pickA fun middle grade read along the lines of Rick Riordan‘s books. However, this is not perfect and I do think Riodan‘s work is better. For a kid who has exhausted his work and is looking for something else, this would be be perfect.
What I liked: it‘s fast paced with plenty of action. The MCs are fun to follow and I like their friendship based on accepting each other for who they are and for the things others tease them about.
Continued: ⬇️
MeganAnn 1/3: One thing that both did & didn‘t work for me was the juxtaposition of the Norse world/gods with a few Roman gods. It was an interesting idea which allowed the MCs to explore worlds a bit different than the typical Norse mythology. However it meant that these Roman & Norse gods were thrown together without a lot of thought for how exactly that might work. There is a brief explanation, but it didn‘t really work for me & felt more superficial ⬇️ 2y
MeganAnn 2/3: … there simply to allow the MCs to meet these gods. That being said, the interactions between the MCs & the gods were well done and I enjoyed them. ✨ Another thing I found odd is the title — Secrets of Valhalla — when the characters never visit Valhalla in the entire book. Yes, they are searching for the “Runes of Valhalla” but for most of the book they are simply mentioned as “the runes” and Valhalla itself never comes into play. ⬇️ 2y
MeganAnn 3/3: All that being said, I found myself wanting to keep reading regardless of those things so I did enjoy this. I especially enjoyed the creative twist at the end which I‘ll discuss below under a spoiler tag for anyone who is curious. ✨ This was my first #roll100 book for February @PuddleJumper 2y
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MeganAnn The MCs are told at the beginning that Loki is the villain in typical Norse mythology based fashion. However, at the end we find out he was actually not the bad guy and ends up helping the MCs. Also, Fenris wolf is not a villain either and helps the MCs. I found this incredibly refreshing for this kind of story and appreciated the author showing that those we paint as villains are not always the bad guys. 2y
PuddleJumper Oo, I've got a few friends looking for something Rick Riordanesque. I'll point them towards this book and see what they think! 2y
MeganAnn @PuddleJumper this is perfect for that! They may also like The Blackwell Pages series which my son devoured and loved a few years ago around the same time he was reading Riordan. I haven‘t personally read those yet but he has given them high praise. Book 1 tagged:![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png)
Loki's Wolves 2y
Loki's WolvesPuddleJumper @MeganAnn Brilliant, thanks! 2y
