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eleanorefiore's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
⚔️ Main character with little agency
⚔️ Love interest that had the same amount of personality as a video game npc
⚔️ Interesting worldbuilding, but needed a little more
Queen Among the Dead is a historical fantasy inspired by Celtic history and mythology. It sounds intriguing but ultimately ended up bland and lacking the feminist messages it promises.
The worldbuilding is the only part that I somewhat enjoyed. Queen Among the Dead focuses on how stories change over time and how women are represented in history, which sounds interesting, but it needs to go deeper. I got surface-level commentary, and I needed to be able to sink my teeth into more.
I wanted the religion fleshed out as well. The book overly relied on the "I just had a feeling" or "something was telling me" or "A god chose me for SOME reason..." and never truly gave me a picture of the gods or their role in the world. It felt like plot convenience because it was so under-explained.
Our main character is Neve, and she's...so frustrating. Neve tricks you into thinking she has agency by being an active main character with a strong personality who can fight. But she just gets dragged from place to place, and the only choices she ever truly makes are the ones where she chooses to leave the palace. Inevitably, she gets caught up in something, is forced to go back, or happens to stumble on the exact answers she needs. I can't think of very many times she moved the story forward.
We're supposed to believe she's some great leader, but she never grows into that label or shows any leader-like qualities. This is frustrating because she sees these qualities in other people. She points out side characters with fantastic leadership skills, which was the perfect opportunity for her to try to emulate as part of her arc. Yet, she does nothing but continue to be bull-headed and stumble into situations that resolve themselves for her.
The dual POV and LI is Ronan, and he has as much personality as a wet paper bag. What are his goals? What are his dreams? What are his opinions on the monarchy? What does he think about the gods? What is his ten-year plan? I have no idea, and neither does he.
This made his romance with Neve...nothing. Absolutely nothing. About halfway through, Neve says she's wanted to kiss him since they first met, but she didn't do us the honour of relaying that information. It was so out of left field and awkward, especially as they've both explicitly said they don't like or trust each other.
BUT WAIT. There's more. There's another man who Neve has a genuine connection with, is an excellent character, has many qualities that she's attracted to, and he explicitly likes her. He's set up as the other LI, because, of course, there's a love triangle, and I don't understand why she keeps going to Ronan. She tells and shows us that this other man is significantly better, and she even likes and trusts him more, and yet...why Ronan. Why. The series has more books, but I can't be dragged out only to watch her settle for the blandest man ever.
As a final note, Queen Among the Dead is set up to be very feminist, but, honestly, I wouldn't say I like the kind of feminism it went for. It's the kind where she chooses to abandon any feminine labels to rise to power. For example, she explicitly says not to call her Queen and instead call her the King....but they already have a gender-neutral label for the ruler? Dagda.
The first Dagda was originally going to be a woman, Neve's ancestor, and then she was betrayed. So Neve taking back this title and becoming Dagda would have been more powerful to me than shunning any feminine labels to be seen as valuable in society. She had other options.<--- I know this is entirely my preference. I'm sure this speaks to some people, just not me.
Look, I wouldn't say I liked this book. Clearly. However, would I recommend it to someone looking for books that have a historical focus? Sure. There aren't many Celtic-inspired SFF novels, so maybe you should read it.
But also, don't.
⚔️ Love interest that had the same amount of personality as a video game npc
⚔️ Interesting worldbuilding, but needed a little more
Queen Among the Dead is a historical fantasy inspired by Celtic history and mythology. It sounds intriguing but ultimately ended up bland and lacking the feminist messages it promises.
The worldbuilding is the only part that I somewhat enjoyed. Queen Among the Dead focuses on how stories change over time and how women are represented in history, which sounds interesting, but it needs to go deeper. I got surface-level commentary, and I needed to be able to sink my teeth into more.
I wanted the religion fleshed out as well. The book overly relied on the "I just had a feeling" or "something was telling me" or "A god chose me for SOME reason..." and never truly gave me a picture of the gods or their role in the world. It felt like plot convenience because it was so under-explained.
Our main character is Neve, and she's...so frustrating. Neve tricks you into thinking she has agency by being an active main character with a strong personality who can fight. But she just gets dragged from place to place, and the only choices she ever truly makes are the ones where she chooses to leave the palace. Inevitably, she gets caught up in something, is forced to go back, or happens to stumble on the exact answers she needs. I can't think of very many times she moved the story forward.
We're supposed to believe she's some great leader, but she never grows into that label or shows any leader-like qualities. This is frustrating because she sees these qualities in other people. She points out side characters with fantastic leadership skills, which was the perfect opportunity for her to try to emulate as part of her arc. Yet, she does nothing but continue to be bull-headed and stumble into situations that resolve themselves for her.
The dual POV and LI is Ronan, and he has as much personality as a wet paper bag. What are his goals? What are his dreams? What are his opinions on the monarchy? What does he think about the gods? What is his ten-year plan? I have no idea, and neither does he.
This made his romance with Neve...nothing. Absolutely nothing. About halfway through, Neve says she's wanted to kiss him since they first met, but she didn't do us the honour of relaying that information. It was so out of left field and awkward, especially as they've both explicitly said they don't like or trust each other.
BUT WAIT. There's more. There's another man who Neve has a genuine connection with, is an excellent character, has many qualities that she's attracted to, and he explicitly likes her. He's set up as the other LI, because, of course, there's a love triangle, and I don't understand why she keeps going to Ronan. She tells and shows us that this other man is significantly better, and she even likes and trusts him more, and yet...why Ronan. Why. The series has more books, but I can't be dragged out only to watch her settle for the blandest man ever.
As a final note, Queen Among the Dead is set up to be very feminist, but, honestly, I wouldn't say I like the kind of feminism it went for. It's the kind where she chooses to abandon any feminine labels to rise to power. For example, she explicitly says not to call her Queen and instead call her the King....but they already have a gender-neutral label for the ruler? Dagda.
The first Dagda was originally going to be a woman, Neve's ancestor, and then she was betrayed. So Neve taking back this title and becoming Dagda would have been more powerful to me than shunning any feminine labels to be seen as valuable in society. She had other options.<--- I know this is entirely my preference. I'm sure this speaks to some people, just not me.
Look, I wouldn't say I liked this book. Clearly. However, would I recommend it to someone looking for books that have a historical focus? Sure. There aren't many Celtic-inspired SFF novels, so maybe you should read it.
But also, don't.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexism
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: War and Violence
keepcalmblogon's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and Zando Projects for my e-ARC of Queen Among the Dead. I was so excited to get into this book because I am massively intrigued by Celtic history and legends!
From the get-go, Queen Among the Dead is all action; Neve is a strong-willed, independent female ready to defend herself and her nation at all costs. She finds her match in Ronan, a thief with loyalty to the end.
The courtly intrigue, magical mayhem, and battle drama never cease throughout the story and I was truly hooked. There were a few things that were hard to follow though, namely, the magic system was a little confusing, especially since the writing style used an immersion technique in which things were named but not explained, so the reader had to figure it out on their own.
One of the antagonist’s plotlines didn’t sit well with me though, it was obviously meant to be a twist, and it was, but upon reflection, if Gofannon wanted to prevent the Scathach from returning, why would he fight against Neve? If he felt like she was being possessed by the Scathach (which she partly was, but she and her friends were doing fine to keep her at bay) that would have made a little more sense, but he literally told Neve that she was his last hope of preventing the Scathach from returning. And, how would going to battle against Neve have gotten Anonn back for Cormac? I don’t think battling her daughter would have endeared Anonn to him. If it had been a little more straightforward without the “twist” of Gofannon being “good” and he had remained the antagonist, there still would have been the question of why return the Scathach after having banished her, but the overarching plot would have been less convoluted. Ultimately, Cormac should have wanted to battle Neve for the throne, not her mom, and Gofannon’s story could have been smoothed out, no plot necessary and just throw in a reason for him to change his mind, fickle people change their minds all the time.
In the end, this book was 4 stars for me for good action, Celtic inspiration, a strong female warrior, and a cute love story thrown in.
Check out my full review, with some spoilers, on GoodReads!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, and Violence
thebookcoyote's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
TW/CW: Death of a parent, death of a sibling, war, violence, fantasy violence
REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily writing an honest review.
Queen Among the Dead is the story of Neve, the youngest daughter (and princess) of the leader of an ancient Celtic Ireland. It follows her as she discovers her power and takes her destined place.
This book fell kind of flat for me. Although I liked the setting and the concept of the story, this book is filled with exposition. The world is complicated and in some cases doesn’t make a lot of sense, even though a LOT of time is spent trying to make the reader understand it. This comes, most unfortunately, at the expense of character development, of which there is very, very little.
This, of course, makes the climactic parts much less climactic because you can’t relate to the characters and therefore don’t really care what happens to them. It also makes the ‘romance’ – if you can call it that – come out of far left field. Honestly, I thought Neve had far more chemistry with her horse trainer than she did with the supposed ‘romantic’ lead.
There are the bones of a good story in here, but perhaps simplifying the story a bit and concentrating more on characters than on an overcomplicated plot would really have helped this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Death
planreadrepeat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A Celtic fantasy set in ancient Eire (Ireland). Neve is the second daughter of the king, who is hoarding the magic of the land with his Druids. The book starts a little slow and there are a lot of Celtic words used. Easy enough to look up but it does hurt the immersion a bit.
The middle of the book really starts moving and we see Neve begin to understand herself and her abilities. Along with figuring out who her true allies are. The ending is a mad dash of action and has some interesting twists.
I love Celtic mythology. But also a well-rounded YA fantasy. Refreshing to have only light romance. I can see people who like other mythology re-telling liking this book as well. Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for the ARC.
The middle of the book really starts moving and we see Neve begin to understand herself and her abilities. Along with figuring out who her true allies are. The ending is a mad dash of action and has some interesting twists.
I love Celtic mythology. But also a well-rounded YA fantasy. Refreshing to have only light romance. I can see people who like other mythology re-telling liking this book as well. Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for the ARC.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, and Death of parent
ezwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A YA fantasy that uses Celtic mythology and legends, the title and the description drew me in and I was very excited to read this, but unfortunately it fell flat for me.
This mostly comes down to it not really picking up story-wise until about half way through and my dislike of both Neve and Ronan, our narrators. I found both of them to be fairly annoying and incredibly pessimistic for most of the book and it wasn't fun to read. Neve also falls prey to the "princess who wants to fight not be a lady, her older sister is the perfect court lady and she feels she cannot live up to the expectations" and Ronan is the dark, broody love interest that's unfit for a princess as a thief and (ex) Druid. Their relationship just seemed to just happen by nature of it being a YA book adhering to certain tropes, more than it felt like they had grown past being enemies and into romantic interests.
Overall it just lands in the middle of the road, it wasn't bad but it wasn't anything I'd reread or recommend to anyone unless they were specifically looking for a YA Celtic fantasy book. It definitely had the elements to be an intriguing read, but it didn't succeed for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
This mostly comes down to it not really picking up story-wise until about half way through and my dislike of both Neve and Ronan, our narrators. I found both of them to be fairly annoying and incredibly pessimistic for most of the book and it wasn't fun to read. Neve also falls prey to the "princess who wants to fight not be a lady, her older sister is the perfect court lady and she feels she cannot live up to the expectations" and Ronan is the dark, broody love interest that's unfit for a princess as a thief and (ex) Druid. Their relationship just seemed to just happen by nature of it being a YA book adhering to certain tropes, more than it felt like they had grown past being enemies and into romantic interests.
Overall it just lands in the middle of the road, it wasn't bad but it wasn't anything I'd reread or recommend to anyone unless they were specifically looking for a YA Celtic fantasy book. It definitely had the elements to be an intriguing read, but it didn't succeed for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Colonisation and Infidelity
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