The Valkyie’s daughter is about Sigrid, a young woman of mysterious origins who longs to be a Valkyrie. She sees a vision of herself leading the Valkyrie’s into battle riding Odin’s horse, and sets off on an adventure to see the vision through.
This book was set in the world of Norse mythology, but is not an actual horse myth. I enjoyed that it has such a strong world built, but felt that overall the characters struggled to keep my attention.

I know very little about Norse mythology, I'm deathly allergic to horses, and I am very over YA fantasy. And yet this book was pretty charming. I started out skeptical, and wondered exactly where the story was going to go. But by the end I was enthralled! I liked the adventure, I liked the characters, I thought the romance was fairly well done (though very young adult, I can forgive that as just being not really meant for me in the first place). The rocky start led to a much more interesting later section, and I liked the afterward just as much in exploring how Warner came to write this and where she drew from myth and where she inflected it with her own voice. In fact I really loved the ideas woven through this of being allowed to feel out of place and that one wants to pursue a greater goal- while validating that others can have it harder, and system prejudice/racism/assumptions mean that every person is fighting for different stakes. Honestly, I think that brief sidebar was the best part of the book, and really made it step up from a 3.5 star read to a 4 star read. If you enjoy horses, myth, romance, great sidekicks, and two really kick-butt steeds, then this is the book for you. And if you're a teen, all the better- but as a very full-grown adult, I enjoyed riding along with Sigrid and her new friends.

Thank you Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for this eARC for review!

4/5 stars. This was a fun, Sapphic YA read with Norse mythology about an underdog facing the challenges of their world and their current station, while also having a f/f enemies to lovers relationship.
Full review to come once I collect my thoughts!

The Valkyrie's Daughter is the first book in The Helheim Prophecy series by Tiana Warner. I was captivated by the vividly created world, fabulous characters, and an adventure filled with surprise and danger. I love when I do not know where the story is going. The Valkyrie's Daughter is the perfect young adult romantic fantasy.

I had to sit and meditate on this book and the story that Tiana was telling.

This is a story that is a cautionary tale on being careful of knowing too much of your destiny. Who wouldn't want to know what their destiny is, or want to make a difference, or to fit in? Sigrid desires so much and when she see's her "destiny" in the Eye of Hnitnjorg, she sets off on the journey to make it real. But what she sees isn't the whole story, and there's way more that she doesn't know that will come into play.

Tiana's interpretation of the Norse mythology is diverse and myriad with LGBTQIA+ characters and this is lovely and doesn't feel like it was shoehorned into the story.

If you like mythos retellings like the Magnus Chase series, LGBTQIA+ tales with kick ass females, horses, then you will probably enjoy this book.

Thank you to Entangled Teen, NetGalley and Tiana Warner for the opportunity to review a free e-ARC.

This was a fun read, especially if you have a love for Norse mythology/mythology in general. This was like a grown up version of a Rick Riordan book with all the adventure, banter, and wit that he includes in his books but for a YA audience. The Valkyrie's Daughter was an epic journey across the 9 realms as well as a journey of self discovery for our MC, Sigrid. Add in a dash of found family and a little bit of romance sprinkled in as well. I look forward to the next book in the series (I need more Fritz in my life) to see what adventure awaits our heroe's next!

4 solid stars!

Tiana Warner's newest work is hard to put down. Following Sigrid, a stable girl living amongst the Valkyries, as she seeks out her destiny, makes friends, falls in love, realizes how strong she is, and finds out that sometimes what we want is not what we are meant to do was such a wonderful journey, and I cannot wait for more. I laughed, I cried, I got angry, and I rooted for the underdog heroine and her friends to find their way to each other and to find their inner strength. Really such a fun read!

Warner takes some liberties with traditional Norse mythology, but it is worth it. The world building is done well. The supporting characters are full of life and add a lot to the story. The enemies to lovers, the normative Sapphic romance, the surprise parent, all the tropes--worth it to follow Sigrid's story.

I think lovers of fantasy, strong female characters, or simply good story telling will enjoy this work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

Book Summery: For as long as Sigrid could remember, she’s wanted to become a mighty, fearless valkyrie. But without a winged mare, she’s a mere stable hand, left wondering who her parents were and why she’s so different. So when the Eye shows her a vision where she's leading a valkyrie charge on the legendary eight-legged horse Sleipnir, she grabs the possibility of this greater destiny with both hands, refusing to let go.

Too bad that the only one who can help her get there is Mariam, an enemy valkyrie who begrudgingly agrees to lead her to Helheim but who certainly can’t be trusted―even if she does make Sigrid more than a little flustered. As they cross the nine worlds, battling night elves, riding sea serpents, and hurtling into fire to learn the truth about Sigrid’s birthright, an unexpected but powerful bond forms.

As her feelings for Mariam deepen into something fiery and undeniable, Fate has other plans for Sigrid. What happens when the one thing you think you were meant to do might end the nine worlds?

My Thoughts on The Valkyrie's daughter.

So first off the blurb sounded amazing and that's why I wanted to pick this book. I love norse mythology so I felt this would be right up my alley. Plus LGBTQ!
The Story was very interesting a little slow, and a twist that I didn't see coming.
My only issue with with the book was that it was loosely based on Norse Mythology. I wanted to see or hear more about the gods and the world. The adventure itself was good, I love the tension with the two main love interests.

All in all I give this book 3.5 out of 5 Stars. Like I said I would have loved to have a little more norse mythology. it was just a bit of lackluster.

"The Valkyrie's Daughter" follows a stablehand, who has the blonde hair of a valkyrie but was born with a wingless horse and therefore, relegated to taking care of the valkyrie's horses. That is until the day Sigrid has a vision that shows her riding the most powerful horse in the realm: Odin's Sleipnir. Seeing an opportunity to have a grand destiny, Sigrid follows her vision and finds her only way out is to befriend, Mariam, an enemy valkyrie. However, as the two travel together across the realm they discover more about their world and about each other.

This was a fun novel. It had an intriguing premise as I had never really thought about the stables of the valkyries and who would care for their horse. This was an interesting piece of world-building, especially when Sigrid's origins factored into it and how the valkyries were chosen. I also found the main conflict: Sigrid discovering where she came from to be compelling and liked her relationship with Mariam, which was another bonus as they slowly became friends.

However, there were times when I felt like the plot was a little predictable, and some of the actions performed by the characters were convenient to the progression of the story. This made the story sometimes feel juvenile as things would fall into place quickly or at the last moment. And while I appreciate Warner's world-building in this Norse-inspired world, I felt like the author really hadn't done their research on this topic.

The Valkyrie's Daughter is about sixteen year old Sigrid, who has been raised as a stable hand but longs to be a valkyrie and something more in her life. When her home is attacked she accidentally has a vision of a possible future where she is leading the valkyries into battle along with the enemy valkyrie she's fighting, which leads her on a quest to save her home and find out if she's really meant to be more than a stable hand.

I'm going to start with the positives. I really love any fantasy book that includes horses. I am still a horse girl at heart, so I'm always sold on that, especially when it's queer. And I loved Sigrid's bond with her gelding, Hestur. Mariam was my absolute favorite character (though I did like Fisk as comic relief and a good nudge for Sigrid's teasing) and honestly I was probably the most invested in Mariam getting Aesa back than anything else. I loved the queer rep with sapphic and trans characters (I'd have loved to hear more about that though!).

Now the negatives. I was incredibly intrigued and engaged with everything going on...up until the last like 20% where the book kind of lost me. Hilariously, this is when a lot of the actual battle started and should have been the most interesting, but I let myself stop reading to go to bed for the night with 12% of the book left (to be fair, I'd driven across an entire state that day but I hardly ever let a book go unread that close to the end).

With all of this I still probably would have given the book a 4 star rating, but when Sigrid decided to paint her face to make her look more like a warrior or leader, it really pulled me out of the story. I am not an expert on Norse mythology or viking history and I do not claim to me, but to my knowledge and the brief Googling I did just to do a little double check, "viking warrior face paint" does not seem to have been a real thing is just really Indigenous cultural appropriation more than anything. So to include that was disappointing to me.

Including my last grievance at the very bottom since it does contain a spoiler.

***SPOILERS***
I also knew what the big reveal for Sigrid's would be the second Princess Helena was mentioned the first time and honestly I really didn't like the "evil mom" plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

DNF at 13% - This definitely has a younger YA vibe to it which I wasn't expecting. I have tried multiple times over the years to read Percy Jackson & the Olympians and never got past the second book. I know that middle grade is no longer something I want to read and I found it strange how young this story seemed to be written for Entangled Teen. Also, for something with a Norse mythology base, I was hoping for some darker moments and/or more in-depth descriptions. I received this as an eARC through NetGalley and will not be purchasing the finished copy. If you like PJ&TO, you could definitely try this one out.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The Valkyrie’s Daughter is a compelling attempt to inject YA fantasy with a bit of Norse mythology, when the market seems to be trending heavily toward Greek at the moment. As I know a bit less about the Norse pantheon than the Greek one, this is refreshing, especially as I have only read one recent fiction title that also explored the Norse myths. And the fact that this one is sapphic is a bonus.
Sigrid is a cool lead character who starts off as a bit of an underdog. She’s a stable hand, but she has a great sense of her own destiny to be a valkyrie. She faces opposition in the form of those who would keep her down, but I loved watching her persevere as she came to discover her destiny.
She forms a sort/of begrudging alliance with enemy valkyrie Mariam to help her own her quest to Helheim. The journey provides for lots of twists and turns and high stakes, not to mention a well-crafted enemies-to-lovers romance arc, as their feelings evolve from reluctant allies to forming a bond that turns to love. I did sometimes feel the loss of Mariam’s POV at times, but I like that seeing things through Sigrid’s POV allows the reader to fall authentically in love with Mariam along with Sigrid.
I like that this book is pretty approachable in doling out the mythological aspects, as it’s clearly more a story inspired by Norse mythology than a retelling of any particular tale. I sense that your enjoyment will be linked to your own familiarity with Norse mythology, with it working better if you’re not as familiar with it.
This is a great start to what I expect will be a solid series. If you enjoy YA fantasy, and want something slightly different in terms of inspiration, I recommend checking this out.

As someone who loves mythology of all kinds, I was stoked to read this book. It pays respect to the original / beloved stories of Vikings, but has enough differences (name changes, unique creatures, etc.) that it feels fresh and new.

The characters were done well enough that I got emotional a couple of times, which to me is a great sign! It means that I was able to connect to and want the best for them. I do have to say that Fisk is my favorite character -- he was a bright spot in all the darkness, even if he was a bit of a troublemaker too!

The world building and scene setting were beautiful. I did feel that sometimes it fell off a bit early and I wish the author would have pushed a little more. There was one plot point regarding Mariam that could have been much stronger. It was there, and kind of mentioned, but didn't feel fully developed. It would have been interesting to see how far the author could have taken it and how it would have shaped the character's relationship.

I am excited to see that this is book 1 of a coming series. Because this world is so big (there's 9 realms essentially!) there's a lot of room to play and a lot more story to tell.

If you like coming-of-age stories with strong females destined for great things, then add "The Valkyrie's Daughter" to your TBR.

Sigrid’s dream is to become a Valkyrie, the fearless team of warriors. However, being a stable hand gives her no possible chance. When a vision shows her leading the Valkyrie, she does everything possible to make it happen.
You know me, I’ll read most anything based on Norse mythology. This has all the makings of an exciting story, but sadly it didn’t grab me. Sigrid falls into the regular YA trope of a lowly girl dreaming for higher standing. Then a secret (identity) is revealed and everything changes and she embraces her destiny. I just wanted more. I wanted it to be unique and enthralling but my attention waned. My personal preference is to avoid anything to do with love triangles and this triangle was very predictable.

I feel the “rules” of the dead (who was dead, why they were dead, why some couldn’t see them, etc) became a lot to remember and I was never quite sure what was going on. I also couldn’t remember the details about Hel and the living that seemed so vital to the story. Did I miss something? It’s a great premise that seemed well thought out but just wasn’t portrayed well enough for my brain to grab. I also wonder if Sigrid’s naivete wore negatively on me.

The book started off really well. I loved the world-building and seeing Sigrid's frustration at wanting to do more with her life but not knowing how to accomplish it. It didn't help that the people she looked up to made fun of her. I also liked how the world-building wasn't info dumped. It was given to us in bits and pieces throughout the book.

While the beginning with Sigrid started out great, I started to get really annoyed with her about halfway through. She practically begs the valkyries to be open-minded and let her join them but will not do the same for one of her companions. She belittles him and is just plain mean at times. Also, what almost made me stop reading was during this one scene where she was so jealous of Mariam and Fisk sharing a moment that she had the thought that they were plotting against her. I almost just gave up on the book right then and there. It was just too ridiculous for me. She ended up getting better toward the end but honestly, I was a bit disappointed in her character.

I really liked Mariam and Fisk. I liked that despite Mariam's hard life she still pushed forward and liked to have fun. I enjoyed a lot of moments between her and the others. While Fisk did feel like just pure comic relief at times I also did enjoy seeing him become more of a person. He is introduced as a weakling henchman but becomes an important ally. Regarding the romance between Sigrid and Mariam, while I liked seeing Sigrid develop a crush on Mariam I had to keep reminding myself that this romance was happening over a couple of days. It didn't give them enough opportunities to get to know each other. I do like the idea of them together though so I really hope to see them develop more of a bond in the next book.

I also really liked the tone of the book. There was this seriousness mixed with a lot of fun silly moments that made the book both still have an important goal but actually being fun to read. The plot was pretty good too. I liked how the author put in a few lessons about what you're supposed to do vs what you want to do among other things.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. I am glad I didn't drop it and I plan on reading the next book as I do want more of this world and characters. If you love Norse mythology or an easy fantasy to get into then this is definitely for you. I wouldn't pick this up if you're looking for an intense fantasy or huge character development.

This is my first book to read by this author but I cannot wait to read more by them! This is such a uniquely written story that you will find yourself thinking about long after you finish it. Highly recommend!!

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

Sigrid is an orphan and stable hand who wants to be a Valkyrie. While Hestur, her horse, is the fastest horse around, Valkyries ride winged mounts, which is not Hestur, and Valkyries are sky troops, not ground troops. Nothing she has done has been able to convince General Eira to give her a chance to prove herself, confining her to life as a stable hand, tending to the Valkyries mounts and dealing with the teasing and disdain of the junior Valkyries. The kingdom of Vanaheim, where Sigrid lives, is attacked. The assumption is that the attackers will target the royal family, so efforts are made to keep them safe. However, hiding in the stable, Sigrid overhears an enemy Valkyrie (Mariam) talking about the Eye of Hnitbjorg, which was a magical stone that showed visions about the nine worlds, and that they could not return to Helheim (the underworld) without it. Unable to find anyone to warn that the Eye was in danger, Sigrid and Hestur set off to try to stop the theft. Sigrid is ultimately unsuccessful, but in the process, she touches the Eye and sees a vision of herself riding Sleipnir (Odin's eight-legged horse) and leading an army of Valkyries.

Sigrid is determined to try to fulfill her destiny, helping Mariam escape on the condition that she leads Sigrid to Helheim, where Sleipnir is in the possession of Queen Elina. Sigrid, Hestur, and Mariam will have quite an adventure traveling to Helheim, and they will be aided by a night elf named Fisk. Meeting Queen Elina will provide Sigrid with answers to her questions about her parents and her past. Sigrid will also be given the opportunity to fulfill her destiny and not only be a Valkyrie but be a Valkyrie general leading an army. However, Sigrid will discover that Elina just wants to use her for her own benefit/enhanced power, and that the opportunity presented to her comes with costs which are much greater than she is willing to endure. She will realize that the life she had was actually pretty good, and that there are opportunities to make a difference and have a meaningful life while still being true to herself, especially with the help of old and new friends.

This was a delightful, quick read. The pacing of the storyline was excellent and the main character is extremely well developed. I appreciated the thoughtfulness given to the interactions between the characters, and how the characters grew from their mistakes and choices. I would have liked to see a little more development with the romance and some of the ending fights and scenes in Hel felt a bit rushed compared to the first part of the book, but overall this was a highly enjoyable, smooth read.

Ratings 3.5 stars

*I received an ARC from NetGalley for my voluntary and honest review.

When a valkyrie is born at the same time her winged mare is born. They share a connection in their soul as they grow, train, and battle together. So when Sigrid showed up in the Valkyrie nursery paired with a plain brown horse they had no idea how she got there, or what to do with her. Sigrid grows up a stable girl, tending to her horse Hestur and all the Valkyrie’s mares. She loves what she does but deep down she yearns to be a Valkyrie. When Vanaheim is attacked, Sigrid is the only one who overhears what they are after. The eye of Hnitbjorg is the source of the seer’s power and what gives her her visions. In an attempt to save the eye Sigrid is shown a vision of her future riding alongside the Valkyries. Now we see how far she will go to make the vision come true.

This is a book very loosely based on Norse mythology. It is also a story of an underdog desperate to change her fate. I enjoyed watching Sigrid fight to be who she knew she could be. And watching her relationship with Mariam blossom from adversaries, to friends, to a blossoming relationship was too cute. As someone who enjoys mythology I did enjoy this book. I enjoyed Warner’s take on the mythology that led to a new and good story. I look forward to the story being continued.