Runed by Kendall Grey

This first book in the Asgard Awakening series is such a fun, queer and totally hilarious retelling of the Norse mythology set in the 21st century. Waking up about a thousand years after Ragnarok, Loki can’t feel his balls... because, it turns out, he’s been reborn as a woman.

“I shake my head as I trip over the wire stretching across the punch line to this cruel joke.
I’m a woman.
The trickster god Loki, son of frost giants, father to the beasts that brought down Allfather Odin and Thunder-Bringer Thor, who masterminded and personally delivered an end to the entire world, wrapped up in a pretty, bloody red bow has finally been bested.
Well.
I can’t say I didn’t have it coming.”

Loki has not only been reborn as a woman, he’s also lost his runes and is no longer a God. With the help of Icelandic archeology student Gunnar Magnusson he sets off on a journey to the west (America) to retrieve them. In their wake they have a chicken spy. Yes, chicken spy! It’s Odin’s raven Huginn who has been reincarnated as a chicken and commanded by Odin to spy on Loki and stop them from getting the runes back. Huginn was such a wonderful side kick, and the banter between Loki and Huginn made me laugh out loud at times. I also loved the sweet, strong and handsome Viking Gunnar Magnusson and how he followed Loki on the crazy adventures even though he was sure that she wasn’t playing with a full deck of cards… There’s also a great secondary character in Gunnar Magnusson’s queer friend Freddie, a lot of twists and surprises, and a cliffhanger that will make you crave for the second book.

Starting to read this book I had no idea what to expect, but it really blew me off. The story is a completely unique urban fantasy comedy. It’s well-written and very fast-paced (I read the whole book in just a couple of hours!) and the humor is hilarious.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ebook copy and the opportunity to find this new author and unforgettable book!

Highly recommended to anyone, also those who don’t normally enjoy fantasy books!

Rating:
4 stars

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​Author info:
Kendall Grey