There were a lot of things I really liked about "Once Upon a Queen". First of all, the writing was really well done. Arthur uses that particular voice/style which you find in authors like E. Nesbit, C. S. Lewis, Jeanne Birdsall- very upfront, classic, and comforting. I also really liked Eva's characterization. She's the kind of narrator who is gracious and knows how to find joy and beauty, but is usually very frank about her own shortcomings (which maybe adds to why the story feels so refreshing?).

I also enjoyed the strong Christian themes in this novel. They were not the most complete- you can't have redemption without a Redeemer- but they were still encouraging.

If you're considering reading this book, definitely read the Afterword first. It gives some insights into the inspiration behind the book that, had I read them earlier, would have changed how I viewed the story, and Grandmother's character especially. Based on the title of the book and the elements borrowed from Narnia, I started reading thinking this was a continuation of Susan Pevensie's story. It's not. It's very similar in some aspects, but Grandmother has a different journey than Susan, and I wish I'd known that earlier.

"Once Upon A Queen" did, as other reviewers have said, feel very derivitave of Narnia, to the point of excess. The similarities were enough that I found myself more surprised when a digression from Lewis's lore occurred. I wish there had been as much originality in the Ternival parts of the story as there was in the modern-day England portion.

Overall, though, Arthur's novel is a solid, enjoyable read, with a strong message of Truth that shines throughout. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next book in the series. Thanks to Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whimsical, melancholic and nostalgic, this book has a great premise: a girl discovering her favorite fairy tales are actually true stories of people falling through to another world. Even better, her grandmother owns the mysterious mansion where the tales begin.

However, it fell flat for me, as the book began to lag half-way through. I feel like the book didn't deliver on its promise to the reader: an adventure in other worlds. For instance, in the Chronicles of Narnia, the bulk of the book takes place in Narnia. Here, the bulk of the book takes place in our world, where the magic of the other world shines through faintly.

When Eva arrives at her estranged grandmother's manor house, she discovers that everyone's keeping secrets from her. She quickly discovers that Frankie and his family, who work on the property, believe the fairy tales about Ternival are true. She also discovers that she's the spitting image of her grandmother's lost sister. Eva soon spots her reclusive grandmother wandering the grounds at night, talking about being queen of another world. She's followed by a mysterious white stag, who leads Eva to a portal, but promptly shuts it in her face. Most of the book's mysteries are being withheld from Eva by adults, and astute readers may guess some of the twists before she does.

Eva's grandmother has experienced a lot of loss, and Eva takes it on herself to try to help her grandmother heal. This bond between grandmother and granddaughter as both reckon with generational trauma and legacy is the best part of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The writing was there for this one, and honestly it should have worked for me but it just didn't. Overall, it was a fun cozy read. I'm sure many people will really enjoy it! I would just say that maybe this one just wasn't for me.

A mysterious manor house hides the keys to shocking family secrets, and rapidly fading portals to other worlds, in this richly woven tale. Eva Joyce finds herself unexpectedly spending the summer at her families mysterious manor house, of the English grandmother she has never met, and she soon discovers that everyone, even the house, is hiding secrets. Odd things happen in the gardens and hallways at night so Eva embarks on a journey to search for answers.

She soon learns that vermin believes that portals to other wolds exists within the very walls of the manor, though hidden and steadily disappearing, and that her grandmother was once a queen of those worlds. But with her grandmother’s heart closed to the beauty and pain of the oath, its now up to her to discover what is truly happening within the manors walls.

Could it be possible that her favourite childhood fairytales are true? As she begins to unravel the dangerous secrets of the manor and her family, Eva begins to wonder if she too is more than she understood herself to be. An enchanting and myserteous novel that will have you wandering the walks of the mysterious manor, opening doors and wondering if you’ll step into another world.

But all you have to do is open this book to do so — an enchanting story filled with family secrets, magical doorways and familiar relationships that are bittersweet and filled with heartache. If you’re going to read nay book about magical portals to another world and a mysterious manor that hold enough secrets to fill a library than this is the book for you. All you have to do is read the front page to find yourself transported to a world where anything is possible.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬 & 𝘔𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳

Once a Queen is a fantasy journey through an old English manor, mixing magic with reality in a way familiar to anyone who has read The Chronicles of Narnia - which, indeed, the author acknowledges as a part of her inspiration for blending this world with another, where time runs differently, and those who have been lost in our world remain.

Eva Joyce is an American teenager who, at 14, has never met her only living grandparent, her mother's mother, when her mother takes her to England for a visit. In the course of the visit, a significant portion of family history that Gwendolyn, Eva's mother, has never revealed slowly comes to light, a family history that is also tied to Eva's father, a literary researcher who has spent his career trying to prove that a particular person wrote under a particular pseudonym. The story takes place over the course of a summer, during which Eva meets her grandmother, a great-aunt about whom she never knew, and the people who have worked for her mother's family for decades, with whom her mother grew up. The story of Ternival, a fantasy realm, is told alongside Eva's story, and throughout the novel, the two slowly come together. Recommended for readers of all ages.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This one moved a bit slow for me. Interesting story though, parallel worlds with magical creatures and items being unearthed. Eva is desperate to learn more about her family and this other world, and she will do everything she can to find information.

An enchanting young adult fantasy filled with mystery, magic, and self discovery.

14-year old Eva and her mother have returned to England to visit Eva's estranged grandmother. Pulling up to the magnificent manor house, Eva is in awe, but there's more to this house than meets the eye - mystery surrounds the grounds and the people - and Eva is determined to figure out what it is.

When Eva sees the strange events that happen in the gardens when the moon rises, she knows she has to discover what it means.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
A magical tale that reminded me of Narnia, with doors to other, fantastical worlds. The gradual information received by both our FMC and ourselves kept me gripped to discover what Eva's family were keeping from her, and the mysterious world where Eva's grandmother was once a queen.

I enjoyed the snippets of the fairytale woven into the start of each chapter - discovering how Eva's grandmother and her friends came to discover this world and crowned.

I do however, wish we could have spent more time in the other world. We get to see a glimpse, but maybe we'll see more in the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for this copy. This review is voluntary.

Thank you to the publisher WaterBrook Multnomah and Netgalley for giving me access to this book as an E-ARC!

I was super excited by the premise of Once a Queen, It's a Story with elements from Princess Diaries, The Chronicles of Narnia and some historical fiction thrown in. I think this story would be perfect for beginners in the Fantasy Genre and lovers of getting thrown into new fantasy worlds.

We are following 14 year old Eva who visits her grandmother for the first time and soon realizes not everything is as it seems and fairy tales may really come true. Hop into Sarah's magical writing and you will for sure be in for an adventure!

This is a lovely start to a YA cozy fantasy series. I really enjoyed the dual timeline story that was reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. I liked how the author was inspired by the real life event of the British rail crash of October 8th, 1952, and had this event impact the Grandmother and other family members. The author showed the strength of family, and how trauma and grief can have a lasting impact on generations in a family.

Eva Joyce, the main character, travels with her Mother to visit her Grandmother in England whom she has never met. When she arrives she finds out that her Grandmother lives in a giant home, has staff to cook and clean, and a massive garden. Eva’s Grandmother is very aloof which forces Eva to seek out friendship with the staff and the gardener's grandson Frankie. It’s through this friendship with Frankie that Eva discovers that he and his family believe that fairy tales are true, and that a long time ago her Grandmother also believed in fairy tales and was once a queen. A terrible tragedy happened that caused her Grandmother to deny what she knows, and Eva feels the pull to help her Grandmother to believe in fairy tales once again.

I am looking forward to book 2, Once a Castle, and recommend this book for teens who enjoy fantasy and a strong female lead character.

I want to thank NetGalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for a copy of the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Step into the magical world that only a select few can see as Eva Joyce spends her summer at a mysterious mansion. Not only is her family, but the whole mansion and the land surrounding it are holding more secrets than meet the eyes.

Soon Eva experiences all of her favorite childhood stories, come to light right before her eyes. Can she unravel the tales and help her grandmother, before its too late? Or has Eva already stepped too far in a world beyond her wildest imagination.

“Once a Queen” follows Eva, who travels to England for the first time with her mother to meet her grandmother. She feels right at home among the people and place, as well as her fashion-minded grandmother, but the magic of another world starts to creep in. When I first started reading I immediately felt as though it was reminiscent of many childhood favorites: Narnia, The Little White Horse, The Secret Garden. About a page after that occurred to me, two of those titles were named as being the main character’s favorites. While this is perfectly sweet and charming and I’m sure many people will enjoy it, I had two main issues with it. The first is that is walks an extremely fine line between being inspired by classic children’s literature and being outright derivative of it. I’m not sure this story does enough to set itself apart from existing media. My second gripe is that Eva’s inner monologue sounds like a 40-year-old British woman, not a 14-year-old girl from Connecticut.

Absolutely gorgeous tale that is reminiscent of Narnia with discovered magical lands and lore. It's captivating and easy to read.

We have complex familial relationships and histories, trauma and love. We have interwoven families, conflicts of societal classes and blossoming friendships.

Something that I really like about this book is our main character is so believable as a 14 year old. The way she thinks and reasons throughout is something that I can relate to if I think back to how I was as a 14 year old.

I absolutely adore the multiple generations of characters in this story as well, so we can get the perspectives of different ages.

One thing I will say, subtly to try and give so spoilers, our FMC was robbed and I would feel salty as if I was her 😂 haha

Really looking forward to the next installment

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had a hard time reading this book. Eva is visiting her grandmother for the first time in England. Her mother packed up and left a long time ago.. They only reason they are back is to locate something for Eva's father's research. Eva has always been fascinated with magic and other worlds, but coming to England has opened her eyes to new adventures beyond her wildest dreams. She is thirsty to explore the worlds that everyone around her seems to whisper about and her grandmother tries to deny their existence during the day, but at night Eva's grandmother transforms. This book has a lot of potential. The main story seems to be about the broken mind of Eva's grandmother and what happened in the past. It felt like there as a lot of words but no true world building. It took me to read 80% of the book before the story really got off the ground and the ending sub par. I would suggest putting more true adventure in the story instead of the constant build up to an anti-climatic end. I am really disappointed. Something was missing and I was not satisfied with this reading.

I’m not really sure what to make of this. I found it at points a little confusing but also, it seems to serve as more of a prequel to a different story. Not a lot happens. It feels like a lot of build up to something else. Which is fine. But it’s hard to get a full picture of where it’s going to go.

I didn’t dislike it, I don’t think it’s a bad story, I think it just wasn’t a good fit for me.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this - when I got to the end/acknowledgments I realized it was possibly Christian fiction, which I would never normally pick up. The vibes of the story were great, but the plot got very repetitive in the midde and now that I'm looking at it from a Christian fiction lens the main message feels a bit like it was beat over my head.

I was super excited to read this book. The description is super interesting and the author looked promising. Unfortunately, however, this book just fell flat. I struggled with following the different timelines, and I thought that the title didn't really relate to the heart of the novel.

However, if you do like fantasy novels that jump timelines, then you might enjoy this story. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the free e-arc.

Thank you very much to the publishing company as well as NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is an adorable fantasy that is lush with coziness. I love a good cozy fantasy and this YA fantasy did not disappoint. Very sweet and heartwarming. Make sure to read it with a cup of tea by a fireplace.

i hate to say it, but I found this really boring--I wish the characters had spent any time at all in the magical world. Instead, the book was taken up with repetitive, vague mentions of a Narnia-esque world that others had been kings and queens in. Ternival doesn't enter into the picture until 80% of the way through the book, and even then it is present only long enough for the magical residents to tell Eva that she must return to the real world of England. Truly repetitive, and in my opinion, unenjoyable.

This was such a delightful YA fantasy!!
The world building was captivating and the characters pretty well developed, and fun to experience the journey with.
The plot was fun as well, and I think this would be really well suited for a younger audiences!

This book captivates me with its detailed world-building and well-developed characters. Even though the story moves at a slower speed, I guess it's on purpose, giving a chance to really dive into the characters' feelings and the deeper ideas explored. The gradual storytelling creates an engaging vibe, making it a satisfying and thought-provoking read. So far, I enjoyed reading this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC copy.