Title: The Lost Queen
Author: Signe Pike
Publisher: Atria Books
Published Date: 4th September 2018
Page Count: 544
ISBN: 978-1501191411
Price: $7.35 (I bought used, usually $27.99 brand new)
Reviewer: Gwendoline SK Terry (30 January 2024)

Blurb

Compared to Outlander and The Mists of Avalon, this thrilling first novel of a debut trilogy reveals the untold story of Languoreth—a forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland—twin sister of the man who inspired the legend of Merlin.

I write because I have seen the darkness that will come. Already there are those who seek to tell a new history…

In a land of mountains and mist, tradition and superstition, Languoreth and her brother Lailoken are raised in the Old Way of their ancestors. But in Scotland, a new religion is rising, one that brings disruption, bloodshed, and riot. And even as her family faces the burgeoning forces of Christianity, the Anglo-Saxons, bent on colonization, are encroaching from the east. When conflict brings the hero Emrys Pendragon to her father’s door, Languoreth finds love with one of his warriors. Her deep connection to Maelgwn is forged by enchantment, but she is promised in marriage to Rhydderch, son of a Christian king. As Languoreth is catapulted into a world of violence and political intrigue, she must learn to adapt. Together with her brother—a warrior and druid known to history as Myrddin—Languoreth must assume her duty to fight for the preservation of the Old Way and the survival of her kingdom, or risk the loss of them both forever.

Based on new scholarship, this tale of bravery and conflicted love brings a lost queen back to life—rescuing her from obscurity, and reaffirming her place at the center of one of the most enduring legends of all time.

Review – may contain spoilers!

The Lost Queen is a stunning novel. Sumptuous, rich description, I was sucked into the story from the very first page. The characters felt real, with a fantastic historical background and a mystical atmosphere. I will most definitely be purchasing the second and third novels in this trilogy.

Though Langoureth wasn’t necessarily the most exciting protagonist, she was entirely realistic and genuine, a woman of the time and her standing in society, yearning for the freedom of a man but unable to grasp it, wishing she could choose her destiny but trapped by what is decided for her.

I enjoyed reading Langoureth’s childhood and her entering womanhood, but mostly I loved reading about her as a mother even if it was just briefly at the end of the book. The decisions she had to struggle with regarding Angharad’s destiny and Rhys’s parentage, constantly juggling between what she wants, what she’s powerless to control, what the right decision is and the subsequent consequences. I’m also looking forward to reading more about that in the following book.

Ariane was amazing. I hope she returns in the other books because she was a fantastic character and I’d love to get to know more about her and her secretive past. I’d like to know more about Elufed, too – she’s absolutely intriguing! Such a heart-wrenching origin story, but such an interesting character.

Despite how much I adored reading this book, I do have three issues with it.

Firstly, it is incredibly long and dense. Though I love the rich backdrop and detail, it took me a long time to get through the book because some parts were slow.

Secondly, as a twin (the female of a female-male set, just like Langoureth and Lail), the whole “I knew his [Lail’s] toe was fractured because my own had been swollen and throbbing since the evening before” had me rolling my eyes like crazy. From personal experience, the idea that one twin can feel the other twin’s pain is ridiculous. I hate that trope with a passion. I understand the author was using this to demonstrate that Langoureth had some sort of mystical talent she’d inherited from her mother, but I found it absurd, nonetheless.

Finally, I had a hard time with Langoureth and Maelgwn’s relationship. I despise love at first sight, and that’s exactly what happened with Langoureth and Maelgwn. They met when Langoureth was a young teen, they were together for five minutes, had sex, and then separated for seventeen years. Somehow she knew the minute they’d done the deed that she was pregnant with his child despite marrying and being bedded soon after by her husband. I rolled my eyes throughout the majority of Langoureth and Maelgwn’s reunion, too. We are supposed to believe they are star-crossed lovers sharing the truest of love when in fact they were a brief moment of lust seventeen years previous, nothing more. They’d spent hardly any time together to be imprinted on each other in such a fashion. Maelgwn seems lovely and I do wish that Langoureth had run away with him before marrying Rhydderch, but that was not the case.

Speaking of Rhydderch, honestly, he deserved better. Rhydderch was honest about himself and his inability to be as passionate as Langoureth wanted, he knew their marriage was of politics not of romance, but after seventeen years of marriage, he fell in love with her and proved it time and time again. I realise he was supposed to be stoic and cold whereas Maelgwn was warm and passionate, but Rhydderch was a good husband to Langroureth. I didn’t understand how after almost two decades of being married to Rhydderch, Langoureth hadn’t warmed to him at all and still treated him the same way as before they were wed. Again, theirs was a political marriage, not a romantic one, but with Rhydderch being as kind and handsome as he was, I’m surprised she didn’t form some kind of feelings towards him. Rhydderch was pretty cowardly when he chose not to visit Langoureth after she was locked up in her chambers, however. He should’ve, but Langoureth’s list of trespasses against him is far longer than his against her so I can let it go. I have high hopes that he won’t hurt Langoureth’s family even though he’s riding out to war. Despite wanting to be king and having a daughter to rescue (a parent would do crazy things to assure their child’s safety after all), he doesn’t seem the type to slaughter his wife’s brothers – maybe her lover, but not her family. I’m eager to find out if he lives up to my expectations, I really like him as a character.