The Strange Maid

In a world where Norse gods are the greatest celebrities, the Valkyries wield enormous political power. Signy is unsure of her destiny. At seven years old, she was chosen to be a Valkyrie, and so has been training for ten years to fulfill that role. Before she becomes a Valkyrie she must prove herself by answering a riddle. Searching for the answer, she meets Ned, who tells her that the answer to her riddle is slaying a mountain troll. Glad for any help, Signy journeys with him to the cold North, where they track trolls, and train. But when her family is killed, and Ned is kidnapped by a troll mastermind, Signy must defeat the monster she least expected.

I read this very quickly, because I was irritated by the silly love stuff and wanted to get it over with. It seemed like there was a lot of extraneous information that unnecessarily padded the book. However, I liked the shifted setting of the United States of Asgard, how the names were changed to be more Nordic, and how the people used runes and the gods influenced everyday life, not only as gods and goddesses, but as political and cultural actors.