The Lost Queen by Signe Pike is the first novel in a series about the Merlin and King Arthur legend. This is a legend I have love since I was a little girl. Signe Pike has turned that legend on it's head and the result is a meticulously researched novel that brings the true history behind the legend to life. This book is no romanticized version with little truth to back it up it is a historically meaty version that brings the 6th century Britons to life. It is one of the best books I've ever read on the subject of Merlin and those who surround him.

I've read The Crystal Cave and Mists of Avalon. Both are good but The Lost Queen is exceptional in it's ease of reading, authentic atmosphere and engaging storyline. It delves into the chaotic times when those who live above Hadrian's wall are being threatened by the Angles and Christianity. Both are trying to conquer a people in different ways and completely change their way of life.

The novel is told from the viewpoint of Languoreth a forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland and twin sister Lailoken the man who inspired the legend of Merlin. The story begins when they are ten years old and children of a lessor King Morken. Rather than reiterating what is known and has been written about Lailoken/Merlin the author introduces us to his sister Languoreth and we follow her journey to becoming a Princess through marriage to Rhydderch the son of King Tutgual of Strathclyde.

At age 15 Languoreth as the female head of household welcomes Emrys Pendragon to her father's hall. With him are his Dragon Soldiers. Maelgwy is his General and he and Languoreth share a spritual connection that grows to a consuming love. A love that can't be fulfilled because Languoreth must marry to strengthen bonds between kingdoms.

This novel has one of the best storylines I've ever read. It makes you feel what it must have been like to live in a century where you can't tell friend from enemy and everyone is a pawn in a game played by the powerful. You clearly see that power and wealth corrupts. It intertwines the story of the struggle of those of "the old faith" against the power of the emerging Catholic Church with the struggle of a people who have almost been conquered once by Rome and must fight again against the anglo-saxons flooding their shores. Amoungst those struggles there is also the need to stay vigilant because of changing politics between the Briton Kingdoms. The story is engrossing and historically informative as well as accurate. I was able to highlight names and places on my kindle and find them on Wikipedia if I wanted to know more.

There is a lengthy list of characters in this novel with Celtic names which are unfamiliar today. However, all of the characters are so well fleshed out and identifiable I had no problem keeping them straight in my mind as I read. I never had to refer back to the beginning of the book to figure out who each was and which kingdom or group they belonged to. I'm short, character development was excellent.

I highly recommend this book. For the history alone it's worth reading but the writing, storyline and characters make this a must read. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it

I thought this was a fantastic book. Everything about it was superb- the sense of place, the characterization, the writing. I thought the author seamlessly blended her use of real historical events and knowledge with the places where she got creative to fill in the blanks. I cannot wait until the next installment!

I enjoyed this book. I really appreciated that it was written for an older reader. Sometimes books of this genre can come across like they were written for a younger reader. The Lost Queen, was lyrical, emotional, and it had a gravitational pull attached to it, that kept calling my name. I ended up getting a physical copy, so I read that instead of my Netgalley version. The cover is simply stunning, and I am so happy one of my friends reached out and offered it to me. I have a feeling this book is going to be huge, and it's definitely gaining speed in the Bookstagram community. I know I for one, am going to be watching out for more books by Signe Pike. She's an Author who writes books that I could get lost in!

A powerful queen and one of the most influential women in early medieval Scotland, Languoreth has been largely forgotten. Her twin brother Lailoken, also known as Myrrdin, likely became the man that inspired the legend of Merlin. Signe Pike’s debut novel, The Lost Queen, fictionalizes their lives.

Primarily following the life of Languoreth – first as a girl who loses her mother, then as a political bargaining chip, and finally as a wife and mother – The Lost Queen is the first in a trilogy about early Arthurian legend. Although I was intrigued by its description as a cross between Outlander and The Mists of Avalon, the novel more than holds its own. It is a tale of forbidden love, familial duty, and embracing a destiny that you long to fight against.

Pike illuminates the lives of her characters with rich details, everything from their tragedies and their triumphs, to the smells, sights, and sounds of medieval Scotland. As the druid way of life competes with the newly arrived Christianity, Languoreth knows she must defend her family’s heritage if she has any hope of preserving it. She is a fierce heroine who fights for her family, even when she knows it could cost her everything.

"We may not always have the choice we would like. But we always have a choice."

The Lost Queen depicts Scotland at a tumultuous point in history. Pike’s novel shows how far and fast the ripples of change can alter lives near and far, and I could not put it down. Truly, it’s historical fiction at its finest.

I was amazed by this novel. It is so well researched and so well written that I felt like I was living through the book. The characters are so well described that I -- I don't even know how to describe them. The story is vividly told. I think you have to read to book to truly understand why I have no words!

I am so excited to read the second book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Touchstone for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I haven’t read that many books based on King Arthur so I was curious enough to try this and there aren’t too many books set in sixth-century Scotland either.

Languoreth is a twin of Lailoken who will be known as Merlin. Growing up Languoreth wants to become a Wisdom Keeper, a druid, like her brother and hates the fact that her fate lies in marriage. She is wed to Rhydderch, son of a Christian High King, but she has fallen in love with Maelgwn, one of Pendragon’s man.

3,5 stars

Languoreth is an easy character to like. Strong and fearless who soon learns the ways of the court intrigues. Her marriage to Rhydderch doesn’t start in a promising way but in time they develop mutual respect for each other.

It was interesting to see the coming of Christianity and slowly losing the Old Ways. Anglo-Saxons are coming and there are wars and bloodshed. The book is from Languoreth’s point of view and I think it kind of restricts the story. It would have been nice to see what happens elsewhere, like in battles and such.

One real complaint from me is that Languoreth and Maelgwyn’s romance was a bit too instalove for me. They meet and in a manner of days, they’re so in love with each other that they’ll pine for each other for nearly 20 years.

The start dragged a bit but once things start to happen it flows nicely. In the end, I just wanted to know what happens next. All in all, I think this was an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to the next book.

I was thrilled to read The Lost Queen by Signe Pike because honestly; I have had some bad reads the previous couple weeks. This book is a welcomed refreshment of pure reading bliss. The novel carried me into a journey where life is much harder. Pike weaves a story surrounding Languoreth, princess of Cadzow and her journey into a world of arranged marriage, a religious war, tyrannical kings, and gender bias.
Languoreth and her twin brother are absolutely adorable. They are so endearing as siblings surviving a chaotic world together. Their relationship for me is what defines loyalty, friendship, and honor. Pike managed to make me fall in love with almost all the characters in the story such as King Morken and Cathan, the wisdom keeper.

In the novel, there is a lot of religious upheaval as Christians move in on the old ways in an attempt to extinguish the old religion entirely. I found this aspect of the plot to be extremely well done. The author alludes to a lot of the details and masterly shows the pivotal moments to us readers. This was greatly appreciated because it provided me with a clear picture that was entertaining and didn’t leave me feeling bored enough to start skimming sentences. It wasn’t overly done or pretentious. I was filled with the same outrage, heartbreak, and anger the people of Briton were feeling at the time against evil men such as Mungo and the ruthless High King, Languoreth’s future father-in-law. The characters are so uniquely vivid and felt so real to me throughout the story.

Romance is something I always enjoy in any story and love to see something heartwarming; luckily, this book had plenty of it! From an affair with a warrior following Emrys Pendragon that results in a baby to a brooding husband that is more kind-hearted than first impressions reveal. There is plenty of juicy emotional feels stacked into a beautifully set novel that really just sucks you right into the story.

The characters are what really made this book so appealing; however, the history, setting, and research into structuring this novel allowed me to form pictures in my head that smoothly kept up with the story as I went through it.

This book receives a 5 out of 5-star review from me. I highly recommend checking it out especially if historical fiction is something you enjoy. This book was just a delight!

Thank you to NetGalley and Touchstone for an ARC of this book!

This is a really tough one to rate. I really feel like 3 stars is entirely too low. Even 3.5 seems too low. But it doesn’t quite reach that 4 Star enjoyment level.

First off, the good. And there was a lot of it! I absolutely fell in love with these characters and the author did an incredible job of bringing them to life. As little is known about Languoreth she really did what the best historical fiction writers do, stuck to the history where it is known, and then filled in emotions and motivations and dialogue where it has been lost, presenting a complete story. I found myself thinking about these characters, Languoureth and Lailoken and Ariane and Cathan and Gwenddolau, even when I wasn’t reading. I’m not super familiar with this time period in history, but from what I can tell the author was as historically accurate as she could be.

The setting too was wonderfully imagined and described. I really felt like I was in 6th century Scotland. All of the different places really came to life.

I thought the storyline was excellent too. It follows Languoreth from the time she is 10 years old to when her oldest child is about 17, so a good chunk of her life. The main plot is about the conflict between pagans (like Languoreth and her family) and Christians (her father-in-law and many of his court). What I loved about this was it showed how when many of the pagans became Christians, or the Christians took over a pagan place of worship, the customs remained and were just incorporated into Christianity. For example, in the book the pagans worship a river goddess at a sacred spring. When the Christians take over this location, they begin to call the river goddess “Mary.” It’s just incredible to me that this is what really happened throughout history and that many supposed Christian customs today still have these lingering pagan influences.

Now a few complaints. As great as the overall story was, I felt that it was lacking in some places, especially when it came to the reason certain things happened. Languoreth and Maelgwyn’s love felt like the definition of instalove. They literally did not know each other and yet they were so in love they thought about and pined for each other for like 20 years despite their initial meeting being like a couple days. I felt similarly about the battle at the end. One day these two kings are allied with each other and in complete trust of each other, and the next they are fighting. It doesn’t give a reason for the change. I know these things happen but usually there is some reason.

My second complaint is that this is a long book. And while I didn’t really feel like any parts of it dragged...the goal is for it to be a trilogy. And I’m just afraid there isn’t enough story to stretch out into three books. Maybe I’m just mad about the cliffhanger and the fact that the author said it took 6 years for her to research and write this one, so Im currently feeling like it will never continue and why couldn’t the whole story have just been one book?

And along the same lines, one last complaint is that this is marketed as the historical story behind the legend of King Arthur, and specifically Merlin, who is supposed to be Lailoken. And yet we didn’t get to that AT ALL in this book. Yes Uther Pendragon is here, Arthur’s father, and Lailoken as a young man. But it just seems like starting when Lailoken and Languoreth are 10 years old is too much. I’m again afraid this will be dragged out over 3 books when it could have easily been one.

Overall though I’m really glad I read this book. It immersed me in a time period in history I was wholly unfamiliar with but now am so interested in. I loved these characters and I loved the writing style and I truly hope it doesn’t take forever for the sequel because I want to read it!

4.5 stars!
I saw the "Outlander meets Camelot" on the cover and knew I had to read this one! I was expecting to be interested but a little let down. I mean, it's being compared to Outlander and Camelot! I wasn't let down at all. I was surprised. I fell fast and hard for this book.
The writing was beautiful, the story was very interesting, and the characters felt alive and well thought out!
If you are interested in Arthurian legends, historical fiction, Scotland, or even just a really good tale...read this!
The note from the author at the end was also very interesting. I'm so happy Signe Pike brought forth The Lost Queen, Languoreth, so she could get the spotlight she so deserved!

I got an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion! However, I also bought this as an audiobook! The audiobook is really good. The narrator was wonderful!

Now I'm off to try and wait patiently for the next book to come.

This is a very long, slow book but it’s rich and wonderful as well!

This is the story of Merlin’s twin sister, The Lost Queen and also of Melin and who he truly was. The writing is magnificent and beautiful, I loved the world building, how I really felt like I was back in that time. I loved all the characters but I wish there were some I got to see more of and learn more about.

I wished to learn more about Rhyderrach, Langoreths husband, I felt like he was a kind husband and man but also a coward and never stuck up for what was right or Anything for that matter. He was very bland and one dimensional.
I also wanted more form Maelgyn who was supposed to be this EPIC love and I didn’t see it. It was instant and it was blah. He was blah and I truly didn’t understand nor car for their relationship.

I did love Langoreth though and Lailoken. I loved Morken and Cathan! These characters were amazing and rich! I loved Langoreths kids and I’m super excited to read more about them and hopefully learn some more about other side characters!


A great story, slow but very detailed and interesting. I wished for a little bit more character development for some characters and the ending was extremely confusing which is why it is a 4 and not a 5!

I’m not usually a fantasy reader but this one sounded like it would hold my interest. This story follows Languoreth and her twin. This takes place in Scotland. languoreth is destined to become queen one day and this books focuses on her childhood her brother is to be a famous warrior and a wisdoms keeper also known as Merlin. There’s a clash on following the old ways and the new effect of the new ways . This was an interesting book and held my interest it’s just not my usual type book

Wow! and Holy cow I didn't like where it left lol. I didn't want to leave this world or the characters in this book. This book made me laugh and cry. It was beautiful and magical. Definitely on my top 10 of 2018

Billed as Mists of Avalon meets Philippa Gregory, The Lost Queen is that and so much more. Part Mists of Avalon, parts Outlander, parts Camelot and parts Game of Thrones, this book is a stunning page turner. Signe Pike weaves an extraordinarily researched world of historical fiction (that is truly believable). The Lost Queen is simply incredible with a quickly moving plot, beautiful history and complex, real characters. Already recommended to friends and family.

It's a big book, it's a debut, it's a twist on the Arthurian legend, and it's a novel that really needs to be on the top of your TBR pile ASAP. THE LOST QUEEN follows the story of Languoreth and her twin, Lailoken (later known as Merlin). Sixth century Scotland comes to life in vivid color under Pike's pen. She artfully delivers up rich, colorful characters that you deeply care about and will want to follow not just in this book, but in the other two that are to follow. The story of Languoreth in this book is that of her coming to age, struggling against the restrictions of being part of the royal family. It's gorgeous, magical and extremely well-wrought. I can't wait for the next book by Signe Pike!

Thanks, NetGalley and Touchstone Books, for the advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wow wow wow is all I can say. I received this book from Netgalley in late August and I’m so thankful to the author for approving my request. This book was captivating until the last sentence. The Lost Queen read like J.R.R. Tolkien, instead of being swept away to Middle Earth I was in Cadzow with Lailoken and Languoreth.

When I started to read it, I kept telling all my friends about Merlin and him having a long lost sister. They were all intrigued to find out more, so I delved in and didn’t look up until I was done. The characters were all packaged brilliantly and tied in neatly to each plot....Mungo was the villain everyone hated, Ariane was the Wisdom Keeper everyone wishes they had, Maegwyn was the hero and love that every girl wanted, Morken was the loving dad that did what he had to for his children and country, Crowan was your caregiver that you never wanted to let go, Tutugal was the Tyrant King, and Elufe was the fairy god mother you needed on your side. At one point, I was on the edge of my seat literally because I couldn’t bear to read what would happen next if the odds weren’t in Languoreth favor.

I was so sad when I got to the last page, not because of the book itself but because I didn’t want it to end. I needed to find out what happened…. Did the messenger get a chance to warn the Uther Pendragon in time? Did Rhys survive? or did he die by the hands of his true father?

I was never really a fan of historical fiction until now, I will faithfully await book 2 of this series.
Bonus: At the end of the book, the author gave a brief synopsis about the history of the Scots, Briton, and the early Celtic Christian world which I really appreciated it because it gave me a deeper understanding of the book.

Sagas usually confound me but this is also a historical fiction based on the legend of Merlin. The story has an excellent pace and the characters are lively. A good start to a trilogy can't wait to read the next one.

In The Lost Queen, Signe Pike has delivered a fantastic historical novel. She skillfully draws her readers into the tumult of 6th century Scotland. Languoreth and Lailoken are twins who are at the epicenter of the invasion of Christianity and the Angles into their home country. Languoreth is destined to become a queen and her brother to be a famous warrior and Wisdom Keeper (later to be popularly known as Myrddin/Merlin).
The clash between the Old Ways and the new effect every aspect of Languoreth and Lailoken's lives. Languoreth must strive to keep the Old Ways alive while being married to Rhydderch, son and heir apparent to Tutgual. Lailoken must learn the ways of the Wisdom Keeper and the warrior, so he can serve as counselor to Uther Pendragon.
Languoreth's story sweeps over miles and decades as she grows to become the strong queen her family and people need her to be. Hers is a story of great love and great sacrifice.
I am thrilled that Languoreth's story will continue - The Lost Queen is the first book of a trilogy.
Signe Pike has wowed me and moved onto my list of must-read authors.

This novel is set in sixth century Scotland—I initially read this book because it was compared to one of my favorites, The Mists of Avalon. This saga follows Languoreth and her twin, from around age 10 when they lost their mother, through finding love at 15, marriage to cement an alliance shortly after, and a terrible war when she is in her early thirties, pitting family members against each other. I like historical fiction which seems as if the author has done extensive background research, and I definitely got this sense with Lost Queen. The plot was compelling—a real page-turner—and the characters were well-drawn, nuanced, and memorable, especially the strong female protagonist. I understand this is the first volume of a trilogy, and I look forward to reading the next book..

I had never heard of Languoreth. I'm guessing you haven't, either.
I'll never forget the name after reading The Lost Queen.
Set in the 6th century AD in Scotland, we follow Languoreth (and her twin, Lailoken) as they grow up in a changing world. The old religion is waning with the rise of Christianity, the individual kingdoms battling one another as well against the English, and the coming of age of a girl who feels trapped in her role of a princess, a twin, and the lady of the kingdom.
There's magic, war, love, death, and mystery in this historical tale. It has all the magic of The Mists Of Avalon and Outlander, but the writing is superior (in my opinion) and the story more compelling, given the newly discovered history of the woman that is Languoreth.
I, for one, can't wait for the next installment of this trilogy.

Historical fiction and Merlin fans will be absolutely delighted with this novel! I really appreciate all of the research and thought Pike put into this story. I haven’t read around 550 pages this quickly for a long time. The best part is it’s all based on true people, events, and locations. I am beyond ecstatic that this is the first in a trilogy and I definitely will be reading Adam Ardrey’s books that Pike recommends in the Author’s Note. I have read Mists of Avalon as well and like others, have been so disappointed with the author so much that I didn’t continue the series. I am extremely happy to get my fix from Pike instead.