I thought the story itself was super fun and entertaining and right up my alley. I love historical archaeological hijinks with a mythological background and the mystical Irish setting was fun too. But the characters fell flat for me and unfortunately, I really need to connect with the characters more to better enjoy the book as a whole. The main character had a lot of "not like other girls" vibes to me and the love interest was so condescending and annoying with his overprotective energy that he had going on. I do think the saving grace of the characters was the best friend Jo, she seemed much more fun and interesting to me than the main character and I enjoyed her a lot. Overall I feel pretty conflicted about this book because in the end, I did like the story itself, I just didn't like the characters at all.

Curse of the Specter Queen was a thoroughly enjoyable read. While not my "typical" genre preference, I found that it kept my attention, and appealed greatly to my bookish/intelligent side due to all of the historical and research mentions throughout the book. Another review compared this to Indiana Jones and National Treasure, and I have to say those comparisons are spot on.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The publisher provided me with the opportunity to read this (via Netgalley).

This was a fast paced and easy read that I enjoyed. The writing was well done and the history/legends presented in a way that made them easy to understand even if you (like myself) were unfamiliar with them.

*3.4/5⭐️ Arc provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Indiana Jones set in the roaring 20s? Yes! With a nerdy, kickass female lead? Double yes!

Curse of the Specter Queen follows Sam, a small-town bookstore worker and her childhood best friends Joana and Bennett Steeling on an adventure to stop a deadly and ancient Celtic curse that could be the end of the world…

And WOW did this book deliver. Going into this I was a little worried I would find myself getting a little lost among the complex ciphers the description was promising, but luckily I was able to keep up with everything that was going on. I think this was partially due to the relatively simple writing. It was easy to understand, but not so dull that I found myself getting bored by it.

Okay, but can we talk about the romance? Because if you’re looking for a bickering, slow-burn, childhood friends-to-lovers adorable-ness Sam and Bennett totally fit the bill. I loved that they had their shared interests of puzzles and history, and the whole ‘everyone knows we’re perfect for each other but us’ thing going for them. The friendship between Sam and Jo was fun with their ‘opposites attract’ dynamic and I found the two balanced each other quite nicely.

All in all a pretty satisfying and enjoyable read I could not put down.

Curse of the Specter Queen is a wonderful example of mystery, treasure hunting and a heroine who is understated but strong. Where a trio of friends fight for humanity and re-discover what friendship is a about. A great book for young adults!

This was a great read! Ever since reading The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett, I had been looking for another book involving a treasure hunt. If you've read The Lady Rogue, you'll definitely enjoy this! Curse of the Specter Queen is set in the 1920s, one of my favorite time periods. Sam, our main character, is smart, determined, and loves books! I loved the side characters too, especially Joana.
The treasure hunt aspect was so much fun to try to figure out alongside Sam, Joana, and Bennett. This is such a fun, fast read! According to Goodreads, it's also the start of a new series about Sam and her adventures.

What a fun and action packed adventure this book was. The main character is a fierce strong woman who defies all odds, even when they are against her. Action fantasy lovers rejoice, this is the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Now that I’ve had a female driven Indiana Jones inspired book, I need more of these. ASAP. What a fun, engaging read! I loved this! Sam, Jo and Bennett were such a fun band of characters. I loved getting to know them and watching them grow throughout the entire book. The plot of this book was so interesting and the concept drew me in from the beginning.

The journey that Sam goes on throughout this book is so heartwarming. It was hard not to root for her to succeed. The pining with her and Bennett? Top notch. Despite their differences at times, her friendship with Jo was so sweet and a real one. I love when friends are opposites but still compliment each other really well. The story itself was really well thought out and done incredibly. There were a few lulls where the pacing was a bit slow, but other than that this was so enjoyable! I really had fun reading it. The further I got into it, the harder it was to put down. The twists were foreshadowed very subtly, but very well done!

If you’re looking for a fun adventure and love Indiana Jones & strong women- this is for you!

Sam is a small-town girl with a penchant for ciphers and puzzles who's thrust into the centre of an ancient mystery that threatens to tear the world apart. Set against the backdrop of the roaring 20s, Sam's adventure also features her former best friend, Joana, and her childhood crush, Bennett, as the trio tries desperately to stop an ancient evil from being unleashed.

I really wanted to love The Curse of the Specter Queen. Sam sounded like a perfect protagonist, a nerdy girl who loves restoring old books and deciphering clues. Throw in an ancient curse and what could go wrong?

Unfortunately, I just couldn't seem to engage much with the story or the characters. Sam was an fair character but she just didn't have much depth, beyond her archetypical quiet, intelligent, bookish traits. Bennett, the male lead, is portrayed sympathetically as a protective figure who just cares too much about the people he loves, but I was put off by his constant underestimation of Sam's intelligence and constant attempts to control her and his sister. Joana, the best friend, also came across as one-dimensional, ultimately not rising much beyond a "party girl" stereotype. I thought setting the book in the 1920s was a brilliant choice and well-executed choice, but I didn't feel that the characters rose to match their rich surroundings.

Ultimately I found The Curse of the Specter Queen to be an okay, but not great book. I think I would have enjoyed it a great deal more if the main cast had been more fleshed out, but as it was written, I just wasn't terribly invested in the story.

Wow! What a beautifully written and intriguing story! I love the Celtic lore and the roaring 20's setting. The prose was delightful, the characters were engaging and dynamic, and the book was nearly impossible to put down. It was quite a bit creepier than I expected, and rather dark, but I still really enjoyed it. The ciphering and puzzle solving aspect of it was fun and really made it stand out from many other YA books I have read. I am excited to read more by this author!

WOW WOW WOW I LOVED THIS BOOK. I CAN’T. I CANNOT EVEN. WHERE TO EVEN START. The setting! The story! The characters THE CHARACTERS I LOVED THE CHARACTERS. I’ve had a string of so so Netgalley arcs lately and this was just the book I needed to pull me out of my weird book slump.

I said this when I was 10% into the book and I say this now upon finishing it. The entire time reading this book, all I could think was what an AMAZING MOVIE this book would make. Holy shit. I mean, we have this mysterious cryptic diary, creepy villains breaking into an ancient bookshop in search of said diary and amidst the chaos, causing a glass lantern explosion making all the books light up like fireworks and the entire shop erupts into flames. And this all happens within the first 10% of the book. IT STARTS EARLY AND NEVER STOPS. None of that dumb nothing happening in the first hundred pages like most books seem to do. It hits the ground running so if super slow to start books are your pet peeve too, you won’t have a problem with this one. It gets the point!

Right from the beginning, I instantly liked the main character Sam. She feels at home at the antique bookstore where she spends most of her time (same) and is fascinated by culture, archaeology, and literature. It’s refreshing to not have another YA main character who is overly brash, haughty, and aggressive with a horrible attitude. Which gives me the perfect segway to go into a mini rant AND I’M SORRY IF THIS IS LONG BUT I JUST FEEL REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS TOPIC: Why is it that every YA author thinks that a “strong” female mc should be the stereotypical sword wielding heroine who thinks she’s stronger than everyone else just because she doesn’t accept help from men? When has YA decided that femininity and softness and less aggressive characters are weak?

Newsflash YA authors, we do not want any more of the “I will beat you up if you say hi to me” kind of female characters. We want EVERY type of female represented. Too many YA authors think that these callous type female characters are the strong women of the feminist age. I beg to differ. Softness is strength. Intelligence is strength. You can be shy and strong. You can be quiet and strong. You can be a socially awkward bookworm and be strong. You can be dainty and strong. You can love dresses and pearls and femininity and be strong. WHY DO MOST YA AUTHORS NOT UNDERSTAND THIS? The stereotypical strong on the surface abrasive female character (usually with a horrible attitude) is insufferable to me. Yeah you might be physically strong and brave, and maybe you think beating men up and besting them at everything makes you better than other softer women but is that the only way to show feminine strength? 🙄 THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING STRONG AND JUST BEING CALLOUS.

This time of female character being the only representation of what’s considered a “strong” woman is insufferable. It’s extremely surface level. In their attempt to cater to the feminist age, the majority of YA authors have underrepresented an entire category of girls, and have told them they are “weak”. I beg to differ. Characters like Sam who are intelligent and thoughtful are stronger than over the top characters like Celaena (😷) will ever be. Outer strength and stereotypical sword yielding bravery is only strength on the surface. Why do most YA authors not get this?

That being said, Joana was actually my favorite character. I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH JOANA. Girlfriend is so much fun; I cannot even. And the ending OH GOSH THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK WAS SO VISUAL. The last 20% is insane and I could not put it down. This book NEEDS to be a Netflix movie. ASAP. I need this to be a movie!

I really hope this isn’t the last planned book for these characters because I absolutely need to read about more adventures, especially with my homegirl Joana. Now, I’m going to have to be a bit critical here. This was not a perfect read by any means (the villain behind it all was too obvious and very easy to guess, and some cringey dialogue; just being honest!) However, this story was so entertaining, so easy to visualize, and I can see how much hard work and research the author put into this. I simply cannot give this fewer than 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley/Hyperion for sending me an arc in exchange for my honest review.

spoiler-free review

The whole concept of the book completely had me hooked. Indiana Jones but as a female with national treasure and the mummy combined? Yes please!!!

Curse of the specter queen follows a teenage bookseller (Samantha) in Illinois who had started working there after she had lost her dad in the great war. Sam gets a package containing a diary, which people are after, causing her to flee Illinois for Ireland. It's not every day we get to see the Irish folklore in books and it was incorporated wonderfully. While in Ireland, we read through a treasure hunt full of history and puzzles. Sam is determined to solve the puzzles with her intelligence and her friend. We are whisked into an adventure with riddles, mystery, and thrill. My reasoning for 4 stars was due to some confusion during reading on my part towards the end.

Do I think you should read this book? Yes! This YA mystery is sure to interest you.


ARC provided by the publisher and Netgalley
I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are mine.
EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: June 1st, 2021
REVIEWED: 2/21/2021

This was such a fun read. It is suspenseful and grabs your attention from the first page (and keeps your attention). I enjoyed that it was a mix of history, adventure, and fantasy. It has unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. It is an original storyline and I like that it can be enjoyed by a large age range. One of my markers of a five-star read is when I just can’t put the book down and this was definitely it for me.

Creepier than I expected but I still enjoyed it. Quite exciting. It was fast paced but not too fast.

A treasure hunt guided by puzzles, history, and Irish folklore, this book featured a young female heroine who went on a journey that kept my attention as I continued to read wrapped up in the mystery. The main character Sam, is young woman whose intelligence and determination to solve the ancient puzzles leads all the characters as they journey from America to Ireland chasing a mystery involving a bowl, a vengeful goddess and the fall of mankind. This book brings in aspects of Irish folklore and mythology which is new and different from the roman and greek mythology we often see. The main character Samantha is a strong female lead who is the smartest in the group and takes the lead as she not only gains insight into the mystery but also to herself and the friendships she thought she had left behind.

Thank you to Disney-Hyperion and Jenny Elder Moke for the ARC of this fantastic book.
Fans of history, archaeology, mystery and suspense will enjoy this story. There is so much going on in this book, it is a real page turner. One of the highlights is that this young, strong, independent woman is leading a group of friends on a quest for clues to try and solve the mystery of the diary that was delivered to her book repair shop. Also the fact that she comes from a poor, hard working family also makes this young woman such a role model.

The writing is excellent and makes me feel like I am traveling with the characters back in time.

Teens and adults are sure to love this new book!

This book was received as an ARC from Disney Publishing Worldwide - Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was invested all the way for this book. Being a fan of Indiana Jones and the adventures he took to get the relics he was after, it was a refreshing treat to read that this concept is making a comeback and that it is a female archeologist, that made me happier. The excitement and thrill ride in this book was maximum fun and all because of a torn diary with secret codes these malicious men want to get their hands on. I know this will have a following and I really do hope this book becomes a series and see what relics and adventures Samantha Knox does next.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Samantha Knox lost her dad in the great war and is working as a book restorer when her adventure begins with the Steeling siblings. From Illinois to Dublin she follows clues and keeps the reader entertained and trying to figure out what other characters are on side of good. The publisher and NetGalley provided me with a digital copy for an honest review.

I absolutely loved Hood, Jenny Elder Moke’s debut, so I was excited to read Curse of the Specter Queen. An action-packed, adventurous tale, readers will feverishly turn each page, waiting to solve the mystery along with Sam. The settings are vibrant and the characters are engaging. Elder Moke’s cinematic writing style will draw readers in. Highly recommended!

What a fun adventure! Truly looking forward to Sam’s next adventure. It all reminded me of Evie from The Mummy, Anja Creed from the Rogue Angel series and Veronica Speedwell from Raybourne’s series. Thanks to NetGalley for the read.