Truth & Other Lies by Lyra Wolf

 

 

Nothing is trickier than the truth.

All Loki the trickster god of Asgard wants is a peaceful life where he’s free to stir up a bit of harmless mischief. But when he’s struck by a painful vision of blood, ash, and death he knows his fun has run out.

Refusing to have his life obliterated by some stuffy prophecy, Loki feels he must save Asgard. Except the gods stand in his way. They don’t trust the God of Lies—which means his only hope is to return to Odin, the man he wished to forget thanks to their complicated history.

When Loki meets a mortal woman, his plans hit a snag.

Sigyn is delightfully stubborn and quick with a blade. She also, inexplicably, possesses a divine element found only in a god.

As Loki falls deeply in love with her, he never expects their bond to fulfill the prophecy threatening all their lives.

Forced between honoring his oath with Odin or protecting the woman he loves, Loki will discover that the only thing crueler than truth are the lies behind it all.

And the truth changes everything.

 

 

The end is coming, but let us start at the beginning!

Loki, the titular god of mischief has arrived in Basel, naked and five hundred years out of time. He is discovered raving in the Munster Cathedral by an unknown person. Whilst, waiting for the police, Loki tells his story to the human.

Lyra Wolf's Truth and other Lies, is a story of mischief, love, obsession and shocking consequences. It tells of how Loki helps Thor to regain Mjolnir from the giant Thrym. Of how Loki falls in love, and how he loses a couple or five millennia.

Loki is a very popular member of the Viking pantheon at the moment, and I have read several books with the God of Mischief being his usual charming self.

Now you would think that with all these iterations of the silver tongued devil, everyone would be all Loki'd out, but somehow, Lyra Wolf manages to present the God of Mischief in a different light that seems fresh and interesting.

In addition to that, she manages present the rest of the Norse Gods in an equally refreshing light. For instance Thor the God of Thunder is an oaf with no more than one fading brain cell, and Odin is a conniving figure who manipulates his way through eternity.

With Truth and Other Lies, Lyra Wolf introduces us to her version of Norse Mythology, interweaving the tales of the gods in delightfully a modern way and Loki is more human in this book, as we journey with him as he discovers that he has feelings and emotions, whilst accepting his own nature.

His interplay with Sigyn, the earthly woman he meets and falls in love with, shows us that he has a softer side to his personality, although quite a few times throughout the book he makes some extremely questionable decisions in order to protect her.

Truth and other Lies had me gripped from beginning to end, and I have to say that I don't think that I have read a book that uses Switzerland as a back drop, which Lyra Wolf does with tremendous effect.

With Truth and other Lies, Lyra Wolf has managed to give Loki quite a nuanced character. Yes, he does do mischief because it is in his nature, but she also shows a multi faceted side to his character that gives him more emotional depth and it works to great effect. Oh yes, he does make questionable decisions that you know are going to have repercussions later in the story. However, what this does, is illustrates his fallibility, making him more real and less godlike.

I loved all the characters in this book, even the spiteful Frigg, who spits more venom than a basket full of cobras.

And you cannot leave a review without mentioning the end (no spoilers mind!). The ending is something that I didn't see coming at all (although I should have guessed because Lyra Wolf does interplay myth so effectively throughout the whole story). Nevertheless, I did not see it coming and was shocked by it.

I just wanted to mention that I listened to the audio version of the book, which the author gifted me in exchange for an honest review.

The audio book is read by Casey Eades who does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. Each character is distinct and recognisable, and she manages to evoke personality and individuality to each character by using different tones and intonation for each separate vocalisation. In addition to that, there will be the addition of soft accents that accentuate the character. The production itself is cracking and you can hear every word clearly and distinctly. In fact, I have to say that this is one of my favourite audio books I have listened to recently.