Rachel Van Dyken is a best-selling author known for her work in high-stakes romance subgenres, particularly mafia romance. Her extensive backlist, including series like Eagle Elite and A Very Mafia Christmas (5), demonstrates a long-standing focus on intense power dynamics, warring families, and forbidden attractions. This authorial background directly informs the narrative structure of Fallen Gods, where Odin’s tyrannical control over his family mirrors the role of a mafia boss. His command to Rey to “Remove anyone who stands in your way. Destroy them all for what they took from us” (16) exemplifies the life-or-death stakes and ruthless loyalty oaths common in mafia romance tropes.

Van Dyken channels this experience into the conventions of romantasy, a genre popularized by authors like Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas that blends epic fantasy with central romantic conflicts. The novel’s dark academia setting, Endir University, serves as a modern container for this ancient conflict between mythological figures. Van Dyken’s personal connection to Norse mythology, which she details in her author’s note (11) as a legacy from her grandfather, provides the foundational lore for this world. By interweaving her established expertise in high-stakes romance with a personal passion for mythology, Van Dyken situates Fallen Gods at the intersection of her authorial brand and contemporary genre trends, using familiar tropes to explore a deeply personal and epic story.