Scan barcode
tatyanavogt's review
4.0
I did not realize that this was a standalone. Took me a little bit to get into it, although I was invested in continuing, I just wasn't sure what was going on and what was the point for a hot minute. Loved the direction it went and enjoyed it overall. The fact that its a standalone has given it some points as well because it was very satisfying getting to the end and it actually being the end. Nice. I will say some things were a little convenient but not enough to bother me.
Sadly its not a new favorite but it is a good time and I would recommend it to those who are interested.
Sadly its not a new favorite but it is a good time and I would recommend it to those who are interested.
thereadernthebeast's review
3.0
"This is a complicated review because, at first glance, I was seduced by everything about this book: the beautiful cover, the comparisons to other authors, the premise, the mythology... And while I can boast of having enjoyed the reading, it is only fair to recognize that not all of my expectations were met.
The names were the most confusing part; I had to rely on context to try to blindly guess what the author meant each time. Was it a person's name? A clan? What does that word even mean?!
I also have to add: the variations in the writing pace... at times, too many things were happening in one chapter, and then, suddenly, 200 pages would go by without anything happening. The romance also threw me off balance... because even though I loved Ronan, my precious baby, their relationship was almost instantaneous: not my favorite trope.
However, the plot managed to keep my interest at all times, the representation of Celtic mythology was as rich as promised, and the characters won my heart... definitely an incredible experience."
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review
The names were the most confusing part; I had to rely on context to try to blindly guess what the author meant each time. Was it a person's name? A clan? What does that word even mean?!
I also have to add: the variations in the writing pace... at times, too many things were happening in one chapter, and then, suddenly, 200 pages would go by without anything happening. The romance also threw me off balance... because even though I loved Ronan, my precious baby, their relationship was almost instantaneous: not my favorite trope.
However, the plot managed to keep my interest at all times, the representation of Celtic mythology was as rich as promised, and the characters won my heart... definitely an incredible experience."
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review
morethanmylupus's review against another edition
2.5
I fully expected to enjoy this book. I love mythology - from any culture - so the Celtic mythology basis of this story should have been solid for me. It's very clear that the author is very into Celtic mythology on the whole and has done their research, but it wasn't enough to save the novel for me. The world-building here was very forced and entirely in paragraph form delivered en bloc rather than shown through the story or dialogue. Further, the plot progression wasn't very compelling. By the end of the book, I still didn't know what the characters were hoping to achieve.
A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
raisar's review
3.0
Thank you to the publisher and net galley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book promised Celtic mythology, a narrative inspired by the legend of the first true queen of Ireland in the fictional kingdom of Eire, a land of magic and conquerors. I found the premise of how wild magic in this world could be hoarded as well as the various characters inspired by mythology to be really interesting and engaging. However, there were a few things that stopped me from being completely absorbed into the story and could be improved.
1. The relations between the two main characters could be build up with more momentum, Some of their interactions felt cliche.
2. The world building felt a little jumbled and did not flow that well with the writing. This left me confused at times and took me out of the story.
3. Despite the story having an interesting start, here were beats in the story I easily predicted.
To summarise, if you are a fan of strong warrior queens, mythology inspired worlds and enemies to friends to enemies to lovers, you will probably enjoy this story.
This book promised Celtic mythology, a narrative inspired by the legend of the first true queen of Ireland in the fictional kingdom of Eire, a land of magic and conquerors. I found the premise of how wild magic in this world could be hoarded as well as the various characters inspired by mythology to be really interesting and engaging. However, there were a few things that stopped me from being completely absorbed into the story and could be improved.
1. The relations between the two main characters could be build up with more momentum, Some of their interactions felt cliche.
2. The world building felt a little jumbled and did not flow that well with the writing. This left me confused at times and took me out of the story.
3. Despite the story having an interesting start, here were beats in the story I easily predicted.
To summarise, if you are a fan of strong warrior queens, mythology inspired worlds and enemies to friends to enemies to lovers, you will probably enjoy this story.
abrittlebee's review
3.0
It has been a while since I dove into anything I would consider “high fantasy”—i.e. a fantasy narrative where character focus takes a backseat to world building. However, despite some pacing issues I did EVENTUALLY enjoy Queen Among the Dead.
As a novel, Queen Among the Dead draws heavily from Celtic folklore, but in a way that is a lot more focused on physical combat as opposed to ethereal magic systems. This magic system feels darker, and more about physicality and death magic as opposed to elemental magic. Think like shapeshifting as opposed to fireballs. As a reader, I found it quite refreshing. I also really liked the relationship between Neve and Ronan. It was very fun.
One aspect of the book I did not like was the pacing. I almost DNF’d this because the first half of the novel is so slow. I think this happens with a lot of high fantasy narratives, that because the world building is so complex a large chunk of the early narrative becomes dedicated solely to explaining or displaying said world. Looking back, I don’t think that the slow pacing at the beginning was entirely warranted. It could have been sped up and a lot of those early descriptions could have either been condensed or cut out entirely. This does improve, and the second half of the book does feel better balanced and more exciting.
I think while I would say I enjoyed the later half and the characters, Queen Among the Dead feels a little too cookie cutter fantasy with its tropes for me to consider it a stand out. Is it a good book? Mostly. Would I recommend it? Yeah, sure. Will I probably forget about it in a month or two? Yes. Yet, this definitely feels like the type of book some people will be absolutely obsessed with.
As a novel, Queen Among the Dead draws heavily from Celtic folklore, but in a way that is a lot more focused on physical combat as opposed to ethereal magic systems. This magic system feels darker, and more about physicality and death magic as opposed to elemental magic. Think like shapeshifting as opposed to fireballs. As a reader, I found it quite refreshing. I also really liked the relationship between Neve and Ronan. It was very fun.
One aspect of the book I did not like was the pacing. I almost DNF’d this because the first half of the novel is so slow. I think this happens with a lot of high fantasy narratives, that because the world building is so complex a large chunk of the early narrative becomes dedicated solely to explaining or displaying said world. Looking back, I don’t think that the slow pacing at the beginning was entirely warranted. It could have been sped up and a lot of those early descriptions could have either been condensed or cut out entirely. This does improve, and the second half of the book does feel better balanced and more exciting.
I think while I would say I enjoyed the later half and the characters, Queen Among the Dead feels a little too cookie cutter fantasy with its tropes for me to consider it a stand out. Is it a good book? Mostly. Would I recommend it? Yeah, sure. Will I probably forget about it in a month or two? Yes. Yet, this definitely feels like the type of book some people will be absolutely obsessed with.
cat_universe's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4/5 stars not gay enough
nite0wl29's review
2.0
DNF’ed at 20%
I can’t even tell you of all I read because I stumbled and tripped over words that I would love to see a young teen pronounce—or try to, anyway! This book is supposed to be YA. High praise to the 14-year-old who actually makes it through this book. O.o
This book had so much potential yet the unique (and stupidly complicated) word use made it harder to focus on the story.
The beginning felt a bit clunky. I didn’t understand the conflict between the two MCs and even afterwards it seemed whatever issues they had were resolved fairly quickly…
I can’t even tell you of all I read because I stumbled and tripped over words that I would love to see a young teen pronounce—or try to, anyway! This book is supposed to be YA. High praise to the 14-year-old who actually makes it through this book. O.o
This book had so much potential yet the unique (and stupidly complicated) word use made it harder to focus on the story.
The beginning felt a bit clunky. I didn’t understand the conflict between the two MCs and even afterwards it seemed whatever issues they had were resolved fairly quickly…
kellysreads's review
I shouldn’t still be confused about the world and the politics at this point, especially in a ~400 page standalone. There’s something there, but I’m just not enjoying it enough to keep forging on.