Shapeshifters Daughter



Rating 3.5



A unique story which twins together Norse mythology, and a last love story.



Focussing on Hel, queen of Niflheim and daughter of Loki, and Helen, who is returning to Orkney to die but has a lost love break through her barriers.



Beautiful and heartbreaking, this story uses Helen’s love of Norse mythology to bring Hel to life and show compassion to the much-maligned mythological Hel, a figure who has been vilified for reasons she could not control.



Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this ARC!

This is a re-imagining of Norse legend, in particular that of the children of Loki and specifically Hel. Due to a prophesy Odin felt he had to eliminate Loki's children and Hel's fate was to become "queen of the underworld". By some she was seen as a hideous monster and she reigned there for aeons. However even such monsters can be affected by the ebb and flow of the world and very gradually she came to think that she wishes to see the sun in Midgard where humans live.

At the same time Helen Firth made a very uncharacteristic and impulsive decision to leave her job as a librarian in England and return to the place of her birth, Orkney. In so many ways grief made her leave there and kept her away. However she feels it might allow her some peace if she returns there. There is no one she really knows however she did once know a boy called Thorfinn Coffin. To suggest that they might have been friends would be an exaggeration however they had a love of books and Norse stories in common.

The start of this book is very atmospheric. There is a "dying" in an ancient place and the sun and the person's daughter are mentioned. It was well done. After that we get a brief but effective history of Norse gods from creation to the gods coming to take Loki's children. Again well written and it means that you do not have to be particularly familiar with Norse legend (though it should be of interest to you). After this we move to Midgard and Helen's arrival on Orkney which introduces her side of the threads.

The book then switches between Hel and Helen's stories. I found the stories interesting and powerful. There are few books that have held my attention as well as this one did. There are even fewer that have made me laugh and cry in the same chapter. The relationship between Thorfinn and Helen was for me entirely believable (and wonderfully awkward at times!). They simply felt so human. The writing here was exceptionally good for me and that made the storytelling great reading. I'm certainly going to take a look at Sally Magnusson's other books, if they are anything like this I should have some treats in store! This book was a joy to read so 4.5/5 happily rounded up.

I found this book a little slow to develop. It is clever the way the author makes parallels between the past and the present but this in itself is a little confusing. In summary I did enjoy the book but I did not find it a page turner.

The Shapeshifter's Daughter by Sally Magnusson is such a good story. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.