Tiana WarnerCritiques

3.75
A sweet and chilly second chance Sapphic romance with plenty of cute dogs.

Getting dumped before a trip is the worst, but Avery decides to go the Yukon anyway only for her ex-girlfriend Summer to show up as one of the other guests at the lodge.

I love the setting. The Yukon adventure was really neat, and I loved a lot of the personal growth Avery experienced. She seemed to be stuck in a spiral, which is realistic, but it was kind of repetitive to read. A lot of the conflict focused on Summer's issues which was a little weird since the entire book is from Avery's POV. I know it's a romance, but I didn't love that Avery decided one thing then immediately went the other way with it. Overall, it's a cute holiday read.

This was really good! This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book so you will definitely want to read the series in order. Sigrid is such a great character and she has a lot of overwhelming situations to deal with in this book and I couldn’t wait to see what she would do next. The story was really exciting with a ton of action to keep the pages turning. I am so glad that I found this entertaining YA series.

Things have changed dramatically for Sigrid since the previous book in the series. She is back home and has brought her friends Mariam and Fisk after a quick quest to rescue Ratatosk. Things change quickly when her aunt is crowned queen and asks Sigrid to move into the palace. Before long, they are under attack and Sigrid becomes a leader, along with the war horse Sleipnir. Unfortunately, they will have a lot of challenges to face before the story draws to a close.

Sigrid and the other characters go through so many things in this installment. I feel like Sigrid showed a lot of growth over the course of this story. I was thrilled by the progress in Sigrid and Mariam’s relationship and was pleased to find a few other romances sprinkled around the supporting cast of characters.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I thought that this book brought the story to a satisfying conclusion but left the door open for future installments. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up more of this entertaining series.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Entangled: Teen.

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.

I have loved what I have read from Tiana Warner, so when I saw The Helheim Princess, I had to have it. I love myths and legends and reading books that stretch my imagination.

‘Sigrid urged Hestur to a gallop….’ and their mad dash to Vanaheim and back had me cracking up. I’ll leave it to you to find out why, but with a start like that, I feel good about the rest of the story.

Sigrid has no memory of her family and she is bullied by the Valkyries. She wants so much to be one of them, but so many things work against her. Valkyries have magical horses and Hestur is not magical, or white and gorgeous. He is brown, ordinary looking, but as fast as the wind. She trains in secret…and it will come in handy.

Dire wolves. Night elves. Helheim…the land of the dead.

On Sigrid’s quest for her destiny, she will be used and betrayed, but she will also find the most loyal friends and her place in the world.

Tiana Warner’s creative world building had me lost in the fantasy. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey, and I thoroughly enjoyed traveling with Sigrid and her friends. The characters are fleshed out, growing and changing.

I couldn’t put it down long enough to take many notes. I was captivated with the vividly created world, fabulous characters and an adventure filled with surprise and danger. I love when I don’t always know where I am going, but enjoy the time it takes to get there.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Helheim Princess by Tiana Warner.

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I enjoyed this book. I loved the world-building and though the mermaids were interesting. I also thought it had a fantastic villain, and an intriguing plot. However, I was disappointed in the romance, and I never connected with any of the characters. Overall, I would recommend if you like mermaids.

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.

AHHHHH mermaids and girls in love and friendship and I love these fucking books so much!!!

ohhh, i don't know how to properly explain my love for this trilogy. i think the best compliment that i can offer, is that i've never been more grateful that 10 year old me will get to grow up to read this one day. (i mean, i'm an adult now and i already read it... etc. but it's a metaphor or whatever, you get what i'm saying).

10 year old me loved mermaids. so does 28 year old me. but neither of us ever thought we'd get to read a story about two mermaids falling in love and having an adventure. one that makes no big deal about that queerness. it's just another part of the girls who are having an adventure and saving the world. it's important, because it's a part of them, but it's not the only thing the story revolves around. and it's doesn't end in tragedy. 10 year old me never could have imagined that, because she didn't see any other girls like her in anything she was reading, she had no idea for years that it was even a possibility. but now, after slogging through hundreds of stories revolving around that queerness (which, we're important and formative for different reasons) it's just... so lovely to be able to get to read an epic story of sea adventure, mermaids, warriors, power struggles, coming of age, all wrapped up in a beautiful love story between two girls.

10 year old me got a mermaid love story, and for that, she is innately grateful.

STAR CROSSED LESBIAN MERMAID LADY FRIENDSHIP WARRIORS LOVE STORY!!!! i've never needed or wanted anything more in my whole damn life.

The second in the trilogy about mermaids and humans feuding, this time with two point of views. Both Lysi & Meela have parts of their story told. If I recall correctly, the book alternates chapters.

With both point of views, the undersea world - and their conflicts; and the above sea world, and their conflicts, are explored.

heh, I've had about 20 to 30 ideas pop in and out of my brain as to what I could write here.

Well, let's see. Book goes more in depth as to the nature of both the human and merpeople. The two main characters continue to spend most of the story apart from each other. Good characterization. Good story. Still no clue where this island is supposed to be located.

Rating: 4.35

March 15 2021½

I've had an odd run late. I've just completed six young adult books in a row (not that I put them on that shelf, for various reasons), and the work before that was from the point of view of a cat. *shrugs*

I'm vaguely curious if anyone who tried this book, and/or everyone who read this book can immediately pinpoint where this book took place. Because it does take place on Earth. A fairly modern one at that.

There was a vaguely Hawaiian vibe to the islands, though it was supposed to be close-ish to Alaska (I think?), but not part of the Aleutian Islands, since that is described as a separate set of islands. Water was cold, but that doesn't really mean anything . . . much; no glaciers or mention of snow . . .. eh, whatever.

Right, so . . . as I mentioned, the action that takes place in this book takes place on an Earth that has things like Alaska, the United States of America, the Aleutian Islands, a Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic ocean; cars, helicopters, etc. That's the basic setting. More or less. Earth. Specifically the Pacific Ocean, some islands in the Pacific Ocean and the pacific ocean itself.

Who does it involve? Dark-skinned humans. Pale-skinned Mermaids. Merman. Various types of sharkes, Orcas, whales, dolphins. Specifically the interaction of a group of humans from a specific island, and the merpeople, and the war they are fighting.

Roughly thirty years ago, the merpeople arrived. Started taking a lot of fish. Which is important, because the people of a specific island make their living from fishing. And, so, naturally the humans set out on a mission of genocide. They were going to wipe out the invasive species, the 'sea-demons', the mermaids. So, each year, they send out a ship with 20 warriors on it. And the go about killing the sea-demons. There are years where 500+ 'sea-demons' are slaughtered. But before people get a particularly wrong idea, most years, especially the more recent years, the slaughtered tend to be the humans. And many a year anywhere between zero to . . . 3 to 7 of the humans return. Most often zero.

This is not a world where 'mermaids' or 'merman' or the like is a foreign concept/word/etc. So this is not like a world that has, basically, vampires but call them something else like Grasalt. No, there be mermaids, and the people here call them that. On the other hand, almost no one sees the merpeople as an intelligent sapient species. They see them as sea monsters. In the same way they would see an especially large and vicious shark as a sea monster.

The book opens with the star of the show, Meela (18 years old I believe), on the night before her group of warriors is to go out on their Massacre. The book is entirely from her point of view. The next chapter, and for a little bit thereafter, the book goes back to when Meela roughly 10 or so. Fills in some of the backstory, adds some information about Meela and the mermaids, and shows Meela's first meeting with one - with a mermaid. One roughly her own age, named Lysi. Despite a long time war, Lysi & Meela become best friends.

Once the flash back part is over, we are back to the 'present time' with Meela about to go off to war, as part of a ship of 20 warriors.

Quite interesting story. Lots of stuff happen. War, bloodshed, lots of water....

Rating: 4.25

March 15 2021½

I enjoyed this book overall but I'll have to admit that I preferred the first in terms of pacing and story. I found the alternating perspectives a little disorienting at times since Lysi's is more action-paced than Meela's. I liked the ending too and it made much sense why it happened.

I really enjoyed this one! I found the first couple of chapters fairly slow but the pace sped up quickly after and there was a lot of action which I liked. This is a book about how a childhood friendship between a human, Meela and Lysi takes a bad turn even though it was neither of their faults. A couple years pass and they meet again in an unexpected situation and STUFF happens and I won't reveal too much or it'll take away the experience from the book but don't worry its worth it ;)

WHY did it take me so long to read this? Spoiler alert: I’m a dumbass, that’s why.

Not to be dramatic but this was everything I could have hoped it to be? I was wanting a gruesome violent mermaid horror novel with lots of death and a mermaid hunter in love with a mermaid and oh boy did it deliver. If you love mermaids as a concept but want something a bit darker than what a lot of mermaid fiction has to offer, this is a good choice (especially if you want it to be gay).

Pretty good. The Lord of the Flies scenario at sea is pretty well done.

There are some continuity issues though, for example: “You’re missing the point. I said I’d free her, but I never said I’d hand her over.” Even though she literally said it would be Adaro's.

Still, solid overall.

The writing is fine, but I didn't like the sudden addition of new characters, or the departure from a very focused, interpersonal story to the sprawling war narrative

8/7/17: CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP! Great quality for a first audiobook. Though the narrator pronounces a few names differently than I did in my head. I can't wait to listen to Ice Crypt
2/21/17: I LOVE IT JUST AS MUCH (or more) THAN I DID BEFOREEEEEEE

Inital reaction: Oh my ding dang why is this over? THAT LAST LINE. UGH I CANT TAKE IT! A well thought out and organized and not crazy fangirling review to come!

Full review: *I was given a copy by NetGalley in return for an honest review*
So, I’ve been searching for a perfect mermaid book since the dawn of time and none ever meet my expectations, but Tiana Warner did it! This is a classic warrior-falls-for-the-enemy book, but it’s so much more than that. We have a bad ass female POC warrior falling for a beautiful, pale skinned mermaid. IT’S PERFECT! And what’s more perfect is that Meela doesn’t quite understand it until the very end, but she never fights her feelings for Lysi (mermaid).

The only issues I had was the “love interest” male character who confesses his love, quite unexpectedly, in chapter one, but Meela wants nothing of it. Another review I read called him the “Gale character,” and I agree with that comparison. Thankfully, it’s clear that Meela isn’t interested and that she only loves him as a brother, at most.

The other issue was WHY DO MAIN CHARACTERS REFUSE TO EXPLAIN THEMSELVES! That frustrates me to no end. There are so many things that could be solved with a simple explanation. Yeah, I know they aren’t real and that the author wrote them that way, but think how a story could come out if everyone was on the same page for once! But I digress.

Okay, so, a million thumbs up for (nearly all) native POC characters. Another million for nearly ALL women characters who can fend for themselves (actually they take over for men soooo...). I love that there’s an interracial/species, lesbian relationship budding and I want to gush so much!

Warner’s take on mermaids is so refreshing after reading so many trope-y mermaid books. Of course, Warner’s mermaids are beautiful and like to lure men to their deaths, but they’re not so pretty underneath. When these mermaids feel threatened, they turn to a seaweed-y green color, their teeth sharpen, and their eyes (the whole eye) turns blood red. Oh, and they also eat human flesh.

I enjoyed seeing the budding friendship between Meela and Lysi as children and how they reconnected under the worst circumstances as new adults. I loved seeing the development of the single novel, and then seeing where the series would go.

I was sad when people died, and mad when certain ones didn’t. I was pining for Lysi right along side Meela, feeling her betrayal and her love for her. I’m still pining for her...

I love this book so much and I’m so excited that the sequel, Ice Crypt comes out in 3 days (which I also pre-ordered)! The cover is beautiful, her writing is beautiful, the world is cold, and vivid, but also beautiful. This whole book is wonderful. Now, to bide my time until I get my hands on the next one. *rubs hands together menacingly*

Brb crying. I’m going to miss my girls

Oh my. I couldn't wish for anything better. Please tell me there'll be more?

Oh my. Oh my. I can’t. I can’t handle this book. I think I may explode, seriously. I need more. Anyway, I’ll try to contain the fangirling.

I started this book right after I finished the first, Ice Massacre. Unfortunately, I fell into a reading slump and it took me a month to read it, though I read the bulk of it over this last week, I left it sitting at 22% completed. I don’t know if I wish I had finished it sooner, or if I had yet to finish. I desperately didn’t want to leave this world. Though it’s cold and wet, I’m missing it already.

I had a feeling before I started this that Warner would be doing chapter character switches. With the whole first book from Meela’s point of view and knowing little of the merfolk’s world, how would the second work? Well, character shifts. At first I was just a teeny bit disappointed, but reason and logic took over and I knew there was no way this book would work without knowing Lysi’s side.

Throughout this book, Warner subconsciously challenges the attitudes toward women and LGBTQA people. Things like: “So you’re willing to send a girl out to fight for our people... but you’re not willing to listen to what she has to say?” “You’re training us to fight this war because it’s the only way to battle the sea demons, but you won’t take us seriously,” and,” In a perfect world, I would tell her I’d fallen in love years ago. I’d tell her love looked like sapphire blue eyes and coppery blonde hair and smooth, ivory skin. But I couldn’t. Not in this world.” Quotes like this stood out to me all over, but they weren’t in-your-face, as they sometimes can be.

I love that the merfolk count days as “tydecycles,” and that we get the origin of the term “sea demons,” and the history of Eriana Kwai. (Also, I’m glad there’s a map in the back because I kept trying to Google where Eriana would be, but it wasn’t working.

---I had a whole bunch of stuff about Meela, Lysi, Tannu, and Dani here, but my browser closed and I don’t remember what I said...---

I want to point out that I love the battle and action scenes. They’re very clean and concise, but really effective. I loved seeing a mermaid transformation. Seeing that it’s slow and somewhat painful and not magical and instantaneous. I also really loved Warner’s writing when it comes to expressing emotions. It comes across so raw and real. I truly cannot wait to read more from her.

So, I decided this time to highlight every love-thought in pink so I could find them better. Needless to say, there’s a lot and I’m totally okay with it. If I wanted my ebook to be really confusing, the last 10% would be entirely pink.

I have only a few questions about some things, like: how do the mermaids smell underwater if they have to breach to breathe? do the merfolk wear clothes? (I know this isn’t imperative to the story in the least, I’m just curious) and how the hell does Spio know what a fart would taste like, hence, the smelling underwater question.

In conclusion, I loved it. I’ve never read a mermaid book like this and I hope I never do again. I want to hold out hope that there will be a third book, but the end was so vague... I think there could be more, but idk. I did tweet Tiana Warner, so fingers-crossed!!

how can something so short be so heart-wrenching?

Read on my blog.



LGBTQAI : Sapphic main character love interest
Sex on page: No

This book was 2018 March’s Sapphic Book Club read hosted by sapphicliterature..

I discovered this book several months ago – I was drawn to it by the beautiful cover, the fact that it had mermaids, and the intriguing blurb. Since it’s not clear from the blurb or the Goodreads tags, I didn’t actually know this book had a queer main character until much later.

I finally picked up the Ice Massacre for the Sapphic Book Club, and I am really glad I did. This book was action-packed and amazing, although darker than what I usually read… and definitely involving more character deaths.

I loved the all-female crew, and the way they interacted with each other. They have been trained as warriors, and yet they were still children, wanting to have fun and relax before things got real. Later, desperation and the will to survive created rifts between them. At some parts, I kind of felt like I was reading a female Lord of the Flies – which was a little disturbing, given that I hated the Lord of the Flies, but thankfully I was able to get over the association.

I also loved the plot, and the way things weren’t exactly how you – and the characters – thought at first. I loved the relationship between the two main characters, and how their loyalty towards each other crashed with the loyalty toward their people. I was a little worried that Meela’s sexuality would be left ambiguous, but if nothing else, then the ending of the book really makes it impossible to deny even with the most heteronormative lenses.

One major complaint I had was the pacing towards the beginning. The book starts with one chapter in present time, then a few chapters as a flashback, and then back to present time. Personally, I felt this was really weird and I would have preferred the flashbacks to be built into the main story gradually. I also didn’t enjoy reading the flashbacks in general – I don’t think the characters sounded like ten-year-olds, and it was a little off-putting.

As someone who is often bored by action scenes, I was pleasantly surprised when this action-packed novel almost always held my attention instead of just turning into a series of almost identical battle scenes. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

(Okay, but seriously though – what kind of person uses someone’s dead brother to make fun of them?)

Final rating: 🧜🧜🧜🧜🧜/5