Let me start with saying, that I liked this quite a lot, which surprised me, after the initial impression. The first couple of pages were a bit of a drag and I wasn’t quite getting into the story. But I am glad I stuck with it. Once our title heroine, Cerys, is past the arena, it quickly gets better, and I got drawn in.

At its core, this is a typical, tropy “outsider gets into a school setting where she is having to proce herself, overcoming prejudice, winning over the crowd and yes, falling in love too. With saving her sister, her kin & the planet as a cherry on top. And Cerys does this marvelously.

Merrin Slate managed to write a fun novel out of a bunch of old, much used tropes, where the world building is interesting and the heroine, yes is a boss babe, but never feels contrived or annoying (past the arena ^^). The cast of side characters is "likeable" as well, the good and the bad.

Definitely a reading recommendation if you like Sci-Fi, academy settings, outsider underdogs, found family and a bit - yes really just a bit, not the main point of the story - of romance.

They were discriminatory and racist, but she didn’t let any of those issues stop her from becoming a Space Force cadet. Cerys refused to let bitterness take control of her, not even when everyone seemed to be against her. She was a Valkyrie, intelligent, and kind. She wasted no time on others who didn’t like or appreciate her. The constant ridiculing and hatred came to an end after the fatal battle with a fellow team member. Releasing all her pent-up frustrations and hurt through her anger was not the Valkyrie way.
Her team Bravo, the best in the academy, was sent on a death-defying mission, with betrayal tugging fast at their heels. It was an exhilarating, action-filled, intriguing, captivating, exciting, and enjoyable read.

This was a very interesting book, had angels and warriors, and just had a combination of a lot of fantastical things also have some romance had a bit of everything it was fast pacing. The character arc was dead on and I just really enjoyed this authors writing style in general and I would 100% recommend

Cerys: Valkyrie Earth is a thrilling and just all around awesome read.

It takes place in a futuristic version of Earth where humans are genetically modified to be perfect. Those who aren’t modified, are considered to be sub-human and feral and are forced to live in squalor in sequestered cities.

The main character, Cerys, is one of these unaltered humans. She’s this world’s version of a gladiator and fights to earn enough money for herself and her younger sister to survive.

The story really gets started when Cerys makes it into the Space Force Academy, something that rarely happens for unaltered humans. Wanting a better future for both herself and her sister, Cerys leaves everything she knows behind and starts her Space Force training.

This book is action-packed, and just so so smart. The world building was phenomenal – entertaining and well thought out. There’s so much to talk about that I haven’t even gotten into the slow burn romance story line that’s happening in the background, but you’ll love that too!

This is a must read for you if you like the action in Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, or the complexity of the Karen Marie Moning Fever series.

Thank you to Merrin Slade and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2.6/5

Review: This may have been one of the best novels I have read in a long time that was ruined by cliched' YA romance.

Cerys is a Valkyrie who fights to the death in a Feral Refuge. Check. She is tougher than a buffalo's taint and smarter than a swift kick to the privates. She cares for her genius sister and hopes to save enough to leave. So she does, leaving little sister to morph into a rebel in just a matter of months. Riiiight.

Anyhoo, what once was a hardened fighter, with a heart of gold, joins Space Farce and quickly becomes a love-addled hot mess. She has the emotional robustness of a 12 yo evidenced by tantrums over easily worked out situations. She is also a sniffer as she swoons over Jak (Kai), the hunky space man's arm pits. "He smelled of pine wood and leather" etc., etc. She is constantly having tingles race down her back/neck/spine and blushes in various areas. See, Cerys just was not built with depth or complexity.

The other really tiresome series of interactions were the constant derogatory "Feral" comments. Yes, we get it. The priviledged do not like her or her kind. I have an idea. Make the antagonism subtle and the threats almost surreal as to make Cerys question her bias. I mean I have questions surrounding how a really good writer falls into the lowest form of writing. Am I being Gaslighted? Also, make the love boat more like a skiff where she is true to her nature as a gladiator and can take hunky well muscled pine secreting leather boy or leave him (Kai).

This author is obviously talented. Take that wonderful brain you like to tell everyone you have and stop borrowing on a patterned genre. Make up your own romantic interchanges. Build characters that do not rely on the juvenile and build some character depth. I am all for YA/Romance if you make it unique as to rise above all the constant shjt that gets trotted out.

Just what I needed! A sweet H with unusual features, interesting plot line and steamy scenes. Chemistry between the H and h are palpable and very satisfying to see them have their HEA. Recommend this highly!