I have a nitpick for the mood of the beginning, because in the first two books, Idun is basically the quiet, shy, sweet one. Yet the first thing we really see her doing in her own book is getting grouchy because she didn't speak up about wanting a cloak she found and Freya ended up buying it.
Then it turns out it's a shape-shifting cloak and Idun's even more pissed at herself. When Freya puts it on, she turns into a falcon.
On the return to the school, they run into Loki and Bragi talking with Heimdall. This is our first good look at Bragi, who I like best out of the boys so far. And it's pretty clear he has a thing for Idun, which makes sense because they're married in the myths. Idun, Bragi and Loki are the characters you see most in this book.
Idun develops a plan to help Loki stop being such an ass. She takes him to Midgard, where they plant regular apple seeds. What she doesn't know is that he got into trouble with a giant who likes to take the form of an eagle. To save himself, Loki promised to get Idun to the giant. Idun finds herself kidnapped, Loki's got a few of her apples, but the rest of the gods and goddesses are in trouble. You see, they need to eat or drink from Idun's apples every day to maintain their youth. And Idun has noticed that they don't seem as interested in eating her apples anymore. So when she's kidnapped, it doesn't take but a few hours for the effects of the apples to begin wearing off.
This is the part of the book that I don't get. Literally everyone with god blood begins aging heavily. Like they go immediately into old age, even if they were twelve. Sif loses her hearing. Skade can't see. Etc. Etc. But none of this makes any sense. Characters like Odin, Frigg and Heimdall are all adults, so them aging right into old age works, but a bunch of kids? They don't go through their 20s and 30s or middle age. They still look like kids, only with beards, gray hair and impairments. the kids shouldn't have to worry about staying young. They ARE young. They're friggin' twelve. So I'm wondering how they even age to become adults. The only way this would work would be if they aged every year naturally, but without Idun's apples, they took on the characteristics of the elderly. I guess that's sort of okay, but it's not explained at all. Or if it was, I sure missed it. So the main drama of the book pretty much makes zero sense.
Everyone figures out Loki is behind this, because of fucking course he is. He's Loki. Bragi and Honir find him and everyone gets him to go rescue Idun, because he's the only one that's still youthful. He talks his way into borrowing Freya's cloak to do it. Idun, however, don't need no help. She's already broken out, stolen the giant's recipes and is on her way home when Loki finds her. He brings her home, the giant is driven off, and everyone's youth is restored. And Bragi says he likes Idun and then runs off. Idun even confesses about the cloak, but lets Freya keep it because the damn thing is sentient and attached to Freya now. Freya says she can borrow it whenever she wants though.
On one hand, I liked this one, because it spends time with characters that were barely in the first two books. But as far as plot goes? Eh. Sif's was the best plot so far. I have high hopes for Skade.
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