I listened to this on audiobooks from NetGalley and titan books. I did not realize until after I started it that it is part of a series but a stand-alone within. This was fantastic, I did not read or listen to the beginning of the series. We follow Thray a half immortal last daughter of winter. Living in her mothers lands with humans she soon meets a sister from the north. She learned about all the siblings unknown to her. She’s offered to explore the north where her father once ruled and her siblings stay. She soon discovers a power of her own, and the north’s plans to look south towards the warmer lands she grew up in, to protect all she loves she must make decisions. Thray is an interesting character, she’s smart and cunning. She feels guilty for the lies she’s told but she’s grateful for the chance to learn about her immortal half. She is a strong woman, makes for a great lead character, she thinks through her choices for the good of all. I absolutely enjoyed this and will be getting the other books in this series at some point.

Thray the last daughter of Winter Gods. Thray has reached an age where she begins to question who she is and to find the answers she seeks she must journey to demi god step siblings. The answers she seeks lead to more than she is prepared for, but with the help of friends and her spirit grandfather she finds she must push herself farther than she thought possible.

Long high fantasy reminds me of Jordan's Wheel of Time and many other great high fantasy novels. Excellent audible narration by Samara Naeymi. I will be checking out Long's other works. The world she has created is one I want to read more of and looking forward to Long's future works.

I listened to this as an audiobook. The narration was really lovely - the narrator had an Irish accent and I always find that really engaging to listen to. There was a good distinction between the characters, and the story was clear and easy to follow.

I had read none of the books in the series, but that did not take away from my enjoyment, nor was it necessary. This is a vibrant world that is easy to fall in to. Thray is an engaging character who grows throughout the text, and takes us along in that journey.

I did enjoy this book, but felt like the pacing was difficult in some parts. I wished there was more time spent on the action in the last third of the book, and perhaps not as much of the journey in the first half. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this story and would love to read more about what comes next.

This epic fantasy was just okay for me. When I started this book, I didn't realize it was the 3rd in a series. I didn't feel like that made too much difference and this could be read as a standalone.
I really enjoyed the winter setting as I read this on some snowy days. Perfect background. I also enjoyed the strong female characters. Thray is a demi-god who is struggling on finding out if her true self is mortal or immortal and the decisions that may come with this realization. Though she struggles with her half siblings, she comes through stronger.
I think the audio was hard to follow with all the characters. The narrator was really great with different voices for the characters.
There was also so much build up at the beginning but the "war"/action was over so quickly.

This was definitely a yes for audiobook lovers. I’m giving this a high 4⭐️. This is a stand-alone and narrated by Samara Naeymi. She was excellent and I really enjoyed her voice.
This was interesting and written well. This epic fantasy had twists and turns that just made me want to know more about this story.
Thanks Recorded Books via NetGalley.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
“Barrow of Winter” by H.M. Long was an immersive story with folk lore elements woven into it throughout. It has ancient gods and was magical, gritty and rich with cultural traditions. There was a darker tone underlying the story that I really enjoyed. It added depth and made you feel that there was something more than what was on the surface. The author’s tone and writing style was elegant, detailed and had a slow burn aspect. I enjoyed Thray’s story of finding herself, saving her people while protecting her new found family regardless of the steep price that she will have to pay.
Thray is the daughter of the Winter God. She has a few half-siblings she knows, and many she has yet to meet. Some follow in their father’s bloodline of immortality while others take on their maternal lines and are mortal. Thray has no idea what she is and the only way to find out is if she dies, which she is not too keen to do. She is happy in her village, as a priestess, with her betrothed, until ships are spotted on the horizon, heading towards their beaches. Expecting an invasion, none are more surprised than Thray to find that the ships belong to her half-sister/siblings, fellow Winter-Borns claiming to be exploring other lands in hopes of establishing trade with their homeland in the north. Her sister suggest that Thray join them on their journey back, as there is another way for Thray to find out if she is immortal or not without having to die first. A ceremony done by their elders. Until that moment, Thray didn’t realize how much she needed that answer before marrying Havar. With deception and lies, Thray journeys to the north to her siblings and father’s homeland to find her answers.
She travels over barren winter lands to reach a land that is plagued by a curse, The Endless Night. A land that is rife with anger, grief and on the brink of rebellion. It is here, that she finds her true nature and discovers truths about the curse and what her siblings are capable to survive. Thray must decide where her loyalties lie when her village is threatened by the Winter-Born and everything she has known and loved is in jeopardy. What she doesn’t know, is what her decision will cost her in the end.

My first time reading an HM Long book, excuse me, while I go buy every single other book she’s ever written!

I requested the audiobook version of this on NetGalley and was approved!

Genre: Fantasy

Pace: Slow Build (keep reading!)

Summary: Thray's path has been laid out before her. She is a priestess to her village people and she is betrothed to someone she cares for. Yet there is something she is desperate to find out. We learn that Thray is a part of a special family lineage. Gods and Demi-Gods as well as humans make up her family tree. Thray doesn't know what she. She decides to seek out the answers, even if it means lying to the priesthood and exposing her loved ones to great risk. She has a group of siblings that can help her uncover her identity yet she's been warned not to trust them. Who is on her side, who is going to betray her and who wants to see her and her people destroyed?

If you like action packed, fast pace epic fantasy, this will leave. you wanting. This is rich with prose and character development. The last few chapters don't stop and reveal why all the build was necessary! I loved the visuals that came to my mind when I read this book and couldn't help but get LOTR vibes! The story and characters are layered brick by brick until the last few chapters the action comes and tears the whole wall down. You are left wanting more and I can't wait to read the first two books of this series. What an amazing read for winter and what am amazing world that I have discovered in this book! I think this book is beautifully narrated on Audiobook, but because of the complexity of characters and the amount of plots and people to keep track of, I'd recommend the physical book!

LOVED it!

Barrow of Winter by H.M. Long. #BarrowofWinter #NetGalley

I hate to say it but it seems like audiobooks are just not my thing. Don't get me wrong, the narrator was incredible but I just couldn't get into it, to be honest, I found myself enjoying walks in silent more than walking home listening to a story... As grievous as a crime that must seem.

All in all, I'm going to give it three stars because it's the middle star. I really did like the premise of this book and I am very intrigued by it. Now that it's released, I'll probably pick up the physical copy and read it that way. That way, I'll enjoy this marvellous story a lot more!

Thank you for letting me listen to this audiobook. I absolutely loved being back in the world that H. M. Long created. I very much like the new main character.

H. M. Long has produced what I think is her best work yet. Barrow of Winter follows Thray, who is in my opinion absolutely incredible. She has crafted a Norse tale of heroism full of atmosphere and poetic lines, being sure to leave nothing out. Long's craft is as honed as a Viking with their axe, and just as sharp. I always recommend her books, but this may be my favourite to recommend yet!

Barrow of Winter third instalment in the Hall of Smoke series and can be read as a standalone. This is the first book I read of the series, I agree that it can be read as a standalone but I think I would have preferred to have read from the beginning to fully understand the world and characters as this book jumps right into the story.

However the world building is incredibly enriching and each character has incredible depth and uniqueness which draws you into the adventure and motivations behind their actions. But I did feel slightly confused at time, maybe because it was an audio book, between characters and I struggled to get fully absorbed in parts. Saying this, the writing is beautiful and I would like to read the rest in the series as it is an enjoyable fantasy.

Actual rating: 3.5/5*

Barrow of Winter by H.M. Long breaks from the previous books to follow Thray as she journeys north to discover the truth behind her father’s heritage. Though this is the third book in a series, it can be read as a standalone with little trouble as there are contextual clues throughout.

When the Duamel arrive on Thray’s shores under the auspice of opening up trade routes, Thray recognises herself in her half-sister and longs to explore that side of her family, which is ultimately at the heart of the book. Thray’s journey into the north becomes a quest to find herself and decide whether the life set out for her so far is what she really wants. There is a remarkable amount of character development on Thray’s part in Barrow of Winter as she goes from a young, naïve priestess willing to lie to her people for a personal quest because she assumes she’ll get out of any punishment, to a strong, firm young woman willing to accept the consequences of her actions and make a life for herself.

Unlike the previous two books, there is no single steady companion who travels alongside Thray, though the side character we come to meet are all distinct, even if they play small roles. Her immortal half siblings appear kind to her, though in times of need they can come off as distant. The mortal half-siblings are imposing, using the most of their short life to gain power, though Long does go to the effort to humanise them–even after they’ve revealed their plans to Thray. We get to see more of Visnit as a grown man and his connection to Thyvndr, and we also get to see what’s happened to Hessa a decade after the last book (and it’s great stuff!). I did think that Havar, her fiancé, could have had more agency. As it stands, he follows her to the north to protect her and barely has any say over their relationship even if he offers sage advice to her in the end.

Barrow of Winter is billed as a standalone, and it works as a standalone too. The callbacks to previous books exist though they are explained for new readers, and following a new protagonist helped put that distance between this one and Temple of No God.

H.M. Long’s writing remains incredibly atmospheric, building up a land of winter and endless night that readers can experience fully. The way the Duamel worship the children of winter and their customs are also described in detail, and how they contrast to the ones Thray has grown up with. During Thray’s journey to her elder siblings, Kaiga even introduces her, and us, to some of the history surrounding their father and the elder gods. Despite Ogam’s actions, certain scenes humanised him and made him more complex than he was in Hall of Smoke.

Though Barrow of Winter is Thray’s journey of self-discovery, there is also enough plot to make this book interesting. The mystery behind the endless night and the Duamel’s true intentions creates tension as the children of winter slowly reveal themselves to be more than what Thray thought. When their true intensions are revealed, that tension is amped up because Thray needs to find ways to covertly thwart them. Despite a significant part of the book being dedicated to travel, there are action scenes interspersed throughout that broke up the monotony.

Overall I enjoyed myself as much as the last couple boks. Like previous books, Barrow of Winter by H.M. Long is an epic fantasy inspired by the Viking era with a strong female protagonist at its center. Thray’s journey of self-discovery is at the center of this book but that doesn’t mean it lacked action or a sense of vastness when delving into the world.

I very much enjoyed this book! A lot of good world and character building. Long did an excellent job on every character in the story. Thray was an interesting character to follow. If I had one complaint of this book, it would be that the real conflict of the story doesn’t come to any action until essentially the very end of the story. While the world and character building was very good, there was little happening in the story until very late.

I listened to this audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. She was excellent!

I was provided this audiobook in exchange for a review by Netgalley.

This book is the third book set in the Hall of Smoke world, according to the author this book can be read without reading the other two in the series. This book follows Thray a demi-god priestess as she travels to the north in hopes about learning the truth of her mortality with her immortal half-siblings. On her way to the home of her siblings she discovers her siblings may not be as trustworthy as she originally thought.

I enjoyed the story and narration greatly, I found Thray's struggles and frustrations very believable and enjoyed seeing the beginning of her journey. My main issue with this book was the fact that I felt like i was missing valuable world building and information because I hadn't read the First two books set in this world, While the story is easy enough to follow without that context I feel like certain elements of the story lose some of their gravity with this, I do plan on reading the rest of the books set in the world and coming back so I will see if that impacts my opinion. Overall this was a pretty solid book,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’ve had a few ARCs now that are second/third in a series. It makes reviewing a bit harder, but I think this does work as a standalone since it follows a different MC than the first two books.

I really enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook a lot! Her accents brought you into the story and she did a great job with the storytelling. The hardest part was keeping track of the characters names while listening. I certainly couldn’t hope to spell them.

I assume this is a setup for another book in the series. My primary complaint is that we spent a lot of time with the build up and Thray learning about herself but then the final crisis resolved quickly. After she learns about the Winterborn’s plans she just gets back to where she’s going in a blink of an eye. A little like GOT season 7-8. I wish there had been more time spent with the final obstacle and the repercussions of that.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for providing this advanced release copy of Barrow of Winter, in exchange for an honest review.

Barrow of Winter is book three in a series but can easily work as a standalone. The first two books focus on Hessa, a priestess of the goddess of war. Hessa is the aunt of Thray, the main character for book three.
Thray is a daughter of Winter but has lived with her mother's people her entire life, warned away from her father's family by her grandfather. Then one day her half siblings come to visit, upending her life.
I really enjoyed the world building and storytelling that H.M. Long does in this book. I was a little too excited to pay attention when I requested it to notice it was third in a series and even though I didn't feel like I was missing out on important information from the previous books but I will definitely be going back to read them.
Samara Naeymi does an excellent job narrating and bringing the characters to life with her voice.

I did not like this. This is mostly because I can’t stand Thray with her deceptions, idiocy, selfishness and blatant disregard for her friends. The first book was out of this world amazing. For me the series has declined as we have gone on. The writing is beautiful, I love the author’s story telling. The world building was amazing as always. I just did not connect with these characters or their story unfortunately. I desperately wanted to because I loved the first book so much.

There were a few things that didn’t make sense and many things that left more questions then answer.

The brothers and sisters literally told her the blooding process will be your mortal death to become immortal with them as well as to find her power. What did she think would happen when they said “mortal death”. Thray was so confused and did not understand during that process. It was literally written/talked about a few times prior to it happening. Is she so caught up in her selfish quest that even she cannot remember?

One of the other things was that Thray really could not, at all tell the truth ever, for anything to her own people who sought her guidance. They were risking their lives for the quest and adventure and went out of duty to their priestess. They deserved to know what the hell was actually going on, because it was for a purely selfish reason for the one person they trusted to guide them. It wasn’t for their village/people, religion/god, or to save the world originally. Personally I would be done with her the minute I found out what she pulled at everyone’s expense.

Thray eventually finds her footing and SOME redeeming qualities towards the end of the book, but for me the damage is done. It wasn’t enough early enough for me to like her. I wouldn’t like following her as my priestess, fellow warrior, queen or even as a friend. She’s an awful character.

I probably won’t recommend this unless you like to finish what you’ve started, if you have read the other books.

We follow Thray, the last daughter of Winter. A high fantasy adventure, full of interesting characters and a protagonist conflicted been demi-god status and a mortal life. A fantastic world, power discovery and a complicated family, kept me engrossed in what will happen next.

A great book to spark your imagination, bringing gods and humanity together, with some deep thought provocation. A little slow to start, but once it kicks off, I could stop!

H.M. Long has such a way story telling.
This book is a stand alone but also the third book in the Hall of Smoke world. You don't have to know anything going into this book and you are caught right up to speed in a way that doesn't feel lime info dumping.
If you have read her other books then you will be excited to come across old faces but in a way that doesn't take away from the story.
I feel lime Thray is a very relatable character, wanting to know more about who she is and choosing to be selfish at times to get what she wants.
I also enjoy that this book is also low/no romance, it allows you to be able to focus on the plot and the world.
Such an amazing read, and I am so thankful to have gotten an ARC copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. The narrator did an amazing job (per usual).

I didn't realize this is in a series, but if I understand correctly, they can be read as standalones; they all take place in the same world. I wasn't confused about anything going in.

This is a really neat story, lots of folklore, drama, adventure, and a little bit of romance. The audiobook is excellently narrated, she uses two different accents and each one for both male and female characters. But there is so much detail in the story, so much adventure and emotion and so many names, that I wouldn't recommend this for someone who struggles with audio. I am an avid audiobook listener, but I still found myself needing to go back and relisten to chapters to make sure I got all the details.

Thank you to netgalley and RB media for a free audio copy in exchange for an honest review.