Review: Exiled - Amanda Carlson

Phoebe Meadows is on trial for her life.

After freeing her half-brother, Baldur, Phoebe is set to stand before the Council in Asgard to answer for her actions. The threat of exile if she’s found guilty looms, not to mention the added stress of meeting her real father for the first time.

Upon entering Asgard, Phoebe discovers new allies in a half-brother she’s never met as well as an oracle who is in possession of valuable information. A little added help couldn’t have come at a better time, because when Phoebe is tossed into an unknown realm, she’s armed only with Gundren, a jewel, and her wits.

When Loki shows up, all bets are off. The trickster god throws a wrench in Phoebe’s plans and kidnaps Fen, her only ally. And just when she thinks she sees the light at the end of the tunnel, Phoebe finds she has to defeat one last obstacle: The Norns.

And they aren't planning to go down without a fight...

Phoebe Meadows Series:
Struck
Freed
Exiled

Visit Amanda Carlson's website for more information

Review:
At the end of the previous book we saw Phoebe and her friends travelling to Asgard so she can stand trial for helping Baldur escape. The Goddess Frigg blames her for Baldur's death but Phoebe is hoping she'll be given the chance to prove her innocence and make sure the real culprit is punished. Frigg isn't willing to listen to reason though, her son is dead and all she cares about is getting revenge so it looks like Phoebe will receive the ultimate punishment and find herself exiled to Helheim, the real question is whether Fen will be sent with her or if she'll have to face a new realm full of enemies completely alone.

This series really is going from strength to strength. I love the Norse mythology Amanda Carlson has taken inspiration from and I really enjoyed getting the chance to spend time in both Asgard and Helheim in this book. It's great that we get to explore new places in every instalment of this series and the author does a brilliant job of making each realm feel completely different to the ones we've already visited. The story is action packed as Phoebe is set an almost impossible task by Frigg and she has to face her scariest enemies yet if she wants to be able to return from her exile in Helheim.

Phoebe gets the chance to meet more of her family here too which was a lot of fun, not only do we catch up with her adoptive parents in the human realm but we also learn more about the Valkyrie side of her family and she finally gets to meet her father Odin. The romance between her and Fen is still going strong and I continue to love the friendship between Phoebe and her human friend Sam too. Odin and Frigg aren't the only gods in the mix and Loki is causing mischief just like you'd expect but luckily Phoebe has some powerful allies as well as enemies or she'd be in even more trouble.

I've been having so much fun reading this series and I'm eagerly awaiting the next instalment to see what adventures Phoebe gets up to next.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Freed - Amanda Carlson

Phoebe Meadows has one thing on her mind: Free her mother.

For the last month, Phoebe has been training in the Valkyrie stronghold readying for battle. But when she stumbles into a secluded valley after a day of grueling practice, she’s given a dire prediction. Phoebe must leave the stronghold immediately with the aid of the giant, Junnal, to rescue her mother from the dark elves. If Phoebe fails, Leela will be transported to a place that can no longer be reached.

Leaving Fen behind threatens to undo her, but Phoebe stays true to the mission. Along the way, she allies with the god Baldur and an old white elf mage. Together, they storm the realm, and with the help of an angry wolf and her Valkyrie sisters, they just might stand a chance to free the valiant shieldmaiden.

But Phoebe soon learns that in order to save her mother, she might lose something too precious to sacrifice...

Phoebe Meadows Series:
Struck
Freed
Exiled

Visit Amanda Carlson's website for more information

Review:
I loved Struck so I couldn't wait to read about more of Phoebe's adventures in Amanda Carlson's newest release Freed. Phoebe has come a long way from the girl we met in the first book, she has really embraced her Valkyrie heritage and has been training incredibly hard to learn how to use her powers. Of course most Valkyries start learning to fight practically from birth so she's still a long way behind most of her contemporaries but she doesn't let that stop her and she's determined to catch up as quickly as possible.

When Phoebe is offered the chance to rescue her mother from the Dark Elves that have been holding her captive she jumps straight in head first even though she knows the risks are high and she's not had time to fully prepare herself. You have to love that about Phoebe, she's always willing to do whatever needs to be done to protect the people she cares about and this is no different. The rescue attempt gives Amanda Carlson a chance to expand on the Norse mythology used in this series and we get to explore another of the Nine Worlds through Phoebe's eyes. I'm absolutely loving the variety of creatures, gods and realms this series has to offer and from events towards the end of this book it's only going to get better in the next book.

You'll get a chance to catch up with all your favourite characters from the previous book. Fen is a great partner to Phoebe but I'm glad she is still her own person and they aren't glued to each other's sides. He's very protective of her but he also trusts her to look after herself which is good to see. Tyr, Sam and Ingrid are all still on the scene although I think they get a little less page time this time around. That was more than made up for by the introduction of Baldur and Callan though, they are both really interesting characters but I'm not going to tell you much about them so you'll just have to read the book and meet them for yourselves.

This series is going from strength to strength, the books are fast paced and incredibly easy to read, the characters are multidimensional and easy to love (or in some cases hate!) and the world building is getting better and better. I can't wait to see where the series goes from here, the build up for the next book is intense and I have a feeling it's going to be epic.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Struck - Amanda Carlson

When Phoebe Meadows gets struck by a strange light in the stockroom of Macy’s, life as she knows it flies out the window. As if being hit by lightning isn’t bad enough, she’s accosted in the subway by a man with a missing hand, arrives home to find a raven on her kitchen counter, and her neighbor, Ingrid, shows up dressed like a gladiator hell-bent on protecting her.

Before Ingrid can shuttle her to safety, Phoebe is kidnapped and tossed into one of the Nine Worlds where she’s quickly forced to come to terms with what she is: A valkyrie. The only problem is, she has no idea what that means.

After a narrow escape, she finds an unlikely ally in Loki’s son, Fenrir. Together the valkyrie and the wolf must battle their way back to New York City and reach the valkyrie stronghold where Ingrid is waiting for her. But with danger and obstacles at every turn, she might not live long enough to learn the full truth about who and what she really is . . .

Phoebe Meadows Series:
Struck
Freed
Exiled

Visit Amanda Carlson's website for more information

Review:
Phoebe thought she was just a normal girl trying to make ends meet in the big city until the day she gets struck by lightning in the stockroom of the Macy's store she works at. The next thing she knows her neighbour Ingrid is announcing that she's Phoebe's aunt and that Phoebe is the long lost child of a valkyrie and a god. Apparently her parents kept her a secret for a very good reason and now that Phoebe is starting to come into her powers she's become a beacon for the enemies that hunt her. After a botched kidnapping attempt leaves Phoebe trapped in one of the Nine Worlds she has no choice but to ally herself with the demigod Fenrir to try and find her way back to New York so that Ingrid can explain what the hell is happening to her.

I had so much fun reading this novel! Amanda Carlson has created a likeable and very normal heroine who is thrown into a world where creatures from Norse mythology are in fact very, very real. Poor Phoebe is completely out of her depth and she barely has a moment to catch her breath from the beginning to the end of this novel, she really is thrown in at the deep end and has to fight with every last scrap of strength she has just to survive. I loved that she wasn't perfect, she didn't always know how to react or what her best option was and she just had to do the best she could to muddle through but no matter what she went through she didn't give up and she did whatever she had to to hold her own in any fight. She was also fiercely loyal to the people she trusted, if you prove yourself to be her ally then she'll have your back no matter how bad the odds of survival.

Fen was another brilliant character, he's survived things that would have turned a lesser man insane but it's left him strong and with a highly evolved protective streak. He's not sure what to make of Phoebe at first but he admires her will to survive and I think he found her naivety endearing too. The pair have to work closely together if they're going to have any chance of escaping and I enjoyed seeing their relationship start to blossom as they got to know each other. I did find that the declarations of love came a little too quickly, up until that point their relationship had been progressing at a believable rate so it felt that things stepped up a gear just a bit too fast at the end, but I'd rather have things move fast than be stuck with another dreaded love triangle so I'm not going to complain too much. I think they fit really well together so I'm happy to see them as a couple and I think we're going to see things really develop further between them as the series continues.

There are a couple of great side characters in the god of war Tyr and Phoebe's human friend Sam and I'm also looking forward to getting to know more about the valkyries in future books. I don't know a huge amount about Norse mythology but I'm really enjoying what we've seen so far of the Nine Worlds and the various different creatures and gods that inhabit them. I'm sure there is a lot more to explore and I'm excited to find out what Phoebe will encounter next. Struck was a fabulous start to this series, it's very action packed and will suck you in from the first page giving you a wonderful new world to explore. I can't wait to revisit these characters again in the future and I have a feeling it's going to turn into a favourite series before too long.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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