Scan barcode
kandih's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved The Forgotten Kingdom, a sequel to The Lost Queen, by Signe Pike. I devoured this book in 2 days and was delighted to once again be transported to sixth-century Scotland. The book is rich in detail and the characters are so well written that I feel like I know them. Sometimes the second book of a trilogy can be very "filler" in content but not so with this one. This felt a slightly faster pace than the first book and there is a lot of action but it's also filled with much emotion.
While the first book focused mainly on Langoureth, this one features her daughter Angharad who's story I become very invested in. I really liked seeing her growth while being separated from her family and rooting for the moment when they would be reunited. The journey of Lailoken to become Merlin also continues and I'm so excited about what the next book will bring for him.
I loved reading the Author's Note and learning more about the history of the people and the time. It's fascinating to learn about Langoureth's role in history and how it's been mostly forgotten. You can tell while reading that Signe Pike did a lot of research to create this world and it is full of historical detail. I can't wait for the third book.
If you like historical epics filled with magic, mystery, and lots of emotion, this trilogy is for you.
Big thank you to Atria Books & NetGalley for providing the ARC.
While the first book focused mainly on Langoureth, this one features her daughter Angharad who's story I become very invested in. I really liked seeing her growth while being separated from her family and rooting for the moment when they would be reunited. The journey of Lailoken to become Merlin also continues and I'm so excited about what the next book will bring for him.
I loved reading the Author's Note and learning more about the history of the people and the time. It's fascinating to learn about Langoureth's role in history and how it's been mostly forgotten. You can tell while reading that Signe Pike did a lot of research to create this world and it is full of historical detail. I can't wait for the third book.
If you like historical epics filled with magic, mystery, and lots of emotion, this trilogy is for you.
Big thank you to Atria Books & NetGalley for providing the ARC.
amr2024's review against another edition
3.0
This book was good but also difficult to follow at times with the time skips and multiple POVs. I felt that our main characters from the first book became more developed while the new main characters in this book were not as fleshed out because there's no time in the story left. Overall, I enjoyed it but it was a slow start until after the first 100 pages.
jordana_dear's review against another edition
5.0
A favorite along with its predecessor. I look forward to the third installment of this trilogy! So much time and many events are covered in the books but its well blended. This book bounced between multiple perspectives but I didn't mind as much as I thought I would and appreciated the notes on the historical accuracy and stories/people inspiring this telling.
lbriss11's review against another edition
4.0
Deeply researched, magical, and pretty fast-paced. Can't wait for book 3.
kuyemura's review against another edition
1.0
Characters reflecting for hundreds of pages on upcoming wars and general mysticism does not constitute entertainment nor character development.
ashndean88's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this second installment! It took me a minute to get used to the triple narration, especially because I LOVED reading all the court drama in book one, but eventually I got used to the change and liked the book just as much. Was not a huge fan of how one narrator would be in April while the other was still in November, but I did understand from a storytelling perspective. Of course the history was super fascinating and you can tell the author really dug deep into this secretive past to create an amazing story. Her characters were just as strong as they were in the first.
Cannot wait for the third book!
Cannot wait for the third book!
merlandre's review against another edition
5.0
Great 2nd book in the Trilogy. I anxiously await the conclusion. An excellent development of the family of which Merlin is only one interesting element. Well developed characters with lots of mystery, conflicting needs and ideas. Kept me reading with the knowledge that I would finish it too soon while the characters lived on in my mind.
breenmachine's review against another edition
2.0
The love story was very responsible. Which hilariously made it a bit dull. The book was entertaining, but nothing surprising or intriguing happened. I do love the history at the end and all the knowledge the author shares in the epilogue. Overall just OK.
khoyle29's review against another edition
5.0
After searching for books similar to Outlander, I found The Lost Queen trilogy by Signe Pike. Set in Scotland in the 500s, this second book of the series begins with Languoreth awaiting news of her husband, her brother, and her children. There’s magic and battles and the beginning of Christianity in the country.
I have loved the first two books, and can’t wait for the third.
I have loved the first two books, and can’t wait for the third.
klaartjesmits's review against another edition
5.0
The Forgotten Kingdom continues the fictionalised story of Languoreth, a 6th century Brittonic queen in what we now call Scotland. She's known as the twin sister of Lailoken, one of the men who might have inspired the myth of the wizard Merlin. In this second book Languoreth's culture and native religion are not only threatened by Christians but by invading Saxons as well. On top of that there is also a war going on between the kingdom of her own family and the kingdom she has recently become queen of by having to marry a prince who is more sympathetic to Christians. This war supposedly prompted Languoreth's brother Lailoken, a druid, to flee to the Caledonian forest and 'go mad'.
This second installment in the trilogy is even more profound and immersive than the first book, partly because it not only follows Languoreth but also her daughter - who possesses the gift of sight - and Lailoken in alternating POV chapters. I will never forget Lailoken's spiritual journey as a druid, and Pike's reimagination of his so-called 'madness' is extremely well done. The battle scenes too are some of the most memorable and heartbreaking parts of the book because they revolve around the emotions of the characters first and foremost. Lastly, how the author handles the addition of a new people - the Picts - proves again how well she can make cultures we know so little about come to life.
I want to include this note from Pike herself: "(...) I would ask readers to consider this: If a Christian character in a historical novel believes in the power of prayer and imagines they see a result, the work is still deemed historical fiction. If a pre-Christian character does the same, the work is deemed historical fantasy."
This second installment in the trilogy is even more profound and immersive than the first book, partly because it not only follows Languoreth but also her daughter - who possesses the gift of sight - and Lailoken in alternating POV chapters. I will never forget Lailoken's spiritual journey as a druid, and Pike's reimagination of his so-called 'madness' is extremely well done. The battle scenes too are some of the most memorable and heartbreaking parts of the book because they revolve around the emotions of the characters first and foremost. Lastly, how the author handles the addition of a new people - the Picts - proves again how well she can make cultures we know so little about come to life.
I want to include this note from Pike herself: "(...) I would ask readers to consider this: If a Christian character in a historical novel believes in the power of prayer and imagines they see a result, the work is still deemed historical fiction. If a pre-Christian character does the same, the work is deemed historical fantasy."