In this Historical Fantasy view of the legendary queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe succeedes in demonstrating Boudicca's role as daughter, mother, wife, leader, and tragic hero. It gives us permission to imagine an alternative ending to her tragic story of grief, loss, trauma and betrayal. This is a must read for those if us who love retellings of our favorite heroes.

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I LOVE history and I really enjoyed reading reading historical fiction and P.C Cast, as usual, does not disappoint.
P.C Cast writes in a way that glues you to the book. You don’t need to know Boudicca’s history to read this book and you shouldn’t read it expecting everything to be historically accurate, but you SHOULD be prepared to be glued to the book.
Every chapter left me wanting to turn the page and made me fall in love with Badass Boudicca all over again.
This book is beautifully written and I highly recommend reading!!

I'm having a hard time figuring out what I want my final rating for this book to be. On one hand, I enjoyed reading a historical fiction story from the perspective of a famed woman warrior. On the other hand, I think the writing gets choked by the sheer amount of phrase repetition to the point that if you removed the phrases "As you say, so will I do" and "Inceni ___" you would have a strikingly shorter book. Maybe repetition isn't one of your literary icks, and if not, I think this is an interesting time period to explore. However if you're like me when it comes to quirks in writing quality, this book may ping-pong somewhere between a 2.5 star rating and a 3. Even as I'm writing this, I'm still not sure how I feel.

Ultimately, I wanted to like this book far more than I did, though I didn't hate it either. I enjoyed the mythological elements like seeing Boudicca interact with goddesses or the role of the Druids in the overall story. While I wouldn't categorize this as a romance or a romantasy, I did like the small elements of romance in the story, though they also didn't feel super necessary. Without offering specific spoilers, I also thought the ending was too vague and abrupt to give our characters closure. So, again, I feel like I'm ping-ponging back and forth on what was meh and what was good enough to keep going for.

It's also worth noting that this book deserves a hefty dose of trigger warnings within the first fifty or so pages. I'll hide them with spoiler warnings but I was startled by the <spoiler>graphic descriptions of Boudicca's whipping and the aftermath of children's SA for kids under 13 </spoiler> to the point that I nearly put the book down before completing the first act. While the story doesn't forcibly linger over those traumas beyond their narrative relevance it was still something that took me off guard. I wouldn't say these elements lessened my personal ability to get invested in the story over time, but please use your discretion here, folks!

I received an eARC of Bouddica from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 13%

I don’t have a lot of triggers but this one has one and it’s a hard line for me. I can deal with the mention of it, but this goes well beyond that.

*Note- I don’t rate or review books I DNF on my platforms

This is exactly the genre I was in the mood for. I appreciate that this book gives voice to a woman history hasn’t given her due. The exposition via dialogue is somewhat clunky at times.

When a Roman tax collector storms into Tasceni to put the Iceni queen Boudicca in her place, he creates a force of nature backed by Iceni goddesses. P. C. Cast's imagining of Boudicca is lush, heartfelt, and authentic. The story is rich with detail and history and will enthrall fantasy and historical fiction readers alike.

This is where I start telling myself, “Just because it has a redhead on the cover, does not mean I need to read it…”

Growing up being a huge fan of the 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒩𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 series, I was very excited to receive this book as an arc, but I’ll admit, that’s where the excitement stopped.

I am all for feminine rage and women sticking it to the man, but I’m not sure this gave Boudicca justice. I was not familiar with her story before this, so I cannot speak for any historical accuracies. I can say however, that the writing was extremely repetitive and had more of a “say instead of show” type storytelling.

I also recommend that you read any and all trigger warnings before reading this. It’s not that any of them are extremely descriptive, it’s just that the bad things that happen are also along the repetitive side. They get mentioned over and over and over again, almost to the point that you just get desensitized by the whole thing. It takes away from the rage you are suppose to feel along with Boudicca for all the cruel things that were done to her, her family, and her tribe.

If I didn’t have an advance copy of this one, I probably wouldn’t have finished it in all honesty. It just was not for me sadly…

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an eARC copy of this book.

Boudicca by P. C. Cast was utterly captivating!
I truly enjoyed this fictional historical fantasy and in my eyes Cast can write the best stories ever!
She definitely did not disappoint here.

This was my fist P.C. Cast read but it will not be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I have found that I am enjoying Historical Fiction more and more. The author made this book very easy to read and really interesting. I had not heard of Boudicca before I picked this up, but I found myself on the edge of my seat reading this story of a strong widowed queen. There were parts of this story were I found myself in such pain for her. She had gone through so much but stayed so strong. It was a beautiful story. I did feel like some parts were drawn out a little. But, it wasn't anything I couldn't push through due to my interest in Boudicca's story.. I look forward to reading more of this author's work and seeing what else they have to offer.

This was an interesting history listen. Boudicca was such a strong force. I wish history had been kinder. I wonder what happened with her ancestors.

This is a historical fiction novel based on Boudicca, the Celtic queen that united the tribes of Briton to stand against the Romans. A lot of thought and research went into the novel and it is not to be missed. However, there was a bit of unnecessary scenes that didn't serve the plot and probably could have been edited out of the novel. But it is very enjoyable otherwise.

*special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this digital e-arc.*

This book was an unexpected delight. As it is based mostly on a true story, the author also ties some minor fantasy elements in. The beginning of this book is absolutely heartbreaking, especially as a mother. I recommend reading the trigger warnings. My enneagram 8 was absolutely screaming. I love that the FMC is in her 30s and isn’t a 19-year old teenager. She’s a widow with kids and some life under her belt. The way the entire emotional spectrum is described before, during and after battle scenes is brilliant. You feel like you’re living through the action. I highly recommend this book if you’re into historical fantasy, historical fiction, stories about feminine rage, why choose trope, etc. Thank you to Harper Collins, P.C. Cast and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fictional historical fantasy. Cast has always been a go to author for me which is why I originally asked for this title.

Boudicca is a well plotted out book with plenty of action mixed with romance and heartbreak. The story follows Boudicca from her time before and after her rule up to her fight with the Romans.

I recommend this book if you enjoy strong FMCs and historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest thoughts on it.

I know very little world history. Going into the story, I looked up some history and paintings of Queen Boudicca. I have read other books from PC Cast and like historical fiction, so this sounded great.
It is a beautiful story of strong women, a strong people, and fighting for freedom. Queen Boudicca is a widowed leader of the Iceani people. The Romans are taking more of the Briton Celts' territory. This is an ultimate underdog tale and even experts in this history will get a surprise or two in this book. This story has tragedies, strong female characters, love, and war. It also showed the way the people lived and what they believed in. I recommend this story that brings the characters and time alive. for the readers.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first PC cast book since house of night.. in high school.

P.C Cast storytelling is amazing. Boudicca’s story kept me on my toes until the end however, I felt like this book could have been 150 pages left. Parts became very long and drawn out.

I had previously never heard of Boudicca and was excited to read something with her in it and get to know her. Sadly, this book I don’t feel like did her any type of justice. I feel like I need to read something else about her to really understand who she was. This book being told in the first-person narrative really causes the book to be too narrative driven. There is no true character building, settings being described, and just overall makes it hard to stay interested in what is going on. Boudicca is interesting, however this book dragged on so much that I tuned out a lot. I don’t know how well received this book is going to be.
Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I grabbed this book purely because of Boudicca herself. She was a figure of interest to my dad for a bit when I was a child, so I actually knew generally who she was and what she was about. This story follows her brief but powerful retaliation against the invading Romans.

Alas, I was mostly bored. My favorite parts were probably during the chapters where they were camped for the winter, and everyone was just kind of vibing in the snow, and everything was cozy and safe. On the whole, the pacing was incredibly slow, and the story was repetitive. And when I say it was slow, I'm not saying it was atmospheric, or character driven, because I was not picking up on much atmosphere, and the only things the characters were driving were ME, INSANE. Legit like three or four things happened in the whole book. Not just big, plot things. Things, total. Period.

I didn't click with the characters either. Boudicca herself was competent enough, but every time she had to make a decision everyone around her was all "ooooh Boudicca you're some hot stuff you're the bomb diggity" and she'd be all like "ha haa, you're so right, I am The Most Competent."
Repeat ad nauseum. I wasn't very annoyed by it, it just wasn't interesting. Boudicca started out awesome and ended the story being awesome (kinda). The other characters fared similarly - there was no change, and they ended the book (or their lives I guess 🙃) in the exact way that they started.

There was some romance, which I anticipated mostly because of the blurb. Even aside from that though, it was painfully obvious who the romantic interests would be, although I have to say I wasn't entirely expecting that both options would be correct at the same time. No surprise threesomes though. Both romances were bland and weird and I didn't get either vibe at all. I would have rather Cast filled her sex quota by including some flashbacks of the dead husband, who was by far the more interesting romantic partner for Boudicca.

I should also add that the book basically opens with the Roman attack on her village, which includes some pretty brutal behavior, including physical assault. The fact that it was included isn't my issue per se, but the amount of times it was brought up after the fact made it feel like it was being used for shock value. It was unexpectedly awful, and then I went on to read a consistently boring story. Boudicca brought the incident up every time she saw her daughters or her guard, and she mentioned it several times (including once to everyone in the village, if I remember correctly), and as a rallying point for her and her people started to lose its potency. Just like everyone cheering "Victory!!!" whenever she made a speech. The first time was grand. The twenty times after that were too much.

Anyway I'm sad I didn't like this. The coolest parts were probably the descriptions of the historical cities (including/especially Londinium). Again, I also kind of liked the bit where they all just vibed in a snowy mountain valley. The ending was disappointing, if not somewhat expected (again, I knew a bit of Boudicca and her story). I hoped for more from the setting as well - Britain can be an incredibly evocative setting in the right hands; I felt more connected at the start, but once they left the village we could've been geographically anywhere. If anything, this book made me want to learn more about the true story of Boudicca and her people. Regretfully, I don't know that I will be recommending this book to other readers, unless perhaps they want a story about Boudicca herself.

Queen Boudicca's story as never told before. This novel was incredibly well researched, and it shows. I fell in love with every character. I felt the pain of their losses and the anger of their vengeance. I felt their awe as they stood in front of their gods and their determination to avenge their loved ones destroyed by the romans.
Of course, we know the history of the might of the romans and how the story must end. Cast sugarcoats nothing. The chapters are headed by Roman Numerals - there's no denying the outcome of Boudicca's story. Still, she is magnificent.

The book itself took me a couple of chapters to really get into, but once the action gets going there's no putting it down. Boudicca is a woman scorned, desperate for victory over those who wronged her. It's only more satisfying to learn that she was a real warrior queen, leading over 250,000 men to battle after battle; so powerful that the patriarchal romans refused to believe she was "just a woman". This may very well be the first account of her story told in full, outside of the roman lens.


Thank you to NetGalley for supplying me an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know what it is but stories that are about defending and reclaiming your home from invaders/colonists are my jam. There were several points when the book was discussing topics including family and ancestry that I found myself tearing up - heck, I was tearing up about the death of a side character we met within a page of their death.

What I loved the most about this book is that we had a badass, bisexual warrior queen as our main character as well as a cast of other strong female characters. I love that so much of the focus of this story was on the women. Especially facing the Romans, a largely patriarchal and male-dominated society as the antagonists in the story, it was a wonderful thing to read.

The only thing I don’t like is how this book is being advertised as a romantasy. Yes, there is romance in the book. However, it is not, in my opinion, the main focus by any stretch. I understand that this is the trending genre right now, but to label a book like this as such feels misleading in my opinion and may cause people who are looking for that romance-centric story to not enjoy this book.

First, to those who do not know the story of Boudicca (or Boadicea), please check out the trigger warnings on this one before reading it. Cast does her best to sensitively relay the events that befell Boudicca and her daughters in the beginning of the story, but there is no shying away from the history as we know it.

Queen Boudicca of the Iceni has ruled her people peaceably since her husband’s passing three months prior. However, when she is awakened by the goddess Andraste one morning, she must make a life-altering choice: to either remain safe with the goddess alone, survive devastating circumstances and become the goddess’s vengeful warrior for her people, or perish at the brutal hands of Rome.

In all honesty, this story is a difficult one to read. Nevertheless, it’s an important one because it sheds light on a prominent figure of women’s history. It is rare to hear women’s names, let alone their stories, from ancient times because so many were either scrapped from history books or were never written about in the first place. I didn’t even know about Boudicca until I saw a documentary in college on the history of Britain that had a small clip on this Celtic queen, so it is wonderful to get a more detailed telling of her story.

In telling this from a first-person POV, Cast’s storytelling is raw and visceral. We feel everything Boudicca experiences. Her pain, grief, and anger become our own. I knew reading this would be hard, I cried during the scenes where she is torn between comforting her daughters, grieving her mother and the friends she lost, and having to be a strong queen for her people. While it lays bare the cruelties women have suffered at the hands of men historically, it is more a reminder of the strength and resilience of women through their perseverance and survival. It truly is a story that speaks to women across time and throughout the generations.

If you are looking for a book that beautifully tells the story of a strong woman, daughter, mother, leader, and warrior, then look no further because this one is an epic telling that shouldn’t be missed.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the eARC of this book!