Amalia Dillin

Because of the goodread reviews, I had lofty expectations for this book. In fact, I even bought the nook version of this book because I had such a hard time finding it.

The book took on three story lines: Eve's creation, Thor's wanderings in ancient times, and present day Eve/Abby. Eve's creation was at times fascinating and brilliant. From Thor's wanderings, I really enjoyed the juxtapositions of the world's mythologies together in one room, literally. I can't say I enjoyed Thor's lovesick puppy dog antics ..... and reading the present day story was laborious for me.

I can't place my finger why. Maybe too similar to an evil paranormal romance.

Overall I like the book, and I have a mild interest to see where the author takes this story.… (más)

Thjalfi is a minor character from the Prose Edda (and an even more minor character in the Poetic Edda) but Dillin took the character and definitely made him her own. She turns him into a charming farmhand who surprisingly turned out to be a deep thinker and loyal. Not to mention he sounds easy on the eyes.

Gwen is a hard working farm-girl who is as stubborn as the goats she milks. She’s completely independent and comfortable with her lifestyle tending to her goats, horses, chickens, and cats.

The two characters as a couple are very well matched. Thjalfi is very giving and Gwen is very stubborn which makes for an interesting pair. The romance starts off tentative but turns sure and sweet.

The goats, Blender and Masher, sealed the deal for me. They are horrible, demonic monstrosities that add so much humor to the story and actions cause emotional situations between the characters that I couldn’t help but love the beasts.

Dillin also incorporated a small guide to pronounce Icelandic/Norse words without it sounding like an information dump! Information dumps are hard for authors to avoid when need-to-know information has to make the story and somehow still be seamless.

Overall, Postcards From Asgard defiantly satisfied my love for Norse Mythology and in a modern, non-superhero fashion! I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the old Norse myths and wouldn’t mind hearing them with a twist, or for paranormal romance readers in general.

www.readingbifrost.com… (más)

When I saw the author post about this book online, I immediately wanted to get my hands on a copy. I love orcs in a way that everyone I know thinks is odd. Hey, some girls like werewolves, elves, or vampires. For me it's the green skin and tusks. A story where an orc is a main character and it's a romance? Yes, please!

I can happily say that I wasn't disappointed. The two main characters, Arianna and Bolthorn, have depth to them that makes them people rather than flat characters. For me what makes or breaks a book is characterization and the protagonists had plenty of that. I honestly wasn't sure if I would like Arianna, fearing that she'd be some sort of pathetic princess. (I know, I know, I shouldn't have, but with a romance, you never know.) I was pleasantly surprised that even in her times of weakness, which I certainly couldn't fault her for, she still had strength and determination. Bolthorn... well, let's just say that he's now another orc I have a massive crush on. I found him to be more interesting than Arianna; not that she was flat, he just had the more interesting backstory and personality, in my opinion. I really got into the orc culture and how they live and interact with each other and the world.

Speaking of that, the world-building had detail that I appreciated. The history of the elves and the orcs was particularly interesting, and I enjoyed reading about the orcs' culture, so I'm hoping we get more of that in later books. That's the other thing: when I got to the end of the book and realized that it was the first in a trilogy I think I gave a little squeal of delight. Needless to say I will be reading the next one!

This is another book where it's hard for me to put into words exactly what I liked about it because I want to say "everything". While that's accurate, it's also incredibly vague. Basically the characterization, the world-building, the star-crossed-type aspect of the romance, the main characters triumphing against odds... it's all there. The only shortcoming I can think of is that I thought it felt a little disjointed to start, but once the plot started rolling I had a hard time putting this book down.

I've been waffling on the stars to give this one. I have trouble giving books 5 stars out of 5 unless the book is something super awesome perfect and amazing, which never seems to quite be the case in most things I read, but I also don't want to give this 4 1/2 because I did really enjoy it. It wasn't quite at the level of blowing me away, but I think I enjoyed it way too much to give it only that half star. Since 4 3/4 probably isn't an option, I think I will give this 5. Keep in mind that this is a fantasy romance with a non-human character, so it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're into fantasy and unusual love stories, then this might just be for you. (It does have sexual content in it, so keep that in mind, too. I didn't think it was particularly over the top, but it is there.)… (más)