Tag Archives: Valkyrie

Blog Tour: Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking

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I’m really excited to be able to participate in the blog tour for Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking! I’ll be giving my full review of the novel and, if you stick around to the end, there’s even a giveaway! But first, let’s have a look at what the book is about.

When the fate of the world is at stake Loyalties will be tested Game of Thrones meets Blade Runner in this commanding new YA fantasy inspired by Norse Mythology from New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking.

As one of Odin’s Valkyries, Malin’s greatest responsibility is to slay immortals and return them to the underworld. But when she unearths a secret that could unravel the balance of all she knows, Malin along with her best friend and her ex-girlfriend must decide where their loyalties lie. And if helping the blue-eyed boy Asher enact his revenge is worth the risk—to the world and her heart.

 

My Review:

I managed to breeze through reading Between the Blade and the Heart while on the tail end of a reading slump, which really says something about the writing style, I think. There are things that are both positive and not that I noticed while reading it that I’ll discuss specifically in their own little sections (since I’m apparently organized in my reviews now, I guess?) but let’s start it out with the trigger/content warnings I noticed during the story. These are by no means all of the needed warnings but they’re the ones I personally noticed.

  • Drug use
  • Blood
  • Death of a family member

One of the things I really enjoyed about Between the Blade and the Heart was the characters themselves, especially the unexpected bit of LGBT+ representation I found in it. There was also a dysfunctional and borderline abusive mother/daughter relationship that I thought was written very realistically. Unfortunately, the characters were also something I didn’t like about the novel. (I know. I’m making all kinds of sense today. Bear with me!) Some of the character descriptions felt info-dumpy and repetitive. After having spent an entire page and a half learning about the way a character looks, I don’t need any more description later. I just wish it had either been done more efficiently or not in a way that was so repetitive.

The characters didn’t blur together very often and I was able to keep them all straight just based on their personalities in relation to the point-of-view character, Malin. I feel like, at least for character development, Amanda Hocking made a good use of first person narration. My favourite character is most definitely Oona, the sorceress-to-be best friend and roommate of our main character. She’s sweet and caring and knowledgable, even if she is little use in a fight.

The majority of the story takes place in a very urban area of a large city. The settings are described with just enough detail that, since I live in a large city myself, I was able to put myself into the settings Malin found herself in. There were areas like Malin’s apartment and the Evig Riksdag that I would have liked more details on because I had trouble picturing them well, but overall I thought the visuals were adequate.

Where the world building excels is with the culture surrounding immortals, humans, Valkyries, and everything in between. The development of subcultures within that culture was impressive and, for the most part, believable. I really enjoyed immersing myself in this world and discovering new ways of seeing how things might be in some alternate reality where immortals and humans live side by side.

So, I’m not entirely certain about Game of Thrones meets Blade Runner, but I definitely got some Percy Jackson meets the Chicagoland Vampires vibes throughout the novel. It’s definitely a New Adult novel content wise but I felt like some of the writing was geared more toward a Young Adult audience. This gave me the impression that it’s meant for those just making the transition from YA to NA. Once I allowed myself to grasp onto the fact that the novel was New Adult, I found myself really enjoying it.

Overall, I rate Between the Blade and the Heart 3 out of 5 bookworms.

Don’t just take my word for it. Get your hands on a copy and enjoy it for yourself. A few places you can order your copy from are:

 

Amanda Hocking NEW--credit Mariah Paaverud with Chimera Photography.jpg

About the Author

Amanda Hocking is the author of over twenty young adult novels, including the New York Times bestselling Trylle Trilogy and Kanin Chronicles. Her love of pop culture and all things paranormal influence her writing. She spends her time in Minnesota, taking care of her menagerie of pets and working on her next book.

 

 

 

Giveaway

Wow you made it almost to the end of the post! And, as promised, I have a giveaway for you! This giveaway is US ONLY (sorry, international bookworms!) and is for:

  • ONE (1) finished copy of Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking!

Some important giveaway related information: The winner’s information will be emailed to my contact at the publisher, who will send out the prize! The winner will need to be eighteen (18) years old or have parental consent to provide this information to me and St. Martin’s Press. This giveaway begins on the day this post goes live and ends on Monday, January 15th. The winner will be contacted via the email used in the entry form and will have twenty-four (24) hours to respond before a new winner will be selected and contacted.

Best of luck to you all!!

UPDATE: THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

 

Congratulations to Kelly Woods on winning a finished paperback copy of Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! 😀

 

Thank you so much to Amanda Hocking for writing this intriguing beginning to a series. You’re a real rockstar!

Thank you also to Justine Sha at St. Martin’s Press for allowing me the privilege of reading this novel before its release and participating in this blog tour!