Review – The Weight of the Soul by Elizabeth Tammi

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC of the below book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Title The Weight of the Soul

Author Elizabeth Tammi

Release Date December 3, 2019

Description from Amazon

When Lena’s younger sister Fressa is found dead, their whole Viking clan mourns—but it is Lena alone who never recovers. Fressa is the sister that should’ve lived, and Lena cannot rest until she knows exactly what killed Fressa and why—and how to bring her back. She strikes a dark deal with Hela, the Norse goddess of death, and begins a new double life to save her sister.

But as Lena gets closer to bringing Fressa back, she dredges up dangerous discoveries about her own family and finds herself in the middle of a devastating plan to spur Ragnarök –a deadly chain of events leading to total world destruction.

Still, with her sister’s life in the balance, Lena is willing to risk it all. She’s even willing to kill. How far will she go before the darkness consumes her?

Initial Thoughts

I love mythology and Viking culture so this book totally caught my eye. I was also intrigued by the fact that Elizabeth Tammi is a young author. I think it’s so cool that she hasn’t even graduated college and she already has two published works! You go Elizabeth Tammi!

Some Things I Liked

• Vikings and Norse Mythology. I loved the cultural references and the attention to detail that this book uses. My knowledge of Norse mythology mostly comes from watching Vikings on the History Channel and the Thor movie series (can you blame me? I mean have you seen Chris Hemsworth?) But, despite my somewhat limited knowledge, I recognized so many names and loved the fact that this book made me want to research new terms that I wasn’t familiar with.
• Morally grey main character. Lena was so devoted to saving her sister, Fressa, but she had moments where she was blinded by this devotion and she did things that she probably wouldn’t have without the pressure of her deal with Hela. I really enjoyed the fact that Lena wasn’t all good.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

• Romance. I totally missed the romance factor in this book. Amal loved Fressa, but we really didn’t get to see that. Where was Lena’s person?? She did everything by herself and I found that somewhat disappointing.

Series Value

This HAS to be a series. Lena deserved so much better. This book ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger and I would be VERY interested in reading another installment.

Final Thoughts

This was a slow read for me. It wasn’t a terribly long book but it did take me a while to read it. I think I wanted to see more characters but, this story is mainly about Lena and Lena’s actions. I hope to see this turn into a series because this is a world I would like to learn more about. Overall, I liked it a lot, but I think it came up just short of a 5 star review for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

• Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young – if you liked the Viking vibes and the idea of a sister who would do anything to protect a sibling, definitely check this book out. Also, check out The Girl the Sea Gave Back which is a sequel to Sky in the Deep.
• Beasts of the Frozen Sun by Jill Criswell – again, if you like Vikings and the warrior culture mentioned in The Weight of a Soul, definitely check this new release out.
• Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford – if you liked the bond between sisters that drove this story, check out Crown of Coral and Pearl.