I gave feedback in Nov 2021 when it was named The Helheim Princess but it must have been erased when the title changed names.

This was a quick read and super enjoyable! Though this book seemed targeted for teens (I’m in my upper 20s), it was easy to get lost in the story and the pages seemed to fly by. I honestly wish I read this book in high school.

The characters are flawed and relatable and the MC’s strength and resiliency is inspiring. The horses were by far my favorite characters. I loved how the author was able to show the horses’ personalities even without dialogue.

The descriptions of the worlds had a good amount of detail and the author was able to portray the atmospheres of each scene so that you could feel like you were there.

The slow burn love side story is just intense enough to hold interest but not ✨spicy✨ so it’s definitely appropriate for younger readers.

The only negative opinion I have about this book is the chapter titles. The titles often gave away what was going to happen so I ended up trying not to read them to avoid spoilers.

This book could definitely be a standalone book but I’m excited to read more about this universe in the following books and the author’s take on Norse mythology.

Side note: I now have an urgent need to take up horseback riding

3.5

Norse mythology? Valkyrie? Night elves? Flying horses? An LGBTQIA+ romance? The Valkyrie’s Daughter by Tiana Warner had everything I wanted, and I WANTED TO LOVE IT SO BAD. But it just didn’t connect with me — not the pacing, not the writing, not Sigrid or any of the other characters. And I really wanted to love it?? But it really (tragically) wasn’t my thing.

While I didn’t finish The Valkyrie’s Daughter, I hope that, if the synopsis/aesthetic/concept resonates with you, you still check it out. Who knows? This might just become your next favorite read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to Entangled Teen for a e-arc copy to read and review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure with Sigrid and Hestur. There are Valkyries, Night Elves, Royalty and Gods all wrapped up in this quick paced adventure. This is an underdog story, and who doesn't love an underdog.

I loved all the worlds, and world building and definitely recommend.

The Valkyrie’s Daughter (weird title change since from what I remember she is not the daughter of a Valkyrie) is a sapphic fantasy novel inspired by Nordic mythology. It is categorized as YA which I think is not entirely accurate. Sure the it has all the outward characteristics of a YA novel (including a 16 year old protagonist) but it honestly reads more like a middle-grade book. Which is in no way a bad thing, I just think it’s worthy of note. I also think the old cover (while beautiful) was also aiding in that, it made me expect a way more adult story.
But enough of the formalities, how was the book? Really good! I did enjoy it a lot. The first half is a little stronger than the second but the whole thing is rather entertaining.
I do like all the main characters, Sigrid especially. She’s likable without being a pushover, makes mistakes but acknowledges them and feels true to her age (16).
I also really like the relationship between her and Mariam. It didn’t feel rushed and was very cute, exited to see how they continue from here. Although I think the romance aspect of this book is not as extensive as the synopsis and marketing make it seem.
The plot is fine. It’s a little formulaic which might annoy some readers although I don’t really mind. What I did mind is something I always hate in books: All the female characters other than our protagonist and the love interest are catty, condescending, and jealous. It’s not quite ‘Not like other Girls’ territory because Sigrid doesn’t look down on them but it’s still noticeable. It’s just not something I enjoy, and I think this trope can do real harm to young readers when they see it in a lot of books.

I feel in love with this story instantly. I'm sucker for mythology and this book was perfect. Even if you're not a fan of mythology, this book is wwwaaaay to live and you won't want to put it down

2.5 stars.

It's interesting, but nothing special. This is another one of your typical YA fantasy books. A strong female protagonist, who is strong willed. It is enjoyable to read, a quick read, but no longer what I look for in books. I would a 100% recommend this to a younger reader getting into the Fantasy genre.

I have not read much Norse Myth but I want to! This story starts with Sigrid who is a stable hand for the winged horses. The strange thing is that most girls are BORN with a matched winged horse but Sigrid was born with a Midgard Mare. So she can't fly and train with the ither girls, she has to clean their tack instead. I loved traveling thru the Norse Worlds from Vanaheim to Helheim and the Gaint Snake Jorgumnundso and Garvir the dog that gaurds the underworld. Sigrid was a great character that grows and shows true spunk! Great read. I read The Witch's Heart previous to this and it helped a lot with the words and names of Norse characters!

First off, let me just say that I adore this new cover & title! I read this book when it was called the Helheim Princess, but I think current this title sounds so much better. I know that it's awful to judge books by their cover, but I can't help doing it (internally!) sometimes. It's not a deal-breaker for me, but I really hate it when book covers have a picture of a real person on them. The new cover is absolutely stunning and if I were walking through Barnes and Noble it would definitely pique my interest enough to pick it up.

I love books based on any type of mythology, so I was so excited to read this one since I haven't read anything based on Norse folklore before. I really wanted to dive into this world, and The Valkyrie's Daughter did NOT disappoint.

The main character, Sigrid, was so easy to fall in love with, and I empathized with her struggles (always love an underdog!). Throughout the course of the book, she goes through an extremely well-written journey of self-discovery and transition that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about. I loved her bond with Hestur — it was such a great example of the lasting friendships that humans can form with animals.

The romance was also adorable, but I'll admit that it was kind of forgettable too. I understand that the focus of the book wasn't on the love story, but I would have liked a little more of it.

It was definitely a slower start than I would have liked, but the pace did pick up once I got a little way in. I also didn't like the writing at times — some of the dialogue felt awkward and stilted like it was just there to move the story along.

Excited to see what happens next in the series!

The Valkyrie's Daughter was a fun Norse fantasy. It's written more like an urban fantasy than high fantasy so it would be great for younger teens or a starter high fantasy. It features a f/f romance, adventure, Norse mythology and warrior girls.

In other news I guess this one has been updated. New title, new cover, and a new release date. Well this one may not be coming out until May now but I am doing my review now. This was a cute norse story. This horse loving girl was all in a flutter with this story of a girl who bonded with a regular horse. I loved the mythology and the story and the characters and I can't wait for book two.

Thank you Entangled teen for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Please be warned this review contains spoilers.

This book started so promising. I was captivated by Sigrid and Hesteur and Sigrid's longing to be a Valkyrie. I loved how determined Sigrid was, doing everything in her power to train and fight like a Valkyrie even on the ground.
About half way through, when Sigrid goes to Helheim, is where my interest fell flat. So far the plot had been decent, there were cute moments between Sigrid and Mariam and even a couple scenes that made me laugh. The dialogue became quite confusing when they group reached Helheim, especially between Mariam and Sigrid when they were arguing outside the gates. It felt like things not even related to the conversation were being brought up and it went in very lopsided circles.

When we find out Sigrid is Elina's daughter, that did surprise me. I was disappointed in how fast their relationship went forward and it just felt extremely unrealistic even in a fantasy book. Elina's "betrayal" ( if you can even call it that, Elina literally said what she wanted to do from the beginning ) bored me. After that point in the book is where I got very close to DNFing. Some of the action sequences were decent, but the plot quickly deescalated.
One of the only aspect's I enjoyed at the end of the book was that Sigrid didn't become a full Valkyrie, staying with Hesteur and doing Valkyrie work on the ground.

Overrall it wasn't the worst book I've read but certainly not the best. If the plot was paced better and the dialogue made more sense near the end, I would've bumped this to a 4, perhaps even a 5 star read.

This book is a beautiful, easy flowing story about an underdog and a sapphic enemies to lovers.

It follows Sigrid as she attempts to discover more about herself, her past and her future. Using Norse mythology as inspiration, a beautiful world is developed and the interactions between our main characters and the worlds around them is easily discovered and understood.

This story is about Sigrid discovering her place in the world, coming to love and cherish what she already has while embracing something a little new for her. The chapters flow easily and the entire story makes you want to continue reading.

I cannot wait for more of Sigrid's stories.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4446750841

The Helheim Princess by Tiana Warner tells the story of Sigrid, a young stablehand in Vanaheim who dreams of joining the Valkyries, female warriors from Norse mythology who rode winged horses into battle. Sigrid is bonded to a non-winged horse and is therefore relegated to watching the Valkyries in training from the sidelines. When Sigrid is shown a vision in which she achieves her destiny as a Valkyrie, she leaves the safety of Vanaheim in search of that brighter future.

I was interested in reading this book because I am a huge fan of mythology. I grew up reading the Percy Jackson books and read the more recent Magnus Chase series, which is also based on Norse mythology. I liked how well the book explains Norse elements to readers who might be unfamiliar without taking time away from the plot.

My main critique of this book is that the beginning of the novel is quite slow. I normally don’t mind it when novels start slower, since it is often the result of worldbuilding which is generally vital to my enjoyment of a novel. However, the beginning of this novel is somewhat repetitive and I thought it could have been condensed. I enjoyed the novel much more once the plot picked up a third of the way through.

The novel also had an interesting enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance. Initially, I found the romance to be a bit forced. Yet, as the novel continued I appreciated its progression.

Overall, I thought this novel improved as it went along. Although it was definitely hard to get into, I found the later plot entertaining and the ending satisfying.

I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was spot on, and I loved the character's depths and how they interacted with everyone. It was such a fast, fun read, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get lost in a great story for a while! I love Norse mythology, and this definitely scratched my itch for a good book that included it.

“You’re the most talented rider I’ve ever seen, stable girl.” Mariam nudged her and smiled. “Yggdrasil threw you the most powerful horse to ever exist. Now what are you going to do with him?”

Sigrid had dreamed of being a Valkyrie since she was a little girl, but that dream would always be just out of reach since her bonded horse Hestur has no wings. After seeing a prophecy where she is riding one of the most legendary horses of all time, Sleipnir, Sigrid resolves to take fate into her own hands. Readers who pick up Tiana Warner’s The Helheim Princess can expect great characters, lots of action, and an exciting story inspired by norse myth.

As a fan of Norse mythology, I absolutely had to read this book after seeing the blurb. I appreciated how the author brought in some more obscure figures from the myths (like Ratatosk) instead of just focusing on the most popular ones like Loki or Odin or Thor. It’s always a lot of fun to be surprised by a story, and Ms. Warner did exactly that. Her slight changes to the versions of the myths that I’m familiar with served the story well, and it still honored the heart of the tales.

I’m a sucker for an underdog story, and Tiana is the type of character who just makes you want to root for her. I wanted her to prove all the stuck up Valkyries wrong from the very first page. You don’t need a flying horse to be a badass female warrior. Hestur is awesome and he’s the fastest horse on land (outside of Sleipnir) even without wings. I really enjoyed her journey and the character development over the course of the story.

For those in search of books with more diverse characters, the culture of The Helheim Princess is very LGBTQ friendly (the author is part of the community too). Sigrid is queer/lesbian (her love interest is a girl) and its quite common for Valkyries to have wives. The relationship between Sigrid and Mariam is a very sweet sapphic romance suitable for young adult readers.

Altogether, The Helheim Princess by Tiana Warner is an exciting, action packed, sapphic young adult fantasy romance. I would happily recommend it to fans of mythology or those who love reading stories with strong female lead characters. Can’t wait to read the next book in The Helheim Prophecy series, and find out what’s next for Sigrid.

Thank you to the author, Entangled Teen and NetGalley for allowing me to read an early copy of the book at no cost to myself. I appreciate the opportunity immensely! Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed The Helheim Princess. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.

I have major mixed feelings about this book. ‘The Helheim Princess’ at first glance looks to be a YA fantasy based on Norse Mythology, specifically Valkyries. I was very disappointed in the lack of actual Norse Mythology in the book, we see not a single Norse God and they are barley even mentioned. Now it’s always a challenge to take something such as Norse Mythology and turn it into its own unique world but this just didn’t hit the spot of a Norse Mythology based story. The lack of Viking influence is also noticeable, mentioned a few times, but still very lacking.

While the plot, world and story themselves are nice, I could not connect with a single character. The pace of the book itself was annoying, sometimes too slow and stayed on one single topic for chapters and then other times it seemed too fast and had full battles within a few short chapters. All in all it left me without much motivation to finish, I only did finish for the plot. The plottwists were unexpected yet in a way that after you reach them you realize you should’ve expected it. The romance felt a little forced in the beginning but by the end seemed to be a viable point of the plot- when the main character is forced to choose between the love interests and taking down the villain.

One of the things I absolutely adored about this book is the amount of details when it came to the horses (and Pegasi.) I didn’t found out until after finishing the book that the author is in fact an equestrian, much like myself. I’ve never once read a book with this intense amount of details- from in the saddle training to simple things like cleaning hooves. The author did a great job of incorporating every little horse based detail but in a way that it’s easy to understand to a non-horse person. All in all, really enjoyable.

I do want to note that I did enjoy this book, while it was difficult to continue in some parts it is an enjoyable novel if you enjoy Norse Mythology inspired novels.

First off, the idea of Valkyrie is what brought me in but this love story is the best thing to come out of this story. The instant chemistry between the characters and their journey with finding themselves is incredible. It feels like we are just touching the surface of this world and there is so much more to explore so I am hoping this book will continue into a series! 5⭐️

This book was a wonderful surprise! I loved the main character, Sigrid. She was so relatable throughout the entire story. She was thoughtful, had complex feelings and relationships, and learned from her mistakes. The supporting characters were also well-drawn and gave the story depth and humor. I would definitely read more books by this author and I will be recommending this book to students who enjoy adventure and fantasy books.

It was okay. I love Norse Mythology and I like what the author did with it in particular the setting and the characters. But everything else just fell a little flat for me; the plot and the dialog especially. I almost DNFed it but powered on because I hoped the ending was going to be worth it and not quite. I don't think I'll be reading the next book in the series.

Sigrid, whose origin is a mystery, wished to be a Valkyrie instead of a stable hand. A vision of her riding legendary eight legged horse Sleipner has her joining forces with an enemy valkyrie, Mariam, to fulfill her destiny.

The protagonist with her gung ho attitude is instantly likeable. Stories of an underdog triumphing are some of my favorites. I love to root for the underdog. Norse mythology is also a favorite especially if it's not 'heavily' written. This has a so readable you gobble it up temperament. Characters that were unexpectedly amusing brought it closer to my booklover heart.

The attention-stealing narrative comes alive with vivid descriptions along with heart-pounding action, and is peppered with smirk-worthy humor. The imagery is so clear with the wonderful way the author describes everything. We have a great aspect of what is going on even though the story is told only from Sigrid's POV. Enemies working together is always fun, even more when they start having feelings for each other. Their encounters are humorous and full of snark. The emotions are well presented.

When the vision doesn't lead us where you think it will the metaphorical ground shifts and the route of the story changes. Truth is the reasoning given at the reveal was a little underwhelming, as was the way it was conveyed, plus unexplained things put flaws in the integrity of the story. It sort of drags there. Also, there is a bit of repetitiveness in some of the dialogue and thoughts. I was not feeling the new character. Then the story gets back on track, back to things that got you enamored with it in the first place.

Makes you think on how much you believe in destiny and the whatnot. Also that anyone can do great things. You can feel your worth no matter what others do or say.

There is influence from Norse mythology but the author is gifting us with her own story and the creativity is abundant. An entertaining and exciting beginning to a new series.