I mainly read this so that I could read the odyssey given the new film was coming out, but to be honest it's not really my thing. War stories at the best of time aren't my favourite and I tend to get invested in the main characters, whereas this epic obviously features so many different people who I never really got emotionally invested in, with the possible exception of hector. I completely skipped over the naming of the ships. I much preferred the squabbles between people and the gods, and the emotional dialogue scenes rather than the fight scenes.

I'm glad I've read it as it was a good story and I now now the background but I probably won't be going back as it felt like homework at times.

I enjoyed the magic and world of this book. It is not like anything I have read before. Elsbeth is a great FMC, neither a Mary Sue, over powers or a helpless damsel. The characters felt multilayered and the reveals were satisfying and not overdone. I do think that not a lot happened in this first book and there are a lot of questions left, but it has really set the scene for the second which I will be buying and reading straight away.

The romance element was believable and well done and did not take away from the book.

I have seen this book described as scary and I do not see that at all in reading it. It is no more scary than a typical fantasy book, though the fog and unanswered questions may make it a bit more mysterious.