BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Bea Reviews Odin's Ravens by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: The Blackwell Pages #2
Format Read: hardcover
Source: owned by the reviewer
Release Date: May 13, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Seven kids, Thor's hammer, and a whole lot of Valkyries are the only things standing against the end of the world.

When thirteen-year-old Matt Thorsen, a modern day descendant of the Norse god Thor, was chosen to represent Thor in an epic battle to prevent the apocalypse he thought he knew how things would play out. Gather the descendants standing in for gods like Loki and Odin, defeat a giant serpent, and save the world. No problem, right?

But the descendants' journey grinds to a halt when their friend and descendant Baldwin is poisoned and killed and Matt, Fen, and Laurie must travel to the Underworld in the hopes of saving him. But that's only their first stop on their journey to reunite the challengers, find Thor's hammer, and stop the apocalypse--a journey filled with enough tooth-and-nail battles and larger-than-life monsters to make Matt a legend in his own right.

Authors K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr return to Blackwell in the epic sequel to Loki's Wolves with more explosive action, adventure and larger-than-life Norse legends.

Bea's Thoughts:

Last year I read and reviewed the first book, "Loki's Wolves" and I've been looking forward to this one ever since.

"Loki's Wolves" ended on a cliffhanger and this one ends in a semi-cliff hanger, one that I did not see coming until it happened. "Odin's Ravens" is fast paced, with the reader and the kids barely having a chance to catch their breath. In addition to all of the action, we get family drama, betrayal, Valkyries, Hel, Norse gods and mythological beings including zombies, and several twists to the story arc.

I like Matt more and more and I'm warming up to Fen. Laurie is perhaps my favorite character after Matt, and Baldwin makes me smile, as he should considering which god he is. The twins leave me lukewarm, and so far, they don't seem like hero material but I'm hoping they'll step up when it counts in the next book. Owen, well I'd forgotten all about him. :( But he gets his moment in the sun in this book and I can see his growth into becoming Odin, All-Father. I really enjoyed his interactions with Laurie and Fen. I love how real the kids feel; they may have powers of the gods but they are still human teens, complete with mood swings, doubts, tantrums, and cravings for junk food. Hey, they're American teens. :D 

The book also has a plethora of black and white illustrations which add to the text and the story is a fast read, I finished in one sitting. Once again, Armstrong and Marr did a wonderful job weaving in Norse mythology but they also kept a sense of humor. At one point, Matt tells one of  the others, "No, you're thinking of the comic book Thor." (paraphrased cuz I forgot to mark the quote in my book) Oh, and there are goats! No swans, but goats. And bison. But the goats made me laugh. I had forgotten about the goats and Matt, poor Matt, takes quite a ribbing from his teammates about the goats. I'm trying not to spoil what happens but I think you'll laugh too.

"Odin's Ravens" is fast-paced, thrilling, humorous, and a wonderful update of Norse mythology. Get the first book, if you haven't already, and enjoy reading about the end of the world.

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6 comments:

  1. My son was telling me about this series, I guess they were talking about it at school. I think it sounds like a good one. I wonder if my library has it. I'm off to check, maybe I can get him to read it. Great review.

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    1. It's a pretty accurate rendition of Norse mythology with some good tweaks and the second book is pretty action-packed. If he reads it, I hope he'll enjoy it.

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  2. Oh sounds good! A little younger than I read though but you've got me curious about the goats. I love goats! Glad to see you enjoyed it!

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    1. Hee, the goats play a small role in this book but they tickled my funny bone.

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  3. Sounds like this series might be a good fit for Percy Jackson fans! (Although I've heard that Rick Riordan is tackling the Norse myths next.) Anyway, the series sounds like fun and I will keep my eye out for them.

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    1. Yes, I think it would appeal to Rick Riordan fans. This is a good series, lots of kid power.

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