The Weight of a Soul by Elizabeth Tammi

The Weight of a Soul

by Elizabeth Tammi

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 Ragnaroek -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 willing to kill. How far will she go before the darkness consumes her?

Reviewed by shannonmiz on

4 of 5 stars

Share
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight .

I gotta say, the reviews for this one so far do not do it justice. I found The Weight of a Soul to be beautiful, heartwrenching, and full of love. And so, we shall discuss!

What I Enjoyed:

This book is quite literally about the worth of a soul, and how far you're willing to go to save those you love. That is the question Lena must answer when her sister Fressa dies- of reasons no one can discern. Lena and Fressa have always been close, this much is clear from the start of the story. Lena can barely muster the strength to go on, yet her clan (and her parents, the leaders) want her to marry her sister's beloved and Lena's own dear friend, Amal. Lena cannot bear to lose her sister, nor can she stand to marry her betrothed, so she's bound and determined to bring Fressa back. And this is where the Norse mythology comes in!

I'll go ahead and admit it- I am a complete novice in Norse mythology (and most mythology if we're being honest). The author did a phenomenal job in introducing me to the world while still providing a cohesive plot and characters I grew to truly care about. I'll get into this more later, but I feel like I learned so very much about Norse mythology. And not just the facts, but the feelings behind it as well.

Ultimately, the book is incredibly morally gray. Would you or I make the same choices Lena make? Can you really place a price tag on a soul? It's these questions that really made me think throughout the book, and even after I was finished. And if you know me, you know that's kind of my fave.

Not Bad Stuff, But "Worth Mentioning" Stuff:

While I really enjoyed the mythology, it was a darn good thing I read this on my Kindle and was able to look up stuff. There were a lot of people/places/things that I simply had never heard of. Upon looking them up, I was good to go, and frankly I personally love learning new stuff (especially in a book like this). But you know, just take it into consideration is what I'm saying. I will also say that I did predict a kind of big thing, but it didn't really lessen the impact, either.

Bottom Line: A beautifully told story about loss, love, and hope in an historical and mythological Norse setting.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 11 November, 2019: Finished reading
  • 11 November, 2019: Reviewed