I love an Arthurian book, but once you read 1… You’ve read them all fr.
The predictability is too prominent in the writing & I def felt this drag for a bit longer than I would’ve liked.
After a certain % it’s just 😐
Let’s wrap this up lmfao.

This was told in the POV of Arthur & Morgan’s Mom. And what lead to Morgan’s “Villain Origin Story” I suppose, but same tbh. If everyone was glorifying a man who basically 🍇 my Mom ‘cause a “Goddess” allegedly chose her.
I would burn the whole kingdom down.

Overall, this became too repetitive after a while. The impact of “Choosing her own destiny” just didn’t land for me. Anna Burnett did amazing narrating this regardless 🫶🏽

I adore Arthurian legends, so was very pleased to explore The Chosen Queen, which offers a fresh, feminist perspective on the world of Camelot. The story highlights the strength, resilience, and bonds of women navigating a world dominated by men, showing their power, loyalty, and influence in shaping events around them.

The main character, Igraine, is portrayed with depth and complexity, and this retelling brings er to the forefront, expertly exploring her relationships with other key female characters and emphasizing the support, rivalries, and solidarity that exist between them. Sam Davey brings these characters to life with nuance, making their choices and struggles feel vivid and emotionally engaging.

The audiobook, narrated by Anna Burnett, is particularly enchanting. The combination of her voice and the Celtic-inspired legend created an almost lullaby-like atmosphere, drawing me gently but fully into the story.

The pacing is deliberate, allowing time to savour the rich characterisation, intricate politics, and the atmospheric world. This novel is a rewarding listen for anyone who enjoys a thoughtful, character-driven retelling of legend with a focus on female agency and relationships.

I think we've finally reached the point where we have too many different Arthurian retellings.

From Arthur's POV? Good
From other knights of the table POVs? Good
From Morgan's POV? Good
From Arthur's mother? Yeah, that's about enough.

Also, where's the supposed feminism in here? Cause every time a woman tries to speak up the FMC refuses all sorority and shuts them down.

And while this book is very descriptive in a good way, it stretches so damn long that I felt like nothing happened until the last 100 pages where a couple of important things develop.

It is well written but I wouldn't recommend this even to fans of the tale.

This was certainly one of the most interesting reads I've had, this year, the prequel of how Arthur came to be.
We follow Igraine, the woman chosen by the goddess to carry the future king of all England, she was schooled as every lady should be, and then fulfills her role as the wife of the warlord Duke Gorlois falling in love with him in the process, however sometimes the servants of the Goddess also serve their own agendas, as Igraine will soon understand.
I understand this is not the ultrapowerful super hero sometimes we expect when the phrase "feminist retelling" comes around, however in the book description that phrase is not shown, regardless of that it is important we remember this is historical fiction, therefore a willful woman on its own, a woman who takes charge when is needed and at the last moment decided to keep her dignity and self respect in a man dominated world, is on its own right, a feminist. ( Yes, even if it that does not align with your expectations Karen)

The narrator was delightful, she made a wonderful job narrating this, her voice is soothing and is perfect for Igraine, her narration was on point, I felt as if a friend was narrating me her life story.

I strongly recommend this, specially the audiobook, its a better experience, since it can get a bit too long without the spice the narrator brings to the table.

Thansk NetGalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Slapping the phrase “feminist retelling” on a book continues to become more and more popular and less and less likely to be accurate.

Here, things like the womenfolk taking over building ye olde barrels while the menfolk go off and make ye olde war are doing a lot of heavy lifting, but I guess women picking up heavy objects in the literal sense now qualifies as feminist if it sells books.

Igraine herself isn’t especially feminist except in the Orwellian “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others” sense, and her story still culminates in her rape, which according to Arthurian legend is the most important thing that happens to her, because it produces Arthur.

Here she gets a TON of backstory that isn’t present in traditional Arthurian Legend, but her role remains the same, and that role is at worst rape victim and at best involuntary mother of a future hero. You can give her a voice, show her to be smart, capable, etc., but if she meets the same fate it’s just a more fleshed out version of the same thing.

This version of the character can plot her revenge and throw haughty commands around and play at being a sort of de facto lord of the manor, but ultimately without reworking her entire role in Arthurian Legend, this is never going to work as a feminist Arthurian retelling or alternate prequel.

I love historical fiction so much, and this book hit the mark for me! The origin story of the mother of King Arthur? Yes please! Listen, I know their is no solid proof King Arthur was real, but this book made me feel like it was possible.

In The Chosen Queen we follow the life, love, and loss of Igraine. This book is a brilliant feminist take on what her life would have been like and her fight to stay true to herself.

Trigger warnings - rape

I did not make a review on my blog, and I do not like to do this for books I am giving less than 3 stars and are written by debut authors. I really did not enjoy this book at all, and to be quite frank, the spin that this is a "feminist retelling" when the main character is basically passive the entire time.... it really sucked.

The Chosen Queen offers evocative prose and a richly atmospheric world, beautifully enhanced by a compelling audio performance. The narrator brings a lyrical quality to the text that elevates the experience—particularly with the story’s spiritual and mythic elements.

However, despite the promise of a feminist retelling, Igraine’s character often felt emotionally distant, and her interactions with other women lacked the solidarity one might expect from such a reimagining. Moments of heightened emotion were bogged down by overly wordy internal reflection, which dulled their impact. The pacing was notably slow, and at times, repetitive—especially in certain bodily observations that added little to character development. With tighter editing and a sharper focus on character dynamics, this story could have truly soared.

A beautiful concept and setting, but ultimately it dragged where it should have burned.

I typically love books like this and while the story as a whole was interesting there were definitely times where it felt like it was dragging on. Honestly if I hadn't been doing the audio book I probably would've given up.

I enjoy do an Arthurian retelling. I really liked this POV of Igraine before Arthur is born. This story is unique, I have not read something that gave the back story of how Arthur came to be.

The audiobook is amazing, I’m not sure I would have enjoyed this book as much if I were reading it. Sam Davey is very descriptive in her writing and it is beautifully done. Some parts were drawn out longer than necessary but Anna Burnett was an excellent narrator.

I would not call this book feminist though - I can see why that descriptor disappointed other reviewers. I think they were expecting a super empowering story of female resilience. Igraine is strong willed and brave but she does not have much agency.

Thank you Sam Davey, Anna Burnett, Record Books Media, and NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB media and Recorded books

This was the story of King Arthur’s mother Igraine and how she came to be pregnant with him. Igraine was put into a terrible situation where the people who she thought she trusted used her and manipulated her. The lady of the lake and Merlin made Uther fall in love with her before even meeting her. They cause a Igraine husband to go to war against Uther, and die. Then Igraine was tricked into sleeping with Uther and became with child.
This book just showed how powerless women were of that time. She was left as the villain with no choice left. She was imprisoned on her own castle and stripped of her title. And also stripped of seeing her children again.
This story make me mad to see women treated like that.
Now I really don’t think much happened in this book. It was long and slow. She was very naive. You wanted to shake her and say make better choices. There was a lot of detail about all the food, clothes, events and the ceremonies than any actual plot.

I had the privilege of eyeball reading this as well as listening and let me say, the audio was so well done.
I absolutely loved this story and the narration truly is transpotive

Thank you to RBmedia, NetGalley & Sam Davey for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Genre(s): historical fiction, retelling, magical realism.

Overall impression: this was a very tricky book to rate and I can see why the reviews are so polarised. The parts that I really enjoyed were the history, folklore, magical realism, writing style and endurance of the FMC (Igraine). I would recommend this book to people that enjoy historical fiction with heavy folklore elements. But I would not recommend this to people that are looking for something with romance or a strong feminist FMC that will challenge the patriarchy during an oppressive period in history. The relationships were toxic and abusive, and the FMC was passive and accepting of the abuse for most of the novel - only liberating herself at the very end of the novel once she had served her purpose to the King and his religion. Because of these reasons, I would not describe this as a particularly feminist novel.

Tropes:
➵ Arthurian legend retelling
➵ Set in late 5th - early 6th centuries
➵ Prophecy & scrying
➵ Magical realism
➵ Daughter with strong powers
➵ Patriarchal society
➵ Arranged political marriages
➵ Toxic relationships
➵ Subtle feminism
➵ She saves herself
➵ Open ending

⤷ Plot:
This was my first historical fiction read from the Arthurian time period, so I'm not sure how closely it followed the original story. It felt very authentic though and translated well with some modernisation of dialogue and language structure.

The Chosen Queen was a character-driven story focusing on the prophecy that Igraine would birth a son that would go on to be the next king. Despite Igraine already being married, the king at the time, Uther Pendragon, believed that he was destined to conceive this child with Igraine and started a war to gain control over her body. Igraine was castle-bound for most of the story and had very little say in her own destiny, creating a lot of scenes that were very emotional and difficult to get through. There were a few plot twists towards the end that I hadn't anticipated, and it had an open conclusion with some unanswered questions. I'm not sure if this is the first in a continuous or standalone series, so I'm not sure if the questions will be resolved later.

⤷ Characters:
I would describe Igraine as a quiet feminist. She knew that the world was a cruel place for women in the 5th and 6th centuries, and that religion should not be used to serve the desires of men in power. Unfortunately, she had few resources to fight the patriarchy or religion at the time and spent most of the novel enduring the abuse. Other women in the novel perpetrated these abuses and tried to force Igraine into submission but she knew in her heart that this was unjust. Whilst I wouldn't typically describe someone with her temperament as 'strong', it was clear that she had immense strength and courage to endure what life threw at her until she was in a position to liberate herself at the end. Because of these reasons, I found Igraine to be one of the stronger parts of the book and resonated strongly with her character.

The male characters aren't even worth mentioning.

⤷ World-building:
The magical realism was a highlight of the novel. It was readily accessible to all of the female characters, who could use scrying bowls or mirrors to see the future. It was a nice change from 'the chosen one' trope, where only one character would have access to such strong power. I also enjoyed the lore where the future was not set in stone - which gave the practice of scrying more purpose, and the women an equally as important role in war as the male soldiers.

Whilst most of the story was set in one location, the description of the castle, clothing, daily activities and religious symbols helped me get a sense of life back in the 5th and 6th centuries. I could feel how turbulent of a time it was with regular land feuds and the emergence of the new religion (i.e. missionaries, crosses) which was at odds with the old religion (i.e. scrying bowls, protection charms).

⤷ Writing:
Despite being set so long ago, I found the language to be really easy to follow. It had been modernised but not to the extent that it was jarring to read. It flowed nicely and translated well to audio. I would definitely continue the series if Sam Davey released another book in The Pendragon Prophecy.

⤷ Everything else:
Anna Burnett was the narrator of the RBmedia edition. She was a great representation of Igraine and it truly felt like it was the character talking to us and explaining the atrocities she had experienced at the hands of feuding men. Anna's voice was very clear, lyrical and emotive - which was very apparent in some of the more triggering or devastating scenes. I would strongly recommend interested readers to try the audiobook version because I think the tone of the story is a lot more compelling in this format.

This is definitely in my top 5 arthurian retellings/re-imaginings and ARTHUR ISN'T EVEN IN IT. I am always a fan of commonly told myths and legends told from the perspective of a lesser represented character and this was perfection. I've never seen or read anything that shed so much light on Igraine and her story so it was a very refreshing and frustrating read, if you know her story you know why. If you don't here is a snapshot: Egraine is the mother of King Arthur who was essentially tricked into sleeping with Uther Pendragon as he was glamoured to look like her husband who lay dead on the battlefield, then she becomes pregnant and the baby is taken by Merlin to be raised and to eventually come back as an adult to be the once and future king, meanwhile the widowed Igraine is married to Uther and becomes queen.

This story focuses soley on Igraine and her marriage to Gorlois, her two daughters, and all that went into her husband going to war against Uther, adding a layer to that deception, and making a slight change to the ending.

Spoilers:
I wasn't sold on her sort of wishy washiness early on around wether she was attracted to Uther or not, and I wish that would have been left out as to me it didnt serve any purpose other than to potentially weaken her stance as a victim of the Pendragon. I was happy when in this story she didnt defer and marry him at least. My only other issue was all those people seeing her husband hanging out for like 2 days when it was really Uther, and then still somehow calling her a whore and blaming her for getting knocked up by him, I feel like either make his visit only seen to her, or explain it was some magic by Merlin, it just didnt make sense, but this was a minor issue for my overall enjoyment and I will definitely be checking out book 2.

2.5/5

Love takes on Arthurian legends from a woman's point of view. Igraine is a detailed narrator who gives rich description colored with her point of view. The story and pace do seem to drag a bit when the supporting world building is the focus rather than plot. The dialogue passes the Bechdel test, but with the focus on a woman's role and world at the time may seem a bit out of touch for modern feminists. I can see where people would be frustrated with Igraine and her inability to grasp things happening around her but we also all know the story which is so apart of our cultural psyche that I think it might be hard to imagine what it is not to know what’s happening. Appreciated the female friendships but not Igraine's lack of agency in the last third of the book. Ending didn’t feel very satisfying, but I think that fit with the story itself.

I enjoyed the author's ability to draw me in and create such a lush atmosphere. I also loved the audiobook narrator's voice. This has the potential to be a great book for some people.
I wanted to like this, and I was enjoying myself in the first 25%. Unfortunately, the pacing was so slow it was almost unbearable at times. It started to pick up again there in the middle, but it kind of falls flat in the end.
Our FMC, Igraine, has so much potential but shes more of a male version of what a women should be.
Im interested in what direction the next book in the series is going. Hopefully, the story pacing picks up and we learn more about these characters.
I also want to find out more about these children and their ability to use magic like grown women, what is that about? lol
Thank you to NetGalley, Diversion Books, and Sam Davey for the ARC.

I LOVE Arthurian myth. If you follow my reviews, this is not a surprise. This was such a refreshing take on Arthurian myth, I loved that it focused on Igraine. As Arthur's mother, she’s a pivotal figure in his story, but is often left out as she’s long gone by the time that Arthur comes into his powers. I loved hearing her story from her perspective. I’ve always felt that her story is sort of tragic, as she’s forced to leave her husband to be with Uther, and doesn’t live to see Arthur become the legendary hero. The care that Sam Davey gives to Igraine's story is palpable. This is such a beautiful well-written novel. I read the whole thing in two days, I just couldn’t walk away from it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this is the first book in a series. I can’t wait to see how Davey treats the rest of the Arthurian legends.

3.5 stars.

The origin story of King Arthur's parents I never knew I needed.

The characters are relatable and knowable, even the unlikable ones. They are strong and steadfast when necessary, upholding many of the characteristics we see in Arthurian tales, including betrayal. It's a sneak peek into what we know will come. Camelot was always for consumption by the masses, and this book makes it approachable to those of us who love our stories in book format. I'm not entirely sure I like the Merlin character as much as I'd have liked, but we shall see where that goes.

Overall, a decent start to a series I've wanted redone for ages.

A retelling of the origin of King Arthur? Give it to me! The Chosen Queen tells the story of Igraine, mother of King Arthur as she comes to terms with a prophecy that she finds herself at the center of.

This book labels itself as a feminist retelling of Camelot but I found myself wondering when the”feminist” parts would be coming in. Sam Davey did not skimp on adding details bring the reader into the story. I enjoyed much of the dialogue and internal thoughts of Igraine.

The most obvious flaw in this book is the length. Nearly halfway through I was SURE we had to be nearing the end. The middle sections of this book without a doubt were drawn out more than needed. By the time that I reached the end I felt myself getting bored and wanting it to wrap up.

I really enjoyed this book overall, just wish it was a bit shorter or that the middle sections did not drag. 10/10 on audiobook narration. Anna Burnett did a fantastic job here.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for this audiobook

Absolutely loved this book! I've read books from this historical period before, but more Aurhurian, it was really interesting to dig a little deeper into the generation before and find out more about the people involved! Gave a really good picture of the characters and well paced plot throughout, the use of "seeing" was a really good way to add detail from different perspectives. I found myself a little frustrated at the end because I wanted to much more, then realised it's the start of a series so now to eagerly await the next arrival....