Review: The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton

The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: June 25th, 2013
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Fans of Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Holly Black's The Curse Workers will embrace this richly drawn, Norse-mythology-infused alternate world: the United States of Asgard.

Seventeen-year-old Soren Bearskin is trying to escape the past. His father, a famed warrior, lost himself to the battle-frenzy and killed thirteen innocent people. Soren cannot deny that berserking is in his blood--the fevers, insomnia, and occasional feelings of uncontrollable rage haunt him. So he tries to remain calm and detached from everyone at Sanctus Sigurd's Academy. But that's hard to do when a popular, beautiful girl like Astrid Glyn tells Soren she dreams of him. That's not all Astrid dreams of--the daughter of a renowned prophetess, Astrid is coming into her own inherited abilities.

When Baldur, son of Odin and one of the most popular gods in the country, goes missing, Astrid sees where he is and convinces Soren to join her on a road trip that will take them to find not only a lost god, but also who they are beyond the legacy of their parents and everything they've been told they have to be.

My Thoughts:
I adore Tessa Gratton.  I just don't know what else to say except that.  She is a master storyteller and every single book I pick up that has been written by her I am enthralled immediately and find myself just lost in whatever world she has created.

In the past few weeks I have been kinda stuck in this bubble where all I read are books that have heavy Greek and Norse mythology throughout and I have to say after reading several books The Lost Son is by far my favorite.  I have always loved Greek myth so when this new Norse myth popped up I was intrigued.  I am very new to Norse mythology, but it didn't take me long to find myself captivated by the world and stories.  The author does a wonderful job retelling the important stories and I appreciated this because like I said I am new to this stuff and if she hadn't explained certain things I would have been lost.

This story is about a boy Soren and his struggle to not be overtaken by the frenzy and a girl Astrid who might hold the key to not only teaching him how to contain the beast but also the key to finding the missing God Baulder the Beautiful.  Soren and Astrid go together to find the missing God and when they discover him with no memory of his past lives they know something is wrong.  Thus begins their adventure into finding out what fate has in store for them.

Soren and Astrid were amazing characters.  I love how Ms.Gratton weaves romance into her stories, it is never forced and by the end of the story you can feel how her characters feel for each other.  Every touch, every look, and glance just warmed my heart and I found myself sighing with happiness throughout this book.  I never do that, but I just couldn't help it with this book.  The romance isn't the only amazing thing about these characters.  They were strong together and a part, they never backed down from what they believed in, and they accepted what was thrown at them.  Brilliant!  Vider and Baulder were great characters as well. I really enjoyed reading about both of them and I really hope they play a part in the sequel.  Vider especially since I want to know more about her and her backstory.

From what I can tell Norse myth might be the next big thing and if it is then I am so glad I read this book first before it really blows up.  Tessa Gratton has created a wonderful world that will definitely stand out among the crowd.  I am always completely blown away at how she can capture my attention with just a few words and with this book she grabbed my attention and even after finishing it she still has it. 

4 Snowflakes