Actual rating: let's say 2.25

I guess the writing was just too simplistic for my taste. I'm aware that this is a young adult novel. The title change was a smart choice; otherwise there really wouldn't be any reason to read the book, as it was on its own too predictable.

The positive:
Sapphic
A bit of Norse mythology and worldbuilding
Perfect for horse girls?
Non-significant trans character?

I don't really know what I liked about this book. The last 20% was the best part but simultaneously the hardest to read because I just wanted it to be over with. Sigrid finally got some character development: gained some awareness and stopped acting only on her desires and chasing her destiny. As for the other characters, they were underdeveloped. Summary that turned into a spoilerish rant:

Sigrid is a special snowflake who is bullied by the other Valkyries and looked down upon by almost everyone except some other stable boys. As a baby, she was found among the newborn Valkyries, except with an ordinary horse unlike the others, hence why she can't be a Valkyrie. She wants to be one of them so bad. So, when they are attacked by a Valkyrie troop from Helheim, she, of course, dives into trouble and accidentally kills one of the Helheim Valkyrie's mares. Which is very frowned upon. Each mare is connected to their Valkyrie, and losing it is devastating (supposedly). But Mariam gets over the loss pretty easily and doesn't really hold any hostility towards Sigrid. The Helheim Valkyries steal a magic stone, but before they do, Sigrid sees a vision of herself riding Sleipnir, a legendary horse. She is determined to claim that fate, so she escapes with Mariam back to Helheim because the horse is in its queen's possession. Conveniently, the queen is her long-lost mother and accepts her with open arms. Sigrid doesn't suspect anything, even though it is very unequivocally stated a few times that “a dark look crossed her face” when Sigrid disagrees with taking over Vanahalla. Wonder what that could be 🤔.

—Elina obviously wanted her to use the army to seize Vanaheim’s throne. Mariam wanted her not to raise it at all. Sigrid only wanted everyone to see it for long enough to decide she was worthy of becoming a Valkyrie.—

So, literally raise an army of the dead just to prove a point? OK.

—“Trust me, Sigrid.” Trust me. Like she hadn’t permanently lost Sigrid’s trust sixteen years ago.—

Yet, here she is. Elina, her mother, tells her she doesn't look like a strong leader, insert the 'girl cuts her hair to be more badass and smears mud on her face' trope.

—Insulting word choice aside, what did the man mean, to claim Vanahalla? What did he think they were going to do?—
—Maybe she’d misunderstood.—

Or, perhaps she's just stupid to not notice the obvious.

—Elina hadn’t denied it. She’d lied this whole time. Who would've thought.—

—“If you want to succeed, you need to put yourself first.” —

Just like she had up until now.

—How could Elina have done this? She claimed to care about Sigrid while sending her friends off to die. She’d promised Sigrid an army as a means to become a Valkyrie, but these warriors were clearly not ready to serve her. —

See? Only to reach her dream of becoming a Valkyrie. Elina turns out to be a power hungry bitch who doesn't give a damn about her. At least she gains a little self awareness when she realizes what's happening. They battle Elina for the eye of Hnitbjorg and Sleipnir, return to Vanaheim and Sigrid finally gets her recognition.

Gah, OK, I didn't hate it. I just felt incredibly stupid reading it. Can you notice where I started to get really annoyed?

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled: Teen for the chance to read this arc! Four out of five stars.

I’ve read Tiana Warner before and she has a certain niche: it’s hard to tell what time her books are set in, with modern language and seemingly-older ideas, technological abilities, and options. While the adjustment was still strange (“Golly” is a…. Weird word to read), I definitely found myself enjoying it as I turned my mind to fit the YA scope.

Though many of the twists were predictable, as a first book in a trilogy, it does an admirable job of leaving the future open and wanting more. I really did like the connection between the protag and her love interest, but even more: the girl and her horse.

if you ever identified as a horse girl, this book is for you. if you ever identified as liking horses, this book is for your teen self!

I absolutely loved this book but I genuinely think it's largely because I'm such a horse girl. I can imagine the world built around horses could be a turn-off for some considering how obsessive the MC is, but I adored it! Shoutout to the editor who changed the title, an absolute cash catch.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher and author in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book!

There were a few slow moments that I had to preserve through but it is definitely worth continuing reading.

The opening is amazing and hooked me immediately. And that last 20% was just an insane ride that had me gripped! I flew through that last 20%!

Sigrid is such a wonderfully developed character and her character arc is amazing to read.

I will admit that whilst this is a sapphic book and I did love the ending for these two, I will say that the romance seemed forced for most of the book. During the last third of the book it flowed more naturally and I loved how it was written. But early on it was clear the author was trying to set up a romance between two people who barely knew each other. It’s when they knew each other better it flowed more naturally and I could route for them as a couple.

I loved this book (particularly the ending and character development) and will definitely be watching out for any future books by the author.

Norse mythology inspired
Enemies to lovers
Animal companions
Forced proximity
Family drama
Sapphic #OwnVoices romance

Sigrid wants nothing more than to be a valkyrie, yet as a stable hand without a winged mare, it can only be a dream. However, during an attack, Sigrid touches the Eye, which shows her a vision — her riding Sleipnir and leading a valkyrie charge — launching her on a journey to claim her destiny no matter the cost.

I enjoyed this YA re-imagination of Norse mythological characters and world into a unique story. Creative liberties with the Norse world and myths reminded me of books published under Rick Riordan Presents umbrella.

Sigrid’s desire for recognition and belonging are relatable. She’s flawed, but driven, and you can’t help but root for her to get what she wants. The development in friendships between Sigrid, Mariam, and Fin was fun to watch, especially since they all come from different backgrounds and need to learn to work together.

The writing in sections irked me and I had to suspend my disbelief a bit (ie. some of the magical aspects seemed a bit out of historical context), but overall I kept coming back to the story to find out what was going to happen next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Entangled Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This was not what I was expecting at all. I just couldn't seem to get into it at all. I might try again at a later date but as of right now it did not make my list of good reads

2.5/5 stars as YA, 4/5 stars as middle grade

Tiana Warner has done an excellent job of writing a unique story within the confines of Norse mythology.

My main problem with this book is that I feel like it’s marketed at the wrong audience. The writing style in this book is very simple. To put it in perspective, I’d say it’s significantly more simple than Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and feels more like a book you’d read while you’re still learning to read. For the writing style alone, I’d firmly place this book in young middle grade – nowhere near close to YA, which is the current marketing. The Valkyrie’s Daughter really feels like a shoe-in for middle-grade, and I worry that this book got bumped up to YA because it contains a queer romance. Middle schoolers deserve to read about queer couples!

While the plot was interesting and held my attention throughout, it was extremely predictable. Again, not something that I’d have a huge problem with were it marketed as middle grade, but something that definitely bothered me when reading it from the perspective of YA.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was very excited to read this book after I read the synopsis and saw the cover. This would be a book that I would see in a store and buy simply for the pretty cover and intriguing synopsis. The storyline is great and the concept behind the book leads you into a story that starts great and somehow declines, picks up again, then declines again. It seemed to be a rollercoaster of events that were just put together in some semblance of order and at times felt slightly disjointed. The characters are somewhat relatable but not fully developed. The world building could have been a bit more detailed. I did feel that the ending was left open to either a sequel, trilogy, or series. I would read a second or third to simply follow along to see how far it could go.

Thanks to Entangled Teen and the author for this NetGalley eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This started off really strong and I loved the depiction of the Norse worlds. The main character, Sigrid, is likeable and I always have a soft spot for any F/F book. However, I just found that as it went on, the stakes were never high enough - I never felt truly scared for the characters or needing to know what happened next. Three stars for me is still a good rating, and that’s because there were lots of things I liked about this, but I think I’ve learned for myself that I need to stay away from YA. If you love YA fantasy and YA queer stories I would 100% recommend this!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

This was pretty good! Sometimes the pacing felt off and a little rushed, but I liked the characters and the mythology. I would recommend giving this a try!

This was a fantastic read, I would sell it to teens as Rick Riordan style mythology meets The Scorpio Races with a kick butt female heroine and LGBTQIA representation. This is perfect for those who want a more grownup or teen option after years of reading Percy Jackson. I can’t wait for more of this series.

The Valkyrie's Daughter
by Tiana Warner
Fantasy Mythology
Middle School
NetGalley ARC

Sigrid is an orphan. As an infant, mysteriously appeared alongside the infant Valkyries, but instead of a winged mare at her crib, a plain horse slept at her feet. If she hadn't been in that nursery, she and her horse would've been considered common, but she was granted the life of a stable hand, there to care for the winged mares of the Valkyries. But her dream was to fly as one of them and protect her lands, and all of the nine realms.

During an attack on her home, Vanaheim, Sigrid touches a seer's stone and sees not the future she imagined, atop of a winged mare, but riding Odin's mythical stallion.

Not a bad story, but it was slow, I had to force myself to read it. It's written in a simple form. Simple words and descriptions, though not bad. The foreshadowing took a lot away from a build-up of action and suspense. Basically, it was as if I read the last few chapters after the first three and then went back to read the rest of the book. I knew what was going to happen so all that was left for the story was what happened to get there.

The characters were developed, though not all of them well. The dark elf Fin(?) seemed to be the only character not completed. Even though he was important to the story, the lack of his development made it feel as if he wasn't important at all, only there in passing. But maybe that's for the next book.

This is the first book of a series, but probably not one I'll continue.

2 Stars

This is the first book I have read by Tiana Warner, but It definatly will not be the last. I read this in one sitting, the story was excellent and I did not want it to end. The detail description of the surroundings and the journey the girls went on, was very descriptive and you could imagine being there alongside them. The explanation of their different backgrounds and how each were left feeling, is great for a certain age of readers also. A thoroughly enjoyable book and highly recommended. I received an early copy of this book, for my unbiased review.

The Valkyrie’s Daughter is an imaginative, fun fantasy story loosely inspired by Norse mythology, with a side of sapphic romance.

Sigrid is a stablehand with a regular horse who longs to be a valkyrie, a female warrior with a winged mare. When she’s caught up in an ambush, she sees a vision of her own destiny: riding past the gates of Hel to retrieve a powerful amulet. To get there, she has to befriend Mariam, an enemy valkyrie.

Although this one is classed by the publisher as Teen/Young Adult, it read quite young to me. I’d put it on the lower age range of YA or maybe even Middle Grade. At first, I found it hard to get into for this reason — it was a bit too straightforward and simply written to draw me in — but once I put myself in the mind of myself as a horse-crazy girl at age 13, I enjoyed The Valkyrie’s Daughter SO very much.

The romance between Sigrid and Mariam is very sweet and well-earned, and I loved the friendships and character growth in this one. The different mythical worlds are fun to experience, and Warner propels the reader between well-plotted action scenes. Warner obviously loves horses and knows a lot about their personalities and care.

At times, the moral of the story and the lessons Sigrid learns are spelled out a bit too obviously, which is part of what makes this book feel young to me. But I enjoyed the time I spent in Sigrid’s world and look forward to a sequel.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for my review copy of this book.

3.5 stars rounded up.
Norse mythology and sapphics? Yes, please!
The Valkyrie's Daughter is a beautifully woven story featuring characters with big dreams, animal companions and action-packed journeys.
I enjoyed following Sigrid's journey and witnessing her personal growth over the course of the story. Her bond with Hestur was beautiful, and I found the slowburn romance very sweet.
I was less fond of the dialogue, which at times felt much too modern for a novel set in a Norse world (some elements of worldbuilding also contributed to that feeling).
While I loved the characters, their development often felt rushed and unsatisfactory, giving the impression that they weren't fully fleshed out.
The ending was satisfactory and wrapped up the story well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Instead of being paired with a winged horse at birth like the other valkyries, Sigrid showed up in the nursery with a plain brown horse from Midgard and no parents to claim her. While her history may bar her from joining the valkyries, it hasn’t stopped her from training in secret. When her home is attacked, Sigrid sees an opportunity to finally prove herself.

This is a fast-paced, action-packed story perfect for readers who love YA, Norse-inspired fantasy, and non-explicit romance. Warner does a great job of capturing sweet but classically awkward teenage first love. The writing is accessible and even though this is a big book, it will fly by.

Thank you to Tiana Warner, Entangled Teen, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings: violence, animal cruelty

I should start this by saying I didn't realise this was YA when I requested it so my expectations were way off from the get go. While the writing was good, I am most definitely not the target audience for this book as it leaned towards the lower age range of YA, perhaps even upper Middle Grade. I would easily recommend this to my much younger self as it was a decent read plus I really liked how inclusive it was and the mythology elements to the story. It wasn't for me however I am giving this four stars as I really think a younger audience would enjoy this book immensel.y.

Buckle up and get ready to charge into a adventurous Sapphic valkyries and Norse Mythology novel filled with descriptive landscapes, enchanting fantasy elements and fierce badass Valkyries.

This book is perfect for you if you enjoy any of the following:
📍Norse Mythology
📍Valkyries
📍Queer MC
📍Underdog story
📍Enemies-to-lovers
📍Animal companions
📍Slow burn romance

We follow Sigrid, an orphan and stable hand who with everything in her wants to become a great Valkyrie. Without a horse her dream seems less likely every day, until one day the Eye reveals to her a vision of who she is to become, hope is sparked and she sets out to fulfill everything she was shown. With a threatening attack on Vanaheim that results in Sigrid killing a mere of an enemy valkyrie. This enemy, Mirriam is tasked to bring Sigrid to Helheim after the incident and Sigrid accompanies her while setting out to fulfill the vision she was given.

The story gave me a lot of Percy Jackson elements which I loved, I also enjoyed the immense growth Sigrid went through as a character. Mirriam was an absolute compassionate sweetheart, and I love the contrast between her and Sigrid and yet how well they fit together. I am also a sucker for a slow burn so this was right up my alley. It was jam packed with beautiful descriptive scenery and adventures and I can honestly say there wasn’t a moment I was bored.
I think my favorite part of the book was Sigrid’s relationship with her horse Hestur and the beautiful bond they shared.


Overall it was a good book, I think I might have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t YA, but as an adult reader I still found it enjoyable enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this ARC.

A Sapphic YA fantasy as described by the author's promotional materials, this book lives up to the claims. There is an awareness if the pitfalls of the tropes used which I appreciated. What the book lacks in refinement, it provides with the Norse mythology references. It's an enjoyable read.

Thank you, Entangled: Teen, for allowing me to read The Valkyrie's Daughter early!

This Norse-mythology-infused sapphic fantasy was definitely a thrilling reading experience, action- and emotion-packed, I loved seeing Sigrid's development and her blossoming feelings for the treacherous Valkyrie Mariam. I will undoubtedly recommend this to students.