I will be coming back to this book in the later time as for now it was unfortunately a dnf. I was not in the mood for the genre.

so as someone who loves mythology i was excited to read this and get in to the badass women who were the Valkyries. Then i started reading and my worst nightmare happened 2nd person! i find this one of the hardest POV to read maybe that is just me. i didnt let this stop me and powered thought this book, i found some areas lacked detail but other then that is a good story with kick ass female characters, even if the writing style is very much a tale been told to others.

as someone who loves a good mythical story, this was a fantastic read. with interesting characters, and a fasciniating world, this has entered the list of my fave myth reads. amazing!

Inspired by Norse mythology, the author offers a fresh perspective with a feminist slant. The writing style was engaging and I found myself caught up in the story.

This book, admittedly, took ne a while to get into and I feel like this was partly because the story is so intricate. But, that being said I did really enjoy it overall and would definitely recommend it!

"Like all stories, I have more than one beginning."

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am obsessed with the Valkyrie, but I have been waiting for a novel to do justice to them and I was really excited about this title- mythological reimagining with Sapphic romance and Norse mythology. I've always thought that the story of a valkyrie who is cast out by Odin would make a fantastic story and Heartfelt has proved me right.

The story was told in alternating first person POV and reads like letters or a narrative being written for the other.

"The only beginning that matters came centuries later. My beginning was in you, Gudrun."

There was plenty of magic and romance, but at the same time the author weaved in more complex elements of politics and history. In that, I was reminded of the movie King Arthur (the Clive Owen version), where the world of ancient Britain catches the impact of a retreating Rome and an advancing wave of Norsemen.

While the narrative was excellent and I enjoyed the skilful weaving of history and mythology, I did find the romance a bit lacking. Although, technically, the entire story was a back and forth between Gudrun and Brunhild, I did feel that it was a bit more "telling" and less "showing."

On the whole, however, this was a really solid offering and will definitely appeals to readers of Madeline Miller, Jennifer Saint, Pat Barker, and Natalie Haynes.

I gave this a three out of five stars. I really enjoyed this book, it’s different from things I’ve been reading lately. I like the story and the characters.

This was a nice read, I enjoyed the premise and how the story developed. I liked the split POV, however I did find it at times a little confusing who I was following.

I found both plotlines engaging and I enjoyed reading them as they intertwined, I did feel that it fell a little flat in the middle and would have loved to see this fleshed out a little more for a solid flow, but this didn't affect my reading experience and I enjoyed the roots of the story. I felt they really came through at points.

The Valkyrie is a sapphic retelling of one of the great Norse mythological sagas. It tells the story of Brynhild, a Valkyrie- shieldmaiden of the mighty Allfather Odin. Expelled by Odin from Valhalla, Brynhild has fallen to Midgard. Gudrun is a princess of Burgundy, a prize for an invading king. There is another hero, a man called Sigurd, with a sword sharper than the new moon.

‘As the legends tell, some are destined for to be lovers, some fated to be enemies. But here in Midgard legends can be lies…’

Told from first person dual POV, The Valkyrie delves into the fascinating world of Norse mythology, something I’ve been obsessed with since I was a kid. Heartfield weaves the stories of the two protagonists beautifully with plenty of political intrigue, betrayal, monsters, magic, battles and dragons to satisfy the reader.

There is a lot going on in this book and I would have been happy to see if expanded even further to explore some of the secondary threads that the author weaves into the story. The character of Brynhild stands out the most for me- she’s fierce and unrelenting, brave and will not submit to anyone. Her fierceness in battle is vividly brought to life by the author and it was refreshing to see the Valkyrie given more attention by a contemporary author.

If you’re a fan of mythological retellings, get your hands on The Valkyrie. A must for fans of John Gwynne and H.M Long. I had to go buy a copy – look at that cover!!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the arc. The Valkyrie is out now.

“As the legends tell, these names are destined to be rivals, fated as enemies. But here in Midgard, legends can be lies…’

I really enjoyed this sapphic reimagining of Norse mythology. The two storylines interwove in an interesting way, and the characters were wonderful. I always love a story where we see the same characters from different points of view, and this was certainly the case with some within this book - particularly Sigurd.

I would have liked to see a bit more of the magic system, and I was a little unsure of the gods motives at several points - however, with many ancient gods it’s likely to be ‘because they felt like seeing what would happen’! - but I can also see that this would have slowed the pace of the book which isn’t always preferable.

Overall, I enjoyed The Valkyrie and would read more from this author in the future.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and HarperVoyager UK for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The Valkyrie is a fantasy/historical retelling of Norse mythology and Germanic history written by Kate Heartfield, in which we follow Brynhild, a fallen Valkyrie, and Gudrun, a princess of Burgundia.

I wish I had known more about Norse mythology before diving into this book because I was just lost with all the characters: I knew they were a part of Norse mythology, but I couldn't really identify them or relate them to something or someone I know. Otherwise, the story is good ; there are battles, betrayals, marriages and court politics, but I did lose interest toward the middle of the story (I still continued to read it though because I wanted to know how it ended).
The writing style was good and unlike something I had seen before: it is written like it is a conversation between the two female main characters, Brynhild and Gudrun, as they are telling the story from their point of view and how they remember it.
The book is divided into four parts, and one nice thing to note is that there are chapter titles, and this is something that I definitely miss in fantasy books nowadays.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of (Norse) mythology and historical retellings!

•

Additional info:
- Adult sapphic fantasy and mythology retelling ;
- Perfect for history and mythology fans ;
- First person and dual POV.

I need to admit to myself that Norse mythology really isn't for me. This was definitely a case of personal taste, as Kate Hartfield has written a wonderfully detailed, intricate and well researched story about Brynhild, a Valkyrie who has been banished by Odin and Gundrun. There's a spot of romance, a few battles and lots of backstory. And that's where my problems started. The backstory just weighs down the plot, and normally I'm obsessed with world building and lore, but in this case I found I had no interest at all. I'm gutted, and I know that fans of Norse mythology will absolutely eat this up. I'm just not one of them.

Great, I know very little about Norse Mythology, so it was interesting. The characters were well-written and it made me want to find out more about the subject. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

The Valkyrie is a blend of Norse Mythology and historical fiction.

Brynhild is a fallen Valkyrie who has to arrived on Midgard as a mortal. She feels she needs to defend the people and gives herself over to the royal family of Gudrun, the other POV in this book. Their city faces the wrath of Attila the Hun and through battles they become closer.

I really wanted to love this book, a fallen Valkyrie, magic, monsters and the threat of Attila, but I found the pace of the book too slow and I often lost interest while reading. I also felt there was little differentiation between to two voices of Brynhild or Gudrun and sometimes wasn't sure who's POV I was reading.

I did enjoy learning about how the city fell and the politics of dealing with the various empires vying for control and enjoyed the bits with the villains, Odin and Attila, more than the two main characters.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc in return for an honest review.

What a fantastic book! Myth, strong women, magic - what’s not to like?!

I’ll own up now. This was a NetGalley book, and it kind of got left behind. So I listened to the audiobook on Xigxag audiobooks. And I’m SO glad that I did.it came to life for me, and where some reviews have said that they were sometimes a little confused as to whose chapter it was, either Brynhild the fallen Valkyrie or Gudrun, Princess of Burgundia, I had no such issue. The narrators, Eleanor Jackson and India Shaw-Smith WERE Brynhild and Gudrun. And they were both self-assured, strong leaders who would take no nonsense.

What did surprise me was how forgiving Brynhild was of Sigurd lies. If you already know the myth, then you’ll know! Otherwise, my lips are sealed, because you really have to read this for yourself!

Oh, and the Germanic history was the icing on the cake for me. And there’s loads of extra information about both the Norse mythology and the German history, both in relation to the book, on Kate Heartsfields website - chapter by chapter! I’ve had the BEST time on there!

So, yes, this is very much a recommended book!

I would give a 4 star for this book. I do really enjoy a mythological retelling, particularly feminist retellings so this was up my street. I thought the writing was beautiful and I enjoyed the magical elements.

2.5 ⭐️ I can’t say I particularly liked this book which is unfortunate because the premise was really exciting. I think my main issue was that it was written in first/second person and I just didn’t enjoy that perspective as it was largely two people telling a story and I felt it lacked depth to it. It kind of fits as a saga style story being told around a camp fire. The story didn’t really engage me although I did think Gudrun and Brinhild were strong female characters and for the most part I was curious to see what happened to them.

If you enjoy mythological retells in the vein of Circe and Song of Achilles, then you will probably enjoy The Valkyrie.

The book follows a Princess of Burgundia and a fallen Valkyrie. There is political intrigue mixed with betrayal and court politics and maybe one or two dragons.

As a lover of mythology this one was right up my alley, there were a few parts in the middle were the pacing struggled, but it's worth pushing through.

This is an engaging reimagining of the story of Brunhilde (or Brynhild as she is called here) and Sigurd from Norse mythology. It is the latest in a growing line of feminist retellings of myths and legends, giving a voice to characters who traditionally have played a poor second to the dashing male heroes.

Brynhild is an exiled Valkyrie, expelled from Valhalla by Odin after daring to question his increasingly erratic choices of which warriors will live or die on the battlefield. Back on Earth she is no longer immortal and still subject to Odin's game-playing, but her shield-maiden's warrior skills are still hers. Is it Odin who engineers an encounter between Brynhild and Sigurd, just as word reaches her of a dragon-like worm called Fafnir whose poisoned breath lays waste to the land, and who guards a huge hoard of gold? Whatever the forces that bring them together, they team up to defeat Fafnir, thus becoming embroiled in the affairs of Gunnar and Gudrun. Gunnar is the reluctant king of a small German kingdom in the midst of the dying throes of the Roman empire, under threat by Attila the Hun who has enlisted Fafnir's powers to win dastardly victories. The news of Fafnir's death is very welcome, and Sigurd is offered Gudrun's hand in marriage while Brynhild is persuaded by trickery to marry Gunnar.

So far, so familiar from the various versions of this myth. What makes this retelling particularly interesting is the alternating narrative by Gudrun and Brynhild, charting events and their evolving feelings towards each other. They tell a complex story of conflicting loyalties and emotions, of the difficult choices women have to make for the sake of family and country. This is another worthy addition to the growing body of literature looking at myths and legends from the point of view of the women at the heart of them.

This book was a mixed bag. While the writing was absolutely beautiful, and some of the characters were fun to read, I found the plot a bit lacking, and the romance came completely out of left field