Choosing the Slain

Ghosts of Valhalla #1

by Amy Cissell

Life sucks, and then you die. Usually.

Last week, Frankie had a great job and an amazing fiancée. Now she’s sleeping in a storage closet and taking advice from a talking cat.

A timely warning sends her rushing into a burning building. Choosing to save the woman she loves and condemning an innocent man to death wakes the Valkyrie power she never knew she had.

Frankie can choose who lives and who dies, and that draws the attention of exiled gods looking for a way back to Earth. If she doesn’t learn the rules and choose sides quickly, the world will burn, and Ragnarök will begin.

Genres: Fantasy

279 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2023

About the author

Amy Cissell is a USA Today Bestselling Author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels. She lives in Portland, OR with her husband, her haunted house-obsessed daughter, their two cats, and the murder of crows she's conspiring to turn into her vengeful army.

When she's not working or writing, she's sleeping because that's all she has time to do! There are few things Amy loves more than a well-timed pun, a good book, a glass of wine, and making calf eyes at Portugal when she thinks no one’s looking.

Although she reads anything and everything, her first love has always been fantasy. Eleven-year-old Amy discovered fantasy when she 'borrowed' her father's copy of The Hobbit and an enduring love affair (mostly with dragons) was born.

Reviews

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read the prequel before I read this, so I was aware of and kinda knew Frankie already and what was happening in her world. However, this book was all about her. She is a very down-on-her-luck person, and she needs to really find herself. This book is her journey there and along the way, she discovers she has powers, and that the world isn’t everything it seems. I loved watching her journey even when it was very uncomfortable to read about. There isn’t anything terrible on the page, but it hurts watching her and wishing I could help. I’d read the prequel before reading this, but it isn’t hugely necessary. I can’t wait to see what the ladies (hmm, I wonder what I’m talking about?) will get up to next. Well-written, emotionally charged, can’t put down paranormal book. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

[Yael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book packs an abundance of struggles and emotions, it isn’t your usual run of the mill UF. There is no magic spell or potion to make things better, only hard work with occasional pitfalls but ultimately taking the first steps on the right path to a better place. The story is character driven, woven with Norse mythology, a flawed heroine discovering her power, family and friends; it is written in a compelling and refreshing way that pulled me in and kept me captivated to the end. It was refreshing to see how the prequel and this first in the series fit together, again not your typical timeline; reading the prequel first helps understand how Frankie, our FMC, and Dusana meet. It’s worth noting that the books touched on alcohol and substance abuse as well as mental illness.

I received an ARC, this is my honest review.

[Mariaan Belinfante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 1 engaged me start to finish. It tries up loose ends from the prequel, but bring new mysteries. Frankie is on a self destructive downward spiral encouraged by her so called bestie, Ash. This is an emotional couple of chapters, depicting her being bipolar, not taking her meds while over indulging drugs and booze. Her wake up calls are her fiancé kicking her out and loosing her job, but then Archibald, a talking cat (my fav character) comes along. She has to seriously clean up. To say the storyline rockets from here is, an understatement. The end left me drooling for more. I forecast a great series to follow.

[Nat N N the Hat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t wait for more!

I read all three currently published books in this series back to back to back and I am already anxiously awaiting the next one!

I love the main character, Frankie, for her imperfectness. I could really relate to her mental health struggles. I am looking forward to her continuing to grow.

🇳🇴 Norse-mythology inspired
🏳️‍🌈 Queer MC
🐱 Fiesty cat companion
🌶️ No spice, but romance is blossoming by the end of the 3rd book

[Jodi Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frankie is in for a very rude awakening. Her life is changing forever. Just when everything seems to go wrong, she finds out who she really is. What a wild story, Norse gods, Valhalla, Ragnarok, and then there is her cat. What a beginning to a new series. I cannot wait for book 2!

[debb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please do not skip this book! A totally relatable MC with real life issues who's life is suddenly a what the heck just happened as its turned upside down. Getting to re-know yourself is never easy...especially when mythology becomes involved. So looking forward to next in series.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good start to a series

I always judge a book by if I look for the next and I did. There was a point where I was afraid the clueless valkyrie might be outputting but it's well done. Adding in bipolar to her issues added to the mix very well. Def looking for more books by cissell.

[Daniel J. McGown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am

[Sarah Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about Frankie, a 35 year old woman who definitely does not have her stuff together. She struggles with mental illness and drug/alcohol addiction. After one time too many of disappointing her gf, she is kicked out with nowhere to go. Her (only) “friend” Ash lets her stay and drives her to her parents. Frankie starts discovering powers she never knew she had and has conversations with a talking cat. While driving to parents she is thrown into a world where the mythological are real. I read the prequel so I could see the parallels in the story, but it is not necessary. (Although I do recommend it anyway!) This is definitely a story about an underdog who struggles to do the right thing and stay on the right path. Questions from the prequel were answered (can we say plot twist at the end!) and new questions come up! I can’t wait for the next book!

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a book hangover. I read the prequel and thought I had an idea where this was going... I was so wrong. The twists Amy put in this one were amazing. I love how Amy treats people in her stories- be it through pronouns, sexuality, or mental illness-everyone is treated respectfully and with care. Always. That said, Frankie's issues and choices lead her through so many different, difficult situations. Her choices and her illness also make for compelling questions of what's going on and what's going to happen next. I loved it! The climax of this story... gahhhh. So good! I cannot wait to read more!

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book needs so many content warnings! Suicide, addiction, child death

This is an interesting story once you get into it. The first 40% was hard to read as the MC insists on ruining her life…fully aware that she’s doing so. The addiction and mental health struggles are tough to read about, especially when you use fiction to escape. I may read the next book, but it won’t be soon.