Early Review – The Helheim Princess (The Helheim Prophecy, Book 1) by Tiana Warner (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Release Date: January 4, 2022
ISBN-13: 978-1649371485
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Helheim Prophecy
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 3/5 stars
“For as long as Sigrid could remember, she’s wanted to become a mighty, fearless valkyrie. But without a winged mare, she’s a mere stable hand, left wondering who her parents were and why she’s so different. So when the Eye shows her a vision where she’s leading a valkyrie charge on the legendary eight-legged horse Sleipnir, she grabs the possibility of this greater destiny with both hands, refusing to let go.
Too bad that the only one who can help her get there is Mariam, an enemy valkyrie who begrudgingly agrees to lead her to Helheim but who certainly can’t be trusted―even if she does make Sigrid more than a little flustered. As they cross the nine worlds, battling night elves, riding sea serpents, and hurtling into fire to learn the truth about Sigrid’s birthright, an unexpected but powerful bond forms.
As her feelings for Mariam deepen into something fiery and undeniable, Fate has other plans for Sigrid. What happens when the one thing you think you were meant to do might end the nine worlds?”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Helheim Prophecy series. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.
Thoughts: I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. The writing style was just too simple for me and the characters acted way too immature. I felt like I was reading a mediocre middle grade fantasy novel.
Despite my general lack of enthusiasm for this book there were some things I did enjoy. I enjoyed the Norse mythology background and how the different worlds of this mythology were explored. I also enjoyed Sigrid’s closeness to her horse and some of the training they did. The two horses in here were the best characters in the book.
Now on to the things I didn’t enjoy. Not a lot happens early on, it took 25% of the way through before things really got moving. The characters lacked depth. Sigrid in particular is incredibly immature and naïve and makes a lot of very selfish, questionable decisions throughout the book; I found her frustrating. The writing here was very simple, not a lot of description or introspection. It was hard to picture the settings and hard to engage with these very 2D characters. Lastly the dialogue was stiff and didn’t flow well, it sounded really awkward.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this was a fairly quick read for me, but I struggled to stay engaged with the story. Aside from the Norse mythology setting, there wasn’t much here I enjoyed. The main issue in this book is wrapped up nicely and things are set up for the next book without a huge cliffhanger so I do appreciate that. However, I really disliked the simplicity of the writing style and how immature the characters were. I won’t be reading anymore of this series or picking up any more books by Warner.