What a ride! Livingston has written an engaging book that, despite being historical fiction, I could sell to my students as action or fantasy (it's an easier sell for most of them). While the ending felt rushed, the rest of it was an absorbing adaptation of Irish mythology.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zando Projects for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I nabbed this book so fast when I saw it on NetGalley. The idea of reading a book semi-based on celtic folklore/irish myths and legends was something I was really excited to dive into. There are quite a few Celtic references like Druids and Wraiths in this book, so it definitely lives up to it's description.

However, it didn't really live up to the "hype" for me. The beginning of the book is extremely slow going and there's just so many hard to understand references, with sometimes no explanation (and maybe that's my own fault for not researching these things) it becomes just too much.

I did really give this book a try, but I ended up DNFing. It's just too hard to get through and wasn't for me. However, if you're willing to get through some of the bumps of the book, it could very well be for you.

Neve is the youngest princess and Ronan is a Druid's apprentice/thief. They become uneasy allies... Neve must seize the throne with Ronan when the kingdom is threatened by a power struggle....

Lots of romance, court intrigue and action. Love both characters. Really like the setting and cast too. A terrific story with lots of wonderful characters. Terrific ending.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Not a real fan of this new-to-me author. I can see that she wove in some fantasy elements, but I wanted more from the story. I didn't like Neve from the beginning, and she didn't grow on me.

Queen Among The Dead is a very solid YA fantasy novel that lacks a little in the writing department but makes up for it with wonderful characters and gorgeous Celtic inspiration. I did really like Neve and Una's characters. I found Neve to be really strong and a great female role model. Her undying love for her people was something that I truly admire in her. Una deserved better - she was lovely and would have been a beautiful queen. She was really very kind and Lorcan was a lucky man. The Celtic influence on every aspect of this book was a very refreshing twist on the YA fantasy genre. It was unique and exciting and exceptionally well done.

It is probably my fault because I am not familiar with Celtic mythology, but I just could not get interested in this book. Too many different groups with too many different kinds of magic associated with them and I just couldn't keep track of them all. Neither could I keep track of which group was responsible for ravaging which other group of people. Reve and Ronan could have had an interesting story but I could not get interested in them enough to care. Thanks for the opportunity to read an arc, and I was not pressured for a good review.

Ramona Thompson

DNF @ 26%. I gave it the good ol' college try, alas - I had to call it quits. On paper, I like the conceit of the story, centered around Irish myth and legend (a topic I'm sorely uneducated about) but the book fell totally flat for me, and for once, I don't think it's me. As impossible as it may sound, the book starts both too early AND too late in the narrative timeline. We open with a chapter when the MCs first meet when they're quite young and they battle a monster. Next chapter, time skip - the FMC is holding a knife to the MMC's throat after he'd just picked someone's pockets. Why couldn't we start with the pickpocket scene? Like, actually see it on the page?

It started off rocky, and didn't improve. With phrases like "his jaw drifting open" I had a sinking feeling that this was going to be rough. The exposition is clunky with characters explaining concepts they already know to one another, falling into the pit of "As you know" territory. Like I mentioned before, I don't have a lot of experience with Irish myth, and I wish that there was an easier way to introduce concepts and names within the narrative naturally, rather than the glossary at the beginning, which I would need to keep flipping back to in order to understand anything. I didn't understand the stakes, or the world, and wasn't willing to invest much more time past the 26% mark to see more.

Queen Among the Dead completely surprised me in a wonderful way. Neve, the younger of two royal princesses, and Ronan, a priest’s apprentice turned thief, have their first encounter as children. Their next meeting, in young adulthood, links them in with battle unexpected enemies on all sides, despite their different and sometimes contentious backgrounds. They rally unexpected allies and personal strengths they hadn’t known they had in order to rescue their land, Eire, from deadly foes.
While I occasionally got frustrated by the apparent lack of connection from chapter to chapter, it was well worthwhile continuing on to see how all the story threads wove together in the end.
I highly recommend this story to anyone, especially those interested in history and fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston!

I really enjoyed this book! The pacing was great and I really enjoyed the story. I’m not that familiar with Celtic mythology, but that’s my problem, not the authors lol.

In the kingdom of Eire, Neve is the youngest daughter of the Dagda. From an early age, Neve was rather restless and found release by sneaking out of her home and going to the village. One night, Neve finds herself face to face with a thief, Ronan. Ronan, after being expelled from the school for Druids, makes a living by stealing spells. The Druids have successfully made the citizens of Eire afraid of wild magic and has made it illegal for people to use it. As the Dagda physically weakens, a great power struggle begins to consume the people of Eire. Ronan and Neve find themselves having to work together to save magic, the people of Eire, and the throne. An interesting integration of Irish legends and folklore into a YA fantasy delight.

Queen Among the Dead was absolutely fantastical! Livingston wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

Riveting storytelling, full of fierce queens, secrets, moors, humid, chilled air... a great re-imagining of Irish lore.

Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston is an Atmospheric fantasy based on the legend of Ireland's first true Queen.
What Worked for Me
-The premise drew me in and the prose kept me hooked.
-themes of destiny and identity
-discovering the magic within trope
What Didn't Work as Well for me
-Pacing was put off balance due to heavy exposition being loaded into a few scenes instead of of spacing it out over many.
-build up to the climax was outweighed by the climax itself in a way that made the book feel rushed in some areas.
Who I would Recommend this book for
This book would make a great read for fans of shadow of the fox by Juile Kagawa looking for similar vibes and writing styles within a Celtic myths framework.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of #QueenAmongTheDead in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this books along with the titles it was compared to had me eager to get this book in my hands. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like it lived up to my expectations. Livingston created a historically rich world teeming with threats of all kinds. The regal and Druid influences reminded me a bit of stories like Game of Thrones or other politically influenced stories and how power can be wielded and such.

However, as a whole, this book fell flat for me. I struggled to keep reading in parts where writing felt clunky, like Livingston was trying too hard to craft beautiful lines, when keeping it simple would have sufficed. Portions felt a bit info-dumpy and pulled me out of the action, and a lot of the times I wasn't sure it was pertinent information. It was a beautiful idea, the execration just flopped for me.

I was hooked from the very beginning into this action-packed tale. It’s a story full of mystery and wonder, with darkness lurking in every corner. Reading this book is a tangible experience. I was sucked into everything that was happening. Sometimes it can take me a while to get my feet firmly into a story, but that was not the case for this one.

I love how in-depth everything is. I often find that sometimes details are glanced over that could really add to a story’s strength, but this one is delightfully detailed without being fluffy. It finds a perfect balance that I think all fantasy readers will appreciate.

I immediately adored the sassy and fierce Neve. I love a good strong heroine that breaks the mold she is being forced into. If you like a girl with grit, you’re going to love Neve. And who can resist the wily bandit, Ronan, that she finds her path inexplicably linked with. I love their chemistry and banter from the moment they meet.

The author does a great job of showing us the characters’ personalities and motivations through their actions and dialogue. And we really get a transformative adventure seeing Neve’s growth as she evolves into the woman she both needs to be and truly is in her core.

Full disclosure, I know next to nothing about Celtic mythology, so I cannot speak to any accuracies as far as things in the story that are based on fact or purely fictional. But I think that is a good perspective to have on behalf of other readers because, even with no prior knowledge, I was able to follow along nicely with the story without any confusion. So, if you are like me and don’t know anything about Celtic lore, don’t worry. This book gives all the explanations you need to understand the world-building.

And what a wonderfully magical world it is, at that. If you love a story that is richly steeped in dense legends and magical gods, this is the perfect book for you. It’s an emotional story, at times, with lots of political intrigue through different factions of rebels and royalty vying for power. The complexity and layering of the plot is exquisite and the insight into the mythology is mesmerizing.

The writing style and tone is perfectly matched with the atmosphere of the story. The author paints vivid scenery that immerses you into every page. I felt as though I could envision every part of this journey. The ending is both compelling with its surprising twists and satisfying with its neat conclusion of events.

I highly recommend this book and it definitely deserves all five stars. I’m super excited to add this author to my list of favorites and I can’t wait to read anything she writes next.

Recommend for readers who love:
- Fierce female protagonist
- Rich lore and world-building
- Action-packed plot sequence
- Enemies-to-lovers
- Raw and gritty
- Tales of destiny

Queen Among the Dead is a beautifully told fantasy based on Celtic lore.
I really enjoyed Neve as a protagonist. She was a strong, self aware character. She fit the trope of the Princess that wants to learn to fight, and see the world.
This book is filled with mythology and creatures that I'd never heard of. While it did feel a little long, it was a fun read, with several twists that I didn't see coming.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zando Projects publishing for an early copy for review.

I enjoyed this book about Neve, the youngest daughter of the King. As a child she meets Ronan, a Druid apprentice turned thief. They don’t seem to have anything in common, except their love for their kingdom and all its creature. They discover that they each have hidden magic inside them and this leads them on an adventure to save the realm.

Queen Among The Dead is a Young Adult Fantasy Standalone by Lesley Livingston. It has been published by Zando Projects. The book is inspired by the legend of Ireland’s first true Queen.

The setting of the book is the kingdom of Eire where Neve, the younger princess of the kingdom, is placed in the middle of a conspiracy that has been in the works for centuries and beyond the realms.

The book introduces a new kingdom with new sects and tribes with a lot of new names that were difficult to place at the beginning of the book, but the plot is like a stone rolling down a hill from thereon.

Neve and Ronan’s tale is full of coincidences and careful chances filled with determination. Their circumstances were those of pleasant surprises. The instances of magic and myths were the main drivers of the book as we read ahead to find the link.

The side characters of Una and Sakir were among my favourites. Their character arcs were such that they got an ending and yet there is scope for their characters in the universe.

The book speeds up in the last 25% of the book and it was a thrilling ride. There was so much going on and all of it was relevant. Though I enjoyed reading it, I think the plot was too concentrated on the climax. The build-up could have been better.

Nevertheless, this is a great book for mythology and historical fiction fans. It was a book for the dreamers, but the new terms may make the book seem slow-paced, which did not sit comfortably with me.

Happy Reading!

I loved that this book was inspired by Irish lore. I also appreciated the glossary at the beginning of the book that explained and defined the various people groups of the novel. It made reading about them a little easier to follow.

This book immediately had me smiling and silently chuckling. (Sometimes not so silently.) Neve is a fun, sassy character. She and Ronan have great chemistry; I enjoyed their bantering.

I thought the battle scenes were well written. I’ve read so many books where the build up is great, but the battle is very anticlimactic. Not so with this novel! I was not let down.

Thank you NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

A fantasy set in an alternate Ireland full of celtic lore and magic spells and druids? Yes please! And this book filled all my hopes and more! Sometimes the description of a book is better than the actual novel, but that is not the case here. This was a well written novel that was imbued with all the magic of the ancient Celtic society, and the author obviously had done her research, as although this is a fantasy, she clearly understood that earlier civilization. I really enjoyed this book and I hope the author will continue to write many more like these!