Review of Mist by Susan Krinard

Title/Author: Mist (Mist #1) by Susan Krinard
Publisher/Date published: Tor Books, July 16th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: 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.

Guys, you know me: OBSESSED with mythology and aside from the bits and pieces I know of Norse mythology from watching movies like Thor and recently the TV series Vikings, I hadn't really read a book on Norse mythology before. And I can't believe I waited this long to try it! Because I'm kinda in love with the richness of this culture!

Susan Krinard introduces us to a Valkyrie, Mist, and her life here on Earth, or Midgard. It turns out Ragnarok (a term that I totally recognized from Vikings) didn't actually happen and the gods and goddesses are still alive and GAH, Loki has been posing as Mist's boyfriend for the past six months! After this things just start to spiral out of control for Mist and she discovers that nothing is as it seemed to be for the past couple of centuries.

I liked Mist, she's a strong woman (well obviously, she's a Valkyrie), she cares about the people among who she's been living for centuries now and wants to protect life on earth. I also liked that she doesn't just shrug off her hurt over Loki's betrayal easily. They'd been in a relationship for 6 months, it wouldn't be realistic for her to just get over that.

The character who truly intrigues me is Dainn. He's an elf and has all these secrets and knows so much more than he's telling Mist and he's just so interesting! He's confusing and there's such a sadness in him that I just want to give him a hug and try to make him smile!

You could definitely tell that this is the first book in a series. There's a lot of setting up of the plotline and introductions to the various characters and gods and sometimes things were a bit slowed down because of this. I really hope we'll get to know more about the exact happenings of the Last Battle (that wasn't the Last Battle after all) in the next book!

One thing I didn't like was that Mist was such a natural with her newly discovered powers and just somehow knew how to work it without having much of a training in it. Also: Loki, Dainn AND Mist are all REALLY powerful and they had ample opportunity to really injure/kill each other. So WHYYY doesn't this happen?? I mean, it was a bit weird how they'd hold back in the face of victory all of a sudden.

I did really enjoy reading Mist, Susan Krinard really makes the Norse mythology come to life for me and I'm curious to see where the series will take all the characters!

My rating: 3,5 stars

Made me crave: tortilla chips