You have no idea how glad I am that I started reading this series when the first two books were already published! I thought this book was an excellent continuation of the previous book. I love how Matt is a walking Norse myth encyclopedia, and that he shares his knowledge (in all of its crazy Norse spelling goodness) for the readers to absorb and learn about. I also love how all of the characters interact and grow throughout the story. There were a few parts of the book that I did not like, but I am not going to mention them, because it is my personal preference, and not any failing on the part of the authors. If you liked Loki's Wolves, are a fan of Rick Riordan, or a fan of Norse mythology, you will love this book and this series!

It’s fun. I think most middle-grade kids would enjoy it.

Odin's Ravens picks up right after the events of Loki's Wolves. Matt, Fen and Laurie are headed to Hel to bring back their dead friend Baldwin. They hope that this mission will stop Ragnarok since Baldwin's death is to start the apocalypse. In Hel they find Viking zombies, a river of acid, giants and Aunt Helen who agrees to help them. Once back in the real world they find that Ragnarok has not stopped and things are still progressing at a dangerous clip. Owen (Odin) enters the picture and decides to help them even though it limits his knowledge. Matt needs to find Mjolnir (Thor's hammer). There are Valkyries, more Viking Zombies, wolves and battle goats! Seriously there are battle goats! It is an exciting time to be the living embodiment of a Viking God.

I think this series is a lot of fun. It is definitely for fans of Rick Riordan's books and actually reminds me of them a lot. There is a lot of action and adventure, but you really learn about Norse Mythology. I like how the mythology isn't shoved down the reader's throat through a lot of exposition, but comes up naturally throughout the story. It is fun and fast-paced and I really can't wait to see where the final book goes. The ending of this one was a bit of a slap in the face and I really want to see that resolved.

I really, really like this second installment! The writing definitely improved from the first one, and I didn't notice two different people telling the story. I still think it can teach young readers so many amazing things about being true to yourself and approaching problems from different angles. A couple of things I didn't like as much: I noticed that parents and adults in general are really villainized in this book which I thought was a little concerning. Trust your parents! They're good people I hope. And also Fen has a crazy (borderline incestuous?) obsession with his cousin, Laurie, and it was annoying/weird after a while.

3.5 ⭐

So the teens have to use their wits to survive and go to Hel to find their friend and to try to do things differently from the past to stave off Ragnorok. They also start to accumulate allies and the tools to help them, often they have no way of knowing if the people helping them are allies or enemies.

I'm liking this series.

A fun little book, I enjoyed this series though I think it is flawed in as many ways as are the characters. To begin, although I like all the characters, I cannot identify with anyone of them. There are so many descendents and yet not one could I sympathize with.

- Matt is good but he is a bit too naive and I feel as lost as he is as to his position to fight in Ragnarok.
- Then there is Fen, who is a tsundere to his core and I like the friendship between Baldwin and him but Fen is way off the chart to identify with.
- Laurie is protected all the time by the people around her and I feel only Owen and Helen know her true value.
- Baldwin is the nice nice guy here and the mood maker. Without him, I guess we are looking at an army of depressed descendents! Still, he is not very useful considering he is supposed to be invincible.
- The twins only have a tiny role in this book (and they have proven themselves to be so annoying I am glad they are not given a bigger role in the book).
- I dislike Owen as much as I dislike Odin in the myth. Usually, the deep and all knowing is my type but then these charcters are also very secretive and make you want to choke them so they spill the beans.

The plot seems dense but it's like a RPG game, you just get thrown from one dungeon to the next, beating the boss and advancing to the next level. A lot seems to have happened but really, the plot has advanced very little since Loki's wolves. I am still looking forward to the final installment in this series and hopes it delivers.