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ezwolf's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Sexism, Abandonment, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying
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