Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston is a fast-paced YA fantasy inspired by the legend of the true queen of Ireland. Neve is the youngest daughter of the ruler of Eire. She’s hard-headed, brash, and wild. She spends her days learning fighting skills (archery, driving chariots, swinging an axe or a sword) instead of indoors like a proper lady. She knows she will never rule, and the further away from her father she can be the better. But when tragedy strikes, Neve’s care for her people, all of her people, will lead her to her destiny.

Neve is a great character. She’s young, immature, and not at all what you’d expect a princess to be. She sneaks out of the castle to drink in the nearby village. She fights with king’s men. But when a mysterious magic begins to blossom under her skin, Neve is scared. Magic is outlawed by her father; users are hunted and killed. She can’t control it, nor does she understand where it came from, but maybe the boy she met in a graveyard when she was younger does.

Ronan, a druid-apprentice turned thief, has been searching for Neve since the night her tears woke a demon. That night, Ronan saved her just for her to turn around and save him. But in the saving, Ronan is cursed, or so he thinks. He has magic he doesn’t understand and is just now learning to control. Imagine his surprise when he runs into the girl at the village tavern only to discover she is a princess.

Neve and Ronan refuse to work together until they are forced to. Something causes their paths to continuously cross. After tragedy strikes, Ronan and Neve travel the country side in search of answers, to free the Fir Bolg people, and restore magic to Eire. Told in 3rd person limited, we get glimpses into Neve and Ronan’s thinking. The plot is fast-paced, continuously moving. I loved the mythology woven throughout the book with magic and Druids and ancient creatures.

Overall, I really enjoyed Queen Among the Dead. Neve and Ronan are beautifully flawed and fully fleshed out characters. If you enjoy YA fantasy, Celtic lore, or just looking for an exciting read, I highly recommend this one.

Audiobook Note: While I received an eARC of this one, I decided to listen and purchased the audiobook. My main reason for doing this was to figure out how to pronounce the Celtic places, people, and language. I loved the narrator. She is fantastic. Whenever I listened, the world fell away, and I was fully engaged. Highly recommend this format.

There was so much world building in this book, and it just felt like alot for me. I often struggle with fantasy that needs heavy world building, I've tried and I'm just not that kind of reader. I think this will be someone's favorite book, but it just was not mine.

This book hooked me from the first page, drawing me into a richly woven tale of mystery, danger, and destiny. The balance between detailed world-building and fast-paced storytelling is masterful, making every moment immersive without ever feeling overwhelming.

Neve is a standout heroine—fierce, sassy, and determined to shatter the expectations placed upon her. If you love strong female leads with grit and defiance, she’s impossible not to root for. Then there’s Ronan, the wily bandit whose path fatefully intertwines with Neve’s. Their chemistry and banter spark from the moment they meet, giving life to one of my favorite dynamics: enemies-to-lovers.

The story is steeped in Celtic-inspired mythology, offering a magical world full of gods, legends, and power struggles. Even without prior knowledge of the lore, the narrative is accessible, with explanations seamlessly woven into the plot. Add in layers of political intrigue, rebellious factions, and vivid imagery, and you’ve got a world that feels as real as it is fantastical.

The themes and tropes hit all the right notes for me: a fierce heroine breaking her chains, an emotional journey of self-discovery, raw and gritty stakes, and a transformative romance that burns with tension. The ending delivers twists I didn’t see coming and a conclusion that’s both satisfying and compelling.

If you love tales of destiny, action-packed adventures, and richly built fantasy worlds, this is a must-read. Highly recommended for fans of:
Fierce female protagonists
Enemies-to-lovers romance
Deeply rooted mythology
Political intrigue
Raw, emotional journeys

This book earns all five stars and a spot on my favorites list. I can’t wait to see what this author creates next!

I picked up this book because I was thrilled at the rise of books with Celtic/Irish mythology settings! This one, unfortunately, missed the mark for me.

Queen Among the Dead *does* have an interesting premise! A Merlin BBC-esque setting with a tyrannical king who has outlawed magic, a childhood encounter between a thief and a princess who are fated to meet again, and the youngest daughter forced to attempt and save her family’s throne from ruin? It sounded great. Unfortunately, this book read like an early edit. Riddled with typos even in my published library copy, there’s even a scene involving a mask where its location seems to bounce around between in the MC’s hand, in her bag, etc. That stuck out to me as it’s meant to be a pivotal moment in the plot, and yet I was immediately drawn out of the story and never managed to get back in. I officially DNFed at 60%, then heavily skimmed the rest. The romance was very insta-hate to insta-love with really no buildup or chemistry. (Also, Sakir was right there!!!) Lots of things never really seemed tied up or explained, and yet this is apparently a standalone! I also couldn’t really tell the dual POVs apart, which was difficult as they sometimes switched during the same chapters. I did find Sakir to be intriguing and have a more unique voice than the others, though! I wouldn’t recommend this book to my audience, but I would be willing to give the author another chance a few books from now.

I waited a little too long to read this one and did not enjoy it as much as I should have but it was still fun.

I was so excited for this book! But I just did not like it. The writing felt flat and empty yet very florid and overdone. And I could not connect to the characters. I did not enjoy it at all.

4⭐

Neve is the blessed and forgotten youngest daughter of the king; Ronan is an ex-druid apprentice turned theif. Fate throws them together and into chaos as they try to navigate a destiny that was unexpected.

If you like Irish legends and adventure this is a great book to pick up. I never knew what path this story was going to take as it unfolded. I liked the characters a lot and found myself cheering them on in battle as they figured things out and accomplished their goals.

There was a sweet underlying romantic subplot that was very Westside Story, but accumulated in a fantastic end. I listened to the audio of this as well and the narrator was awesome.

This book was a Celtic retelling which intrigued me.
There were, however, times that felt a little slow due to some info dumps.
It was a very atmospheric and fun read.

I think the book really did lack in pacing and hard to follow at times. The characters needed to be more fleshed out and the romance felt off at times.

2/5 Stars

This was not it for me. I wanted to like this so bad. I've read previous books by this author and enjoyed them but this was just different. I was so excited about the premise of this book, I mean a Fantasy book infused with Celtic background! I was ready. Unfortunately for me, everything fell very flat for me. I found it very difficult to get pulled into the story, the writing just wasn't grabbing my attention. Everything just felt very choppy. It just felt like there wasn't a point to the story. This was a flob for me and I am sad to say I was disappointed

Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston is a captivating read for fans of young adult fantasy and Celtic mythology, who will be drawn to the dark, adventurous tale of a strong-willed princess and a charismatic thief as they navigate a world of magic, danger, and romance, set against the rich backdrop of ancient Ireland.

Sadly I was not a fan of this one. I would have stopped reading if I didn’t feel like I owed a review. It just wasn’t for me

I really wanted to love this book because I love mythology but I didn’t feel very connected to the characters. I will keep an eye out though for any future books of theirs to give them another chance.

"Queen Among the Dead" by Lesley Livingston is a gripping and haunting tale that seamlessly blends history, fantasy, and mythology. Set against the backdrop of ancient Rome, the novel follows the journey of its fierce protagonist as she navigates the treacherous realms of the living and the dead. Livingston's vivid storytelling and rich world-building transport readers to a time of gladiators, gods, and dark magic. With its compelling characters and intricate plot twists, "Queen Among the Dead" is a captivating read that will leave you spellbound until the very last page. A must-read for fans of historical fantasy and epic adventures.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest review.

I love the idea of a book with a Celtic retelling. There aren't nearly enough of those out there. This one did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very atmospheric and fun. There were times that felt a little slow due to some info dumping, but it definitely picked up.

I

Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston intrigued me with its description of Celtic mythology. Unfortunately, the story did not hold up for me, and I found myself quite confused with the mythology itself many times throughout my read. On the other hand, it was a quick enough read to be done and over with it swiftly.

2.5 stars rounded down for Goodreads

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.

I personally enjoyed the celtic mythology infused into the story, but it may be confusing for readers who are not already versed in mythology. I ended up buying this book for my library collection and recommend it to readers of YA Romantasy.

I was really excited to read this, as I thought the general premise and vibes sounded great. Unfortunately, it was just wasn’t for me! The plot didn’t grip me, and the characters didn’t have anything loveable or unique about them, in my opinion. There was a lot of world building, but it felt a bit info-dumpy and was sometimes hard to understand or get into.

It felt like there was a lot of explaining and not enough doing.
I found some chapters to drag on and about half way I was losing interest.
I don't think it's terrible, I just think some of the filler could have been left out.