Musings and Ramblings

This is the first full length novel in the Victoria Storm series by Melissa Snark. I received this book and it's prequel, The Child Thief, from the author in exchange for an honest review. The first story, The Child Thief is very short, just a little over 26 pages long. It was a nice introduction to Victoria, but really not necessary for the story line of the novel.

The story opens with Victoria in a fight with Sawyer, the brother of her former lover, Daniel. He is the remaining child of Jake Barrett, a Hunter, who has suddenly turned on Victoria's pack. The Barrett's hold Victoria and her pack responsible for Daniel's death. Most of Victoria's pack is gone, including her parents, leaving Victoria to lead and protect the pack. Victoria is also a Valkyrie in service to Freya. As Freya's priestess, she speaks with her goddess and even can travel to Asgard, since she escorts the souls of slain warriors to Valhalla via the Bifrost. Victoria ends up saving the life of Sawyer, because the ghost of Daniel requests it of her. This confuses Sawyer and he takes off.

Freya sends Victoria and her pack to California in search of a mate to strengthen the pack. When Victoria gets to Sierra Pines, she finds that the Alpha she is in search of, has only 1 member in his pack, his son. The Alpha, Arik Koenig, turns out to be an attorney and brother-in-law to the local sheriff. Victoria likes the look of the Alpha, but there are issues to be addressed and worked out. Including the belief that Arik's son, Logan could be a feared berserker and killed his own mother during his first change.

This was an interesting take on Viking mythology. The werewolves are descendants of Fenrir and stay close to the Norse traditions and beliefs. There were a couple of spots that dragged a little, mainly due to more background information being given, but otherwise it was a very interesting read. I really liked that the author wasn't afraid to remove characters and took some very daring chances with her characters. I am looking forward to the sequel to see where the story line is headed. I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.