Perfekt Control: The Ære Saga: Book Two

S.T. Bende

Feb 2016 · The Ære Saga Book 2 · S.T. Bende

About this eBook

"Like a summer superhero movie, this YA fantasy features dazzling adventure and a truly epic romance." -iBooks Official Review, The Ære Saga: Book 1

Rule the realms.

Brynn Aksel is a valkyrie—a battle goddess tasked with protecting both the God of War and the future of Asgard. She fends off giants and dark elves with an iron fist, a glossy smile, and no less than perfekt control. She’s focused one-hundred-percent on rising through the valkyrie ranks, and not at all on her lifelong crush on Henrik Andersson—the one guy in all the realms who could be her undoing.

Henrik serves as War’s other bodyguard, and he’s too focused on protecting their shared charge to realize that Brynn’s a girl. When an unprecedented surge of darkness abducts the Goddess of Love, Brynn’s already-steely focus is singularly directed on her new assignment—accompany Henrik to recover the realms’ source of light before the cosmos descends into chaos.

While battling demons, dragons, and the not-quite-dead, it becomes clear that immortality does not equal invincibility. And when Hel herself puts a hit on Brynn, the valkyrie has to decide if staying in control is worth losing everything . . . or if it’s time to rule the realms.

Ratings and reviews

In Perfekt Control, Freya Norse Goddess of Love, is kidnapped to lure Tyr into a trap. Odin orders Brynn and Henrik to search the realms for any sign or clue to her whereabouts. With the Goddess of Love missing, the realms being without love will fill with darkness. Brynn knows better than anyone what happens when Love is gone from the realms. Between searching for Freya, pushing back painful memories from her past, and trying to control her feelings for Henrik, Brynn has her work cut out for her. The forces of darkness are poised to attack and Brynn will need her perfekt control to get the job done. In this second book in the Aere Saga, we get to learn more about Brynn and Henrik, more about the different Realms, more about the super-brain that is Brynnrik and the tech that they create. With Freya missing from the light realms, the dark realms are gaining more power and some strange changes are happening in each species. But what really took center stage was Brynn's battle within herself. There are so many things coming at her at once that her perfekt control is slipping, which isn't good within a Valkyrie. I really enjoyed the more indepth look into the world the Aere Saga. Incidentally, I liked the description for Helheim the most. At the center, Helheim is the most dark and terrible of the dark realms, but it's descibed as incredibly beautiful, more like what you'd expect a light realm to be described. It makes me think about how so much evil can be hidden behind something beautiful. I loved the dilemma that Brynn had concerning her feelings for Henrik and how they conflicted with her Valkyrie oath. And I loved how their HEA happened. I wasn't expecting it to come about the way that it did. I also really enjoyed the Brynnrik moments. I think that only one who might understand half of what they were saying is Mia, since she helps them develope some of their tech. Oh, and I liked how we saw more of Elsa and her healing abilities. I think that was a really good set up for her story in Perfekt Balance. This latest addition to the Aere Saga really developes the world of this series, while also giving us more insight into Brynn and Henrik. When we met Brynn in Perfekt Order, she was always upbeat and energetic. But for reason you'll find while reading Perfekt Control, Brynn isn't as happy and bouncy as she usually is. I'd even go so far to say that Mia seemed more energetic than Brynn in this book. Being a Valkyrie under the command of the Goddess of Love, Brynn has a lot that she needs to work out and she needs to choose whether she'll let her fear rule or if she'll let her love rule. Henrik is the other half of the Brynnrik super-brain and the object of Brynn's affection. I loved seeing more of Henrik. He's just as charming as he was in the first book and we even see this really sweet side to him, not to mention a more sexy side to him. I also really liked how competitive he is with Mia concerning their cooking. Brynn and Henrik make a perfekt team. They think the same and fight well together, which make them the perfekt bodyguards for Tyr. So all in all, S.T. Bende has done a great job in expanding the world of the Aere Saga and has given us in depth descriptions of the realms and their people. Also the way that we are show how Elsa heals is a great set up for the next book, Perfekt Balance. It's also really nice that Tyr and Mia's story continues in this book and I liked how there's this kind of foreshadowing of Mia's possible future with them. While Perfekt Order set up the Aere Saga, Perfekt Control expands it outside of the Midgard realm and into the bigger universe. I have a feeling that some really amazing things are going to be happening in the future books in the series.

Perfekt Control exceeded all of my expectations. I absolutely loved it. This exceptional story is Brynn's point of view and takes place right after Perfekt Order. Perfekt Control . They are my favorite couple don't get me wrong I love Tyr and Mia. Perfekt Control was so emotional from feeling tense to find out what happens next to happy at what happens throughout the book. In this story we got to really know who Brynn is and why she is the way she is. She thoroughly enjoys scientific toys and making them with Henrik and Mia. Brynn goes on a mission to get Freya back the goddess of love. She was taken and could put the world out of love. That could cause a lot of damage for everyone. In all the realms Brynn and Henrik traveled to whichever ones that could give them answers on where Freya was taken. They never dreamed that the realm that she was taken to is the last one they ever wanted to go to. Along the way they battled giants that breathed fire to dragons. Everything seemed to be out of balance and they aimed to set everything right again once they found Freya and returned her to the good side. There were so many emotions that went along with this story of Brynn and Henrik. It was an amazing and well written story. An added bonus was Henrik's Hotcakes recipe. Can't wait to try the recipe S.T. Bende. Thank you for another great story and can't wait to read more.

'Perfekt Control' was the perfect sequel to 'Perfekt Order.' We were introduced to friend-zoned Brynnrik, aka, Brynn and Henrik, in the last book. They are super cute, super smart, and super friendly. But as much as Brynn wants more than that, training as a valkyrie puts her in a celibate corner, according to Freya's rules. But bubbly, bouncy, sweet, yet fierce Brynn has been able to keep her heart in check, despite the daily reminders of Henrik's awesomeness (hello there, sexy, nerdy, baking boyguard!). That is, until Freya is kidnapped and the love in the realms starts to lose that loving feeling. Now Brynn and Henrik are on the hunt for the Goddess of Love, testing the boundaries of their friendship and Brynn's perfect control. Aww, I loved Brynn and Henrik so much! Seriously, they are just the best couple! Even friend-zoned, they are a pure delight. Their history is adorable. Their intelligence is off-the-charts. Their honor is, well, honorable. These two souls could not have been more perfect for each other. But you have to take the journey with them. I was squealing at the tender moments, hurt in the confusing moments, nervous in the scary moments, and overcome with anticipation waiting for my dreams, I mean Brynn's dreams, to come true. Oh, and it's not just all lovey dovey. This story is packed with action and intelligence. I loved every tangent Brynnrik went on describing all their inventions and plans. I wanted to hang out with them, they're so awesome. And then we'd get these great fight scenes and see their hardcore battle skills. And then they'd be traveling and we got to experience the realms with them. And then... so much more! I loved how the action progressed and climaxed. It was such an exciting, addicting read! I don't want to give the story away, but I must say that I loved the ending. It was completely worth the wait. All the feels in this story. Brynn's my girl. Henrik's my boy. The Asgardian crew are my peeps. I love this group and feel the great need to hang with them, eating Henrik's hotcakes, creating ingenious inventions, and learning how to kick butt like a Norse warrior. I love this series, and can't wait for the next one, which sounds like another awesome win!