Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee Review

Title: Loki: Where Mischief Lies

Author: Mackenzi Lee

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Standalone

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

                I borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it.

                Mackenzi Lee is one of my favorite authors of all time; I read The Montague Siblings series and became obsessed. So, when I heard that she was writing a book from the point of view of one of my favorite Marvel antiheroes, Loki himself, I was ecstatic. As soon as I had a space in my library stack, I reserved it at my local library. It’s been sitting on the top of my library stack for a while, and once I realized I couldn’t renew it any more, I dove in right after I finished Renia’s Diary. And for the most part, Lee did a fantastic job! I loved Where Mischief Lies; I’ve been curious about the young Loki for a long time now, and this book did a fantastic job of filling in the gaps. There were a few little things that I wish had been fleshed out, but overall, this was a fantastic entry into the Marvel canon, and I hope there’s more in the works! Long live Loki, god of lies, mischief, and magic!

                Loki has spent his whole life in the shadows of his father, Odin, and his brother, Thor. He longs for a chance to rule Asgard, even though he knows that Odin won’t give him a chance. On top of that, he only has one friend in his father’s court: a fellow sorceress named Amora. When Odin sees a vision in The Godseye Mirror of Loki leading an army of the living dead, Loki realizes that his father thinks he may be the catalyst that sends Ragnarok into motion. When a routine political intrigue mission goes awry, Odin metes out a terrible punishment: Loki must journey to Midgard, or Earth, to investigate a series of mysterious deaths. Once on Earth, Loki finds someone that he never thought he’d see again, and he discovers that he may be able to change the fate that everyone has envisioned for him…

                I loved, loved, loved this book! Mackenzi Lee is one of my favorite authors, and Loki is one of my favorite antiheroes in the entire Marvel canon, so this was a match made in book nerd heaven! The pacing was breakneck, and I was immediately spellbound by Loki; even his younger, more naïve self was fabulous! He was one of my favorite characters in the book, and I also adored the dynamic between himself, Thor, and his father, the formidable Odin. I really liked the other characters, too: Amora, Theo, Mrs. S, and the rest of their ragtag team of mythbusters. But my favorite thing about this whole book was Loki’s growth throughout, and the way that he grew into and accepted himself, regardless of how everyone else saw him. And that ending! Oh, my goodness, what a way to end with a bang! Lee has done a fantastic job of filling in the gaps of how Loki became the sly and wily god of mischief. I loved it, so much, and I really, really hope that there’s more in the works at Marvel! I was totally obsessed! The bottom line: Hilarious, honest, dark and thrilling, I loved Loki: Where Mischief Lies! Next on deck: Frankly in Love by David Yoon!