The Valkyrie’s Shadow by Tiana Warner is up for preorder and will be released on 7.25.23. I want to thank NetGalley and Entangled Teen Publishing for the opportunity to read and review The Valkyrie’s Shadow.
The Sigrid and the Valkyrie’s series by Tiana Warner has become an epic saga for me. I loved the first book, The Valkyrie’s Daughter, but got lost in The Valkyrie’s Shadow. The characters came to life on the pages in this coming of age story and, even though it is a long book, 435 Kindle pages, I read and read and read…
Because the series needs to be read in order, I will do my best to include NO spoilers.
We have some familiar characters and creatures. Royal politics are complicated and the lines of loyalty are often blurred. I am glad that Sigrid stayed leery, and even though she is a young woman, she does know the difference between right and wrong. Each individual is as important as any other.
Sigrid wants the best for everyone and slowly builds her self confidence as she is forced to make decisions that will affect the lives of many. She is an lgbtq character and I love that Tiana Warner adds that extra something to make her character stand out. The romance with Mariam was sweet and innocent.
Tora, what a fabulous character. She made me smile. Fisk is another outstanding and unique character that stuck with me.
I loved all the supernatural characters and creatures.
The Valkrie’s Shadow by Tiana Warner has so much depth and detail to the world she has vividly created. I traveled miles with the characters, and not all will survive. We walked, we flew, we sailed…We have valkyries, elves, humans, winged mares (so how do they reproduce), and an eight legged horse that once belonged to a god…We have loyalty and betrayal, friends and lovers…
There is 435 pages of deliciousness and I hated to read the final word. I was left with a feeling of happiness and hope. Tiana, you blew my mind with this awesome story! I don’t feel my review conveyed how much I loved this book, but, maybe I shared enough to make you want to read it for yourself. I do want to stress that it is best to read The Valkyrie’s Daughter first.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Valkyrie’s Shadow by Tiana Warner.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Being both a valkyrie and a princess isn’t turning out quite the way Sigrid imagined. The other valkyries still treat her like a stable hand. Her relationship with Mariam is less “long-distance” and more “worlds apart.” And lately, she’s been wondering if Sleipnir, her new horse, isn’t making her a little bit…well, evil .
But Sigrid’s first official valkyrie mission sends ripples through the Nine Worlds. She’s attracted the wrath of not only the Night Elves but their sinister king, who wants nothing more than to bring darkness down on everyone. Worse yet, Loki might just be interfering with the balance of light and dark…
When war threatens the shores of Vanaheim and her friends are in danger of being exiled, Sigrid makes a deal with the new queen. She will ride Sleipnir against their enemies and use his might to defeat them, even as he pulls her closer to that line between good and evil.
What she becomes will either save everyone…or unleash disaster upon them all.
The Sigrid and The Valkyries series is best enjoyed in order. Reading Book #1 The Valkyrie’s Daughter Book #2 The Valkyrie’s Shadow
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, LGBTQ, Myths and Legends, Queer, Teen and Young Adult
435 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 25, 2023 Entangled: Teen
ABOUT TIANA WARNER
Tiana Warner is an LGBTQ+ author from British Columbia, Canada, best known for her critically acclaimed “Mermaids of Eriana Kwai” trilogy and its comic adaptation. Tiana is a lifelong horseback rider, a former programmer with a Computer Science degree, and an outdoor enthusiast who loves to explore nature with her musician boyfriend and their hyperactive rescue mutt, Joey. Find her online at tianawarner.com.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Sting by Cindy R Wilson. Just looking at the gorgeous cover, I felt this would be a good one.
I was scrolling through the books on Net Galley one day, and stopped when I saw this great cover. The tag line: Revenge is poison, also did it’s job. It leapt off the page, and, when I read the blurb, I knew I had to have it.
Tessa. The Scorpion. Robin Hood of the Dark District.
She robs from the rich who live in the Light District and give to the poor in the Dark District.
Climate change has wreaked havoc on the world, making once was habitable, inhabitable. Their country is the place of last resort, and, of course, the privileged claim it as their own.
Tessa had started out the apocalypse on her own, but quickly added to her ‘family’. She does have a love interest in River, a best friend from the wrong side of the district, Elle, and Cass, a child, who she has taken in as if she were her very own. She feels now is not the time for love and romance and fights her attraction to River.
Tessa is a tinkerer, creating bots that she calls Scorpions. She sends them out ahead of the search party, scouting for danger. They scavenge for what little they have, on the verge of starvation, even setting traps for rats.
Everyone needs a champion in desperate times and Scorpion, a humble, young girl, rose to the challenge, believing that someone has to do something. She never saw herself as a leader and questions how that even became possible.
She is betrayed, ending up in prison, where she finds an unlikely ally. I saw the betrayal coming very quickly.
I love the inventory she takes at the beginning of each chapter.
I love the dystopian world Cindy R Wilson created. I felt the need, the desperation, the urgency for the characters. At times it unrolled like a movie playing in my mind, the writing making it so easy to visualize them skulking through the streets, patrolling, battling for survival.
This may be an ARC, but it read as if it could be the final product.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Sting by Cindy R Wilson.
4 Stars
Sting by Cindy R. Wilson Genre: YA Dystopian Release date: March 3rd 2020 Entangled Teen Summary:
They call me the Scorpion because they don’t know who I really am. All they know is that someone is stealing from people with excess to help people with nothing survive another day.
But then a trusted friend reveals who I am―“just” Tessa, “just” a girl―and sends me straight into the arms of the law. All those people I helped…couldn’t help me when I needed it.
In prison, I find an unlikely ally in Pike, who would have been my enemy on the outside. He represents everything I’m against. Luxury. Excess. The world immediately falling for his gorgeous smile. How he ended up in the dirty cell next to mine is a mystery, but he wants out as much as I do. Together, we have a real chance at escape.
With the sting of betrayal still fresh, Pike and I will seek revenge on those who wronged us. But uncovering all their secrets might turn deadly…
My breath catches. My fingers curl around the handle of my
knife, but my feet are glued to the ground three steps outside the door.
There’s only one Enforcer, but the others can’t be far away. His gun is aimed
at my heart, and a dark smile plays on his lips.
“Are you the only one here?” he asks, voice deep.
“Just me.” I hope River and Elle are already hiding. Or maybe
they left through the back. I resist the urge to look at Atticus’s and
Magellan’s transmissions on my watch.
He narrows his eyes. “Out here all alone. What is it you’re
doing at an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night?”
“Delivering a pizza.” I give him an easy smile, but my voice
isn’t as steady as I want it to be. When he glares, I shrug. “I saw the
warehouse and got curious.” But I’ve heard pizza is really good.
“In the middle of the night,” he says. “Hmm. And what’s in the
satchel?”
It’s not my satchel he should be worried about. It’s the
throwing knife in my hand.
“Nothing special.”
“I’ve been hearing stories about a girl they call the Scorpion,”
he says.
My heart stops. The Scorpion. How do they know? I pinch the
blade of the knife between my fingers.
He smiles. “Is that you?”
My throat is too dry to answer.
There’s movement behind him. He whips around as River appears
near the dumpsters, hands up. Crap! With a flick of my wrist, I fling the knife
at the Enforcer. It lodges in his thigh, and he howls in pain. Before he can
recover, River yanks the gun from his grasp. Elle is right behind him, eyes
wide.
“Out of here. Now,” I growl, racing away from the warehouse.
River and Elle are close by my side as we rush through the streets, dodging
dumpsters and bags of trash. The slow burn of asphalt from the heat of the day
reaches my nose. Lanterns shine in some windows, but it’s late, and, for the
most part, we can only see our path by the glow of the moon. From here, the
Light District is countless blocks away, a firefly of light buzzing with
energy.
“Are you hurt?” River asks, glancing over.
“Not as bad as the Enforcer.” I brush off his concern even
though my leg throbs and blood rolls down my calf. I shut down my receiver to
save power. I’ll summon Atticus and Magellan later. “Lost my favorite knife,
though.” One of the few mementos I have from my dad.
He lifts his arm. “Got a gun.”
“I told you this was a bad idea,” Elle says, breath short. “I
heard what he said. The Enforcer.”
I slow down after we’ve put some distance between us and the
warehouse. My heart still races, and my mind whirls. The Enforcers know about
me.
“So did I,” River says. “That’s why they were there tonight.
They were looking for the Scorpion.”
About the Author
Cindy lives at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and loves using Colorado towns and cities as inspiration for settings in her stories. She’s the mother of three girls, who provide plenty of fodder for her YA novels. Cindy writes speculative fiction and YA fiction, filled with a healthy dose of romance. You’ll often find her hiking or listening to any number of playlists while she comes up with her next story idea.
