I was so pleased to receive this galley! I read Sistersong earlier this year (late to the party, per usual) and fell in love with Holland's writing - and was treated to more of the same in Song of the Huntress.

For being set in the "dark ages", the settings and characters are bright and vibrant. I loved reading about adults with complex emotions and motivations. This was less of a coming-of-age story and more of a story of self-discovery that happens when you have entered your role in life and have time to look back on it.

I really enjoyed getting more action scenes! Holland has a talent for writing about battles in ways that feel gripping and brutal, but intensely readable.

Highly recommend for readers who enjoyed Circe by Madeline Miller and A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes.

This book is really exciting because of its representation of queer characters and themes in a setting that has traditionally been very dry and heteronormative. I love that Holland took this on; it was ambitious and creative and impeccably researched.

As someone who studied medieval history in school, I found this book to be particularly interesting. Its focus on politics and intrigue as the vehicle for the plot (as opposed to battle) was its own form of rebellion.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to those who loved A Discovery of Witches for its historical content rather than its magic. I wouldn't pick this up expecting your typical fantasy read, but for those willing to take the plunge, it's very rewarding!!

This is closer to a 3.75 for me, so I’m rounding up! The Song of the Huntress was beautifully written and I appreciated the research that went into making the story as accurate as possible, but the pacing had me struggling to finish.

Cheating is a trope that I’ve never been fond of, so I was quite sad when that aspect of the story came about. I loved seeing a character struggle with being asexual, as I personally have had similar experiences in my life and love seeing those represented.

Overall, this was a wonderful retelling, but I may need to read this again later to appreciate it as much as I would like to!

This book features mythology of the hunt mixed with historical fiction. If you are heavily into history I think you will love this book but for me it was a bit confusing. I commend the author for their research to make this historically accurate as can be but for me the story was lost in the facts and I needed a bit more magic.

i had a hard time vibing with this book. while beautifully written, it is VERY slow-paced which it made it very hard for me to connect wioth the story. while i did enjoy the combining of the fantasy and historical fiction genres and found that to be an interesting aspect, i don't know that the particular time period is for me, personally.

I initially rounded up on this one but as I sat a little longer with my feelings and considered how long I struggled with this one, despite trying to convince myself I was feeling invested, I just.. well. I couldn't quite do it here.

I'm starting to think that no matter how much I enjoy historical fiction and mythology, maybe I don't quite like experiencing this particular time period. Because this is the second book with a similar setting that just didn't pan out for me and maybe I need to stop trying. Plus y'know getting through The Last Kingdom was generally an effort in stubbornness with little overall reward, so, yeah, that makes three.

But this could've worked and I think that's why I'm rounding down because I'm sad that it didn't as the potential is just maddeningly out of reach. The story in here, the relationship dynamics, the magic, it all glimmered but felt muffled, as if trapped just under the surface, and whether it was the writing or the tense or the fact that only one of the three POVs felt remotely interesting (and having said that it was only in the latter half because in the first half he is painfully brutal to watch but I guess that was the cost of his character development or something).. either way there was something holding this hostage from greatness.

There is a strong feminist angle and acknowledgement of the lack of equal representation from women throughout history but by the same token the two female characters we have are basically just.. angry warrior cliches and it got tired (again, this is why my favourite of the three was not one of the women, making me a sad panda). Equally, while the slowburn between them was starting to work for me, I'm not sure I bought the big love story. But, again, the way it informed the overall dynamics of the three main characters was interesting. Or at least angsty. Maybe I'm confusing the two.

Overall, the slow pace and disconnect of the writing worked against me but I definitely think (hope) this will find success in the hands of others readers.

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I liked this, but I wish I had loved it- it has all the ingredients to be a new favorite but I think it was just too long and meandering overall. I normally would devour a book like this in a few days but found myself getting bored and struggling thru the last 30%. It was so so slow. I think the ideas, beautiful writing and research really shone thru in this but the execution could have been better.

side note: the cover really drew me in- so so gorgeous!

A character driven historical/folklore inspired fantasy that blends the brutality and mysticism of British history with a modern queer and feminist lens, SONG OF THE HUNTRESS is quite ambitious. I see lots of reviews bemoaning the pacing, but much of that is because very little of the story takes place in battle: it’s politics, espionage, religious persecution, diplomacy. And then for our characters specifically, it’s a failing marriage, a blooming romance, and a bit of personal tragedy.

I wish the audiobook had been available for me for this one - if only because I found the pronunciation guide to be kind of lacking (we got the æ sound figured out, which is the bare minimum since a main character’s name starts with it, but I really could have gone for a phonetic pronunciation of each character in the dramatis personae)

Reflecting back on my reading experience, it felt like it took a long time, like progress was slow, but it never felt like my time was being wasted. There is a big tonal shift near the end, though, that kind of signals the pacing being let loose to run free towards the conclusion. I think we got to know our three main characters very well over the course of the book, which lent balance to the emotional arcs as they each confront their role and the burdens they have taken on.

I loved Sistersong and I loved this one. So, Lucy Holland, bring on the next!

A beautifully written queer historical fantasy based on the myth of the Wild Hunt myth. Recommended for readers who like their fantasy slow and lyrical.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Song of the Huntress is well written & throughly researched. If you have any interest in this realm of history & folklore that will boost your enjoyment! I also appreciated the complex identities of the characters.
My main complaint has to do with the pacing of the story. This book was extremely slow. I believe I would have found it more enjoyable if it were more concise. At times I did not feel immersed in the world of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook/Orbit US for the e-arc.

Song of the Huntress is a very beautifully written story. However, I'm not sure that it was for me. During the first half I was super into it and was loving it but then as it went on I found myself bored and unrelating to the characters. The pacing of the book was very, very slow.

Eventually, I found myself enjoying Ines POV more than the other two. I loved the exploration and struggle with being asexual. I feel that isn't seen a lot in books and I really liked it. I found Æthel to become tiresome and annoying. I personally don't like cheating, so that immediately threw me off and I disliked her for majority of the book. I know Ine eventually was okay but still. I felt bad for him as his wife is off frolicking with another woman while he is struggling and then to for them to be almost smug about it when all them meet. Ick.

I thought I would love this one, but unfortunately I had to DNF it for now. Maybe it just wasn't the right time for me, but I just wasn't feeling into the story at all and I was confused. I know that some mythology lovers will devour this book though!

[Please note that this is the full review to the one that I posted on my bookstagram.] This was a fantastic take on the Wild Hunt myth and historical southwestern Britain. Mixed with LGBTQ+ representation (ace, lesbian, bi, and non-binary representation), this was a beautiful story filled with love, revenge, and finding strength in yourself. 💚

The story follows three POVs- Herla, the Lord of the Hunt; Æthelburg, a warrior queen of Wessex; and her scholarly husband, Ine. Herla, as in the original myth, is a figure that is tricked into being the leader of the notorious Wild Hunt. I loved the gender flip on this mythological figure, with her being a woman driven to make a bargain to save her queen and lover, Boudicca. She was probably my favorite of the three simply because I enjoyed her journey of finding herself and her humanity in a time that’s not her own. Her drive for revenge is so understandable since she was cursed by the wily fae lord, Gwyn ap Nudd. Her relationship with Æthelburg was tender in a way that two female warriors can come together in soft moments. The warrior queen herself was formidable, but I like that she was a vulnerable figure in the story. It’s quite refreshing to see a strong woman who still can show weaknesses and/or insecurities, especially when it comes to her husband. Ine was such an interesting character to me. There’s not a lot of representation for ace men in literature, and I found his struggle to voice his inability/reluctance to be sexually intimate with Æthel to be a portrayal that I wish happened more often. It also really shows just how much men are expected both by society and themselves to be sexually active and constantly seeking it. I found his love for his wife redeeming to his inaction on certain situations, and that his love for her is so strong that he’s willing to allow the relationship to open up for her to sexually satisfy herself. 💕

The historical elements were well mixed with the magical ones. This was definitely more magical than Sistersong, and I also really liked how both can be read as either standalones or a continuation of the other. I liked the mentions of the siblings from Sistersong and the inclusion of the mysterious figure from that tale as well. I do wish we had gotten a bit more of them in this book, but I liked that air or mystery for them was still strong here. 🧙🏼

In general, I really enjoyed this take on the Wild Hunt and loved the mix of Welsh and even Cornish/Briton elements and locations. Would definitely recommend to those who are looking for a historical tale that has a gender flipped Wild Hunt retelling element to it!

Big thank you goes to Orbit Books and NetGalley for accepting my request in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Lucy Holland, for crafting a beautiful and magical tale in 7th century Britain! 🏹

Publication date: March 19! 🦌

Overall: 4.5/5 ⭐️

I struggled with this a lot. I am putting 3 stars but maybe 3.5 is more fair. I just kept putting it down and having to absolutely force myself to pick it back up.

Let me say first off, this is well written. I have no complaints about the prose. It felt like the author did research the era and added so much detail. I loved the pronunciation guide and the detail in the mythology. I think this book will absolutely find its audience. Possibly fans of Katherine Arden, though admittedly I enjoyed her books quite a bit.

However, the pacing was very slow, and ultimately I struggled to feel engaged with the characters. I wanted to love Æthel and Herla’s relationship (and frankly wanted to love Herla in general) but I felt so detached from them that it was hard to (not to mention the power imbalance). I did not particularly like Ine and for a while, I was interested in why he was lying to his wife, what was up with their relationship, etc but eventually things were just moving so slowly that when I finally got answers, I had lost momentum. Some of the villain character work felt two-dimensional and I wanted to shake the main POVs and tell them to just talk to one another. I thought the magic element would be a lot more prevalent than it ended up being which was a disappointment.

I think maybe if I had already known more about the history and lore of this story before reading it, I may have enjoyed this more. I also appreciate the queer rep and liked how things weren’t labeled in a modern way.

If you like verrrrryyyyyy slow historical fiction, I really think you would enjoy this book. It’s lyrical and unique and I am sure some people will love it.

3.5 stars r
As always, Lucy Holland’s writing is stunning, with well-researched historical and mythological detail, complex characters and relationships, and exciting plots. I really enjoyed this new novel that ties in a few threads of her first book, Sistersong. The sheer badassery of Aethel and Herla alone was worth the read. My favorite aspect, however, was the relationship between Aethel and Ine - there were so many layers of identities and misunderstandings amidst so much love. They felt so messy and so real. There were a few parts of the text that were perhaps a bit dry and a few others that were overwritten, but on the whole this is an excellent historical fantasy by a very gifted writer!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lucy Holland for the ARC!

This was an incredibly written sapphic, poetic, and mythological tale. Holland does a wonderful job of immersing you in the landscape; rolling hills and lush scenery, contrasted by the harshness of ancient Britain. This had the same feeling as Circe by Madeline Miller (a favourite read of mine). I really enjoyed being thrown into the complex history and I found myself searching terms and places to learn more as I read along. We follow a Saxon queen, the cursed leader of the Wild Hunt, and the troubled King of Wessex through their extraordinary journey to understand themselves and their love for each other. We see the tension between Christianity and Paganism, the struggles of misunderstandings, and the burden of the human soul. The conflict arises with the plague that is Gwyn ap Nudd and Annwn (the underworld), with their ghastly creatures and soul stealing abilities. We see the importance of land and magic in Welsh lore and get teasers of the ancient stories of the Wild Hunt.

I was sad to leave this world…I could have spent ages reading more about Herla, Æthelburg, and Ine. There’s so much more I’d love to see of all the characters. I want to know Gweir and Cadwy more!! And I would have loved a POV of Ingild and his traitorous dealings.

This was an excellent story of love, loyalty, and betrayal. This was definitely a book where I had to use my whole brain to read it, especially when it got more detailed. But I loved every second of it and would definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in folklore, ancient Britain, and humanly flawed characters.

“If her scars must remind her of anything, it should be that mistakes are part of living”

I was already deep into my love for Celtic folklore and mythology, and this book really brought my interest in Welsh history to the forefront. I cannot wait to learn more! And I thank Lucy Holland immensely for this inspiration. I’ve already purchased Sistersong, and can’t wait to read that too!

Lucy Holland is, without a doubt, one of my most favorite authors of Celtic/pre-Christianized British Isles folklore and historical fantasy. Sistersong resonated soundly with me, and I found myself incredibly excited to read Song of the Huntress. Just like Sistersong, Song of the Huntress is well researched and full of depth and flavor, and I loved the aspect of the Wild Hunt against the backdrop of the Saxon grab for power during the 600s-700s. Christianity as a tool for colonization and imperialism makes a compelling motivation for the antagonists working against the goals of the main characters, and I appreciated that perspective. The three points of view were well rounded and each had their own agency that made sense. However, what slightly tarnished my own personal and subjective reading experience was the prevalent miscommunication trope. This is wholly preferential for me as a reader, but I just get so frustrated when an entire character arc and plotline could have been solved with the main characters just sitting down and actually listening to each other rather than assuming the worst of the other. Overall, this book was so skilled at framing the setting and characters, but my one drawback was that I wish that the two characters could have had another development arc that was more than constant misunderstandings that escalated. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to read a historical medieval fantasy, but with the caveat that they fully know about the miscommunication aspect as well as the content notes listed below. I fully plan on reading more of Holland's works, and I look forward to when more works are published.

Some content notes include: infidelity, acephobia, blood, death, violence, war

A huge thank you to RedHook and Netgalley for a gifted eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This book was a bit hard for me to read and get into. Though it was well written, it was language sometimes became overbearing for me to read and keep to the story.
I am a fan of medieval times and ancient times, however, re training my brain on how to pronounce words and names was a burden. It took away from the story itself for me. Others may enjoy it more, if they solely read other books/stories like this.
I would rated this book at 3.5 stars from my prospective, though others may give more or less.
For Historical Fantasy, I would recommend this to others that are well versed in the language used, but not to those that would need to stop and research some words or names and get lost in the terminology used as well.
I liked the book, but did not love it. I almost DNF'd the book all together as it is not something I would normally read, but I did get through it and wanted to give my honest opinion of the story.
I love the history o Wessex and that time frame, but this was a little much for me to get through.

Trigger warnings - Murder, Sexual content/assault, violence(blood, death, fire), war, animal death, etc.

This book is written beautifully with flowery wording and lots of historical information. I was excited about this book due to the time period being one of my favorites to read about/research, although I struggled with how dense and slow the book moved along. This is generally expected when it comes to historical books like this, but I really struggled to get through this one.

Holland created a book that focused on some interesting aspects such as The Wild Hunt and a look at being a woman during this time period. Holland wrote dynamic characters that provided a lot of insight on differing sexualities in a historical setting that would otherwise not approve of these women and their interests. The relationships between the characters was the best part of the book and became a bit heart-wrenching at points.

While it was well-written I struggled to get through this book due to pacing and the POV didn't allow for full connection with the character in a way that would have improved the enjoyment of this book. I am generally a fast reader and it took me weeks to get through it even though I enjoyed moments. I will need to try and read through it again at a later point to see if a second read makes it move along quicker.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the e-ARC for a honest review!

The stronger aspect of this book is also its biggest weakness: the writing is pretty and has a good rhythm overall, but it's also prone to archaisms and the occasional purple-prosery; and it uses third person present tense narration for a POV, too, which some readers don't enjoy, me amongst them. On top of that, the pace of the story is so painfully slow it's very tempting to abandon the book for the slow-as-molasses progress and the unnecessary roundabouts. It makes the book easy to put down and resume later, yes, but also very easy to forget.

(Full review in link)