AUTHOR: Natania Barron
SERIES: Queens of Fate #1
GENRE: Fantasy
AGE: Adult
BLURB:
When Anna Pendragon was born, Merlin “Through all the ages, and in the hearts of men, you will be forgotten.”
Married at twelve, and a mother soon after, Anna – the famed King Arthur’s sister – did not live a young life full of promise, myth, and legend. She bore three strong sons and delivered the kingdom of Orkney to her brother by way of her marriage. She did as she was asked, invisible and useful for her name, her status, her dowry, and her womb.
Twenty years after she left her home, Anna returns to Carelon at Arthur’s bidding, carrying the crown of her now-dead husband, Lot of Orkney. Past her prime and confined to the castle itself, she finds herself yet again a pawn in greater machinations and seemingly helpless to do anything about it.
Anna must once again face the demons of her her sister Morgen, Elaine, and Morgause; Merlin and his scheming Avillion priests; and Bedevere, the man she once loved. To say nothing of new court visitors, like Lanceloch, or the trouble concerning her own sons.
Carelon, and all of Braetan, is changing, though, and Anna must change along with it. New threats, inside and out, lurk in the shadows, and a strange power begins to awaken in her. As she learns to reconcile her dark gift, and struggles to keep the power to herself, she must bargain her own strength, and family, against her ambition and thirst for revenge.
Review
Thank you to the publisher for an arc of this book!
I am a huge fan of Arthurian legends, especially retellings from a women’s point of view. And so I was excited when I saw this one, because it was from a character that not much is heard about. The author does a fabulous job of placing us in Ancient Britain — in a way that is also real and fantasy at the same time. It reminded me very much of Mary Stewart or Marion Zimmer Bradley. She admits that she has taken liberties with the story, but honestly, I felt that they worked.
One of the things I like about this book is the main character is a mother, and I won’t say she’s older because she’s in her thirties like me, but she’s already lived a hard life.
Another thing I liked about the books is how characters we know are interwoven in! They don’t all appear to be the same as we often know them, but it makes them all that more intriguing especially their motivations.
I do love Anna and I love her journey in this book. This was an absolutely interesting historical/fantasy/mythological retelling that was well written and engaging.
I look forward to continuing this series!