Book Review: Inheritance of Scars by Crystal Seitz

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Crystal Seitz
Publisher: McElderry Books
Release Date: October 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Belladonna meets Norse mythology in this gorgeous dark fantasy debut that follows a teen who accidentally awakens an imprisoned draugr and must follow him into a deadly magical forest to rescue her grandmother.

Never go beyond the stave church.

Within Tiveden Forest, bloodthirsty monsters known as draugr lurk behind every tree, and secrets run through the soil like twisted roots. When her grandmother vanishes into the forest, Astrid won’t let Crohn’s disease get in the way of finding her. But in searching for her lost loved one, Astrid soon uncovers an even greater mystery:

A conflict that’s haunted her village and family for generations.
An ancient blood oath her ancestor made to protect them.
A deadly draugr imprisoned for centuries…who Astrid accidentally awakens.

Newly revived, Soren first mistakes Astrid for her ancestor, his ex-lover turned enemy. Astrid can’t tell if he would rather kill her or kiss her. But Soren knows the forest better than anyone, and Astrid quickly realizes that she’ll need his help to rescue her grandmother.

The deeper they venture into Tiveden, the closer Astrid gets to the cold, alluring Soren and the truth behind her grandmother’s disappearance. To save her home, a dark ritual must be performed before Midwinter—and only Astrid can fulfill her ancestor’s blood oath…or break it.

That is, if Soren—or the forest—doesn’t break Astrid first.

NEEDS MORE LOVE.

I really enjoyed this book y’all and at present, I’m the only one I know who has read it. Help me change that!! I loved the audiobook narrator but I will say that there’s some flashback aspects to this and the distinguishing narration was barely visible and at times I was confused on which time period I was listening to.

For a standalone though, this packed a lot of content and wrapped up the story well. I was surprised it was a standalone and I think the length helped contain aspects of the world building and character relationships needed to shine. I enjoyed the FMC, Astrid, and the Crohn’s disease rep too.

The romance was a little bit of a miss for me (I think I needed a bit more to be convinced), but it wasn’t a big issue. It’s a bit gruesome and dark and full of good twists and steady pacing.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy + Romance
Language: low
Romance: closed door
Violence: high
Content Warnings: loss of a parent, grief, ritualistic self-harm, allusions to cancer and suicide