Originally posted on Just Geeking by.


Content warnings:
There is a death of a horse and some moments where horses are handled badly, bordering on being mistreated.

I have always been drawn to books based on mythology and folklore, and the gorgeous cover for The Helheim Princess drew me in just as much as the title did. I’ve become quite familiar with the goddess Hel and Helheim through various fictional interpretations, and I was curious to see what this one was like!

I wanted to like this book more than I did because it has a beautiful sapphic love story, some great characters, and wonderful Norse world-building, but the sad reality is that it is chock-full of YA tropes. The first problem straight out of the gate is that the title and the synopsis gives the plot away immediately. You’re probably thinking, hold on a second, The Helheim Princess is for teen readers, and you’re a thirty-something year old woman. Of course, it seems obvious to you! Sorry, but teenagers aren’t idiots. This novel is listed as being for 12 to 17-year-olds on Amazon, and while I can see readers of the younger end of that age bracket not piecing things together, I can tell you from experience that older teens definitely will.

Despite the predictable plot, The Helheim Princess was an enjoyable read. I feel that it suffered from what I call ‘first book syndrome’, where the author sticks to a very basic plot to get the protagonist’s original story out and get them in position for book two. In this book, Sigrid finds out who she is, follows her destiny and decides who she wants to be, while falling in love, making friends and learning a few hard lessons along the way. It is a very typical coming of age story, so what made The Helheim Princess different enough for me to give it a decent rating? Well, that would be the world-building.

Warner has created a unique and magical interpretation of Norse mythology and the nine worlds, and offers an insight into her creative process at the end of the book. It was interesting to see where her path took her from original sources and academic texts as she explained how one of the few two sources we have of Norse folklore was written by a Christian, and the other, a primary source, is filled with gaps. The world she has created in The Helheim Princess is her interpretation of these sources and an attempt to fill in some of the gaps, creatively. The result is a fantastic world where baby Valkyries are born at the exact same time as a winged mare, rather than them being the traditional “chooser of the slain”. Instead, they are guardians, warriors who protect the nine realms. For the most part, the nine realms are the same, with a few changes here and there.

This is also a book for horse lovers. Warner is a lifelong rider, and it shows in every scene. She brings all that experience to provide authentic, fast-paced action scenes with the horses, and they are probably the best I’ve seen in a fantasy novel.

An easy read with lovely characters and a great romance, The Helheim Princess might not have scored high for me as an individual book, however it definitely put The Helheim Prophecy series, and it’s author Tiana Warner on my radar. I’ll certainly be keeping my eye out for book two because I want to see where Sigrid and Mariam’s story goes, and spend more time in the world Warner has created.


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TW/CW: Fantasy violence, child abandonment, scary sequences

RATING: 2/5

REVIEW: The Valkyrie’s Daughter is the story of Sigrid, an orphan and stable girl who dreams of joining the Valkyries. When her town is attacked and she accidentally sees a prophecy, she heads off on her way to find her cosmic destiny.

This book was disappointing to me. It sounded so good from the description, but the book and story did not really deliver. Sigrid was a terribly annoying character who didn’t change at all and never really saw her mistakes as what they were. Her relationship with Mariam came out of nowhere and was a sort of ‘instaship’. Her training with her mother – which was so important – was only five days, a ridiculously short time for a training montage. There was really no tension in the book…something would start to build and it would resolve itself way too fast. I couldn’t find connection with any of the characters. And if the author referred to cheeks as ‘apples’ one more time I was going to throw the book across the room.

This is one of those books that is all the more maddening because it had the potential to be good. The writing wasn’t bad. The characters had the potential to be interesting (even though they really didn’t end up being that way). There were some parts of the mythology that were also interesting, but we really didn’t get into them.

This was not a book I’d recommend. ( )

Ok, so I really enjoyed the Norse mythology aspect of it and the story line that went with it. It was the characters that I couldn't take. Sigrid and Mariam, our protagonists and their feeling for one another....it was just such a good story, well written, until you get to the romance budding between these two young girls. It felt very middle schoolish and immature. all the talk about fluttering hearts etc., were just really cringe worthy in my opinion. It was super awkward and I just skipped past those parts. It made the characters lack depth and I felt no real connection to them. I will though probably try the next book because I did enjoy the mythos in the story. Perhaps the romance will mature better in the next book. ( )

Need a little excitement in your life? Try this YA LGBTQ fantasy. Read my full review here. ( )

I thought that this was really good! I thought that the book sounded interesting and I was right. I was pulled into this story right away and was always eager to get back to the story. The characters were very likable, the story was entertaining, and the mythology added a lot. I am so glad that I decided to give this one a try.

Sigrid is a stable hand in Vanaheim. She lives in the stable with her horse, Hestur. What she really wants is to be a valkyrie but she has a regular horse instead of the winged mare of the valkyries. It turns out that she may not be quite as ordinary as she thought. When Vanaheim is attacked by an outside group, Sigrid jumps into action and sees her destiny. She will end up on the adventure of her life with friends she didn’t know she had.

I thought that this book was very exciting. There was plenty of action worked into the story which kept me glued to the pages. I really liked the mythology that was worked into this story and loved seeing Sigrid and her friends facing some impossible situations. I liked Sigrid, Mariam, and Fisk and really liked seeing their relationships grow and change over the course of the story. The horses were fully developed characters and I liked what they added to the story.

I would recommend this book. I really enjoyed reading this book and couldn’t wait to see how things would work out. I am looking forward to reading more of this series just as soon as I can.

I received a review copy of this book from Entangled Teen via NetGalley. ( )