You know what? I can see why people didn’t enjoy this. For a little while, I contemplated calling it quits. The book was kind of slow to start, and overall not a whole lot happens in the grand scheme of things. Usually that’s more acceptable when you’re writing a romance because the bulk of the book is about two people connecting, but that isn’t the case here. There’s an underlying hint of something between the two main characters, but it only flickers toward the end. So yeah. I get it. I can see people are like meh and move on.
BUT. I like it. I gave it a chance to read all the way to end, and yeah, this was a pretty decent read — only because I really enjoyed the way Loki was written. As someone who uses the Norse trickster in fiction herself, I LOVE finding new takes on him, and Gockel breaths new life into a character I’ve read (and written) many, many times before. It was solid. I do agree with other reviewers that this was a blend between Marvel’s Loki and Norse myth Loki. There was even the suggestion that Odin raised Loki (Marvel) rather than the two being blood-brothers (myth), but I rolled with it.
When I started reading the summaries for the series, I thought “This has to be a fanfic turned to regular fic — a Loki/Darcy fic, if anything”. And after reading it, I’m still fairly certain that was the case. “Amy” Lewis is frequently described as having huge boobs, a total staple in Darcy Lewis fics, and then the “agent” in the next book is named Steve Rogers?? Yeah. Absolutely fanfic hints there. But I don’t hate. I’m a Marvel fanfic writer myself, so it’s wonderful to find another FF author publishing more original works.
So. Yes. This review was a bit rambly, but overall I enjoyed Loki the most. Really, he made the book for me, and Amy really grew on me as the story went on. Loki’s behaviour and interactions with other beings read as really authentic and interesting to me, and I will go into the next book excited to read more of him.
Liz Meldon - Romance Author 