Balance the Scales

As Above So Below

When Ertha is stolen away to the dark shores of the enemy kingdom she's thrust into a tangled web of political intrigue and deadly secrets that leaves her wondering who she can trust. The otherworldly right hand of the king, who is her keeper? Or the soldier she healed who has vowed to protect her at all costs?

**This book comes with trigger warnings**

When it becomes clear she wasn't just taken by chance– that there are much more powerful entities with their hands steering her fate— she's forced to confront that nothing is as it seems, not the men who protect her, the world she knows, or even herself.

I was very lucky to receive an ARC of this book and read in one sitting! The Seventh Sister follows our FMC Ertha who is kidnapped by the Sons of Uthar. I don't want to give much away but this is a fantasy book with slow burn romance, witchcraft, shapeshifters and mystery. All my favourite troops.
I enjoyed this book and it is a great start to what I believe is a duology. I am excited for the next book in the series as this one ended on a cliff-hanger.

This is my first experience reading a book by M.A. Brown and I will be reading her others, I enjoyed this book and loved her writing! Thank you again for allowing me to read the ARC!


#TheSeventhSister #NetGalley

Where gods meddle in mortal affairs, destinies twist, and the line between captor and companion blurs. The Seventh Sister is a Norse-inspired romantasy full of prophecy, tension and quiet emotional depth.

Ertha’s journey is deeply personal, kidnapped and forced to heal the very people who killed her people, she navigates survival and strength in a brutal world. Despite everything, she remains steady, grounded and easy to connect with. I guessed a few twists, but that didn’t pull me out of the story.

The world-building is rich but never overwhelming and the lore around the gods, especially the Red Lady, adds a mythic weight that lingers. The magic system is intriguing without being over explained and I’m curious to see more in the next book.

Romance here builds slowly, layered with survival, power shifts and vulnerability and ends with a clever twist. Overall it mostly feels like a strong setup for the next installment and I’m definitely here for it.

A strong start to what I think will be a very exciting duet. Huge thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, and I’m SO glad I had a chance to read it and form opinions before seeing a bunch of reviews! As someone who frequently tries to guess plot twists (and frequently gets them right), this book actually kept me on my toes.

These are some of my favorite characters that I’ve seen in a book in a while! Ertha feels very real with both lovable traits and flaws. The supporting characters made me laugh and get a sense of a “found family” from them. And then all I can say without giving much away is that the men in this book just make sense. If someone made Ertha uneasy but she moves past that feeling and grows to like them, I felt the exact same way as the reader. If Ertha was annoyed by someone, I was also annoyed by them. It was so refreshing compared to many popular books right now where you’re questioning the FMC’s judgement for the majority of the book.

The plot was also fantastic! By the end I felt like the real story was just getting started and I have no clue what direction it will take. There’s so much left to explore, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

My only complaint was the use of “dey” instead of “day” and “noct” instead of “night”. My brain kept seeing them as typos even thought it was clearly intentional. It’s such a minor complaint, but just a heads up if this is something that will bother you.

could not review as couldn't read it. The only option for reading this was to read it on my computer using netgalley's app. I do not want to read books on my computer, so there's no way for me to give this a review. One star for netgalley on this. book might be great for all I know. too bad for the author.