This was such a good read! I was fully sucked into the story right away and I really enjoyed the characters. The journey the author took these characters on was exciting and unique which is something I am really interested in with books now. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends and family.

This was a very exciting read bound with magic, family, and adventures through different dimensions!

I had so much fun reading 'Once A Queen'. It was very intriguing with so many adventures occurring and I found myself stuck in the moment. The magic, learning more about the different dimensions and the true story of the MC Eva's grandmother as well as her reign in her kingdom was so beautiful with so many beautiful descriptions!
What I loved the most were the extracts Eva's favorite fairytale which highlighted the story of her grandmothers reign in one of the different worlds other than the one they truly lived in.

There were many interesting and intriguing scenes that had my heart beating erratically.

However, at some points I found that the writing was a bit to drawly... is that even a word? At some points I felt that so many things were going on at once and I couldn't wrap my head around much of the information that was thrown at me. The writing however was quite good in some areas with a good pace.
One other thing, I found the pace to alternate every couple of pages. One second it was fast paced and the next a bit slower which I think had me a bit detached from the story and struggling to read on.

But.. the premise was really interesting and I really enjoyed Arthur's storytelling!

A traditional, magical fantasy with a huge old house, filled with many secrets. I immediately like our protagonist. Also, this author has an excellent command of writing, especially for this genre. You immediately dive into another place, and live there whilst reading. As a sixth grade girl, heavy into my fantasy binge, this would have been an ideal read. I highly recommend for our students needing some fairytale type escapism. Lovely series opener.

This was a fresh take on the "fall into another world"-trope as that bit had already happened to the main characters grandmother. I think I'd categorise this as a nice little summer read. If this trope is something you enjoy I would definitely give it a read. I also liked that we got the backstory simultaneously as the main story. That was done well.

We follow fourteen year old Eva as she visits her grandmother for the first time in another country. Eva quickly finds out that there is something strange going on. Her grandmother has once been the queen of a fantasy kingdom.

A solid little fantasy read. Enjoyable

For anyone who's ever read and loved the Chronicles of Narnia but was less than enthusiastic about its conclusion (and the treatment of Susan!) in the Last Battle, this is the book for you.

Young Eva is crossing the Atlantic ocean to England to meet her maternal grandmother for the first time. Her father is in the final stages of his quest to untangle the academic mysteries of the deceased Professor Kinchurch (which will enable him to secure a proper academic job) so her family is being houses and her mother takes her to England to be out of the way. Her mother and grandmother have a fraught relationship, but as Eva comes to know her grandmother and the other residents of the local village - including gardener Stokes and his grandson Frankie - she begins to realize that her favorite fairy tale author - A.H.W. Clifton - was not making up stories about the magical land of Ternival. Clifton was writing true stories and the people in them included not just Professor Kinchurch but Eva and Frankie's relatives as well.

As Eva (with Frankie's help) begin to unravel their own mysteries, they are confronted with a legacy of loss and heartache and what happens to those left behind when others travel to a magical, far-away realm. As in real life, there are no tidy happily ever afters, but rather messiness and story threads that continue after the author writes "the end."

The writing style was really smooth and so easy to read! I flew through the book!
I could really connect with the main character so that’s definitely a plus point!
The book wasn’t too long and I really liked the plot!

While I appreciate the opportunity to read this, unfortunately this is a DNF for me. I made it about halfway but the pacing is too slow for me to continue.

I really liked this story and its beautiful homage to books like Narnia and A Green and Ancient Light. However, like Narnia, I could have done with a little less of the religious overtones. This is just personal preference, as I did enjoy the classical representation of the relationship between religion, myth, and lore, but this agnostic Jew didn't quite realize how much faith and christianity were going to play a role in this story. The pacing also takes some getting used to, and I wish the slower motion could have been on account of more description instead of less action.

4/5

I loved this book! The character sand setting just made this plot so magical. Following Eva through her journey of discovering her families' secrets were very entertaining to read. The mystery behind the world that she didn't know could exist was great. My only thing about the book was that I felt at times the paciing was rather slow, especially towards the end but all in all I would recommend this book to people who love fantasy and mysteries.

An interesting and magical world perfect for young readers. The narrative goes pretty compelling and fast, giving Us a clear understading of its universe. Altough I wasn't the target auudience for the book, I had an enjoyable moment between the pages.
Thank You, netgalley for the ARC granted!