I loved this book so much was a super fun read for me I couldn't put it down and honestly didn't want it to end.

This wasn't really my cup of tea. I think that if I had a little more outside understanding of the lore present in the story, I would have enjoyed this a lot more. I liked the narrative voice of the story, but the meat of it I just couldn't dig into. I appreciate the glossary but having to try and flip back and forth (especially in an e-format) just made reading this feel tedious. I really liked Neve, though I think that all the time spent trying to make the reader understand the lore took away from the time needed to really develop Neve into a character I felt for. Overall, not bad and I liked the writing style and narrative tone, but my lack of knowledge-base, inability to get into the story, flipping back and forth from glossary to text, etc. really hindered me from falling in love with this story.

Anyone who is familiar with this blog knows that I am a huge Juliet Marillier fan. I mean, I devoted an entire years-long running series to re-reading all of her books and reviewing them here. So it will come as no surprise that all it would take for me to request a book might be the barest hint of a book sounds similar to Marillier's work. And such was the case here!

Long ago, Neve, the younger daughter of the king of Eire, met a strange boy and they fought a powerful and dangerous demon, only barely escaping with their lives. Through this experience, both have now grown to distrust the powerful Druid order that both outlawed magic but also hoarded it to themselves. When they meet again as adults, seeming enemies in the grand scheme of their society, they find that this similar distrust and their own hopes for their country tie them more closely together than they ever could have imagined. And when a powerful darkness begins to seep across the land, they find that, together, they possess a rare and powerful magic that is just what is needed to re-shape the future.

There was a lot to like about this book right from the very start. For one thing, it was apparent that the writing was excellent from the first page. It perfectly fit the tone of a historical fantasy story, being both lyrical but also clear enough to depict a world and culture that has one foot in the world we're familiar with, but another foot clearly placed in a realm of magic and mystery. It's a difficult balance, to capture both the historical tone and the whimsical. I also really liked the dialogue. Especially when we first see Neve and Ronan interacting as adults. It was funny and yet still felt natural to the characters, again balancing modern sensibilities of humor alongside a sort of pseudo-historical vocabulary.

Ronan and Neve were also very interesting characters in their own right. I enjoyed the duel mysteries regarding their different natures. It's one thing to pull off one character with a "strange past," but quite another to do it with both of your protagonists without one of them dropping in quality. I think I particularly liked Neve, however, if I had to choose between the two. Her character had to work through some very interesting family dynamics (even a few that came in the form of a nice twist towards the end), while also grappling with the restrictions on women and the unique history of Eire that lead to some of these restrictions. Ronan's story is much more straight-forward in this regard, but still very enjoyable.

I will say, however, that the story stumbled when it came to their relationship. I saw this book billed as an "enemies to lovers" romance, and I just don't think it really fits into that. I was never able to really identify the "enemies" portion of it, rather than a few brief instances where they each decide not to trust the other. Frankly, the primary emotion this relationship inspired was frustration. The characters made fairly random decisions to suddenly not trust one another, but then the very first second this decision would be tested, they'd be right back to working together and having all the feelings. Not only did the wishy-washy-ness feel unrealistic, but it didn't serve any purpose to the story other than forced conflict (and like I said, even there, there wasn't any real conflict, just talk of potential conflict that was immediately dismissed in reality).

Overall, while I think the story did have a weak romance and a bit of a pacing problem (there was a decent amount of the middle of the book that felt like it was dragging), I still came away feeling like this was a pretty solid historical fantasy. The mythology, in particular, was very interesting, and I do think it will appeal to readers who like books like those produced by Marilliar or other historical fantasy authors.

Rating 8: A bit rocky in the pacing and romance departments, but saved by its solid writing and interesting mythological history.

(Link will go live 01/25/23)

After trying to get into this book several times, I have to admit defeat. It just doesn't capture me. I feel no desire to read it, I keep forgetting it and I am not invested in any way. Previously, I have enjoyed Livingston's books. But this time I was just not into it.

Although this book has lots of potential, it was hard for me to keep along with each aspect of the Irish lore. If I came in with an understanding of the Celtic history I would be much more enamored. I understand that Livingston did a fantastic job of retelling the Irish legends, it was just hard for someone who has little understanding to keep up, even with the glossary, but for the right reader it would be very different.

The plot did unravel under a confusing timeline. Some aspects were overly sped up while others were a bit extended. However I loved the characters of Neve and Ronan, specifically their childhood beginning.

I really liked this one. LOVED Neve as a character. I wasn't completely sold on the love interest but that's more of a me issue (been struggling to ship things lately). It did start to feel more and more like the first book of a series the further I got along. If there is a second book I'll gladly read it but please add a recap of this one because I have a terrible memory. (hence why I try to not start unfinished series anymore)

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.

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.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC! In an imaginative world of Eire, it used to be a land of magic, until it was outlawed by the king and squirreled away by his Druid priests. Neve, the youngest princess, has always viewed herself first and foremost a warrior, which makes her unwelcome in her father's court. Neve discovers that an unexplained magic runs in her blood after a chance encounter with Ronan, a defunct Druid apprentice-became-thief. And then ancient truths will devastate the land of Eire unless Neve seizes the throne, amidst the fact that a woman cannot become king. There were some aspects I really liked, but I can't deny that I wasn't captured with this novel or these personalities. I still think it was an interesting and fun novel that many readers will enjoy for the most part, but I don't think it will be a favourite book of mine.

Loved the book, could feel the legend's power throughout. Main character and love interest have good chemistry.

3/5
I love Celtic tales and was very excited to read this book. For the most part, I think it delivered on what it claimed to be: a Celtic story wrapped in a fantasy world for YA readers. It fits that. What it doesn't do is develop the characters or storyline enough to appeal to readers of fantasy or more in-depth YA fantasy. I think this is the kind of book I would use to introduce a reader to the genre of YA fantasy. It's not overly complex or hard to follow, but it also lacks the appeal and pleasure of truly special fantasy books that stick with you long after you've finished them. I enjoyed the book but I would have no interest in ever revisiting the world, which lowers my score.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

For those who love books that cram as much information as possible in the beginning with little explanation.

“There was only one person Neve trusted with her troubles. And she didn’t actually trust him at all.”

Queen Among the Dead is a YA fantasy inspired by Celtic lore and the first Irish Queen.

Neve is the second daughter of the king of Eire. Ronan is a thief and Neve’s enemy. They both are forced to set forth on a journey to uncover truth’s behind the magic in the kingdom and loyalties of those closest to the king. Along this journey they both have a lot of self discovery to go through.

This book was really enjoyable. The lore and magic system were interesting and the main characters were engaging. Some of the fantasy elements were rather complex due to using specific names for things that sometimes got hard to keep track of. At times I also filed the pacing of the story jumped around a little bit, but overall I really liked it.

The story was okay … but it honestly didn’t stick out to me at all. I don’t remember what happened and found myself having to reread pages over again because I was so bored I’d zone out.

I received an advanced copy from netgalley for an honest review. 4.5/5

I am always looking for little to no spice book recommendations and this is absolutely going to be one at the top of the list.

Queen among the dead follows Neve, beloved of the wolf's journey in finding stollen magic with a little help from a thief and a few other outcasts. Will she also become King?

It was a slow build up and I feel the ending was quick but not in a bad way. The relationships all developed smoothly and it had some unique aspects too it. Overall I really enjoyed the read.

Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston is a captivating, dual POV story with rich, Irish folklore world building and a cool, deeply complex magic system.

I’ll be honest with you - this was hard as heck to get into. There’s a lot of intense world building and fantasy politics and hard to pronounce names. BUT! Im actually so so happy I stuck with it, because it was so worth it. I couldn’t put this book down because every time I did, I would miss the world and the characters so much.

Ugh. The CHARACTERS. The FMC Neve was a fiery, hot-headed, spitfire (puns intended, iykyk) princess who would rather be a fighter than a queen, like her older sister and polar opposite will be (gotta love the strong sister relationship trope). Neve is more of a king than a queen - literally the definition of my favorite female archtype.

And then there’s Ronan. RONAN. I am so in love. He’s a thief with magic in his blood (did someone say royal falls for the commoner trope??) and a heart of gold. Something draws them together, but things go wrong every time. There were things I didn’t like about the book, but they were all masked by my LOVE of him.

Read for intricate world building, tense & thrilling fantasy politics, and a 🔥🐺🏹 girl meets a 🖤🌊🗡 boy romance subplot.

Thank you to @netgalley for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Magic has been banned in the kingdom of Eire but the Druid priests are keeping it alive in secret. Neve is the youngest princess and Ronan is on the path to be a Druid priest. Their roles may be against each other, but when Eire is threatened they work together in an attempt to have Neve on the throne. What will Neve learn about magic and herself? Will the kingdom of Eire survive?

Queen Among the Dead is a stand-alone fantasy adventure that will bring Irish legends to a new set of readers. I love retold fairytales and legends and was looking forward to this novel, but the final result left me feeling unimpressed. I’m not sure what was missing, but my mind kept wandering and I had to stop often and try to think about the story to help it make sense to me. A good read, but shouldn’t be rushed to the top of a TBR list.

I read this book pretty quickly, as it is the standard young adult fantasy. It was such an easy read that pulled me into the world like quick sand, I am a sucker for Celtic lore and forbidden magic. The unexpected heir, the dark magic, the Celtic Irish feel of the world was checking off a lot of world-building boxes for me; however I still had some questions about how magic was being outlawed and "collected". There were nice twists within the story-telling, leading you down one trail and then finding out it double-backed on you and led you somewhere else. I always appreciate the unexpected, but it did feel like these twists weren't necessarily purposeful.

The bonds of sisterhood were woven delicately, showing not just a blind devotion to one another, which I thought was incredibly important. Particularly in stories where one child is groomed to be the heir; while the spare child has a different life (a bit more freedom). I also enjoyed the budding romances—the bonds of friendship that were woven, and I absolutely loved the villain. I'm hoping this book does expand to a second novel, it seems to hint at one, because I am very curious about the power off the coast that is hinted at. Overall, a solid YA read, with some developmental flaws that hopefully get explained and wrapped up in a second novel. Reminded me a bit of the Ash Princess series.

Reviews Posted: November 8, 2022
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This book got off to a slow start but started to pick up nicely at about the halfway point. I also felt the world-building was a little all over the place at points, and that would defiantly pull me out of the story.

I felt that the plot was interesting, and the mystery behind everything is truly what kept me going for the first half of the book. When things got a little more exciting in the second half, I did have a hard time putting the book down.

The two main characters were pretty good. I liked that we got both of their perspectives to have a better understanding of how the world worked and just generally to get to know them better. I found the side characters lacking, and when the author would use them for something in the plot, I just didn’t care. I just could not feel the connection or emotion between them and the main characters.

While the world-building was a little all over the place at times, I genuinely found the world and magic system to be interesting. I thought the use of magic was unique while still incorporating elements of fantasy that felt familiar.

Neve is the daughter of the King, and Rowan used to be an apprentice to the druids. Thrust together by dark events, they find themselves reluctant allies.

I struggled a bit with the world building in this book. Sometimes it felt like there was too much, other times not enough! Made it a bit hard to follow at times, which is a shame since otherwise it was a pretty good fantasy.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review