This a historical fiction novel about Languoreth, a queen from the 6th century and twin sister to Lailoken (who inspired the legends of Merlin). This story takes place in the mid-late 400s in what is now known as Scotland and England. Wars are breaking out between different peoples trying to settle the land (Romans, Britons, Angles, Picts, Celts, as well as those who follow "the old way of knowing" vs newly converted Christians). Languoreth has come to age and is to be married off to the High King's son but is in love with someone else. Lailoken is trained as a warrior and is also training to be a Wisdom Keeper of the Old Ways.

It is action packed, has some romance, some magical/fantastical elements, some drama, familial obligation, is historical and incredibly fascinating. It is a page turner!

I loved this one and will be thinking of it for a while!

Fans of Outlander, Philippa Gregory, and historical fiction and fantasy in general, will enjoy this book!

Thank you for the ARC!

The premise of this book was so good that I flew thought it! The way the author told this story was so refreshing and interesting to read. I really loved the traits the characters had and how their different personalities made every conflict so much better. I didn't have many expectations for this book, but it was a nice surprise for sure!

I absolutely loved this book! Combining action, romance, and magic against the backdrop of medieval Scotland, The Lost Queen was an amazing read. Languoreth is a great main character: stubborn, intelligent, and diplomatic. I loved the rich, magical world of medieval Scotland, and I liked the combination of historical fiction and fantasy. I would definitely recommend this book to any lovers of those genres, as well as anyone who enjoyed Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the opportunity to review a copy of The Lost Queen by Signe Pike in advance of the release of her second book in this series. I thought the writing was well researched and imaginative and I appreciated the author’s vision of what could have been to inspire such enduring legends as those to do with Merlin and Arthur and the Camelot of yore. The land and history was vibrant and I cannot wait until the third book is available to complete the story begun of a woman that time has all but forgotten.

The Lost Queen, by Signe Pike, held my interest from the start to the end of the book. In fact, I’m ready to find and purchase the 2nd book of the trilogy. This book is unique in the fact that a female during the 6th century is the main character, and viewed as a strong, poignant woman who defines and has to help shape the bridge of transition from the Old Ways to Christianity.
The storyline follows a female, named Languoreth, from her childhood through early-mid age. Several difficult decisions have to be made by Languoreth, and consequences to her decisions have to be lived with. As a noble female during this period in history, her life is never truly her own. She knows at a young age her lot in life is not to grow up to become a Wisdom Keeper, as her heart truly wants, but to become a pawn and be used to help solidify alliances between her family and the family she will be wedded to. Her twin brother Lailoken, on the other hand, is chosen to be trained as a Wisdom Keeper.
Knowing her fate, she is disappointed and feels her family role is less than what she truly wants in her heart. However, as the story progresses, and, with help of her new mother-in-law, I believe Languoreth slowly matures and learns what influence she really can be in her role as future Queen.
Near the end of this novel, we as readers learn Lailoken is actually Merlin of Arthurian legend, and he truly did have a twin sister named Languoreth who was an influential Queen during her time. Signe Pike spent countless hours researching, trying to find information on our “lost Queen” so her story could finally be told.

I am an avid genealogist, and, when researching noble and royal families, I tend to feel sorry for the females, as they as oftentimes used as trading tokens, to help solidify political alliances. Women were not given positions of power, nor were many women’s stories and lives captured onto paper and quill. The author of this novel portrays Languoreth’s father as very doting and wanting to find her a match that would not only strengthen an alliance with a more powerful king, but I believe he truly did want the best for his daughter. I also find it interesting how the author chose for Languoreth’s husband to be progressive, so to speak, in the fact that he valued her thoughts, and showed mercy to her when she “disobeyed.” However, his brother readily beats his wife, is unfaithful, and shows no mercy. It makes me wonder how life really was for women of noble birth, and how the majority of them were in fact treated.

I can’t wait to begin reading the 2nd book of the trilogy, “The Forgotten Kingdom.”

“I do not think we can choose who we love with any more freedom than we can choose who we marry.”

This is a coming of age story, a story of first love, of what it means to be a woman, to be a daughter, leader, sister, mother, queen. It’s powerful and enrapturing.

I switched between print and audio, but mostly listened. The audio narration and stunning writing are almost hypnotic in their beauty and demand that you slow down and soak it in.

I loved this book, these characters and their loyalty to each other, the richly written setting, and never knowing where the story would take me. This is the first book in a trilogy (the second is already out as well) and I’m so glad there’s more of Langueroth’s story ahead.

A captivating story of Arthurian legend in 6th century Scotland. The story of the Lost Queen follows Languoreth, twin sister to Lailoken, the man we famously know as Merlin. Languoreth is bound to duty, to family, and faith and she will do what she can to protect all. From a child of ten, we watch Languoreth as she first learns the role of politics in her world. At the age of 15, she experiences endearing love and dutiful marriage and lastly, at 32, her world is thrust into chaos as war is on the horizon. She fights to save and protect her love, her family, and everything that she holds dear.

In all honesty, I had a difficult time getting into the flow of this book. After maybe 5-10 chapters in is when I was really hooked. I've always enjoyed historical fiction and this is probably the first book that's really taken me back to my love for them. This book was mystical at times, thrilling, truly heartbreaking, and totally worthwhile. I've not heard of this side of King Arthur and Merlin and I was so captivated by Languoreth. Her character was rebellious and clever, she was dutiful and I loved her regard for the "Old Ways" but made room for the new. She was a loving mother and a caring wife, a sister who went to great lengths to protect her twin and when she loved, truly loved, she didn't hold back. Pike wrote Languoreth with such strength, she's definitely a character to admire. Pike also did a wonderful job allowing us to explore 6th century Scotland. The details in all aspects of this book paint the most vivid scenes. All aspects of this book was amazing, even though I had a rough start, that was on me. The pace of historical fictions are sometime a slow burn for the sake of backstory and details and it was totally worth it. I really did love everything about this book. Historical fictions are not for everyone, but this would be a great book for everyone to read at least once. I'd highly recommend this book and I'm looking forward to the next book.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

To be honest, I wanted to read this book for two reasons: the stunning cover and its seeing in medieval Scotland, which I rarely get to read about (or any time period in Scotland for that matter). I was thrilled to find out it's about Languoreth, whose twin brother is the inspiration behind Merlin. I thought there would be some fantasy, maybe some romance. But what I got was so much more.

The Celtic world has always fascinated me. It's dark, magical, mysterious, a bit dangerous. Pike takes us to a time of Druids, ancient kingdoms, and it completely sucked me in. Times are changing with the rise of Christianity, which I felt drive a lot of the plot. So beautifully written. I loved the portrayal of Languoreth's relationship with her brother and his she herself was written. A strong female lead, relatable in her struggles the deep love she had. So often when I read of medieval female figures, they're cold and hard to relate to. Granted they're mainly non fiction so far liberties can be taken, so this was different. Family drama, love, loss, and political intrigue combined with stunning and vivid descriptions made this hard to put down. I started the sequel immediately after finishing this one.

I very very very much appreciated the phonetic pronunciations included by the author, though I think I'm still going to listen to the audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

It sounded like an very interesting historical fiction book, but i couldn`t connect with the book at all. The dialog sometimes seemed off and it was many people coming and going and i ended up just confused.

It could be a bit better. I mean the writing style was beautiful but the story could be better. Fantasy is my go to genre and I always find solace in fantasy books so I want them to be impactful.

This sounded amazing and I usually really enjoy historical fiction so had high hopes but I didn't finish this one. I found it to be moving so slow and struggled the dialog. I just could not connect with this book at all.

A little less than 4 stars, rounded up. The story drew me in and kept me entertained and I do plan on reading the rest of the books in the series. I felt like the writing was almost too simplistic (I just looked to check that it wasn't considered a "young adult" book) but I may feel that way because the book I finished previously was long (and part of a longer series) and quite detailed. We are also told numerous times in the book that the main character is so clever but there isn't much if any evidence of her actually being clever (I hope this changes in the next book). There were a few times that she does something, is told to never do that again, promises not to, and then immediately does it again which was frustrating. Overall entertaining but could have been much better.

The Lost Queen
By Signe Pike

When I heard that this was the untold story of Languoreth and the setting of 6th century Scotland and the twin sister of the man that inspired the legend of Merlin, Lailoken. As much as we hear about Merlin, there really was not much that we know about his twin sister and this was such a compeling read that I enjoyed reading about. I was completely sold. I read this in a matter of few days with very few rest in between because yes, I was just that hooked. In the end after a few sleepless nights with my nose stuck in this book, I could not have been more satisfied and ready to read the next books in the series.

The writing was impeccable and I loved the pacing of this book with a lot of excitement for me - the story was easy to follow and I loved how easy it was to get lost in this world of 6th century Scotland. I was in awe the whole time and loved the characters as they were introduced into this magical story of love and adventure.

I loved this so much I highly recommend this book and what an amazing start of the series. i am a fan!!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book!

This was SO easy to get lost in! I loved every second of this, and am going to get my hands on the next books ASAP. Definitely would recommend!

'"#The Lost Queen' by author # Signe Pike is #1 in her historical trilogy. This takes place in sixth-century Scotland. This is a wonderful beginning of her series.
A queen of Scotland. She was the twin sister of the magical man, Lailoken, who inspired the legend of Merlin. A geographical map is included in the beginning.
Thank you,
#Netgalley, # Signe Pike, and # Atria Books for the advanced copy 🌟🐾🐾

Wow! I was hooked from the start. I really enjoyed this book. Well researched and it was a beautiful magical read.
Thank you so much to the publisher for allowing me to read.

This is the fascinating start to this exceptional historical trilogy. This book starts the story of Languoreth—a forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland. She was the twin sister of the man of the legend of Merlin. I have read the entire trilogy and loved each book. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity to revisit this first in series. The writing of the author is so exceptional and engrossing that the author transports the reader into this vivid world.

The setting of Scotland in the 6th century is wonderfully atmospheric in this trilogy. The author writes so well of the start of Christianity and the Anglo Saxon rise. The invasions are epic in description. I loved this first in series which led to the next two books which are fantastic reading. I highly recommend this trilogy for your reading enjoyment

This book has been wildly released since 2018, so if you’re looking for an easy YA read to get you out of a slump, this might be it. I’m halfway through but I fear that I might dive into my new books when they arrive (tomorrow!) that I forget about this one, so I wrote a quick ‘likes and dislikes’ review for the book, thus far:

Like:
– It’s a world founded on spirituality and concepts of healing

– The point of view from which it is written (Languoreth, the young woman) is easy to follow and read and gives the book a good perspective as if you’re immersed there as well

– It is interesting enough to keep you reading

– No character feels unnecessary

– I love that it’s about cult-like Christianity moving into Briton lands and pushing people from old world ways: very fitting for our times

– It’s historical fiction; it brings life to a long-forgotten woman (the twin sister of Merlin)

Dislikes:
– The end of chapter hooks are… not… “hooky” enough

– All. The. Confusing. Gaelic. Names. I literally had to look up the main character’s name for this post but apparently, this is historical fiction of sorts so the names haven’t just been made up to make your life difficult (cough, cough, Game of Thrones)

– The age (she goes from 10 to 14) is really bizarre; she sounds too wise for ten at the beginning of the book but then turns into a big baby sometimes, and at 14 she sounds like she’s 17 or 18, but then goes back into that baby mentality at points – I don’t understand it, it’s inconsistent

– She is attracted to a moody, angsty, boring character who ignores her, and I’m so sick of the moody loser being the love interest; he’s supposed to be around 24, grow up

– There could be more action but I suppose this is historical story development

– I didn’t know it was 544 pages when I agreed to read it (as a reviewer for NetGalley), and now I don’t want to leave it as a DNF because I actually like it (lol)

Currently, I rate this book a Three out of Five. There’s a second book to the series, but unless the ending of this one is super spectacular, I don’t anticipate that I will read it.

[UPDATE]
So, a few days after posting my mid-read review I finally finished, and these are my final thoughts:

-There was a very predictable character twist that I guessed as soon as they were introduced. That was disappointing.

-I don’t understand the infinite tie to the childhood love who, once again, acts like a child in ever further adulthood.

-The word “booty” is used for treasure and it seems inconsistent with the period of the novel.

-Warning: random softcore porn scene and a pedophilia reference

-The final section of the book seems rushed and the ending leaves much to be desired. And the reference to Merlin was clearly to sell the novel (and the second book) because it’s lacking in the Merlin department.

Final decision: 2.5 out of Five
Would not read the second book.

I requested this book when I kept reading so many great reviews. Signe Pike did such an amazing job on this book.
The characters were very likable and the world building was pretty good. I know it’s been out for over a year but I won’t give any spoilers.
I just went to say, do yourself a favor and read this book! I’ll be reading book 2 soon and I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.

Wow! The Lost Queen is truly a joy to read. Woven throughout with deeply rich characters, imagery and action, it was hard to put down. I rarely give five stars for review, and I just love this book!