This was very enjoyable. Both familiar, in that the myths should always feel like we knew them deep down, but with plenty of twists that made sense, even if I didn’t see them coming. The narrative itself is cyclical as most myths will be, but has some beautiful symmetry that gives the entire story the feel of a an epic poem or ballad, which I suppose, at the core, is what it is. While the plot fully resolves, it leaves the door open for further adventures, and I feel like Neve and the gang will be doing much more for the bards to sing about.

DNF: 26%

I was drawn to this novel for two reasons: the Celtic mythology and the comparisons made to other prominent young adult fantasy authors. Unfortunately, I could not finish reading this novel. From the first page, this story was riddled with story construction issues that I could not overlook; if anything, they were distracting as I wanted to fix everything I was seeing.

First, I could tell that Lesley Livingston has a deep love for fantasy novels and for Celtic mythology. The passion for both was dripping off the pages of this story. However, that passion did not translate into the greater story. From page one, I was incredibly confused about the world-building and the trajectory of the plot. Both proved to be fatal flaws for the novel.

Looking at the world-building, I can’t deny that there was a great amount of it. But the amount doesn’t necessarily equate to clarity for the reader, which was the case here. The world-building was often dumped on the reader (at least one dump per chapter, by my count) and was always delivered in the same way: through paragraphs of summary storytelling. By chapter nine, I was craving other means to get the world-building by, such as, through dialogue. I also wanted more explanation for the Celtic names and terms; a glossary would be an asset for this novel.

Bigger than the world-building issue was the plotting. By the 26% mark (roughly chapter nine), I had no idea of what the story trajectory was. The characters did not have goals they were moving toward—which means they have no agency as well—and there was no clear antagonist. Without the character agency and story stakes, the story fell flat and felt empty. This story was floundering as it attempted to find its footing, but the fact that it never found it within the first 25% was discouraging. By that percentage mark, the story should have been heading into the second act after an inciting event had taken place.

While the synopsis presented a standard young adult fantasy novel, the story failed to live up to those expectations. With clearer world-building explanations and better characterization, this book would have much to offer a reader.

Thank you to Zando Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I think this book is well crafted. The mythology and world building were excellent and the writing was good.
However, I found the pacing to be excruciatingly slow—almost 50% of the way into the book before any major event occurs.
It was less focused on romance than I expected as well, and I wish that had been a bigger part of the story.
I think it’s a good book and people looking for something more fantasy than romance will probably enjoy it.

Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Writing Style: 5
Cover: 4
Enjoyment: 4.5
Buyable/Re-readable?: Yes - I'll continue the series.

Alright, I love this book while simultaneously take issue with it. It rather instantly sucked me in with it's lovey writing style - we get two narrators, alternating chapters between Neve and Ronan who have very distinct voices and personalities. I adored the melding of myths and folklore (Ireland, Egypt, etc), and for me, found less than five minor confusing moments, though it had more to do with the style choice. And on that note, I felt that the last act felt rushed, and yet the book is fairly quick-paced. There were a few unanswered and/or not quite abandoned bits but something like that (example being the fate of a certain antagonist). I think some of the enemies were far too quickly dealt with and could have benefited from battle scenes that were fuller, more fleshed out. What romance does exist does not dominate the story (which is nice) and there maybe, *maybe* is a hinted throuple? I could be reading a tad too much into that though...pretty sure I am, actually, heh.

I didn’t see twists or surprises coming, I am thoroughly grateful it didn’t AT ALL remind me of Pixar's "Brave". It didn't feel like a cheap, repeat story; it has a life of its own.

⅖ Stars

I am just gonna go straight into it. There are many things that I like about this book. The characters were interesting and funny when they were interacting. The plot was there and was developing and I also enjoyed that the book was fast paced but I could not get into it until the last few chapters. I felt like the beginning was just too quick for my liking, it was just one thing going on to the next over and over again. But the idea behind the book is very interesting and was very well thought out but it was not for me. It is the fact that I would forget what the book is about WHILE I was reading it.

Celtic mythologies? Sign me up! This book was so easy to jump into and read. The world building was so detailed yet I found it extremely easy to understand as I was reading. The characters all had their own complexities and stories to tell which I found so interesting and really hooked me into the plot of the story. I'll be honest when I say Lorcan was truly my favourite because he really did seem like a good man. Neve was another character who I loved because she genuinely seemed strong and truly loved her people.

The way the mythology was woven through the book was so perfectly done, I found myself really enjoying that aspect as I read. While there were some spots that weren't as well paced as others, overall the book was done really well and had me falling in love with the world Lesley created.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a ride! Livingston has written an engaging book that, despite being historical fiction, I could sell to my students as action or fantasy (it's an easier sell for most of them). While the ending felt rushed, the rest of it was an absorbing adaptation of Irish mythology.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zando Projects for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I nabbed this book so fast when I saw it on NetGalley. The idea of reading a book semi-based on celtic folklore/irish myths and legends was something I was really excited to dive into. There are quite a few Celtic references like Druids and Wraiths in this book, so it definitely lives up to it's description.

However, it didn't really live up to the "hype" for me. The beginning of the book is extremely slow going and there's just so many hard to understand references, with sometimes no explanation (and maybe that's my own fault for not researching these things) it becomes just too much.

I did really give this book a try, but I ended up DNFing. It's just too hard to get through and wasn't for me. However, if you're willing to get through some of the bumps of the book, it could very well be for you.

Neve is the youngest princess and Ronan is a Druid's apprentice/thief. They become uneasy allies... Neve must seize the throne with Ronan when the kingdom is threatened by a power struggle....

Lots of romance, court intrigue and action. Love both characters. Really like the setting and cast too. A terrific story with lots of wonderful characters. Terrific ending.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Not a real fan of this new-to-me author. I can see that she wove in some fantasy elements, but I wanted more from the story. I didn't like Neve from the beginning, and she didn't grow on me.

Queen Among The Dead is a very solid YA fantasy novel that lacks a little in the writing department but makes up for it with wonderful characters and gorgeous Celtic inspiration. I did really like Neve and Una's characters. I found Neve to be really strong and a great female role model. Her undying love for her people was something that I truly admire in her. Una deserved better - she was lovely and would have been a beautiful queen. She was really very kind and Lorcan was a lucky man. The Celtic influence on every aspect of this book was a very refreshing twist on the YA fantasy genre. It was unique and exciting and exceptionally well done.

It is probably my fault because I am not familiar with Celtic mythology, but I just could not get interested in this book. Too many different groups with too many different kinds of magic associated with them and I just couldn't keep track of them all. Neither could I keep track of which group was responsible for ravaging which other group of people. Reve and Ronan could have had an interesting story but I could not get interested in them enough to care. Thanks for the opportunity to read an arc, and I was not pressured for a good review.

Ramona Thompson

DNF @ 26%. I gave it the good ol' college try, alas - I had to call it quits. On paper, I like the conceit of the story, centered around Irish myth and legend (a topic I'm sorely uneducated about) but the book fell totally flat for me, and for once, I don't think it's me. As impossible as it may sound, the book starts both too early AND too late in the narrative timeline. We open with a chapter when the MCs first meet when they're quite young and they battle a monster. Next chapter, time skip - the FMC is holding a knife to the MMC's throat after he'd just picked someone's pockets. Why couldn't we start with the pickpocket scene? Like, actually see it on the page?

It started off rocky, and didn't improve. With phrases like "his jaw drifting open" I had a sinking feeling that this was going to be rough. The exposition is clunky with characters explaining concepts they already know to one another, falling into the pit of "As you know" territory. Like I mentioned before, I don't have a lot of experience with Irish myth, and I wish that there was an easier way to introduce concepts and names within the narrative naturally, rather than the glossary at the beginning, which I would need to keep flipping back to in order to understand anything. I didn't understand the stakes, or the world, and wasn't willing to invest much more time past the 26% mark to see more.

Queen Among the Dead completely surprised me in a wonderful way. Neve, the younger of two royal princesses, and Ronan, a priest’s apprentice turned thief, have their first encounter as children. Their next meeting, in young adulthood, links them in with battle unexpected enemies on all sides, despite their different and sometimes contentious backgrounds. They rally unexpected allies and personal strengths they hadn’t known they had in order to rescue their land, Eire, from deadly foes.
While I occasionally got frustrated by the apparent lack of connection from chapter to chapter, it was well worthwhile continuing on to see how all the story threads wove together in the end.
I highly recommend this story to anyone, especially those interested in history and fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston!

I really enjoyed this book! The pacing was great and I really enjoyed the story. I’m not that familiar with Celtic mythology, but that’s my problem, not the authors lol.

In the kingdom of Eire, Neve is the youngest daughter of the Dagda. From an early age, Neve was rather restless and found release by sneaking out of her home and going to the village. One night, Neve finds herself face to face with a thief, Ronan. Ronan, after being expelled from the school for Druids, makes a living by stealing spells. The Druids have successfully made the citizens of Eire afraid of wild magic and has made it illegal for people to use it. As the Dagda physically weakens, a great power struggle begins to consume the people of Eire. Ronan and Neve find themselves having to work together to save magic, the people of Eire, and the throne. An interesting integration of Irish legends and folklore into a YA fantasy delight.

Queen Among the Dead was absolutely fantastical! Livingston wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

Riveting storytelling, full of fierce queens, secrets, moors, humid, chilled air... a great re-imagining of Irish lore.

Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston is an Atmospheric fantasy based on the legend of Ireland's first true Queen.
What Worked for Me
-The premise drew me in and the prose kept me hooked.
-themes of destiny and identity
-discovering the magic within trope
What Didn't Work as Well for me
-Pacing was put off balance due to heavy exposition being loaded into a few scenes instead of of spacing it out over many.
-build up to the climax was outweighed by the climax itself in a way that made the book feel rushed in some areas.
Who I would Recommend this book for
This book would make a great read for fans of shadow of the fox by Juile Kagawa looking for similar vibes and writing styles within a Celtic myths framework.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of #QueenAmongTheDead in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this books along with the titles it was compared to had me eager to get this book in my hands. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like it lived up to my expectations. Livingston created a historically rich world teeming with threats of all kinds. The regal and Druid influences reminded me a bit of stories like Game of Thrones or other politically influenced stories and how power can be wielded and such.

However, as a whole, this book fell flat for me. I struggled to keep reading in parts where writing felt clunky, like Livingston was trying too hard to craft beautiful lines, when keeping it simple would have sufficed. Portions felt a bit info-dumpy and pulled me out of the action, and a lot of the times I wasn't sure it was pertinent information. It was a beautiful idea, the execration just flopped for me.