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bahbadook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
<strong>History and mythology and a dang good story</strong>
There had better be a sequel to this.
Not that this didn't end perfectly satisfactorily. Not that this was a cliffhanger, mostly. Because it wasn't. Mostly.
But good grief do I love these characters. And my brain is tickling with Egyptian history right now but I don't remember precisely which queen that was. Or if it was mythology and the internet is not being particularly helpful for looking it up. But this is going to bother me and so I'm going to be spending a lot of the rest of the day searching for the answer to that.
This book was good. It's got literally everything. Monsters, spirits, gods, fate-touched, love, secrets, war, the dead.
I mean, obviously. This book is called "Queen Among the Dead". Of course the dead are going to feature in it.
But this was so good. So good. And our three main characters are just *chef's kiss*
There had better be a sequel to this.
Not that this didn't end perfectly satisfactorily. Not that this was a cliffhanger, mostly. Because it wasn't. Mostly.
But good grief do I love these characters. And my brain is tickling with Egyptian history right now but I don't remember precisely which queen that was. Or if it was mythology and the internet is not being particularly helpful for looking it up. But this is going to bother me and so I'm going to be spending a lot of the rest of the day searching for the answer to that.
This book was good. It's got literally everything. Monsters, spirits, gods, fate-touched, love, secrets, war, the dead.
I mean, obviously. This book is called "Queen Among the Dead". Of course the dead are going to feature in it.
But this was so good. So good. And our three main characters are just *chef's kiss*
leslie_penka's review against another edition
2.0
I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I was so excited for this book because the synopsis sounded wonderful. However I could never fully get into the book! I struggled with all the info dumping and could never really relate to the characters so I never could fully immerse myself into the story. I do love the idea of Celtic fantasy however this one kind of fell flat for me.
I was so excited for this book because the synopsis sounded wonderful. However I could never fully get into the book! I struggled with all the info dumping and could never really relate to the characters so I never could fully immerse myself into the story. I do love the idea of Celtic fantasy however this one kind of fell flat for me.
fsmeurinne's review against another edition
4.0
This is Neve and Ronan's story, and the idea of the book is what attracted me, Celtic Mythology is interesting and the author knows quite a bit, but for me, this book needs editing, the pacing is slow, I understand the world-building for these type of fantasy books is demanding and takes a while, however, the pacing and everything dragged for me, there were many interesting factors, I liked the characters, the plotline is interesting, but the writing made it way too slow and sometimes I think some parts could've been edited to make the pacing faster and give the reader something to want it to find out what happens next. It's a YA, so the characters might be a bit mild, I still think they could've been more developed, and the chemistry between them with more sparks.
asa_s_16's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
billies_not_so_secret_diary's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Queen Among the Dead
by Lesley Livingston
YA Fantasy Legends
Scribd Audio
Set in the ancient kingdom of Eire, where magic is outlawed and the Druid priests collect that magic, Neve is the youngest daughter of the king and tends to disobey her father by sneaking out of the grounds, and secretly training with a soldier. But one night as a young girl, her feelings and esteem crushed by her father, she sneaks out in the middle of the night and her tears summon a banshee, and if it wasn't for Ronan, an ex-Druid apprentice who now steals and sells magic, she'd be dead. Seven years later, the magic he used to save her, had cursed them both. But their curse isn't the only evil magic waking up.
It was a good story, the pacing started slow, sped up, then slowed down again, and sadly a lot of the slowness was all of the info dumps that littered each chapter. Some of it was necessary, some wasn't, and a bit was repeated.
The characters were relatable, but I think they all needed more descriptions of themselves, not the clothes there were wearing. I find hearing what they are wearing each day; the style, color, and how many fasteners, is boring.
There is some romance, but nothing happens other than kissing, and it was the typical trope of enemy-friends-romance. It's the violence though makes this book suitable for readers fourteen and older. It wasn't bad, but, you know...
The ending had closure, though it is left open enough that a sequel is still possible.
3 Stars
by Lesley Livingston
YA Fantasy Legends
Scribd Audio
Set in the ancient kingdom of Eire, where magic is outlawed and the Druid priests collect that magic, Neve is the youngest daughter of the king and tends to disobey her father by sneaking out of the grounds, and secretly training with a soldier. But one night as a young girl, her feelings and esteem crushed by her father, she sneaks out in the middle of the night and her tears summon a banshee, and if it wasn't for Ronan, an ex-Druid apprentice who now steals and sells magic, she'd be dead. Seven years later, the magic he used to save her, had cursed them both. But their curse isn't the only evil magic waking up.
It was a good story, the pacing started slow, sped up, then slowed down again, and sadly a lot of the slowness was all of the info dumps that littered each chapter. Some of it was necessary, some wasn't, and a bit was repeated.
The characters were relatable, but I think they all needed more descriptions of themselves, not the clothes there were wearing. I find hearing what they are wearing each day; the style, color, and how many fasteners, is boring.
There is some romance, but nothing happens other than kissing, and it was the typical trope of enemy-friends-romance. It's the violence though makes this book suitable for readers fourteen and older. It wasn't bad, but, you know...
The ending had closure, though it is left open enough that a sequel is still possible.
3 Stars
katbotdiaries's review against another edition
1.0
The author obviously loves Celtic fantasy, and the world building in this pictured an idyllic, lush Ireland of the past. Literally every other choice was confusing. The book is written mainly from the perspective of Neve, the descendant of the colonizers of Ireland, who are obviously written to be Egyptian. The choice to write from the perspective of the colonizer and make them a sympathetic character, kind of a White Savior story with only white characters, felt very dated to me.
The pacing of this book was incredibly off, the first half of the book it is completely slice of life for Neve and Ronan, the other main character who is an ex druid. There are no motivations or goals for either main character beyond Neve wanting to prove she's Not Like Other Girls. She wields an ax and sneaks out of the castle and she totally doesn't have unresolved trauma from her mother abandoning her.
In the second half of the book, we have action thrown at us in a never ending cycle, all the way up to the end, where with 20 pages to go, we have not resolved any part of the conflicts. Falling action and resolution take place over four pages. The conflict was also super confusing. Neve is getting help from the Scathach, but also the Scathach is evil. She also resolves all her emotional trauma over the revelation that her father is not the king but actually a type of being she has called MONSTER multiple times in about two paragraphs. And she is an extreme Mary Sue, being excellent at literally everything she tries out in the book, including war strategy. Everything just falls into her lap once the plot gets rolling.
Overall, this is an avoid. If you want Celtic or British inspired fantasy, I'd stick with books like The Once and Future King by T.H. White, Legendborn by Tracey Deonn, or The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd Jones.
The pacing of this book was incredibly off, the first half of the book it is completely slice of life for Neve and Ronan, the other main character who is an ex druid. There are no motivations or goals for either main character beyond Neve wanting to prove she's Not Like Other Girls. She wields an ax and sneaks out of the castle and she totally doesn't have unresolved trauma from her mother abandoning her.
In the second half of the book, we have action thrown at us in a never ending cycle, all the way up to the end, where with 20 pages to go, we have not resolved any part of the conflicts. Falling action and resolution take place over four pages.
Overall, this is an avoid. If you want Celtic or British inspired fantasy, I'd stick with books like The Once and Future King by T.H. White, Legendborn by Tracey Deonn, or The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd Jones.
abbys_book_corner's review against another edition
Super confusing if you don’t like intricate fantasy worlds.
gh0st0fth0ught's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
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