Wyrd Gods – 4 Star Book Review

Welcome to one of the May 9th stops on the blog tour for Wyrd Gods by Susana Imaginário, organized by Storytellers on Tour. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts & interviews!

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About the Book

Wyrd Gods
Timelessness Book One
by Susana Imaginário

Print/eBook
Published 22 August 2019
Page Count: 394

Audiobook
Published 30 April 2020
Narrator: Sarah Kempton
Length: 11 hours and 36 minutes

Genre: Mythic Dark Fantasy
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CW: Pedophilia, Abuse (emotional), Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Mental Illness, Cannibalism (only mentions of), Genocide (only mentions of), Gore, Violence, Racial bigotry (between fantasy races), Self-harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture

The God of Time wants to destroy Eternity.

A mysterious immortal seeks vengeance.

And a reclusive deity does what no god should ever do: she answers a prayer.

As punishment, she is stripped of her powers and trapped in a mortal’s body. Now a Wyrd – a fated god – she is haunted by the memories and thoughts of her host and must hide her true identity in order to survive in Niflheim, the rival Norse Underworld.

There she discovers the afterlife is not quite what it used to be. Niflheim’s new ruler threatens the precarious balance of a world overrun with outcast deities and mortals alike.

To save her own sanity and find her way back to the stars, she must help the other Wyrd overcome their grievances to defeat this enemy, but those who would be her allies appear to have motives as hidden as her fragmented consciousness.

And yet it seems the greatest threat to her freedom comes from within, and the prize it seeks is her immortal soul…

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My Review

My Rating: 4 Stars
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I was granted complimentary audiobook access to Wyrd Gods as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Storytellers on Tour. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Wyrd Gods is a first person account of events from the POV of a goddess who has been made a Wyrd, a god in mortal form, but in this case she’s trapped in the body of a dryad and isn’t sure why or how this happened to her. It’s a punishment for daring to answer a prayer. The cast is a blend of Norse and Greek mythology with plenty of familiar names mixed in with unique concepts that meld together beautifully into an epic story that will hold your attention and keep you coming back to find out what happens next. Can our heroine rescue herself and the other Wyrds and return to her immortal life?

I’m a sucker for anything involving Norse mythology, so I jumped at the chance to review this one, and I was rewarded with familiar names pretty much immediately. I haven’t enjoyed a reimagining of mingled pantheons this much since the Iron Druid Chronicles were new and fresh. That’s not to imply that these books compare in any significant way aside from having both Norse and Greek gods in key roles, they’re entirely different storylines, but if what you loved about Iron Druid was the mixed pantheons then Wyrd Gods will scratch that itch.

Susana Imaginário writes dialogue very well. Not a single conversation had between the characters throughout this book felt unnatural or boring, and our POV goddess’ sass and stubborn strength came through very clearly in the way she chose her words and when to speak them. This is a very character-driven book, and Susana has made is very easy to bond with the protagonist and cheer her on.

I noticed that despite the book’s length, it sets aside very little time to explain who all these gods and goddesses are, how they relate to one another, etc. and I do fear that readers who aren’t familiar with the mythology around both pantheons will find themselves confused at points or missing between-the-lines information. Personally I’m much more familiar with the Norse gods than the Greeks due to my interest in all things relevant to my own Norwegian heritage and the fact that various Hercules retellings and high school samplings of The Iliad are the only Greek mythology stories I’ve heard since 7th grade social studies.

Sarah Kempton’s performance as the audiobook narrator is flawless! She distinguishes different characters very well and speaks at a pace that lends itself well to faster listening speeds but isn’t intolerably slow at regular speed. I’m surprised to see that she has 44 titles on Audible at the time of this review, and I’ll absolutely be seeking out opportunities to listen to more of her work.

I recommend Wyrd Gods to fans of mythology-based fantasy, especially if you like long, epic adventures with strong, sassy heroines.

About the Author

Susana Imaginário is a misfit from Portugal. She moved to England to pursue a career as an aerialist and now runs a Board Gaming retreat in Ireland with her husband and their extremely spoiled dog.

Her hobbies include reading, playing board games, hanging upside down, poking around ancient ruins, talking to trees and being tired. Her debut novel, Wyrd Gods, combines mythological fantasy with science fiction and psychology in a strange way.

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