Unfortunately, Boudicca by P. C. Cast didn’t fully work for me—at least in audiobook format. While I appreciated Cast’s writing and the intriguing premise, I found myself struggling to keep track of the characters. Because the story takes place in Ancient Rome and features historical Roman names, I had difficulty distinguishing who was who without seeing the names spelled out. This made it hard to stay fully immersed in the narrative.

That said, I might give this book another try in eBook format, where I can better follow the characters. I still find the premise compelling, and I enjoyed Cast’s writing style, so I’m hopeful that a different format might make for a better experience.

As for the narration: One of the main reasons that I requested this book, other than my love of historical fiction, is that Ell Potter was narrating it. I absolutely adore Ell Potter's narration, especially in the "Emily Wilde" series. So Potter was perfect, it was just the text that I struggled with.

Thank you to P. C. Cast, Ell Potter, HarperAudio and NetGalley for sending me the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

First line: For the rest of my life, when fog swirled in with the dawn, my stomach would tighten, and the small hairs on my forearms would lift.

Summary: In Roman controlled Britain, the local tribes are struggling to keep their autonomy. The Iceni tribe has a new queen, Boudicca, who is determined to not bend the knee to the occupying forces. After they are attacked and barely escape with their lives, Boudicca and the Iceni tribe gather their allies and plan a counter attack on three major Roman-held cities. As they prove their might through their victories they retreat for the winter and to strategize for the upcoming spring. However, the Druid seer sees that there is destruction in their future. With trust in her patron goddess, Boudicca and the Iceni hope to change their fate as the next battle with the Roman legions approaches.

My Thoughts: My interest in Boudicca and her rebellion are rather recent. Several years ago while visiting London I was able to visit the statue to Boudicca on Westminster Bridge. It is rather impressive as she looms over the bridge and raises her arms in challenge or maybe even triumph.

P.C. Cast brings the history and the woman who led an army against the Romans to life in her book. Boudicca was a fiery haired, powerful and passionate woman. She did what many men of her time would not have dreamed of doing. Through the narrative we see what led Boudicca on her mission to oust the Romans from Britain and the consequences of her actions. The story is not one that is easy to read, including the atrocities that were done to her and her daughters. As with many stories of war it is filled with death and loss but there is love and hope as well.

I found this to be an interesting first dive into Roman Britain and the Iceni rebellion. For anyone else who loves a strong female character and ancient history then I’d highly recommend picking this one up.

Oof I don't know why I keep requesting Boudicca stories. It is not one I enjoy reading because it is so sad. That being said P.C. Cast does a great job of telling this heart wrenching tale. The characters were all very well fleshed out and felt genuine to the era. You can tell Cast did the research and wanted to pass on those findings. It is violent and goring but there are beautiful love stories woven in too. It even turns a bit sapphic toward the end, if you're into that sort of thing.

4/5 stars because it got a little too "history class" in areas and pulled me out of the story.

Ell Potter was a great choice for narrator and did a fantastic job!

As always, thanks all around to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC audiobook.
Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. I found the dialogue awkwardly repetitive and the plot somewhat ponderous. I understand and applaud the effort to impart readers with a true sense of the history this story is based on, but I wish the author had a bit more faith in the audience's ability to recall what had already been said earlier, and infer the significance of what was happening. The whole thing felt a little too spelled out and a lot too long for my tastes.
The narration was precise and well done.

Despite my love of all things celtic, I knew very little about the tale of boudicca. I know from previous review that a bit of creative license was taken in regards to the historical woman this tale follows, but from the little research I did afterwards, I think the author did a fabulous job of writing a fictional tale that Boudicca herself would be proud of.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, & HarperAudio for the audioARC in return for my honest review.

This was an unraveling story of history, of a sort, as I followed along Boudicca's footsteps in this epic retelling. She was a truly marvelous historical female and legendary warrior unlike any other woman of the age. This book has opened up a whole new world of research and wonder for me and rekindled a love of badass historical women. If you have never heard of Boudicca read this novel and then go deep into historical research, you will not be disappointed. Its been a while since I thoroughly enjoys a historical fiction, romance novel...not really since "Outlander".

Highly recommend.
No Regrets!!!!

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!!!

I think the narration is great and the book has promise, but I'm going to DNF at 9%. There's a rape scene that I'm just not able to read. I do think others will enjoy this though, hence the three star guess.

I love historical fiction about legendary female figures.

This one was atmospheric and well written.

There were some brutally violent scenes that made it hard to continue at times, but overall recommended for readers who enjoy fantasies and books set in Roman-occupied Britain.

This book was heartbreakingly beautiful. Everything that happened, especially to her daughters, gutted me. I wanted to stop reading, but continued through. Boudicca is a bad ass woman with a gut wrench of a life after her husband died.

You know that scene near the beginning of A River Runs Through It when Tom Skerritt looks over a paragraph that young Joseph Gordon-Levitt hands him and returns it with a single demand for revision: "Half as long"?

Even if you don't remember it because you're at least a generation younger than me, it was still all I could think about as I slogged through this novel. There was so much repetition and stilted dialogue, and, except for a handful of key traumatic scenes, there was so little emotional depth that all of it ended up feeling bloated.

The only thing that elevated Boudicca from two stars to three for me was Ell Potters's excellent audio performance (all eighteen hours of it), which adds nuance that the over-written text obscures.

This is a historical fiction novel based on Boudicca, the Celtic queen that united the tribes of Briton to stand against the Romans. A lot of thought and research went into the novel and it is not to be missed. However, there was a bit of unnecessary scenes that didn't serve the plot and probably could have been edited out of the novel. But it is very enjoyable otherwise.

*special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this digital audio e-arc.*

Sickeningly brutal. When someone recommended this as a read-a-like for Madeline Miller I was so excited! While the writing, historical elements, and storytelling are similar, but the graphic horrors of the story were too much for me. The historical story of the Celtic warrior queen is moving and the attention to ancient religion is wonderful. I loved Boudicca's rage and fierceness, but felt that some parts were just too hard to read. If gore and sexual assault are triggering for you, I would not recommend. If you enjoyed Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati, this may be for you.

Wow a wonderful, thoughtful, thourough retelling of Boudicca by P.C. Cast!!
I often have a hard time with retellings that I know have a tragic ending. I already know I'm going to get attached to characters and be heartbroken. However, the author has done a marvelous job bringing joy, beauty and hope to this historical tale.
I loved the characters, and the powerful women. I loved that the author brought to life the people, tribes, religion and culture of the Britons.
While long, I never found myself bored, as the pace keeps moving and there are interesting historical details throughout.
The narrator did an excellent job. Bringing Boudicca to life. At times full of emotion and others a soothing voice. My first five-star book of 2025.
Thanks so so much to Netgalley a d HarperAudio Adult for this ARC. I enjoyed it immensely!

I have not read a book by PC Cast previously, but I am familiar with her as she has some popular series that students love. I am now interested in reading them sooner after reading this book. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job. I was previously not familiar with the story of Boudicca, but I loved it and want to know more about her after this book. Cast relies heavily ona strong female role model and the role women played in Iron Age Britain. I loved this and I think students will love it as well. Other series like this have been incredibly popular with strong female leads and retellings of mythic figures. This is a fictional account of Boudicca's life and it provided a really wonderful portrayl of her beliefs and the life and culture of the ancient Britons. Boudicca's beliefs in her goddesses to have not played a large role in her decisions. while of course this is fictional I think Cast was right on target with Boudicca's faith in Andraste and the importance it would play in her decision making process, The women in this book play just as large of roll if not larger than her faith. The strength of all of the female roles and even the roles of the wolf cubs in the healing of her daughters after the rape I think was poignant and dealt with very well even for young audiences. It was just the right amount to show the grave seriousness of what was happening but also not too graphic even though it is horrific. But it is also one I believe that each of us can identify with, the strength that we find in the women around us. Especially in times or crisis. Overall, Cast's Boudicca is an amazingly badass woman she was, and a reminder that long before the Roman's, the Norman's, or Christianity the Britons had their own culture, rich in diverse gods and goddesses that embraced the feminine in a manner that allowed a woman to bring a group of invaders to their knees.

I definitely would recommend this book and plan to purchase and recommend it to patrons of our library.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the auido Arc

I'm in a reading mood that lately has me picking up books set during the Roman Empire, but from a subjugated person's perspective. This did not disappoint. I love the idea of taking what Roman and Greek historians have written about Boudicca and trying to fill in her side of the story based on the writings and anthropology of the time. We all know that Romans only wrote about things that were important to them and they clearly did not feel that Boudicca's story was important other than how it impacted their colonization of the British Isles. The stilted formality of the language could be just how ancient Britons spoke, but it seemed a bit over the top to me sometimes. I also loved how the author portrayed Boudicca and the Iceni as open, loving peoples who did not care about the Roman/Christian patriarchy that is now so ingrained in our every way of life. She was free to love whomever and whenever without shame.

Overall this was a wonderfully written story about one of the most provocative women leaders in history that we are woefully under informed on. It could just imagine her riding into battle on her chariot with her helmet flowing behind her. Glorious.

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.