I love a book with strong character and plot development and this book has both. Between the beautiful cover lays a Fantasy land with deep ties to Norse mythological lore. There is action, adventure, fantasy, romance, and my favorite, historical details.  All aspects of a great story are the building blocks an author uses to catch the reader and this author did just that. This was a page turner. I stayed up reading the night through and finally turned in at 4am, but not only did I not stop thinking about the tale, I dreamt about it. Starting book two now and looking forward to another late night.