Fooled by Kendall Grey

This final installment in the fabulous Asgard Awakening series was the absolute perfect conclusion to this fun and queer retelling of the Norse mythology set in the 21st century. It was both so exciting to reach the end of the story and so sad that it was time to say goodbye to Loki, Gunnar Magnusson, Freddie, Darryll Donovan and all the other characters I’ve come to love during these four books.

Loki is the former Norse god of mischief who has been reborn as a woman. Throughout the series he’s been on a quest to regain his immortality together with his friends (and love interest) Gunnar Magnusson. Here, the story continues where the third book ended, with Gunnar Magnusson and Loki trying to change Loki’s destiny to die on a Tuesday by going parachuting of the Golden Gate Bridge. Luckily neither of them dies, but upon landing they find themselves being chased by Allfather Odin who wants to kill Loki for things he’s done in the past (Ragnarok for example…) together with Thor, who has been reincarnated as the sweet Darryl Donovan, but has now regained his memories and been transformed back to his old caveman self.

As always Loki causes chaos and mischief wherever he goes, but now he’s reached the end of the journey and it’s time to face his past and take responsibility for his wrongful actions in a final judgement.

I’m so in love with all the characters and their growth during this series. Especially Loki of course, who’s grown from a selfish and immature trickster god to a decent and caring person who starts to see things from others’ perspective and realize how much pain he’s caused others.

“You’ve grown soft in this modern age,” Huginn catches my eye. “It’s a good look for you, Loki.”
Am I becoming… decent? Nah. That would be utterly embarrassing.

Generally, this book felt a bit more grown-up than the others in the series, with Loki getting so many revelations and gaining a lot of new insights. At the end of the journey, he’s realized that life isn’t about the destination, but about how you treat those you encounter on the way, and that love can come in many different ways.

“Our souls don’t care which clothes we wear. Nor do they care whom we fall in love with. Love is love.”

I love the found family he’s created along the way with his friends. I also absolutely adore the fresh take on gender that is so well executed and unique throughout this series. The way Loki (and many of the other characters) swaps between pronouns without losing his identity is so well done.

“I’m both woman and man with the best parts of each. I am both genders and neither. I am anything and everything I could ever wish to be. I am Loki.”

Some parts of the story were perhaps a little long, especially up until the big trial part, but all in all it wrapped up things so well in the end and was a perfect finale to this completely unique urban fantasy comedy. This is an amazing series with an important message about gender and identity and the love and importance of found families. Not to mention that it is utterly hilarious, I laughed out loud so many times! I recommend this series with all my heart, also to those who don’t normally read fantasy!

Thank you to the author Kendall Grey for the free review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

Rating:
4.5 epic stars rounding up to 5

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​Author info:
Kendall Grey