This was an alright read. I didn't love it or hated and it wasn't an overly memorable read. It was pretty well written and the plot moved along nicely but nothing happened that will stay with me long term.

I don’t know much about Celtic mythology but I did like this read to an extent. Do I feel the ending was rushed, yes. But I don’t think that took away from the book It did leave me feeling a type of way. I can’t really give my 100% review because I just don’t know how I really feel about it but I didn’t hate it.

Rating: 2.5

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really enjoy the opportunity!

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Listen, I'm here for all sorts of mythical retellings and what not. I loved that this had an Irish twist to it. it was so fun to read. of all the book I've read, this is the first one that is using Ireland as their mythical inspiration and I think that is awesome. it is rare and I think that gives the book an edge to it.

I thought this book was pretty good. the characters were interesting and the story was evenly placed. I thought there could have been a little more depth to the magic system. I felt like the author was just scratching the surface there.

overall I thought it was a decent read and I loved the idea of it. I'm here for more books based on Irish myth.

The Celtic setting and mythology that forms the base of this move is really cool and intriguing, and I liked the premise of the book before starting t read it. I was very interested in Neve’s personality and the beginning seemed promising, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of how the character dynamics developed and never felt very connected to anything that happened in the plot. I experienced a similar reaction with The Valiant, the first book in Lesley Livingstone’s previous series, where it was a really cool idea and setting but I just didn’t get invested in what was happening and was never motivated to read the rest of the series. I thought that too much effort and time got put into creating the setting and incorporating the mythological aspects that the characters, relationships and plot felt a bit like an afterthought, but if you like setting-driven books then this would probably be a good fit for you!

I loved The Valiant by this author so I had such high hopes.

Livingston knows how to weave an enchanting story set in a rich historical setting. Her last series The Valiant was set during the Roman Empire, and for Queen Among the Dead is a Celtic tale in the land of Éire (google says its what Ireland used to be called before Britain made them change it). It's a story that involves the deities of the the Irish, but also surprisingly also the Egyptian deities. Personally, I don't know much but it was a bit of a surprise seeing both within this story, entwined with the fae, werewolves and wights.

Personally, I don't believe the synopsis does this book justice. It feels wanting, and almost deceitful. It says that Neve, the youngest daughter of the king, will become allies with an ex-Druid apprentice to seize the throne taking them to the outskirts of Eire, carving their future out with spells and swords. Sure, thats technically true but most of all that, the outskirts, the seizing of thrones, the carving of spells happens in the 80% mark. Thats almost the entire book before we get to what the synopsis tells us. Again, sure, Neve and the ex-Druid apprentice Ronan become allies but I think they are barely allies but people in a bad situation that are thrust in to each others orbit.

One of my many issues with this book was the emotional connection I felt towards most characters. I was starkly aware of this during big climatic scenes and I felt an overwhelming sense of apathy. I was more interested in finishing the book than what was going on in the book.

Given this is a Celtic tale, there are many Celtic mythology, words and meanings that not only need to be explained well but also used effectively. I was enjoying the mythology and learning more about a mythology I wasn't overly versed in. I soon realised the lore really bogged down the story, stopping the flow and changing the At a certain point I realised I was just generally confused about the world-building and how the fantasy aspects connected to the mythology. It was all muddled together in my head, with certain aspects explained more complicated than it needed to be.

"The heart of the tale is a woman. A woman loved and grieved and wanted - and took for herself - what men have always taken for granted. Power."

As much as I wanted to be invested and immersed within this story, I found myself checked out around 40% the way through. The overarching story is about Neve, and how she ascends into power, both in magic and into the seat of power in Éire. It is also about the threat of war. What I found confounding nothing much happened until 70% of this book. I kept looking at how much time was left in the book at the bottom of my kindle, and I was getting frustrated when I reached 80% only around then did the war start. The war didn't even last very long, only a few pages and then everything is resolved with a pretty little bow quite quickly afterwards. It was non-sensical as there are many issues that were never brought up like Neve's heritage and how she will navigate that, her relationship with the Ronan and their future as well as the logistics of the invaders settling onto the Éire. The ending felt rushed and I truely felt nothing during any harrowing moments.

Ronan's characterisation felt all over the place. He was annoying and unnecessarily mean towards Neve, which I think is uncalled for as she doesn't do anything too illicit such a reaction. Yes, in his P.O.V.'s its shown he wants to push her away for both their sakes but it comes so abrasive I don't really care about his reasonings and wish he would kick rocks. The love story was flat and I wished was developed more.

My last (small) gripe was the name of the book. I was lead to believe the main character was going to be the Queen Among the Dead, but not only is Neve who the book is named after, it isn't explained until the very end. I found myself forgetting what the name of this book was because it felt like there wasn't any connection to what the story was about.

I loved this author's work before but this was honestly very disappointing. I would read from them again but maybe after seeing reviews, and lowering my expectations.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Initially, I was intrigued with the premise as I did not have a lot of familiarity with Celtic folklore. The way this book was described, marketed, pitched -- it ultimately felt like something that I would've loved, especially having a strong female main character in the lead of a YA fantasy.

Did the book have those things? Yes. But it also felt like there was no diversity in the book and when there was, the depiction was of a BIPOC character being depicted as "angry" and "aggressive" which did not feel necessary. And then for *spoiler* to have the white sister "take over" the character's soul in the afterlife to "control" the soul of the "angry female" and make sure she stays in line and behaves? It really rubbed me the wrong way.

I wish there was a more thorough glossary at the beginning of the book and pronunciation guide. It would've been super helpful, especially if people are not familiar. The writing also felt clunky. It made me feel like it was a new author getting familiar with their writing style, until I saw this author had multiple books previously written.

Not sure if there are more books planned for this book, but after finishing this one, I'm not exactly inclined to read it again or recommend.

Overall, I would give this 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 4.

This book was entertaining, and I found myself heavily invested (at times) in the plot and characters. However, there were two things that knocked the rating down for me.

1. The romance felt forced. I understand feeling a connection, but it felt a bit like insta-love/fated love to me, which is not a favorite trope of mine.
2. The ending was too fast. It went from a pretty good pace to breakneck.

Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised by the book.

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Queen Among the Dead is a stand alone Celtic young adult fantasy. I’m not usually one for stand alone novels. I like drawn out character and plot development, twists and turns, etc. When it comes to stand alone novels though this one wasn’t bad.

I will say that the ending felt very rushed. The story really progresses and builds and I felt like the ending was anticlimactic in a way. I don’t think this will be a book I think about a year from now but I enjoyed reading it in the moment.

The magic system was fun and unique and the premise of the story was also something I haven’t seen. As captivating as they were, I would have liked a deeper dive into them. Even as a duology I think we could have received more with a less rushed conclusion. I struggled to get into the story near the beginning, it was a bit slow paced but near the middle and especially the end I was hooked and then I felt let down by the ending, hurried and a bit too open ended for my liking.

I’m a very character driven reader and love my fantasy romances. That being said, the romance with this book felt forced, and yes, following a trend… rushed. This is a book I will say has really great side characters and a few I even preferred.

All in all I enjoyed the read and would find myself picking up books from this author in the future, and would definitely gravitate towards duologies or trilogies by the author myself.

What a wild ride! This story was packed full of adventure, strong characters, and pretty decent world building. Some of it felt a bit rushed, and didn't make a lot of sense because of a lack of further explanation, but on the whole, it was a really good read

The world-building took so much of space that I couldn't be bothered about the details. I did like the plot and the story was stimulating.

The celtic mythology of this book was amazing! Definitely something that is done very little but done very well in the book world. Neve was a character you wanted to root for. The pacing wasn't my favorite personally but the ending, I can't wait for what's more to come from Livingston.

Huge thanks to Zando Young Readers for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This books was good. It's one of those that is more "here for a good time not for a long time." I like the main protagonist as a strong female lead. The main male lead was a nice compliment to her. I liked the setting, the pacing was good and the Celtic culture was fun to read about. Overall a solid read. This isn't a book I will remember for a long time but it was a fun read nevertheless.

I gave this book 3.00 stars. I would recommend this for someone looking for a quick read in a unique setting with a strong female lead

Magic. Myth. And lovable rapscallions.

I will be the first to admit that I am unjustly cynical when it comes to Irish-inspired fantasy. In my experience it is a long and complicated history that either translates extremely well, or poorly, to fiction. So I was thrilled when Livingston captured me early and held me captivated to the bitter end.

For all of the lore and myth interwoven into Queen Among the Dead, there are frequent context clues and overt reminders to keep you clued in. Worst case, there is a remarkably handy glossary at the START of the book. The world-building is superb, magic system sophisticated, and characters 3-dimensional. Dual-POV is usually not my favorite, but I found myself eagerly looking forward to the shift in perspectives as each had remarkable new insight into Eire.

For me the story harkened back to the Falling Kingdom series by Morgan Rhodes. It had a similar sense of adventure, lovable morally-grey characters, enemies-to-lovers, and character depth. A splash of dark academia, palace intrigue, this one checked a lot of boxes for me.

I look forward to seeing what Lesley Livingston has up her sleeve next, and wholly intend to add this one to my re-read shelf. It will be staying with me for a long time.

[Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

I was excited to read this novel because I love the author’s Valiant series set in Ancient Rome about a female gladiator! I thought this novel which is focused on Celtic mythology in which I knew very little about would be an excellent treat! However, I was a little disappointed. While Valiant was a fast-paced book that was filled with complex characters, I thought that Queen Among the Living Dead was a very slow moving novel. There is not much happening. I also could not connect with Neve. She seemed emotionally distant that I could not connect with her story as I did with Fallon from Valiant. I also thought the romance in this novel was very lackluster compared to the swoon worthy romance in Valiant. Despite these flaws, I did love the setting. The author did an excellent job in making Celtic Britain come alive. I like how she wove myth, history, and religion into the story. Thus, this novel had an interesting premise, but was not executed well. Instead, it made me want to reread the Valiant series. Nevertheless, I recommend this novel for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, Esther Friesner, and Sarah J. Maas!

Sounds really great. The book was a slow start and I couldn't get into it, but I will try again soon.

Queen Among the Dead weaves history and magic together in an enchanting Celtic read. An interesting take on looking at outlawed magic. Focusing on an outlaw and princess to tell the story, we see tension in the social injustices taking place within Eire.

A thrilling read that is sure to engage lovers of history, romance and fantasy.

While the overall premise was fascinating, I can’t say this is a story that will stick with me.

The characters and magic system were all great and captivating, for the most part. I just felt like the pacing was at fault here. I feel like if it had been edited down a bit, this could have been great.

I still liked it well enough and I’m glad I read it.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the magic system was brilliant and I found myself torn between who I was rooting for the most. The world building was phenomenal too and loved how Neve and Ronan had to think about the consequences of their actions before throwing it to the wind. I am also super excited because I signed up to get the special addition of this from The Bookish Box and cannot wait to have it in my library!!!!

I read Queen Among the Dead on my kindle, and I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. Despite my goals to be reading more physical books, I was often turning towards my kindle at night because I just had to know what would happen next.

Based on a lot fo celtic legends and folklore, Queen Among The Dead brings so much magic and beautiful descriptions of Eire to the page. Crafting Irish fairytale into a wonderful fantasy adventure with an intriguing cast of characters who you want to learn more about with each page.

There’s a slight issue of pacing, especially in the first half of the book. Whilst I loved the world building, it did come at the cost of our characters not having much to work towards for the first part of the story. We were introduced to lots of characters, the world, the magic (or lack of magic) etc. but our characters were mostly reacting to things that happen around them.

But by the end of the book it’s a real page turner, and as you start to see the real antagonists come into play the stakes get higher. I also loved the way magic was shown in this book, and how it ties back into the land of Eire and it’s people.