenage girl who is a reincarnated Valkyrie, and her discovery of her true heritage.

I have never read anything about Valkyries before, so this was new for me! I liked the storyline in this book but it was actually the first few chapters that I found most compelling. Bryn's grief over the loss of her best friend, and her blossoming feelings for Aidan were compelling reading, and I really felt for her, and sympathised with the situation she was put in. I found the Valkyrie stuff a little confusing in places, I've never read anything about Valkyries before, and have no clue about their background or the ideas behind them at all. Thankfully the story had enough explanation to get me through without needing to know any extra information, but if you already have an interest in this subject then I'm guessing that the story would probably mean more to you!

Bryn was a really caring person, and I was impressed at how well she was coping following her father's death and her mother's abandonment. I also thought she showed great feeling and respect when she expressed a desire to let her foster mother know that she was okay, and again when she wanted to tell her dead friends that she was okay too, even if it wasn't exactly possible.

I liked Aidan, and I would have liked for there to have been maybe a touch more romance between the pair. Aidan's flirting and character was really sweet, and really wanted Bryn and Aidan to be together properly. I thought they made a really good couple, and it was a shame how their situation seemed to be keeping them apart.

I did enjoy this story overall, although I wasn't the biggest fan of the cliff-hanger ending. I did like the main characters Bryn and Aidan, and it was interesting to learn a little about Valkyries. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens to Bryn and Aidan in the next instalment!
Overall; an enjoyable and different story about a reincarnated Valkyrie.
6.75 out of 10.
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valkyrie1008
5.0 out of 5 stars T.G.Ayer breathes new lives into these old gods
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2012
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T.G. Ayer is a writer that fills me with joy and a sense of pride because her passion for norse fantasy comes out like a box of fireworks through every word, sentence and page of this book. It's that passion which really makes the many plot twists full of suprise, each character unique and special, and the whole story inspiring and exciting to read. It is also remarkably refreshing in her vision of how the norse gods and in particular valkyries exist and interact with the mortal world. She has done some really fascinating things not just with her portrayal of the gods but also key mythical creatures such as Fenrir the wolf, Nidhogg the dragon at the bottom of the world treee Yggdrasil, and Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnnir, not to mention of course Valkyries. I must admitt her version of Loki I find particularly magnificent and it made me think of a similar dark character in Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods'.
The best thing is she even makes the world of the Aesir accessible, thrilling and gripping to teenagers as that is the age ranger of her main characters and her target audience being a YA fantasy novel. Each of the main characters has the typical teenager worries and problems, albeit in some cases particularly unique to the character's situation but she has also shown how they both grow and mature inside from their experience with the Norse Gods etc.
But I am ultimately ecstatic as this book is thankfully not a one off like some other valkyries novels I've come across. No, Dead Radiance is the first of a trilogy with Dead Embers due to be released later on this year.
All I can say is if your a fan of YA fantasy and norse mythology or just one of the two and you like a story packed with action, mystery, magic and a touch of romance then this book (if not the total trilogy) is for you.
I personally can't wait to get my hands on Dead Embers, I'm almost as excited as I was about the release of Joanne Harris's Runelight.
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Andrea Evetts
5.0 out of 5 stars Valkyrie
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2016
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This book has got lots going for it... It all started with a young woman who is in a foster home and has been moved about within the system until she is settled with a woman who is called Ms Custer, she is staying there with 3 other foster children too. The only thing with Brynhildr is that she can see auras around the person who is about to die. This has been going on since she was at an early age. She has been seeing and talking to many different psychiatric's about this ability and none of them are able to explain to her or to help her with these findings. There is lots of things going on in this book and I loved every second of the story, there are lots of twists and turns in it......
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Longtime bike rider
3.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, not for wrinklies
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2017
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I suspect that I am not the demographic for this book. It's quite well written and the ideas are interesting, but it's a little young for my tastes - I'm retired and thought the idea of modern valkyries could be interesting
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