Book Review-Fallen Gods

Rachel Van Dyken

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.

First Impressions

Fallen Gods is the first book in a duet of a mythological dark fantasy romance. This story literally knocked me off my feet! I adored it in every single way, and I feel like I want to bang my head against the wall for taking so long to actually read this one. I think I was worried it would have a cliffhanger, and while it has a teaser …..in regards to the couple, there is no cliffhanger, and I really appreciated how the author implemented the ending that feels satisfying and romantic but also making you want the conclusion. Fallen Gods, while it is termed a “romantasy,” is actually just a dark mythological fantasy, and it has a theme of Norse mythology as being the focus. I am not sure I have actually read a Norse mythological fantasy, but I can tell that the author really did her research for this one. If you have read some of her mafia books, this story will make you feel at home. It has an academia setting, angsty enemies-to-lovers who are in a forced-proximity setting, forbidden love to the heights and through their power of love they overcome the conflicts in such a vibrant way that only this author writes.

“The right book can consume you. Make you forget to eat, to sleep.” A smirk tugs at his lips again. “Make you ache for just one more page even when you know you shouldn’t.” He leans in, close enough that my breath stutters. “It can be temptation itself.”

Book Evaluation:

Plot: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Hero: 5/5
Heroine: 5/5
Intimacy Level: 3/5
Relationship Building: 5/5
Heart & Feels: 6/5
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 5/5
Page-Turner Level: 4/5
Ending: 5/5
Overall View: 6/5

Control. Such a simple word. And the only thing keeping me from breaking. Yet when Rey’s in the room, I have none. She tears the ground out from under me without trying. Looks at me like I’m a puzzle she already solved and resents the answer.

The Main Protagonists

The Hero: Aric Erikson

The Heroine: Rey Stjerne

All I know is that Rey is the common thread. Her presence is a flame to the cold I can’t escape. Every contact widens the rift, making more and more of the monster inside me want to break free.

What I Loved

This was a compelling read, and it’s the type of read where you read just a quarter of it and you know that it’s going to end up being a favorite read, and you sit back and relax and enjoy the wild road that you are about to go on. I absolutely was hooked on the Norse Mythology and how it’s blended into a forbidden crush within an academia setting. The angst between these two was “chef’s kiss” delightfully good! This is the type of story that will have you constantly curling your toes from beginning to end. It’s definitely a slower burn, but once the chemistry clicks for Erik and Rey… you will just find yourself captivated in each moment that they are together. While they have to be enemies….they form common ground and connection, and while they both hold secrets, the love that has been building between them will put a torch to those secrets, and the fight for each other will take the focus of the story, and seeing that focus was so intensely beautiful. And I guarantee that the author will keep you at the heights of the emotional response to the story. While the hero is secretive and powerful… seeing how hard Rey falls for Erik was truly a sight to see within the story and is one of my favorite elements in a romance. Rachel Van Dyken handles these elements so well, and I adored seeing her tackle a mythological fantasy with such brilliance, and I NEED the conclusion, but I know it will be a while but I know it will be worth the wait.

What if we just let ourselves? To rest like this with her. To drown in the quiet she brings amid the chaos. Her weight against me is steady, grounding, like the storm in my blood is finally silent—not just silent, at peace.

What I Struggled With

NOTHING!!! Now I am having some sight issues as I am dealing with some eye strain, but that was definitely more of a “me” issue. The best advice is to read this one in a full sitting if you can, and it will be well worth the adventure.

Overall Thoughts

Fallen Gods is a thrilling fantasy that will deliver all the juice of the Norse mythology, the beautiful complexity of the enemies-to-lovers trope, and will keep you on the edge of your seat in the EPIC FINALE while leaving you yearning for more of Erik and Rey and all of our favorite side characters!

“First off, you’re perfectly capable of saving your own ass, though it is nice to be needed. And second…I won’t lie to you. Ever. If we burn—we burn together.” “You mean it?” A tear slides down my cheek. “With all of my soul.” He nods. “Until the last breath leaves my body—and even after that.”

Book Details

Title: Fallen Gods

Author: Rachel Van Dyken

Series: FAllen Gods Duet #1

Publication Date: December 2 2025

Publisher: Red Tower Books

Genre: Mythological Fantasy Romance, Dark Romance

Length: 418 Pages

Tropes/Character Types: Demi God, Alpha Male, Protector, Kick Ass Heroine, Academia Setting, Norse Mythology, He Falls First, She Falls Harder

Spice Level:

Warmin’ by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

POV: Duo POV

Music Song That Is Themed After This Book:

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

They said the Gods were myth. That the Giants were only stories told around dying fires. They lied.

The Gods aren’t dead—they’re only sleeping, locked in mortal bodies, scattered across the world, waiting for the right spark to wake them. And my father is the most ruthless of them all.

He raised me to obey. To bleed. To be his blade when the time came. Now he’s sending me to Endir University, a place filled with ancient bloodlines and deadly secrets, to steal back Mjolnir, the hammer of legend. If I fail, everyone I love dies.

But Aric Erikson wasn’t part of the plan. He’s the enemy’s heir. Distant. Dangerous. And…the one person I can’t afford to fall for. He’s closed himself off completely behind a wall of ice, but the more I’m ordered to unravel him, the harder it becomes to remember where the lies end and I begin.

There’s only a mission I never chose—and a man I was never meant to love—standing between me and a war that will decide the fate of the world.

But if I’m the spark, maybe he’s the fuse. And the Gods? They’re about to wake up angry.