Audio review: River of Shadows

Narrated by: Jo Raylan

Series: Underworld Gods, Book 1

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Release date: 09-13-22

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Paranormal romance/to review

I have become bad at writing reviews at once. I wanted to review this one because it was about Finnish mythology (though I am still confused, is the Finnish underworld the underworld of the world because it was meant out to be that?)

Hanna comes back for her dad's funeral, but something is not wrong and she goes to the underworld to find her dad. She knows nothing. Totally lost. She trusts a shaman, who, yeah I know who he must be...

But the whole thing builds up to her meeting death. Him being an ass, and they then boinking like rabbits. At the end he seems very vulnerable and she, oh girl, yeah not a cool move. Now I do not root for you. But then again a bit Stockholm syndrome over the whole thing too. Also very Psyche and Eros vibe, beauty and the beast and so on.

Danger, smexing and a very dark place. Not somewhere I want to visit.

I listened to the audio and if you are from Finland you know, the intonation is not at the right places. She made Finnish words and names sound softer. But still a good narrator, Finnish is just hard

When 24-year old Hanna Heikkinen's estranged father dies, she reluctantly makes the trip to Northern Finland for his funeral. Being in the enchanting land of ice and snow feels miles away from Hanna's busy life back in Los Angeles, especially under the complicated circumstances.

But when Hanna discovers that her father's body is missing, that's when things really get weird. A mysterious man, Rasmus, tells Hanna the truth: her father was a powerful shaman who went into Tuonela, the Realm of the Dead, in order to barter for more life, and has been held captive by Tuoni, the God of Death. The only way her father can be freed is if she travels with Rasmus into the mythical underworld to rescue him.

Willing to do anything to have a second-chance with her father, Hanna accompanies Rasmus into the dark and bloody realm, traveling via the River of Shadows, stalked by dangerous creatures, monsters, and the living dead, until they finally come into the haunted kingdom ruled by Death and his family. Only for her to be captured and held prisoner by the God of Death himself. Turns out Death is intrigued by Hanna's beauty and fierceness and makes a bargain with her. If she marries him, and spends an eternity in the Realm of the Dead as his wife, he'll set her father free.

But even the most noble sacrifices come with hidden costs, and Hanna's might involve the most unexpected of all things: her heart.