A Review for Mist (Mist #1) by Susan Krinard

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: July 16th, 2013
Finished Date: July 21th, 2013

Publishers: Tor Books
Source: For Review

Format: Paperback
Pages: 384

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

New York Times bestselling author Susan Krinard launches her first urban fantasy series

Centuries ago, all was lost in the Last Battle when the Norse gods and goddesses went to war. The elves, the giants, and the gods and goddesses themselves were all destroyed, leaving the Valkyrie Mist one of the only survivors.

Or so she thought.

When a snowy winter descends upon modern-day San Francisco in June, Mist’s quiet existence starts to feel all too familiar. In quick succession, Mist is attacked by a frost giant in a public park and runs into an elf disguised as a homeless person on the streets…and then the man Mist believed was her mortal boyfriend reveals himself to be the trickster god, Loki, alive and well after all these years.

Loki has big plans for the modern world, and he’s been hanging around Mist for access to a staff that once belonged to the great god Odin. Mist is certain of one thing: Loki must be stopped if there is to be any hope for Earth. But the fight is even bigger than she knows….

Because Loki wasn’t the only god to survive.

The Review: 3.5 Flowers!

Mist is an interesting start to a new series based on the Valkyrie of Norse mythology. Centuries ago Mist was sent to Midgard (earth) along with her Valkyrie sisters at the start of what they believed to be Ragnarok – the last battle - each with a treasure of the Norse Gods to protect from getting into the wrong hands. Mist is charged with keeping Odin’s spear safe, with it & her sisters, they take it upon themselves to protect humans from the evil of the world, putting the treasures to use for good until events during the second world war brings disaster to the sisters and Mist turns her back on defending the weak. Fast forward a few decades and Mist is in San Francisco, enjoying a normal life with her boyfriend Eric – until one fateful night when strolling in the forest, she is attacked! Only the thing that attacks her cannot possibly be in Midgard, for a frost giant is not from this realm and it knows her, knows what she is…… in a lucky escape she stumbles across what appears to be a homeless man, who then turns out to be an Elf – with a message – Ragnarok was stalled but the gods & goddesses are trapped in a void and Mist needs to prepare for their coming. Upon heading home she discovers that her boyfriend Eric, is infact Loki – the trickster god – who has managed to find his way to Midgard and he has plans, big plans for earth and the humans, plans that involve stealing all of the hidden treasures and using them to his advantage…. Starting with Mist’s treasure – Gunginar.

So, I enjoyed this book, I thought it was good and has some potential but it was quite confusing. I liked Mist’s character, I like what she is, what she can do and what it appears she is destined for. I didn’t gel with her emotionally but I can appreciate a strong leading lady with the propensity to become epic. I liked Dainn, he has my interest, I want to know more but I also need him to be more defined about his allegiances before I can see him differently because it wasn’t clear if he was friend/foe/love interest. I’m sure this was intentional but as I said, I need it to be clearly defined. The storyline has a good amount of potential, I am a fan of Norse mythology and have read some amazing books with that premise but this is the first where a partial Ragnarok is meant to have unfolded and I liked that angle. I really liked the idea of the most trusted Valkyrie, each being given a treasure of the gods i.e. Odin’s spear, Thor’s Hammer etc to be kept in safe keeping as not to fall into the wrong hands with the power they could produce. We only really meet a couple of the sisters in the beginning of this and I was impressed by how they used them and what for, but then they stopped. I also liked the different type of magics that were used, particularly the runes which aren’t used a lot in books and really interest me and there were some great action scenes with magic at play.

I think that whenever I read a story of the Norse gods there is never any question of who the bad guy will be because it’s obvious – Loki – and he is a formidable enemy to have to deal with and because he seems to be the only god around, he is unstoppable. I liked him as a threat because there seems to be no limits to what he can & will do to get his own way which can give the reader some fun. However, Mist & Loki are the only people who I can definitely put into sides – good & bad – because its quite confusing about who is working with whom, who has alternative agendas, who is actually who they say they are, who has feelings for whom and so on… I felt like Puck from A Midsummer Night’s dream had nipped into the book and sprinkled some love dust on everyone not to mention the game playing that was going on behind the scenes... I don’t mind a bit of subterfuge but this was way over my head and far too confusing which did spoil my enjoyment of the book unfortunately. I understand that Loki is notorious for this type of game playing and it was in character but it was overkill. I would probably read the sequel because I do like the idea behind it and I liked the reunion at the end but hoping for less confusion.