Series Review | Saga of the Unfated by Danielle L. Jensen
A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance.
Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.
Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. And it’s been foretold that such magic will unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.
Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.
The secret of her divine heritage revealed, Freya finds herself on a path that will see thousands of lives lost to the magic in her blood. Desperate to avoid this dark fate, she risks an alliance with Skaland’s greatest enemy to seek answers from the seer who foretold her future—the same seer who sent Bjorn to kill her.
While Freya still seethes with rage over Bjorn’s betrayal, the blood oaths that bind her demand that she keep him close as she hunts for a way to avert the looming war. Her magic draws her to the front lines of an old enmity, embroiling her with Nordeland’s Unfated—children of the gods who serve the king she was raised to fear. The same king who, unlike Bjorn, is now willing to fight at her back. For despite the desire that burns hot between Bjorn and Freya, his growing distrust of her chosen path threatens to drag them further apart.
As war approaches, gods and mortals must choose their weapons. Yet the fiercest battle will be the one Freya wages within herself. With the magic of two goddesses burning in her veins, she must weave the threads of destiny to decide her own fate: Will she be the shield that protects her people or the curse that destroys them?
This post contains affiliate links to different retailers, items purchased through links on will provide a small commission, which is all used towards feeding my love for books and journaling.
A Fate Inked in Blood · February 27, 2024
A Curse Carved in Bone · May 13, 2025
Norse Mythology · Blood Oath · Unwritten Fates · Vikings · Twists
AMAZON | GOODREADS | STORYGRAPH
Series Review
Can we just admire the book cover art especially A Curse Carved in Bone? If there was a need for female rage in art form, there you have. And of course, we get glimpses of that in Freya in the Saga of the Unfated series. I would totally be in support if she just raged out on EVERYONE who did her wrong, family included.
I listened to the audio of A Fate Inked in Blood and I really enjoyed the narration by Nina Yndis. And it paid off when I read the second book with my eyes.
With book 2 picking up where the previous one left off. We’re still very much in the rage stage and it stays there for about 40% of the book. And there were a ton of remorse and regret happening as well with a certain character 😉. Safe to say, very much in the feels for a huge chunk of the book. It’s still action packed, which I love. And there’s some more betrayal and twists happening, kind of wild and a bit chaotic? Maybe even a little messy.
There were definitely some moments where Freya came off as a bit childish, while I understood her anger when it came to Bjorn. And I felt like he was just trying to get back on her good side for majority of the book. I couldn’t quite feel the emotional connect that was between the two like in the first book, so it was a little tough to 100% root for them by the end.
But I was pretty happy with the way everything turned out, there were still a few characters that I would have been okay not having around. But knew that the guilt would absolutely eat Freya alive.
Overall, a very solid series for me, I really enjoyed Danielle’s writing and will diving into the backlist!
Finished copies of this series was gifted by the publisher in exchange for a review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links to different retailers, items purchased through links on will provide a small commission, which is all used towards feeding my love for books.
