I really loved this book. I have always been fascinated - borderline obsessed with - Boudicca, so I was super excited to get my hands on this. I had never read anything by P.C. Cast before, and I think, in my mind, she was mainly a YA author. That being said, this was a delightful reading experience. It did not read at all, to me, as YA. Boudicca's narration felt very much like a 30 something mother of two rather than a teenaged girl, which was a concern of mine going into this book. In fact, the cast of characters is so well written that there is something to love for everyone. This book was gut wrenching and beautiful. The depiction of the tribal life of the Brittons was so lovely and community focused, and it made me homesick for a world that no longer exists. I just loved the way that she painted a picture of this culture and its respect for strong women. Though I knew how this was going to play out, I still found myself rooting for the Iceni and Trinovantes as they fanned the flames of rebellion. I have done quite a bit of research on the life of Boudicca, and this felt pretty historically accurate to me, which I really appreciated. The atmosphere and setting were so well written, and it really felt like I was living in Iron Age Britain. Highly recommend for fans of feminist historical fiction.

This listen was FOREVER long and I couldn't put it down and wish it still wasn't over. I've heard bits and pieces about Boudicca, but this really brought her to live as a blend of fact and fiction. I adored every word and can't wait for the next Cast title!

If I have read Sue Lynn Tan or Madeline Miller, I am unaware of it, so I could not say if this would appeal to their fans, but marketing this as "an epic, lusty, magic-filled romantasy" feels like setting up what is a pretty good magical realism fueled historical for failure. Is there magic? Yes. Is there sex? Yes. Is it epic? ...kinda. Is it a romantasy? Not at all in the same way most other books under the "romantasy" blanket fall.

Cast's Boudicca is an excellent novelization of the warrior queen's uprising against the invading Romans. While I can't say that I am intimately familiar with the real Boudicca's exploits, all the story beats seem to be there and told in a realistic way. The magical elements are well interwoven into the story, the characters are well realized, and the pacing is quite good. Definite trigger warning - true to the real life tale, there are frequent references to the sexual assault of children, though the assault doesn't technically occur on page. Still, it is frequently enough mentioned that I can see such a thing making it difficult to read an otherwise good book for some.

So what's the deal with the "romantasy" label? Boudicca has lovers in this book with whom she feels true connections. It is very sweet and some of the better sex scenes I can recall reading, but if you're looking for titillation, love triangles, secret yearnings and delicious sexual tension, I doubt this will sate you. HOWEVER, Boudicca and her people's attitudes towards sex are refreshingly... what I would call "normal." By which I do not mean the modern Christian-approved monogamous heteronormativity, but an idealized sort of "what if people could enjoy sex as a normal and lovely part of life without pinning all sorts of limiting and restrictive expectations and connotations to it?" Simply put, sex has no particular stigma in this book, and I found that incredibly refreshing.

The mythology/magic aspect is also overblown in marketing. What you find here is something much closer to the ambiguous magic of Shakespeare: is magic happening, or do we use magic to explain things? Don't get me wrong, the book certainly presents magic as being "real," but do not expect anybody to shoot lightning bolts, move things with their minds, or transform into an animal.

Finally, while the characters are not, the book itself seems to be a bit too aware of how Boudicca's story ends, and I don't know that this was a net benefit to the narrative. Boudicca is a fascinating figure in British history to be sure, but I don't know if we struck the right note with the ending. It felt a bit too neat and tidy despite its bittersweet nature. Still, the journey was well worth taking and I enjoyed the book quite a bit for what it was. While the battle scenes were fun, living with Boudicca often stole the show as I frequently found that it was the time between the big action sequences that I was enjoying the most. Ultimately, this is a very good book about a historical figure whose name many might know, and this is actually a pretty fun way (atrocities notwithstanding) to get acquainted with her exploits.

Thanks to Net Galley and HarperAudio for early access to this audiobook. Book to be released Jan 20, 2025.