I listen to the audio book version of this novel! I want to say well done to the narrator! Both the author and narrator did such incredible work! The descriptive writing was so eloquently worded, making me feel like I could close my eyes and see the scenes unfolding. There are some dark themes such as SA, violence, and grief… but I feel like the author did an excellent job writing these scenes that are dark and heart breaking! The story of Boudicca is not one for the faint of heart, and Cast brought her to life in this novel showing her strength, grief and fierce fighting spirit. Boudicca was a warrior Queen for the Iceni Tribe, and P. C. Cast was the perfect writer to breathe life into this epic retelling of one of the most legendary female warriors in history! Cast shows the depth of her character through the good and bad. I couldn’t put it down!!! I highly recommend this book!!!

Wonderful book written about a woman rarely talked about enough. The writing can read as repetitive sometimes but that doesn't take away from the story telling and wonderful world building.

As a history buff, I was excited to get a hold of this arc. Unfortunately, the writing itself, both in style and repetitiveness, was not for me. To be honest, I tried multiple times and didn't make it very far in the text. I did, however, make it to a pivotal point early on in the novel. One which, if you are a student of history and know the true tale of Boudicca, you would know happened. But, if you didn't, it could be a shocking turn of events. Now, I know at my age, trigger warnings weren't a thing before, but they are now for a reason. Considering that there is torture and SA on page in this book, I was shocked that there were no warnings up front for those who are unfamiliar with this lore.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this arc.

Rating: 4.5/5
I received the eARC for my honest opinion.

Wow, I have loved all of P.C. Cast books, but this one is at the top of the list. I love that when you read this book you will get all the feelings for history but at the same time a new retelling of the events. I also enjoyed that the author took their time with research, to give the best experience. You will find that this author knows how to build a wonderful world, you will find their words to be lyrical and easy to read. I liked that it was fast paced, even in the slower parts of the book the author made sure to give you information that you need for the plot of the book. I thought the characters were well developed, and engaging. If you think going into this book, it will be just a normal retelling of the Queen of the Iceni, but it’s not. It's so much more, you will see that it’s tragically, gut wrenching and yet so beautiful.

I was transported into a world that I wish was still around, I mean like the lifestyle they lived back then, but for the fact that they were about community and honored strong women. I loved getting to know Boudicca so much. She was so smart, very strong mentally and physically, and she had the respect of the people. I love that you will be transported to that time period, and you will feel as though you knew/or that you’re here well reading this book. I loved that the author wrote scenes out to keep you on your toes throughout the book, even if you know what might happen on the next page you will be pulled in and can’t stop reading. There is romance in the book, but just ready it's more of subplot, it's not the main point of the book, but it does show you that Boudicca is a female who is in charge, and that back in this time period some places women were more in charge of their lives, and their desires. I liked that we got to understand more about Briton and the uprising against the Romans. I found this part of the book so fascinating; I know that I heard of Boudicca when I was younger and studying histories, but I had completely forgotten about her and everything that she did. I know now that I might go down a rabbit hole and do more research, because any badass woman from that era needs to be remembered.

There are some trigger warnings but nothing too graphic is talked about when it is about the sexual part, but it is in there, there is also physical abuse and death, but so much more too. You will find strength, love, passion and so much more.

I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

This book blew me away! It is a wonderful story of suffering, loss, and perseverance. I am one who usually does not enjoy historical fiction, but I could not put this down. Boudicca's story, as told by the author, had me grinning one moment and sob the next. I can't recommend this enough to readers, especially those who love a strong and determined FMC.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

In this deeply researched novel about the Queen of the Iceni, you will learn more than you knew you wanted to know about early British history from author P.C. Cast. Cast’s research is deep and compelling. Despite that, I nearly stopped reading after a brutal description of a Roman attack on the Iceni queen. Cast did not hold back the truth (though I could wish there might have been a trigger warning, as I am a survivor).

I am immensely glad I continued to read. Not only is her research impeccable, but also, her writing is skilled. My eyes literally flew along the pages. The characters Cast brings to life resonated with me, proving that history does not have to stay in the past.
The ending of the book is challenging but moving.

I'm guessing that Boudicca will prove enormously popular. It is gorgeously written, though in places hard to read for its uncompromising honesty. It’s a great choice for a book club. There's a lot to discuss.

Postscript: At the end of the novel, Cast writes a description of her research process that is itself quite fascinating.

I got the chance to read Boudicca by @pccastauthor ! It was interesting to say the least. I really enjoyed her other works, and was looking forward to reading this one. It got off to a bit of a rocky start, but I really loved the development of the characters. I also loved that the protagonist was older. Granted, it is based (loosely) on a historical figure, but it was still an interesting read. I would definitely give it a chance.

This was one of the most boring books I have ever read. Seriously, if you have insomnia, read this, it will cure it.

DNF at 35%.

I wanted to love this book. I have read many of P.C. Cast's books and have enjoyed them, and have read and enjoyed many books from the Roman period. This just didn't hit for me. It didn't keep my attention and what I did read wasn't as good as I had been expecting. It wasn't bad writing, per se, but I wasn't as invested as I normally am with this era of historical fiction. The fantasy aspect wasn't even intriguing, which was really disappointing for me. Maybe in the future I'll circle back and try to re-read it. But at this time, it's a no for me.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC Copy!

I was really excited about this book because Boudicca is a character that has always intrigued me but here is not really a lot of stories out there about her. I have only ever read this author one other time and I actually DNFd the book, but since this was a story that I was really looking forward to I decided to give it another try. I can absolutely see why this book will be popular and that it will definitely have its fans, but sadly I am just not one of them. The overuse of words and stiff prose just did not engage me as much as I had hoped.

Was super disappointed in this! I feel like the author tried to hard to use historically accurate dialogue and it took away from the characters and the story. Made it very difficult to read through.

I’m so split on my rating for this book. Did I love the spotlight on one of history’s most badass women? Yes. Did I love the way this one was written? Not exactly.
From the repetitive phrases to the on-page assaults, it really was difficult to read.
In the end, I don’t regret reading it, but I don’t know if it’s one I’d recommend to others.

In this Historical Fantasy view of the legendary queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe succeedes in demonstrating Boudicca's role as daughter, mother, wife, leader, and tragic hero. It gives us permission to imagine an alternative ending to her tragic story of grief, loss, trauma and betrayal. This is a must read for those if us who love retellings of our favorite heroes.

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I LOVE history and I really enjoyed reading reading historical fiction and P.C Cast, as usual, does not disappoint.
P.C Cast writes in a way that glues you to the book. You don’t need to know Boudicca’s history to read this book and you shouldn’t read it expecting everything to be historically accurate, but you SHOULD be prepared to be glued to the book.
Every chapter left me wanting to turn the page and made me fall in love with Badass Boudicca all over again.
This book is beautifully written and I highly recommend reading!!

I'm having a hard time figuring out what I want my final rating for this book to be. On one hand, I enjoyed reading a historical fiction story from the perspective of a famed woman warrior. On the other hand, I think the writing gets choked by the sheer amount of phrase repetition to the point that if you removed the phrases "As you say, so will I do" and "Inceni ___" you would have a strikingly shorter book. Maybe repetition isn't one of your literary icks, and if not, I think this is an interesting time period to explore. However if you're like me when it comes to quirks in writing quality, this book may ping-pong somewhere between a 2.5 star rating and a 3. Even as I'm writing this, I'm still not sure how I feel.

Ultimately, I wanted to like this book far more than I did, though I didn't hate it either. I enjoyed the mythological elements like seeing Boudicca interact with goddesses or the role of the Druids in the overall story. While I wouldn't categorize this as a romance or a romantasy, I did like the small elements of romance in the story, though they also didn't feel super necessary. Without offering specific spoilers, I also thought the ending was too vague and abrupt to give our characters closure. So, again, I feel like I'm ping-ponging back and forth on what was meh and what was good enough to keep going for.

It's also worth noting that this book deserves a hefty dose of trigger warnings within the first fifty or so pages. I'll hide them with spoiler warnings but I was startled by the <spoiler>graphic descriptions of Boudicca's whipping and the aftermath of children's SA for kids under 13 </spoiler> to the point that I nearly put the book down before completing the first act. While the story doesn't forcibly linger over those traumas beyond their narrative relevance it was still something that took me off guard. I wouldn't say these elements lessened my personal ability to get invested in the story over time, but please use your discretion here, folks!

I received an eARC of Bouddica from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 13%

I don’t have a lot of triggers but this one has one and it’s a hard line for me. I can deal with the mention of it, but this goes well beyond that.

*Note- I don’t rate or review books I DNF on my platforms

This is exactly the genre I was in the mood for. I appreciate that this book gives voice to a woman history hasn’t given her due. The exposition via dialogue is somewhat clunky at times.

When a Roman tax collector storms into Tasceni to put the Iceni queen Boudicca in her place, he creates a force of nature backed by Iceni goddesses. P. C. Cast's imagining of Boudicca is lush, heartfelt, and authentic. The story is rich with detail and history and will enthrall fantasy and historical fiction readers alike.

This is where I start telling myself, “Just because it has a redhead on the cover, does not mean I need to read it…”

Growing up being a huge fan of the 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒩𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 series, I was very excited to receive this book as an arc, but I’ll admit, that’s where the excitement stopped.

I am all for feminine rage and women sticking it to the man, but I’m not sure this gave Boudicca justice. I was not familiar with her story before this, so I cannot speak for any historical accuracies. I can say however, that the writing was extremely repetitive and had more of a “say instead of show” type storytelling.

I also recommend that you read any and all trigger warnings before reading this. It’s not that any of them are extremely descriptive, it’s just that the bad things that happen are also along the repetitive side. They get mentioned over and over and over again, almost to the point that you just get desensitized by the whole thing. It takes away from the rage you are suppose to feel along with Boudicca for all the cruel things that were done to her, her family, and her tribe.

If I didn’t have an advance copy of this one, I probably wouldn’t have finished it in all honesty. It just was not for me sadly…

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an eARC copy of this book.

Boudicca by P. C. Cast was utterly captivating!
I truly enjoyed this fictional historical fantasy and in my eyes Cast can write the best stories ever!
She definitely did not disappoint here.