Cry of the Icemark Hill, Stuart

A Viking-style fantasy where a 14-year-old princess must defend her kingdom against an overwhelming empire. When Thirrin's father falls in battle, she inherits not just a crown but an impossible war — the Icemark stands alone against the Polypontian war machine. What follows is a furious race to forge alliances: with werewolves in the northern forests, with vampires who've tasted no blood for centuries, with a Snow Leopard queen from beyond the mountains. Stuart Hill builds a world that feels like Narnia collided with Norse sagas, all centred on a girl who refuses to surrender. The battles are brutal, the politics tangled, and Thirrin grows from stubborn teenager to war leader without losing her fire. Perfect for readers who want their fantasy grounded in mud and frost, not fairy dust.