The Lost Queen by Signe Pike

Lost Queen #1

I’m reading fiction again! Oh my gosh, it’s a shocker! First time in 2 years!!! Well, other than Dear Mrs. Bird, but that doesn’t entirely count…

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Synopsis

From Advanced Reader Copy:
Already being compared to Outlander, Camelot, and The Mists of Avalon, this spellbinding debut introduces Languoreth – a forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland and the twin sister of the man who inspired the legend of Merlin.

This tale of bravery and conflicted love has everything you could want in a lusciously big and bold novel: courage in battle, enchantment, a changing society at war with itself, passionate romantic love, treachery and betrayal, and beautiful evocations of the natural world. At the center of it all is a girl becoming a woman who can throw a knife, read her twin brother’s thoughts, and fall in love with one man and marry another, a woman who must take frightening risks and make unimaginable sacrifices to secure the future of her people. Written by an extraordinary new talent and born storyteller, The Lost Queen mesmerizes readers through to its heart-stopping ending, leaving them eager for Book 2 of the Lost Queen Trilogy.

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Review

Oh my gosh. I am so embarrassed to admit that I sat on this book for so long it is now available in paperback in the US. As a bookseller, when you are given an advanced copy, you’re expected to read it prior to the hardcover publication. Not the paperback… failure on my part. Though to be fair, I’ve had absolutely no interest in reading fiction for the past two, almost three years. So there’s that… But I literally carried the book around Scotland in January and didn’t read it until I go back and was missing the country like crazy.

I’d move to Scotland. I became obsessed when I first visited Edinburgh in June of last year and again when my husband and I road-tripped from Edinburgh to Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands and back in January. I’d love to find a job that affords me to the opportunity to spend every January there – it is beautiful and breathtaking, and I’m, well, clearly a bit obsessed. I told our publisher reps at the bookstore, I’ll read fiction – but only if it’s historical, set in Scotland, and not Outlander. Though full disclosure, I started the television show and I don’t hate it.

The Lost Queen is what I hope my own novel will be – a fully realized story about an extraordinary woman whose story has become lost to history, or worse, bastardized by the men who decided to make it a parable of Christian morality. Languoreth is the Scottish Alfhild (Alfhild was a Viking princess and subject of my current novel-in-progress) and boy can she kick some misogynistic ass. The Lost Queen, narrated by our fierceass protagonist, is her story, one of many years (roughly ten to thirty-two) and spanning a time of great change in Scottish history. It is post-Roman, pre-Viking, and specifically focuses on the rise of Christianity in the Western part of the UK.

Langoureth is my favorite type of protagonist, fiercely outspoken and one who is usually quick to fight with her words before thinking through their consequences. Some of the finer plot points and character relationships can feel a bit off/rushed/not fully realized, but it is by far one of the best debut novels I have had the pleasure to read. I’m already heavily anticipating the sequel – due out next summer – and am eternally grateful to the publisher for both the character listing and pronunciation guide provided in the book. So if you’re looking to get lost in a sweeping historical novel with tinges of magic, The Lost Queen is the perfect summer read.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

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