Molten Dusk (The Norse Chronicles #3)

While recovering from a devastating betrayal, Solina becomes increasingly drawn to Thorin as he helps her hunt down Skoll, the mythical wolf who vowed to kill her. If she can find and destroy the beast, she’ll bring a swift and brutal end to her enemies’ schemes. But nothing ever goes as planned in Solina’s strange new world.

During her search for Skoll, Solina uncovers a plot to unleash a battalion of legendary soldiers and launch an apocalyptic war. Before she and her allies can locate the fabled army, several ghosts from her past return to haunt her. Solina must fight for life and the fate of the world, or her hopes for love and a peaceful future will go up in flames.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Molten Dusk by Karissa Laurel has arrived and it does not disappoint fans of The Norse Chronicles series. All of our favorite characters are back and ready for the showdown between the evil Helen Locke and Skoll who want to recreate Ragnarok and Solina, Thorin, and Baldur who want the world as we know it to continue. 

Solina, the incarnation of the Norse sun goddess, is even more stubborn in this installment and her personality adds both humor and lightness to an otherwise dark storyline. As Solina and the son of Thor prepare for the final battle, they must overcome various obstacles that threaten to give Helen the upper hand. But the stakes from the previous books are raised as Thorin and Solina move closer emotionally, and physically, as many readers undoubtedly wanted and expected. With that much more to lose, they are both extremely motivated to defeat Helen and her army of stone golems. It's entertaining and interesting to see how the tough and sharp-tongued Solina begins to let her feelings for Thorin show as the danger threatening her life accumulates. 

As this is probably the final book in The Norse Chronicles, not that I would mind another one, the character development is a little static. For the most part, all of the main characters have reached their peak and are prepared and fully represented. The main thing that is different is that Solina really seems to embrace her powers in this book. It's obvious that she understands them more and she doesn't hesitate to use them. As for the supporting characters, there is more about Skyla's heritage that gets revealed, further expanding a side plot introduced in book two. Also, since readers learned that loveable Val was actually out for revenge in book two, readers get even more closure with that facet of the story... and it's a little sad. 

Another interesting part of the book involves betrayal from the Valkyries. Solina and Thorin have thought that there was a traitor in the midst of the women warriors for a while, and they turn out to be right. This brings Solina's vision from earlier in the series to fruition. My favorite part of the book also included Solina's vision as she finds a woman who can help her make sense of them. Laurel really dives into this ability and it's fascinating, creative, and adds to the fantasy of the book. 

Throughout the series, the main story line involves Helen Locke wanting the wolf, Skoll, to kill Solina so that Ragnorak can be repeated on Earth. Readers obviously don't want this to happen as we've grown to connect with Solina, Thorin, and Baldur over the course of the series. Yet, it's nice that the hunting is coming to a close. Though there are still a few traps that Solina falls into, the final battle is here with Molten Dusk and as I'm pretty picky about climactic endings... I think readers will feel satisfied at the balance Laurel strikes in the final chapters. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Read the reviews of books one and two: