Saga of the Unfated Book 1
Freya is trapped in a loveless marriage and while she spends her days gutting fish she dreams of becoming a shield maiden. She dreams of battles, and most of all of putting an axe in her husband’s back.
Her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, and Freya finds herself in a fight to the death with the jarl’s 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. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.
Instead of killing Bjorn, Freya kills her husband. And Bjorn claims her as his (second) wife, something his first wife doesn’t agree with. They promise her that their marriage will be a marriage in name only and there will be no consummating of it.
I liked the magic and the saga feel of the story, but I wasn’t fussed on the volatile relationship between Bjorn and Freya. I think I do have the second book in the sage, and if I do, I may read it but it’s definitely not at the top of my to-be-read pile.
Read for the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2026
Prompt 8: A book about a sexless marriage
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
