Review: A winning combination of Norse mythology and romance!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 18, 2014
Foretold drops us into a world on the brink of destruction and keeps us on the run from beginning to end, engaging our minds with prophetic puzzles while warming our cheeks with a romance helped along by the heavy hitters of Norse mythology. Because we hit the ground running in this tale–or rather flat out sprinting–confusion and unease are what dominate in the opening chapters (as they're clearly meant to), our timeline with Raven jumping from present day to a few days prior when a massive snowstorm and the suspicious disappearance of the girls’ mother throws their world into chaos. Pieces of a prophecy are spoken of casually, and because we haven’t grown up with it as the girls’ have, it takes us a little while to mentally organize all the information that’s so quickly distributed. Before too long though we’re right there with Raven, ready to save the world and get swept off our feet as we do so.Raven is the eldest of the three girls (by minutes given they’re triplets, but still), sent to track down one of the three warriors she believes is capable of fulfilling the prophecy that’s dictated how she and her sisters have lived their entire lives. She’s easy to like from the moment we meet her, slightly adrift and somewhat unsure of what her next moves should be even though she’s known Ragnarok has been coming for years; feelings that help form a connection to her given they're mirrored in us as we read. She has a surprising desire to tell the truth to Vanir and his brothers, something that’s not always the case in supernatural situations, and while for most of the book various events prevent that truth from coming out in full, it’s still a relief simply to have a desire for honesty present. She does keep the most important tidbit to herself until the very end, which, while a touch frustrating, thankfully doesn’t result in a colossal blowup that derails everything she and Vanir have worked toward up to that point.The romance could be described as the one of the instant attraction variety, but the paranormal element of the story acts as a balm to soothe whatever irritation tries to flare up at their quick connection, granting us a bit more patience when it comes to the two of them than we might have otherwise. Their relationship, though important and prominent, doesn’t take over the entire story and turn a deeply interesting mythological mystery into a superficial teenage drama, rather the two elements nicely combine to keep things moving forward while at the same time ensuring our hearts are one hundred percent in the game. We’re left in a good place, no cliffhanger waiting to emotionally eviscerate us on the last page and with enough of our questions answered that we feel content to wait for the next installment, geared up to follow Raven’s sister Coral as she tracks down the next of the prophesied warriors.Rating: 4/5